Favorite way of tracking items?

i<3yeshua

Farmhand
Hey all! I'm just now getting back into this game, but since starting I've now realized how many items are required to progress!

It makes it feel more like a job with all this stuff to remember...

What's the best yet most effective way of tracking the items you've collected/needed for the community center?
 

Yvi

Rancher
Most of the time I don't really track it - there is a little community center bundle preview button in my inventory, I just open that about 300 times to check what I need since otherwise I won't remember. Though I also keep a chest next to my door of "don't forget this" things, so if I have an item I need to remember to take to the community center, I just leave it in there.
 

i<3yeshua

Farmhand
Most of the time I don't really track it - there is a little community center bundle preview button in my inventory, I just open that about 300 times to check what I need since otherwise I won't remember. Though I also keep a chest next to my door of "don't forget this" things, so if I have an item I need to remember to take to the community center, I just leave it in there.
Very cool! Felt like I was the only one who checked 300 times haha. I'll keep this in mind
 
I put a chest near the East exit on the farm that's my "quest item" chest. When I gain access to a new room/bundle for CC, I check what I need and put everything in the chest as I find/produce them. Once I have all the items to complete a bundle, I bring them (and any other bundle items I can carry at the moment) to the CC.

I have a tendemcy to check the message board in front of Pierre's at night, so if I accept a delivery quest, I'll put the requested item in there to remind me to deliver it the next day.

I also store any geodes, mystery boxes, etc in there until I'm going to have them cracked open, and any artifacts I come across that I still need to donte to the museum. Plus any good loved gifts I come across for an upcoming birthday. Basically, I just check it before I leave the farm so I don't forget anything in my enthusiam to go fishing or hit the mines.
 

Lew Zealand

Helper
Eventually the time comes when a young (-ish!) Farmer needs to expand her Chest collection and start organizing it as trying to find things by looking thru a half dozen chests and finding the needed Fiber in 5 of them seems... a very slight waste of time and energy.

Space? Wood? Nah got lots of that stuff but the time taken is wearisome and once Farmer Bobbi's Energy dips to 3/4 full, naps are required.

So I eventually organize with all the typical Chests of Minerals here, Froots there, Veggies in that one, stinky Fish in the refrigerated one at the end, plus the Remember Chests:

1 Red Chest for Projects - this includes the Community Center, Board Quests, and junk I find interesting like Rainbow Shells and Tulips for Tailoring.
1 Yellow Chest for randomy bits that are totally useful like Batteries and Bat Wings and Combat Weapons, and other debatably relevant -bat- things
1 Pink Chest for Liked and Loved Gifts while in Villager Woo mode.

The Chests are my memory, I can't keep all this stuff organized in my head! Not a chance in Hades.

But I can remember to check Red all the time, dump cool stuff in Yellow, and spend Monday and Tuesday unloading Pink to everyone in Town.
 

VampireCake

Farmer
But I can remember to check Red all the time, dump cool stuff in Yellow, and spend Monday and Tuesday unloading Pink to everyone in Town.
Colour-coded chests are *so* handy. I have a 'drop off' space by the farmhouse with several chests for stuff to be properly sorted later. Blue for all fish & fishing things, green for produce, purple for things to go in my 'treasure stash', etc. Plus they look nice. :hlevel:
 

nicodeux

Farmer
It makes it feel more like a job with all this stuff to remember...

What's the best yet most effective way of tracking the items you've collected/needed for the community center?
I know the game well enough to remember what item is required at which moment in the game, so I prepare for it and try to have the required item available when needed. Thus, I mostly rely on my memory for that, but if you are returning to the game and discovering its new content, this is probably not an option for you.

Here are a few tips that I also use and that might help you:

I usually try to keep at least 2 to 5 samples of each item to be able to answer any request at any time, but this is usually not possible before some time in the farm.

At early stage, especially for Community Center and even more with remixed bundles, I make a heavy use of the golden scroll button in the top of the inventory:

Either by clicking it to see what items are missing, or simply by hovering on items in my inventory and see if the button pulsates, which is a very convenient indication that the item is required in one of the Community Center bundles.

On late game, when there are many items, I use colour-coded chests to keep items sorted: craft items, fishes, sea food & roes, spring items, summer items, weapons... And of course, this colour-coded chests evolve as the farm develops with more buildings and machines. It may take some tries before finding what best suits your needs.
 

stardew_luv

Farmer
Um no one has mentioned the easiest solution. Joja. No memory techniques required. Save up required cash for each development and presto you’re all set.

Ok, I know I know, irl I hate supporting billionaires and their companies if I can at all avoid it. (I mean I unfortunately live in the US right now for crying out loud!) But this is Stardew not real life. I’ll take the easy way out and save my limited brain bandwidth for irl problems.
 

Antsy

Sodbuster
Um no one has mentioned the easiest solution. Joja. No memory techniques required. Save up required cash for each development and presto you’re all set.

