Apprehension to mod

[Jack Of Shades]

I must admit, finally having a gaming laptop is nice. I've even upgraded the already powerful innards of my new beauty. My issue is: mods.

I've known I can use them on various games, and stardew was on the top of my list. But looking up the instructions to download mods, seems a little risky to me. I dont know if I want to bother. But I've been told mods make the game even more fun. At the same time, I dont want to ruin any saves on my game. Should I try just try it?

 

[Widget]

Make a copy of your current save; in general, before you change things ever with computer files, back them up. If a mod screws things up, you can just blow away the corrupted save and put the copy back.

One thing I did learn the hard way: if you're at the Nexus mods site, register and sign in before you try downloading anything. The download fails silently if you don't.

 

[Magically Clueless]

Agreed with Widget on just making a copy of your save, it's good to do that no matter what!

On the trustworthiness etc. though, it just depends on the mods you download. Most of them are pretty harmless and don't do any game-breaking changes, but there are a few that could especially if they're not updated. XNB mods in particular often break when the game updates, so in general people recommend you use methods that don't involve directly changing the game's files, or mess with as few files as possible (such as Content Patcher)

Mods are pretty fun! Even small changes can make your entire game feel new. I definitely recommend modding when you feel like you've exhausted everything you could in the game, which for me was after several hundred hours (pretty good record!). But of course, there's nothing wrong with installing mods at any part in your SDV journey. The devs in general are pretty mod-friendly and they've even made changes specifically to help modders out.

Also, there are some mods here on the forums too if you ever want to check any out

 

[Jack Of Shades]

Agreed with Widget on just making a copy of your save, it's good to do that no matter what!

On the trustworthiness etc. though, it just depends on the mods you download. Most of them are pretty harmless and don't do any game-breaking changes, but there are a few that could especially if they're not updated. XNB mods in particular often break when the game updates, so in general people recommend you use methods that don't involve directly changing the game's files, or mess with as few files as possible (such as Content Patcher)

Mods are pretty fun! Even small changes can make your entire game feel new. I definitely recommend modding when you feel like you've exhausted everything you could in the game, which for me was after several hundred hours (pretty good record!). But of course, there's nothing wrong with installing mods at any part in your SDV journey. The devs in general are pretty mod-friendly and they've even made changes specifically to help modders out.

Also, there are some mods here on the forums too if you ever want to check any out

Thanks for the responses. I want to do quality of life mods, possibly. Like making the clock run slower etc. So I'll know what to keep an eye out for.

 

[mouse]

This list here mentions some nice QoL mods, though once you get started you may end up further down the rabbit hole than you intended :)

(On mods being risky, the majority of SMAPI mods - and SMAPI itself - are open source and so accessible for anyone to review. It's totally possible to load up a save with a bunch of custom items and then break it by removing all your mods at once, but it's very rare for a save to be harmed in any way not easy to recover from, like by temporarily putting your mods back in order to throw away custom items first, or divorcing a custom NPC you want to uninstall. SMAPI also backs up your saves for you once a day via a mod it installs called Save Backup.)

 

[Jack Of Shades]

This list here mentions some nice QoL mods, though once you get started you may end up further down the rabbit hole than you intended :)

(On mods being risky, the majority of SMAPI mods - and SMAPI itself - are open source and so accessible for anyone to review. It's totally possible to load up a save with a bunch of custom items and then break it by removing all your mods at once, but it's very rare for a save to be harmed in any way not easy to recover from, like by temporarily putting your mods back in order to throw away custom items first, or divorcing a custom NPC you want to uninstall. SMAPI also backs up your saves for you once a day via a mod it installs called Save Backup.)

Sounds reasonably safe then, especially with making use of copied saves. That way, even if you mess up, you can restore your life's work. lol

 

[LavenderLight]

I've never had problems with mods corrupting my saves, outside of my own testing and debugging of mods I make.
As long as you read the instructions and follow them, you should be fine. In my experience the worst case scenario is that your save won't load if there is a problem (but will once you sort it out).