MathiasTheRanger
Newcomer
I'm putting this here because I want the original game devs to notice as much as I want modders to.
I'm not even through my first year of Stardew Valley yet, but I’ve played a lot of hours, read a lot of the wiki, and watched lots of YouTube to see what others do, with a tendency to avoid clickbaity titles like "20 massive mistakes" etc. going instead for straightforward tip-offering videos and, for amusement, occasional character analysis ones. It’s all got me thinking. I don’t have the coding know-how to mod any of this, so I figured I’d lay my ideas down and see if they strike a chord with anyone, or if I just get flamed for the trouble.
#1. The Vault Bundle Feels Like a Cop-Out
Yes, I know it’s the final bundle in the Community Center path, but to me, the Vault Bundle feels like the dev just ran out of ideas. “They’ve been playing a while and made lots of gold. Let’s just ask for that.” But if I wanted to pay for the town to get better, I’d have taken the Joja route.
By the time you get to that point, it's clear you're willing to put in the effort and time, and paying straight gold doesn’t feel like the spirit of the Community Center path. I'd rather see the Vault bundle replaced with something more involved. Maybe Robin and Clint ask you to help with final internal repairs, and you actually put your hands to work alongside them. Not just handing over more materials, but learning from them, putting in time, and gaining some XP for it.
Or if you wanted to go the magical route, maybe the Junimos teach you a bit of their magic while you work on the inside of the Center, and they handle external repairs like the bus stop.
#2. Friendship System Feels Off
Friendship in the game feels really shallow because it's one-sided. Real friendships aren’t built on constantly giving people rare or expensive things. And in real life, relationships go both ways even at the start. Sometimes you approach someone; sometimes they approach you.
In Stardew, you have to make all the effort, and when someone does come to your farm, it’s for a reason. Willy gives you a fishing rod. Clint brings you a blueprint. Demetrius wants to use a corner of your land. No one shows up just to say “hi” or to help lighten your load, but helping someone is one of the most natural ways friendships form.
Villagers should make a lot more emotional effort. It would make those connections feel more authentic.
#3. Becoming Mayor (Without Ruining Lewis)
I’ve seen people suggest that your character should be able to become mayor in the late game. It's a capital idea, but I’d want to see an option to do it without ruining Lewis. You shouldn't have to drag someone down to build yourself up. Your character left a cut-throat corporation to come to this town in the back side of nowhere to get *away* from those kinds of soul-less actions. If you just bring that attitude with you, why did you leave Joja in the first place?
A lot of YouTubers go out of their way to humiliate Lewis, or try to be universally hated, or marry and immediately divorce everyone for fun. That kind of play strikes me personally as empty, mean-spirited, and pathetic, rather than funny. I hope those YouTubers have a farm they're playing seriously somewhere rather than for attention-drawing streaming content.
If the mayor path ever does happen, I think the good way should be earned partly by restoring the Community Center. That shows real, long-term investment in the town. Earning hearts should have nothing to do with the mayoral path because it's basically nepotism and slimy. It should be obvious to everyone (including Lewis himself) that you’ve shown more energy and effort than he has in years. He’s been coasting, aside from festivals, and finally realizes he's not doing his job well anymore.
Maybe when he's resigned, Marnie finally tells him he needs to stop making excuses and either marry her or let her move on. If your character isn’t interested, maybe someone like Marlon gets a shot since he's sweet on her. Lewis could donate his golden statue to the museum as a tribute to Pelican Town’s longest-serving mayor, and your character takes over and gets to decide whether to serve for life, or institute term limits to prevent the kind of stagnation that left the community center rotting, the bridge on the beach broken, and the town desperately in need of an outsider's help.
There could even be a forked path like Joja vs. the Community Center. If you do want to dethrone Lewis the nasty way by embarrassing him and seizing power, that route could still be open. I’d just rather see another route that rewards positive investment in the town rather than bringing in big city slimy politics.
#4. After the Community Center: Let’s Build a School
So let’s say you’ve finished the Community Center. What’s next?
A proper school would be a natural next project. Even small towns usually have a few hundred people—not just a few dozen adults and two kids. And with all that open space, it’d be great to see the town come together again for something big.
You’d gather materials, help construct it, and maybe even pitch in on the design by adding a computer lab, a multi-use athletic field, and a basketball court.
Once the school’s built, staffing it becomes a shared effort—part of keeping the small-town charm alive. Everyone contributes in their own way. For example:
Gunther teaches history and geology (and it’s about time—you had to restock his museum). He notes to you that he's glad the school exists because now his precious books and artifacts aren't at risk from the careless hands of children.
Demetrius covers chemistry and environmental science.
Robin teaches basic carpentry.
Clint teaches blacksmithing.
Penny covers reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Willy teaches seamanship and marine biology.
Pierre teaches agriculture/horticulture until your character hits level 10 in farming and offers to take over. He's grateful and relieved because he never liked giving up an extra day at his shop anyway, workaholic that he is. Maybe he even apologizes for taking credit for some of your best produce in your early years.
Someone with a car (even if it’s never shown) teaches mechanics/engineering.
As for Morris, if you didn’t go the Joja route, maybe he turns over a new leaf and sticks around, minus the smug vibe. With JojaMart gone, he opens a small sporting goods shop.
We do need a physical education teacher. Perhaps that's where Sam could come in; since he likes to skateboard so much, we know he's got an athletic streak.
Your character could attend the classes and continue to learn, picking up XP if a skill is low and unique recipes if they're at level 10.
I know it’s a lot to read, but I love worldbuilding—and Stardew Valley has so much potential beyond just the farm. If anyone wants to mod something like this, I’d cheer it on. If not, thanks for reading anyway.
