A few small Quality of Life additions

[3Davideo]

I've thought of a few small additions I think the game could use.

* Coal Node: a mining node that drops coal, much like ore nodes. It seems slightly odd that the real-life coal mining industry removes mountaintops in search of coal, but in Stardew coal is easier to get from farming monster drops or mass charcoal kilns than from just regular mining.

* Ability to reassign the Farm Cave after you chose the first time. Maybe talk to Demetrius and pay him a fee to change the cave from bats to mushrooms or back.

* A craftable mushroom box: A Crystalarium-like object that can be "seeded" with a fungus and grow new ones over time. Must be placed indoors. Would also be nice if it worked with Fiddleheads, Green/White Algae, or Seaweed. Probably should prohibit truffles - something like "the box cannot replicate the delicate growing conditions required" - otherwise pigs would be devalued. Maybe a high-heart reward from Demetrius?

 

[liquidcat]

I really like the coal node idea!

 

[Lemon_Stone]

I also like the coal node idea. However, some adjustments would probably need to be made to the Prospector profession if that were to be implemented. As of now, it doubles the chance of finding coal in regular rocks. If coal nodes were a thing, then maybe this profession could also slightly increase their spawn rate? I definitely agree with the idea of being able to change your cave type as well. Like you said, this could probably be done by paying Demetrius a fee.

 

[Lappy]

Coal nodes would be nice, and I agree with Lemon_Stone that Prospector would likely need to be adjusted in some way. But I also think that wanting coal nodes is a bit selfish of me, as it would open up one of main resource bottlenecks in the game. One of the things that Stardew Valley interesting is having to decide how to allocate resources, whether it's gold, coal, oak resin, or time. Right now, I have to decide whether I want to spend time farming coal or spend gold to buy it in bulk. If it becomes easier to get coal from regular jaunts to the mine/cavern, other things like the purchase price may need to be adjusted too.

Reassigning the farm cave is also something that would make things easier for the player, but to me, the point of the cave is to have to make a one-time decision. As mentioned in my comment in the thread Fruit Bats or Mushrooms, I think the options are pretty well-balanced, but that fruit bats are probably more popular because of how they help finish community center bundles. Being able to switch from bats to mushrooms after the bundles are completed and/or when the player can afford fruit trees defeats the purpose of having to make a one-time choice. If there was an option to change, I'd imagine the cost to do so should be high enough to force players to decide whether the change is really worth the price. For example, to change to mushrooms could cost 100 common mushrooms and 20 of every other kind, to seed the cave.

Mushroom boxes would also be nice, but like coal, I get the sense that mushrooms aren't meant to be easily gained in large quantities. Ditto for fiddleheads, algae and seaweed - if you want a bunch, you have to put in the time foraging and fishing (or farming from other sources). Thus, some consideration would need to be taken regarding how long it takes for each mushroom to grow. Also, adding mushroom boxes alters the balance of the farm cave options.

 

[Inherentflaw]

I feel like they should change how time passes in multiplayer, because currently, it is impossible to beat prairie king when you’re playing with more than one person. They should modify this so that Time pauses if all players are playing the game, or if one is playing and the others are sleeping.

 

[Lemon_Stone]

Adding on to what Lappy said, some balancing would need to happen if coal nodes were a thing. Maybe bump up the purchase price for coal in Clint's shop? This would give the player an incentive to get the coal themself rather than just buying it. I'd also make the default spawn rate of coal nodes less common than ore nodes, closer to the spawn rate of gem nodes, but maybe slightly more common. I could also see the sell price of coal going up a bit. This leads to an interesting choice on the player's part in early game. Do you sell the coal for some early game gold, or do you keep it, seeing as many of the crafting recipes require it, along with smelting?

 

[Chililover]

How about the dwarf, imagine if he had a little cave that he lived in and you could enter when you where freinds he could ocassionaly drop coal out of his pockets,
Also the scrolls sell for like 1g why not use them for fuel the ink could make blue flames
Just a thought!

 

[Chililover]

i just thought what if the junimo cart game spit coal out. And the farther you got the more it spat at you!