A couple of future Stardew suggestions

[Dr. eeL]

1) I have a cat. It chases insects, and magically manages to fall down asleep directly in front of my farmer multiple times a day. I think that it would not be too hard to give ones children (after a certain age) the same programming as the cat. They could roam the limits of the farm outside, go in at dark, and stay in when it rains. Seeing one's children playing outside while tending to the farm would make it more emotional to have children.
2) I hardly ever go to the bathhouse. It seems like a weaker part of the game. Why not change the bathhouse experience to something like the movie theater. After achieving a certain heart level with a character, one could invite them to the bathhouse. There could be an improved relationship reward, and the opportunity for an additional conversational event (as takes place in the movie theater).
3) I married Haley, who seems to take a beating on this site. Actually, I can assure you that she makes a wonderful farmer's wife, one who is eager to welcome my farmer home at night for fun and relaxation. Sometimes, she dreams about retiring to the Fern Islands. Why not have the Fern Islands as a honeymoon site, that Willy can take you to in his fishing boat (for a fee)? You and your betrothed can relax on the beach in your swimsuits under a cabana, purchase drinks from a waiter, pick up a unique seashell from the beach, purchase a unique souvenir (maybe a heart-shaped framed picture), and return that night. On your yearly anniversary this option could pop up again. This idea adds meaning and significance to the marriage.

 

[shurpresa]

I don´t have kids just yet, but they stya at home all day? THat is a bummer, I really want to see them wandering around the farm and maybe come back with a knee scrape, or a lightbug in a jam jar, stuff life that.

ALso I agree that spa is such an weak place, I hardly ever go there, if I have some spare time to check if the train dropped something and that is all.

 

[Dr. eeL]

Every time I play, it seems as if I come up with another idea.
4) How many players come home at midnight and jump into bed with a load of wet fish? This is a game about relationships, and this is definitely not a good way to build a relationship. I see a window of opportunity for the going-to-bed procedure. Currently, ones partner goes to bed and instantly falls asleep around 10 PM. If your farmer is present at that time, why not have you and your partner remove some outer clothing and sequentially climb into bed. No one I know goes to sleep fully dressed (one could copy and utilize the same image of the farmer swimming in the bath house for the farmer). Then instead of instantly asking if you want to go to sleep, the game has one's partner give a pillow-time comment. It can be as mundane as "I love you", or "Don't let the bed bugs bite" or "Yikes, cold feet!" I would wish for the list of these comments to be fairly substantial, in order to keep ones interest up. Then, there is a goodnight kiss, and finally you are asked if you want to go to sleep. The merits of this idea is to build a deeper marriage relationship, and to make the farmer more interested in being home at bedtime. This will slow the game down a bit, rather than having the farmer racing around trying to maximize every hour. Going to bed early or later stays the same as in the current game, although I could imagine that there could even be a small heart penalty for neglectful farmers coming home after hours.

 

[Cthulhu]

I love these. Kids and bathhouse are definitely underwhelming as currently implemented--but ESPECIALLY the spa. At least you can interact with your kids a little!

And everybody wants more interaction, but I think your suggestions are stellar because they are minor changes, seem easy to implement, and really would make the family feel more important.

To expand on your idea a bit, perhaps there should be a secondary heart track for romantic partners. Instead of just adding a few hearts, maybe there should be a new track, one with decay and events and the whole shebang. Let your marriage track decay to zero, and your spouse divorces YOU!

 

[Dr. eeL]

Thanks for your support, Cthulhu. Being married to Haley, I cook those pink cakes by the dozen. Haley is often amazed at the changes that have taken place since she married me. I will add another idea . . .
5) The eight or so cutscenes for special occasions, where everyone in the village gets together are excellent. I met with every villager, and checked out their each and every thought before asking the mayor to move ahead. But after a couple of years, and after solving the puzzles, these scenes are no longer as interesting. A simple solution would be to call these scenes as currently comprised as "Set A", and to make a second "Set B" Set B would look almost exactly like set A (no extra programming work involved here), with the following changes. 1) something subtle, that only a very observant player would notice; 2) some villagers have new thoughts; 3) sneaky little changes in the challenges - for example, a fish that is more difficult to catch in the fishing contest; new locations for the Easter eggs; while racing through the maze to collect the golden pumpkin, you suddenly realize that you are stuck; a different song for the moon jellies. In the following years, sets A and B can interchange, so that the farmer is never exactly sure what he or she is up against.

