Artyc D. Frost
Greenhorn
Hi there. This game claims to be the substitute for the angels. When I play Stardew Vally I feel like my life is conetcted with it somehow. Almost complete alternative for the reality.
To make it even better, I would suggest some new ideas:
1) Complex relationship. Why is the Game of Thrones so popular? Because there a lot of relationship, that you cannot just guess about. In SDW you always know what your spouse will tell you, and when it happens. It makes is a little bit obvious... I would like to suggest you to make relationships between the farmer and his or her spouse more complex. Giving simple presents day by day is pretty boring. There should be special events for raising the relationships, like taking care for a frog to win Sebastian's heart, feeding Alex' dog, helping his grandparents, collecting rare gems and sewing new clothes for Emily, slaying dangerous monsters with Abigail and winning the whole game of Prairie King together with her and so on. A player should feel difficulty, and only then they would be grateful to have such a valuable spouse. No difficulty always leads to loosing the interest.
2) Limiting space for crops or cutting the selling price by three times. There is a big hole in that part now, because you can complete the game in a month (real) or so just by growing an enoumous lot of crops. It's not really fun to just seed some crops and after several days just harvest it. Some crops should grow faster under the open sun, rain or special weather, some get sick or eaten not only by ravens but also by locust, worms. The quality of the crop depends not only on the fertilizers, but on your farming skills, which should be also improved.
3) Farming skills. That's really cool if you make a skills tree for growing crops (like in Diablo). You cannot have all the skills tothether, some of them depend on your way of the games (for JojaMart or for the StardewValley). Some skills in Tecnhongy branch could help you to improve your instruments and fertilizers. Another branch like Stamina could help you to improve your havesting speed (and movement speed when on tilled soil).
4) No Seed Maker. It's total cheeting. You can spend the whole year finding the Ancient Seed and after that... You just copy it with Seed Maker and make a fortune in an instance. Rush for finding rare seeds (like Strawbery Seed) becomes senseless. You just save one strawberry for advance and copy it with the machine. Ancient Seed should be very rare and difficult to grow. It often gets sick when is growing, a lot of parasites and animals want to eat it. But when it matures, it becomes strong. Having three Ancient Seeds should feel like God's blessing.
Randomizing, smart accumulation and perfection, choosing and passion always make a game really interesting.
5) The greenhouse and pots are good, but it's cheeting too. Greenhouse should be cut in size at least by three times, and be very hard to get. Pots should allow you to grow all types of crops in all the seasons except winter. In winter some crops in pots (at houses) die, and some (cheep crops) grow much slower. One more exception is when you get Supernatural Substance skill which alows you to mix this substance with any fertilizer to allow it to grow any crops in winter in the pots at normal rate. The Supernatural Fertilizer should consume rare resources to craft it (like one Diamond and 1 White Algae).
6) Crystalarium should produce crystals five times slower and there must be only three such machines in the game.
7) It would be awesome if you make two campaigns of the game: for JojaMart and for Stardew Valley. Each should differ from each other. I suppose, Stardew Valley campaing is pretty good already. As for the other one, I see JojaMart campaign like that: the Farmer must work for Joja Mart at days, when Morris calls you, the work is boring but different, like delivering food to the villagers, getting resources for JojaMart, putting food on the shelves. If you are not at the job on time, you get detentions and fines. The Farmer gets money for completeing the job. There should be some promotions, until Morris will send you to Zuzu city, because the head office of JojaMart company is captured by "evil spirits" called Junimo (or real evil spirits). Zuzu city should be the alternative to Ginger Island. There you can have a cottage and continue working for JojaMart at urban greening and solving problems with monsters. After cleansing the head office, you can get some workers for your farm (watering of your crops two times a week, reparing fences and so on).
8) Going to mines should have additional sence. For example, you can find special rare fertilizers for summer, fall, winter and spring in ordinary mines and in Skull Cavern, you can get Sand Warrior Equipment (Gear). The fertilizers and the gear cannot be bought or crafted.
I have so many ideas for your blessed game, that my mind goes crazy.
