The islander: suggestions welcome.

[nicodeux]

I plan to start a new farm with a specificity: as soon as my farmer sets foot up Ginger Island, he won't be able to come back to the valley. The objective is to develop the island farm with only what Ginger Island has to offer, thus experiencing what Professor Snail and Birdie did.

This raises many questions.

The first one is a role play question as I like to role play my SDV runs: for what reason would the farmer be stucked on Ginger Island? The answer is important, because it will dictates if the island resort is rebuilt and if it is used. For example, if the farmer is stucked because something happened to Willy (he is abducted by aliens, his boat sinks on the return ride...) the resort can be rebuilt, be can't be used. But if nothing happens to Willy, why would the farmer stay on Ginger Island? Was he transfered to some parallel world? So many questions.

Other more practical questions also raise.

What would the farmer set as objectives for himself while on Ginger Island? Obviously, farm animals, marriage, kids and most of other social behaviours are out of scope. Mines and Skull Caverns too, which greatly limits the number of Qi's quests that are doable.

What would be the minimum setup to bring to Ginger Island? Tools are mandatory of course. Because this is a role play run, I don't want to have my farmer waiting to have completed every possible tasks in the valley and maxed out every possible thing, nor to arrive with his inventory full of machines and materials. It should be played like a "normal" run and when Willy's boat is repaired, the farmer goes discovering Ginger Island with minimal surviving equipment (he is exploring an unknown island, after all). Then something goes wrong and the farmer has to start anew on Ginger Island.

I would be happy to read your remark or suggestions.

 

[Ereo]

You could still open the resort but Willy would refuse to take you ever again if he had a personal grudge against you.

Maybe you beat him in the fair or the fishing contest once too often. Maybe you didn’t have respect for the water and fished too many of his beloved catfish, so now the species is endangered in the valley. Or did you marry his buddy Elliott, and now he never hangs out with him any more?

Apart from something happening to Willy, something could also have happened in the valley. You could play it a bit like the sims apocalypse challenges and unlock the valley again with some predefined milestones. Maybe you need to ship 999 wood and stone to repair something broken, or even metals. Maybe 999 ginger are needed to cure a permanent nausea that affects anyone setting food in the valley.

Or the governor finally noticed that you never paid any taxes and you’ll get arrested as soon as you return (until you have at least 10 M G because there’s no tax evasion for that kind of money, is there? Rich people aren’t criminal ;) ). But since there’s no extradition treaty, villagers could still come to the island. This one could also give you a reason to bring some basic equipment, since you’re planning to run.


Otherwise, bringing a couple of tents might make sense for role play (planning a short trip for exploration), but you should be able to unlock the farm house fairly quickly if that is the first thing you do and there are some in the jungle. A bit of food for the same reason.

 

[Giant Octopodes]

I'd recommend this scenario:

"Joja ruins everything"

Upon arriving, don't talk to anyone. Don't participate in festivals, don't do job wanted quests (with one exception listed below), don't meaningfully participate in the town at all, just focus singlemindedly on profit. Go the Joja route, both to make it faster to get to where you can unlock ginger island, and for the theme to make sense.

The idea being, your farmer fled a life of working for Joja, started over in Stardew valley. Only to focus on corporate greed and advancing the interests of Joja - Again. Morris getting a big promotion and the celebration of the Joja corporation opened their eyes, they had thrown away the fresh start and opportunity presented to them and just repeated the mistakes of the past. So when Willy offered them what they saw as a chance for one last fresh start, they took it. It's not that they *can't* go back, it's that they *won't*, any more than they'll go back to where they were before they left for Stardew Valley in the first place. The town is too painful, a reminder of the mistakes they've made.

In this scenario, opening the resort is not only acceptable, it's key. The goal is to start with zero hearts and as close to zero friendship with everyone as possible, then open the resort, and then get max hearts with all villagers who you're able to interact with (Leo of course, as well as everyone who visits the island and goes to the resort). Between doing that, and getting all the golden walnuts and making the island everything it can be, you're making amends for the sins of the past and stopping your focus on profit or greed, instead focusing on the people and the relationships that really matter.