 

[Magically Clueless]

1) I have a cat. It chases insects, and magically manages to fall down asleep directly in front of my farmer multiple times a day. I think that it would not be too hard to give ones children (after a certain age) the same programming as the cat. They could roam the limits of the farm outside, go in at dark, and stay in when it rains. Seeing one's children playing outside while tending to the farm would make it more emotional to have children.

This is the first thread about adding more to children that I actually really love. The biggest difficulty in giving more to children is that, if they have dialogue, that's a LOT and it might be different depending on the spouse, etc, it's just a ton of work people are asking for when it comes to the kids. I think what you suggest is reasonable, fun, and brings a lot more life and attachment to the kids.

I do love seeing them run around the house, so maybe on some sunny days they're inside, too. Or maybe when your spouse is outside, the kids are too? I think that'd be kinda nice, so they're always supervised somehow

 

[Dr. eeL]

Ah . . . . I sense that a new commentator has joined us. A young brown haired artist. Welcome. Welcome. Kids roaming the farm are still pre-schoolers, and while they could give out refreshing shouts of delight, they need not be on the same sophisticated level as Jaz and Vincent. Of course, if the designer wants to be cute, the genes of your spouse could be reflected in their hair styles and colors. The genius and creativity of Stardew Valley lies in how a game of relationships parallels a game of acquisition. Once however, that dark-haired dark-clad computer whiz is safely moved from his basement room to the farmhouse (for example), an inflection point is reached where relationships begin to fall behind acquisition. I feel sad, walking right past a villager without stopping to chat, simply because I have maxed out their hearts, and have "more important" things to do. Suggestions 1-5 are all about boosting relationships within the current confines of the game.

 

[Cthulhu]

Thanks for your support, Cthulhu. Being married to Haley, I cook those pink cakes by the dozen. Haley is often amazed at the changes that have taken place since she married me. I will add another idea . . .
5) The eight or so cutscenes for special occasions, where everyone in the village gets together are excellent. I met with every villager, and checked out their each and every thought before asking the mayor to move ahead. But after a couple of years, and after solving the puzzles, these scenes are no longer as interesting.

This is also something that has a lot of support, I think. The festivals are a lot of fun... but after the first couple of years, nothing changes, and it's kind of drudgery. "Aw, maaan. It's Luau day again? Well, guess I'm not checking *those* crab-pots today--not unless I wanna get stuck and waste a whole day eating the same soup and hearing Sam talk about 'That one time I put weird junk in the pot and we all had to eat garbage soup!' yet AGAIN."

I do love seeing them run around the house, so maybe on some sunny days they're inside, too. Or maybe when your spouse is outside, the kids are too? I think that'd be kinda nice, so they're always supervised somehow

Yeah, it drives me bonkers when the just-crawling child is left unattended all day. That's a recipe for coming home to a house fire or a packet of baby seeds after your kid fell into the seed-maker!

It would be a lot of work, but I really wish they'd just gone ahead and put in the effort to make "baby-carrying spouse" sprites for the partners and a "baby-carrying farmer" one for the player. Okay, so it would be crazy-hard to do for the player, but at least the spouses. Put in some new dialogue! Why doesn't anybody ask about the grandkids, or come visit? I would rather they just leave out kids entirely, honestly, than put in weird goblinoids who don't ever leave te house, have birthdays, or talk--or, apparently, need any care whatsoever. :/

 

[Quillmagic]

I love the child idea, it would definitely be cool for your children to run around. Adding to this, I’d also love for the spouse to bring your children to festivals and things like that. Dialogue.... would be very hard to program. Going to school with Penny would be pretty cute, though.