I do not have time for anything
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MogBeoulve
Farmer
There's no wrong way to do things, but I totally understand the impulse to start over and do it a different way. I love starting games over; I know my first playthrough is always going to be abandoned just as soon as I figure out enough of the game mechanics. Then I can do the next save much more efficiently!
A lot of the hints are scattered throughout the game itself, so playing without the wiki is possible if you keep your eyes peeled. The television channel about farming has great tips, along with all the books in the library. You'll also find secret notes come winter. There is SO much detail that it's just very easy to overlook things.
Anyway, have fun!
PoppyForPenny
Farmer
To pace myself early in the game, I avoid the temptation of planting too many crops. I try not to use all my energy or time watering. I only plan one errand a day- like if I have to buy seeds, visit Clint, or take donations to the museum. If I have time after watering I try to forage in the forest or at the beach. And I take advantage of the rainy days to use all my energy fishing, mining, or cutting wood.
Salmonberry season in mid spring is when I first get enough food to replenish energy, so that's when I start doing more each day.
Salmonberry season in mid spring is when I first get enough food to replenish energy, so that's when I start doing more each day.
Villager
Cowpoke
I gained some experience and started a diary to plan for each day. It has become much easier: fewer unnecessary actions, everything is planned in advance, point by point. I place candles on the main roads to the Farm, so it's easier to navigate in the dark, as a result of the "working" time becomes longer.
ShneekeyTheLost
Farmer
For myself, I generally have a set of checkpoints I want to hit by a certain time. For example, unlocking Minecarts before the end of the first spring, having 20 Quality Sprinklers by the first of Summer, and having 30 oak trees planted by end of Spring. Also having 6 Foraging by end of Spring so I can make some lightning rods for the summer storms, hitting 8-10 Farming by end of Spring, and having around 30,000g in my pocket by Summer 1 so I can buy my next set of crops.
To further these ends, I look at what I need to do in order to accomplish these tasks. For unlocking minecarts and crafting the sprinklers, I need to hit mine level 80+ for the necessary materials in the quantity I'm looking for. Diving that fast isn't especially hard, it will take 16 days of mine delving to reach level 80 if you only get 5 levels of progression per mining day, of course getting more than that will speed up your progression but so long as you net at least five levels of progression (to the next elevator level), it'll only take a half a season.
Now, to further augment that, I need food to keep my energy going so I can dive as fast as possible. I also want a pick upgrade, preferably two. When my pick is upgrading, I won't be able to delve in the mines, so I'll want something else to do with my time. Salmonberry season, just after the spring dance, is an excellent time to get a pick upgrade. By then, you should easily have both the money and the copper needed, and you can spend the day shaking salmonberry bushes for the food you'll need to progress deeper and more aggressively.
It is this sort of advance planning that can make your day go by much more effectively, because you'll have a game plan right from the start.
MogBeoulve
Farmer
Dude. I just wake up every morning and pet my rabbits. *boggles*
ShneekeyTheLost
Farmer
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Honestly, that's the wonderful thing about this game (up until the 1.5 update, at least). Anyone can 'win' this game, they might not all be able to get there by Spring 1, Year 3 when Grandfather's spirit first visits, but that's fine too. You can summon him whenever with a diamond on his altar. You can go as hardcore or as casual as you like, and you'll still get there in the end.
If you wanna put together a 'build order' and give yourself checkpoints to mark your progress and get the CC unlocked before the end of the first year, that's cool. If you just wanna chill and pet bunnies, that's cool too. There's no wrong way to play this game. Enjoy yourself and have fun your way.
Tom
Farmer
I found that I consistently had more fun as a not-quite-so-rich farmer. So in my new playstyle farm I am using around less than a dozen kegs and jars sitting casually by my farmhouse, my fields are only as big as 25 quality sprinklers (200 crops), and my barn and coop are right there north of my little pond. Much of my farm is still partly overgrown. And I am having tons of fun and even got past 50 floors in the Skull Cavern (using the Obsidian Edge sword and only two stone-made staircases with lots of pausing, screenshots, Food, and Bombs) on my first visit right after the Fall fair. I am finding an absence of drudgery. And I hope I never "make it".
Lew Zealand
Helper
All of this. 100%
Especially on your first playthrough, take it easy. This game is so tailor-made for everyone to take it easy and have a ridiculous amount of fun. Plant less but enjoy what you're planting. Leave those nutty custom Farm designs to the third or fourth playthrough.
Yes yes, you will find yourself playing through again.
Don't try to make the most of each day but maybe make some soft goals for each day or the week so you can keep track of your favorite things to do and be happy about it. Gift giving, Mining, Processing Farm crops, whatever.
The longer you can stre-e-e-etch out that first playthrough the more you will like it. If you find the 2AM enforced end of day a bit annoying, then I wholeheartedly recommend a slower approach. You will love it, I certainly did.