If you go this route, I'd definitely recommend choosing a level of upgrades for your tools and getting them all there before heading across. Iridium is overkill, agreed, but either Steel or Gold would be strongly recommended just so you're not struggling unduly and reducing your fun. I'd also recommend specifically doing the special order quest "Cave Patrol" so you get the Geode Crusher recipe, and thus don't lock yourself out of Geode contents needlessly. Finally, in this scenario, going to the Desert is absolutely permissible. After all, Stardew Valley is where the scars are, not the Desert. As such as long as you bring a warp totem: island to get back, using a warp totem: desert to go directly to it without touching the Valley is perfectly fine.

In general when you go there I'd recommend taking absolutely nothing but the tools you arrived in Stardew Valley with. Everything else is tainted, a result of your materialistic past, and is abandoned just as your belongings were the first time you fled your past with Joja. Learning the Warp Totem: Desert recipe before heading across would be ideal. After all the ingredients for Warp Totem: Desert can all be found on the island. But if you haven't learned it before heading there I'd also bring one Warp Totem: Desert, and just make sure whenever you go to the Desert you either bring 3 Omni Geodes as well as the Warp Totem: Island so you can keep the chain going, or the materials to buy the recipe (10 Iridium Bars).

The reason I like this scenario is because it's thematically appropriate, and ties to a common complaint folks have, about people leaving Joja only to do the same corporate materialistic path in the valley. It fits the portrayal of the character, and still leaves a lot of the game open to you (especially the desert) while having a clear objective to work towards. Hope this helps or at least provides some inspiration!

 

[Maher]

I would definitely rebuild the resort in this scenario, and just leave it closed. Why deny yourself the company of the pirates?

 

[FilthyGorilla]

The first one is a role play question as I like to role play my SDV runs: for what reason would the farmer be stucked on Ginger Island? The answer is important, because it will dictates if the island resort is rebuilt and if it is used. For example, if the farmer is stucked because something happened to Willy (he is abducted by aliens, his boat sinks on the return ride...) the resort can be rebuilt, be can't be used. But if nothing happens to Willy, why would the farmer stay on Ginger Island? Was he transfered to some parallel world? So many questions.

Maybe you were a suspected Joja cola smuggler and now you've run off to the mini tropic nations to escape conviction

What would the farmer set as objectives for himself while on Ginger Island? Obviously, farm animals, marriage, kids and most of other social behaviours are out of scope. Mines and Skull Caverns too, which greatly limits the number of Qi's quests that are doable.

What would be the minimum setup to bring to Ginger Island? Tools are mandatory of course. Because this is a role play run, I don't want to have my farmer waiting to have completed every possible tasks in the valley and maxed out every possible thing, nor to arrive with his inventory full of machines and materials. It should be played like a "normal" run and when Willy's boat is repaired, the farmer goes discovering Ginger Island with minimal surviving equipment (he is exploring an unknown island, after all). Then something goes wrong and the farmer has to start anew on Ginger Island.

I would be happy to read your remark or suggestions.

You can do a whole lot on the island. I'd definitely bring all the tools at iron level (with the powerful enchant they pick becomes the equivalent to gold and axe to iridium), a fishing rod, and a slongshot but otherwise you can get almost anything you want in terms of resources on the island.

One thing I may consider is bringing a few starter crops, if going with the escapee narrative it would make sense to bring some stuff seeing as you plan to live on the island, though you probably wouldn't be able to smuggle much over. On the flip side, in an alternate story you could be running for your life and couldn't bring a single thing, or even in another it was your plan all along to escape the confines of society and you brought a whole farms worth of equipment over with you.

 

[Benhimself]

The parrots need someone with opposable thumbs and preferable more problem-solving skills than a young child, so threaten to sink the boat if you ever return, until you get all their golden walnuts.

The plants of the jungle exude a rare spore that has utterly lethal withdrawal symptoms if you spend too long away from them, but fortunately you're able to warn Willy so everyone else stays on the beach when and if they arrive at the resort. (Children have a natural immunity, lucky for Leo)

You arrive on the island and go "Oh dang this place is paradise, and I am never leaving". And the ancient volcano spirits witness your oath and take it too literally!