Eternal thanks for your hard work anyway, and sorry for my English.
Sencerily yours,
Artyc D. Frost
To make it even better, I would suggest some new ideas:
1) Complex relationship. Why is the Game of Thrones so popular? Because there a lot of relationship, that you cannot just guess about. In SDW you always know what your spouse will tell you, and when it happens. It makes is a little bit obvious... I would like to suggest you to make relationships between the farmer and his or her spouse more complex. Giving simple presents day by day is pretty boring. There should be special events for raising the relationships, like taking care for a frog to win Sebastian's heart, feeding Alex' dog, helping his grandparents, collecting rare gems and sewing new clothes for Emily, slaying dangerous monsters with Abigail and winning the whole game of Prairie King together with her and so on. A player should feel difficulty, and only then they would be grateful to have such a valuable spouse. No difficulty always leads to loosing the interest.
2) Limiting space for crops or cutting the selling price by three times. There is a big hole in that part now, because you can complete the game in a month (real) or so just by growing an enoumous lot of crops. It's not really fun to just seed some crops and after several days just harvest it. Some crops should grow faster under the open sun, rain or special weather, some get sick or eaten not only by ravens but also by locust, worms. The quality of the crop depends not only on the fertilizers, but on your farming skills, which should be also improved.
3) Farming skills. That's really cool if you make a skills tree for growing crops (like in Diablo). You cannot have all the skills tothether, some of them depend on your way of the games (for JojaMart or for the StardewValley). Some skills in Tecnhongy branch could help you to improve your instruments and fertilizers. Another branch like Stamina could help you to improve your havesting speed (and movement speed when on tilled soil).
4) No Seed Maker. It's total cheeting. You can spend the whole year finding the Ancient Seed and after that... You just copy it with Seed Maker and make a fortune in an instance. Rush for finding rare seeds (like Strawbery Seed) becomes senseless. You just save one strawberry for advance and copy it with the machine. Ancient Seed should be very rare and difficult to grow. It often gets sick when is growing, a lot of parasites and animals want to eat it. But when it matures, it becomes strong. Having three Ancient Seeds should feel like God's blessing.
Randomizing, smart accumulation and perfection, choosing and passion always make a game really interesting.
5) The greenhouse and pots are good, but it's cheeting too. Greenhouse should be cut in size at least by three times, and be very hard to get. Pots should allow you to grow all types of crops in all the seasons except winter. In winter some crops in pots (at houses) die, and some (cheep crops) grow much slower. One more exception is when you get Supernatural Substance skill which alows you to mix this substance with any fertilizer to allow it to grow any crops in winter in the pots at normal rate. The Supernatural Fertilizer should consume rare resources to craft it (like one Diamond and 1 White Algae).
6) Crystalarium should produce crystals five times slower and there must be only three such machines in the game.
7) It would be awesome if you make two campaigns of the game: for JojaMart and for Stardew Valley. Each should differ from each other. I suppose, Stardew Valley campaing is pretty good already. As for the other one, I see JojaMart campaign like that: the Farmer must work for Joja Mart at days, when Morris calls you, the work is boring but different, like delivering food to the villagers, getting resources for JojaMart, putting food on the shelves. If you are not at the job on time, you get detentions and fines. The Farmer gets money for completeing the job. There should be some promotions, until Morris will send you to Zuzu city, because the head office of JojaMart company is captured by "evil spirits" called Junimo (or real evil spirits). Zuzu city should be the alternative to Ginger Island. There you can have a cottage and continue working for JojaMart at urban greening and solving problems with monsters. After cleansing the head office, you can get some workers for your farm (watering of your crops two times a week, reparing fences and so on).
8) Going to mines should have additional sence. For example, you can find special rare fertilizers for summer, fall, winter and spring in ordinary mines and in Skull Cavern, you can get Sand Warrior Equipment (Gear). The fertilizers and the gear cannot be bought or crafted.
I have so many ideas for your blessed game, that my mind goes crazy.
Eternal thanks for your hard work anyway, and sorry for my English.
Sencerily yours,
Artyc D. Frost