Ok, I know I know, irl I hate supporting billionaires and their companies if I can at all avoid it. (I mean I unfortunately live in the US right now for crying out loud!) But this is Stardew not real life. I’ll take the easy way out and save my limited brain bandwidth for irl problems.
I'm curious what keeps the game interesting for you, when all you do is make money. For me, the challenge of the community centre, especially with remixed bundles, is what keeps the game fun. I get bored with just making money. For newer players, the community centre route tends to help you improve your different skills so that you can become that "well-rounded individual" Lewis is always babbling about. I can see Joja being helpul for certain specific challenges though. But it all depends on what you set yourself for interesting goals.
 

stardew_luv

Farmer
I'm curious what keeps the game interesting for you, when all you do is make money. For me, the challenge of the community centre, especially with remixed bundles, is what keeps the game fun. I get bored with just making money. For newer players, the community centre route tends to help you improve your different skills so that you can become that "well-rounded individual" Lewis is always babbling about. I can see Joja being helpul for certain specific challenges though. But it all depends on what you set yourself for interesting goals.
I don’t care one iota about money unless I’m trying to upgrade my house or tools or something. I absolutely love the retro nostalgic feel of the game: I’m a child of the 80’s. I also can I can only play 2D games as the others make me ill, so that does limit things. But I think really it’s that I can do things in the game that I could never do in real life. I’m disabled so my moving around is quite limited. In Stardew I can be a farmer. Growing up and even now I always wanted land with animals (not so much the crops.) Here I can have that. I love to mine, it’s so much fun. Again not for money just to collect pretty gems, see what geodes, and now mystery boxes have to offer inside, and make bars of ore and see what I can collect. I love walking around just finding forage to collect and get way too happy if I find an artifact spot along the way. I love the fishing game, and finding treasures in the chests, and seeing what I can find in panning. I also love talking to the villagers as I don’t have many people to talk to irl. There’s so much to love about this game. The community center is great for newcomers, like you said, but it’s easier to do the other and that’s what I meant by that. Pierre is a capitalist too, just more in the beginning stages, so 6 of one half dozen of the other. 🙂
 

VampireCake

Farmer
I love to mine, it’s so much fun. Again not for money just to collect pretty gems, see what geodes, and now mystery boxes have to offer inside, and make bars of ore and see what I can collect. I love walking around just finding forage to collect and get way too happy if I find an artifact spot along the way. I love the fishing game, and finding treasures in the chests, and seeing what I can find in panning.
I feel this. I'm a collector-completionist, the list of unique items I haven't obtained is pretty short, and I'm in year 90. I love doing all the things you said, just because they're fun. I'll trade a stack of omni geodes for artifact troves at the desert caravan then take them to Clint to crack open to see what I get, even though there's nothing in there I actually need. I do the special orders for prize tickets. During salmonberry and blackberry season, I'll zoom about on my horse and eat survival burgers to get extra berries from the bushes. And I absolutely love the mystery boxes. :heart:
 

i<3yeshua

Farmhand
I feel this. I'm a collector-completionist, the list of unique items I haven't obtained is pretty short, and I'm in year 90. I love doing all the things you said, just because they're fun. I'll trade a stack of omni geodes for artifact troves at the desert caravan then take them to Clint to crack open to see what I get, even though there's nothing in there I actually need. I do the special orders for prize tickets. During salmonberry and blackberry season, I'll zoom about on my horse and eat survival burgers to get extra berries from the bushes. And I absolutely love the mystery boxes. :heart:
Year 90 is CRAZY!! I don't think I've ever had a farm go beyond 14-16 years. Then again, I appreciate the tips and input! God bless.
 

Antsy

Sodbuster
I don’t care one iota about money unless I’m trying to upgrade my house or tools or something. I absolutely love the retro nostalgic feel of the game: I’m a child of the 80’s. I also can I can only play 2D games as the others make me ill, so that does limit things. But I think really it’s that I can do things in the game that I could never do in real life. I’m disabled so my moving around is quite limited. In Stardew I can be a farmer. Growing up and even now I always wanted land with animals (not so much the crops.) Here I can have that. I love to mine, it’s so much fun. Again not for money just to collect pretty gems, see what geodes, and now mystery boxes have to offer inside, and make bars of ore and see what I can collect. I love walking around just finding forage to collect and get way too happy if I find an artifact spot along the way. I love the fishing game, and finding treasures in the chests, and seeing what I can find in panning. I also love talking to the villagers as I don’t have many people to talk to irl. There’s so much to love about this game. The community center is great for newcomers, like you said, but it’s easier to do the other and that’s what I meant by that. Pierre is a capitalist too, just more in the beginning stages, so 6 of one half dozen of the other. 🙂
That makes sense! As I said, it all depends on what goals you want to pursue, and I can totally see that path as being a lot of fun. As for Pierre, I agree he's not much better than Morris, but the community center really isn't about him. Or even Lewis.
 
I like to color code my chests. I also have a selling chest by the shipping bin. I have this there because I don’t want to accidentally sell something imprortant!
 
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