I'm not even through my first year of Stardew Valley yet, but I’ve played a lot of hours, read a lot of the wiki, and watched lots of YouTube to see what others do, with a tendency to avoid clickbaity titles like "20 massive mistakes" etc. going instead for straightforward tip-offering videos and, for amusement, occasional character analysis ones. It’s all got me thinking. I don’t have the coding know-how to mod any of this, so I figured I’d lay my ideas down and see if they strike a chord with anyone, or if I just get flamed for the trouble.
#1. The Vault Bundle Feels Like a Cop-Out
Yes, I know it’s the final bundle in the Community Center path, but to me, the Vault Bundle feels like the dev just ran out of ideas. “They’ve been playing a while and made lots of gold. Let’s just ask for that.” But if I wanted to pay for the town to get better, I’d have taken the Joja route.
By the time you get to that point, it's clear you're willing to put in the effort and time, and paying straight gold doesn’t feel like the spirit of the Community Center path. I'd rather see the Vault bundle replaced with something more involved. Maybe Robin and Clint ask you to help with final internal repairs, and you actually put your hands to work alongside them. Not just handing over more materials, but learning from them, putting in time, and gaining some XP for it.
Or if you wanted to go the magical route, maybe the Junimos teach you a bit of their magic while you work on the inside of the Center, and they handle external repairs like the bus stop.
#2. Friendship System Feels Off
Friendship in the game feels really shallow because it's one-sided. Real friendships aren’t built on constantly giving people rare or expensive things. And in real life, relationships go both ways even at the start. Sometimes you approach someone; sometimes they approach you.
In Stardew, you have to make all the effort, and when someone does come to your farm, it’s for a reason. Willy gives you a fishing rod. Clint brings you a blueprint. Demetrius wants to use a corner of your land. No one shows up just to say “hi” or to help lighten your load, but helping someone is one of the most natural ways friendships form.
Villagers should make a lot more emotional effort. It would make those connections feel more authentic.
#3. Becoming Mayor (Without Ruining Lewis)
I’ve seen people suggest that your character should be able to become mayor in the late game. It's a capital idea, but I’d want to see an option to do it without ruining Lewis. You shouldn't have to drag someone down to build yourself up. Your character left a cut-throat corporation to come to this town in the back side of nowhere to get *away* from those kinds of soul-less actions. If you just bring that attitude with you, why did you leave Joja in the first place?
A lot of YouTubers go out of their way to humiliate Lewis, or try to be universally hated, or marry and immediately divorce everyone for fun. That kind of play strikes me personally as empty, mean-spirited, and pathetic, rather than funny. I hope those YouTubers have a farm they're playing seriously somewhere rather than for attention-drawing streaming content.
If the mayor path ever does happen, I think the good way should be earned partly by restoring the Community Center. That shows real, long-term investment in the town. Earning hearts should have nothing to do with the mayoral path because it's basically nepotism and slimy. It should be obvious to everyone (including Lewis himself) that you’ve shown more energy and effort than he has in years. He’s been coasting, aside from festivals, and finally realizes he's not doing his job well anymore.
Maybe when he's resigned, Marnie finally tells him he needs to stop making excuses and either marry her or let her move on. If your character isn’t interested, maybe someone like Marlon gets a shot since he's sweet on her. Lewis could donate his golden statue to the museum as a tribute to Pelican Town’s longest-serving mayor, and your character takes over and gets to decide whether to serve for life, or institute term limits to prevent the kind of stagnation that left the community center rotting, the bridge on the beach broken, and the town desperately in need of an outsider's help.
There could even be a forked path like Joja vs. the Community Center. If you do want to dethrone Lewis the nasty way by embarrassing him and seizing power, that route could still be open. I’d just rather see another route that rewards positive investment in the town rather than bringing in big city slimy politics.
#4. After the Community Center: Let’s Build a School
So let’s say you’ve finished the Community Center. What’s next?
A proper school would be a natural next project. Even small towns usually have a few hundred people—not just a few dozen adults and two kids. And with all that open space, it’d be great to see the town come together again for something big.
You’d gather materials, help construct it, and maybe even pitch in on the design by adding a computer lab, a multi-use athletic field, and a basketball court.
Once the school’s built, staffing it becomes a shared effort—part of keeping the small-town charm alive. Everyone contributes in their own way. For example:
Gunther teaches history and geology (and it’s about time—you had to restock his museum). He notes to you that he's glad the school exists because now his precious books and artifacts aren't at risk from the careless hands of children.
Demetrius covers chemistry and environmental science.
Robin teaches basic carpentry.
Clint teaches blacksmithing.
Penny covers reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Willy teaches seamanship and marine biology.
Pierre teaches agriculture/horticulture until your character hits level 10 in farming and offers to take over. He's grateful and relieved because he never liked giving up an extra day at his shop anyway, workaholic that he is. Maybe he even apologizes for taking credit for some of your best produce in your early years.
Someone with a car (even if it’s never shown) teaches mechanics/engineering.
As for Morris, if you didn’t go the Joja route, maybe he turns over a new leaf and sticks around, minus the smug vibe. With JojaMart gone, he opens a small sporting goods shop.
We do need a physical education teacher. Perhaps that's where Sam could come in; since he likes to skateboard so much, we know he's got an athletic streak.
Your character could attend the classes and continue to learn, picking up XP if a skill is low and unique recipes if they're at level 10.
I know it’s a lot to read, but I love worldbuilding—and Stardew Valley has so much potential beyond just the farm. If anyone wants to mod something like this, I’d cheer it on. If not, thanks for reading anyway.
