when is early/mid/late game?

[Wolf Haley]

I was asked this question and didnt really know how to answer, which peaked my interest. I want to see all of the opinions and kind of put them together to make a rough estimate of when early game turns into mid game, and when mid game turns into late game.

 

[Benhimself]

Personally, I'd say early game turns to mid game around fall of year one, (when, in my experience, my economy starts to kick off relative to what it had been up until then, such that time becomes a more important limiting factor than energy, and when the greenhouse is (usually) unlocked which opens a lot of options) and mid game turns to late game when the golden walnut room is opened.

That said, I also do a lot of short runs too, which can skew perspective. Like my current run, early game was getting Harvey to four hearts so I could dance with him at the spring festival, mid-game will be ramping up to marriage, and late game grinding out those last 14 hearts (and second house upgrade) to see his 14-heart event.

 

[HaleyRocks]

For me, midgame starts post completing the Community/Joja and unlocking Ginger island.

Late game theoritically is, when you unlock Mr. Qi's room and tackle Special Orders, Qi quests and start actively hunting down completion.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

From the most content unlocking-perspective the early game is pre cc/joja completion, midgame is that point until the walnut room, and the endgame is beyond that.

These are the points in the game where you generally unlock a large amount of content all at once, and that are locked behind something considerable. It also mostly fits the gameplay progression, you start up and get your farm going up to the cc completion, get to the island and spread your roots when you unlock it, then finally you get to the walnut room with a pretty established farm and it sets you up to pursuing perfection.
Of course, everyone plays differently and could be well into a gameplay midgame before they complete the cc (you can have something like 70% perfection complete before completing the cc) while another person may have rushed the island (as I usually do) and only have basic/copper tools and very little in terms of farm progression.

 

[Cat King]

Late game? After unlocking Qi's Walnut Room.

 

[Slimeglasses]

I agree with @HaleyRocks, @FilthyGorilla, and @HelloCake.

 

[PoppyForPenny]

I was thinking in terms of updates to the game as well as how gameplay progresses for an individual playthrough.
When I first started playing 1.3, after the community center and theater you'd be late game. So I still kinda consider Ginger Island late game. It was added late!
Early game could be the whole time you're working on the community center, but I've deliberately slowed my gameplay a few times. So I might have a fully thriving farm, maxed friendships, full museum, and lots of money, but still need to collect a few items, maybe as late as year 3.
I used to feel like the theater, level 100 skull cavern quest, magic ink and witch swamp were late game. Since 1.5 that's shifted. Now I feel like, the early part of Ginger Island is still mid game- opening the walnut room and getting to the forge is when I say, this is late game.

 

[Wolf Haley]

yea for me, I finished the cc around the end of year two, or early three, and I didnt actually know I could dupe until about end of year four. rn im on summer of year six and its my first real play through, so I didnt really know what was regular. you guys have helped me clarify so thanks a ton! now I can say im in late game

 

[MogBeoulve]

early: before the first four rabbits
middle: number of rabbits is between four and "oh god"
late: rabbits are TNTC (too numerous to count)

 

[Lew Zealand]

I pretty much agree with everyone that it's:

Early game - working on the Community Center, small to mid-scale Animal and Crop Farming
Mid game - open Ginger Island and all it's areas, large-scale Farm optimization, Artisan Processing expansion
Late game - Qi Quests, Skull Cavern/Volcano runs for special items, mass Processing to afford expensive goodies, time optimization to put fun first over work

 

[FilthyGorilla]

I was thinking in terms of updates to the game as well as how gameplay progresses for an individual playthrough.
When I first started playing 1.3, after the community center and theater you'd be late game. So I still kinda consider Ginger Island late game. It was added late!
Early game could be the whole time you're working on the community center, but I've deliberately slowed my gameplay a few times. So I might have a fully thriving farm, maxed friendships, full museum, and lots of money, but still need to collect a few items, maybe as late as year 3.
I used to feel like the theater, level 100 skull cavern quest, magic ink and witch swamp were late game. Since 1.5 that's shifted. Now I feel like, the early part of Ginger Island is still mid game- opening the walnut room and getting to the forge is when I say, this is late game.

I'm the exact same, it doesn't help that many of us were playing our pre 1.5 files when the update released, and we were basically at the end of the game (and most of the way to the current perfection status bar ginger island stuff) when we got there, which I know slightly skewed my perspective.

Now I try to get there ASAP so I've kind of reframed the sense of progression in my mind. Honestly I've been to ginger island in what I still consider the early game when it comes to my tools and funds, it's actually quite fun to have to work around the logs on the ginger island farm or have to be way more strategic in the volcano with your horrid wooden mallet. I'd definitely recommend others to try getting there quick if they feel everything on the island is too easy (it's definitely not for everyone though and that's perfectly fine too :) ).

 

[SurprisedPikachuBob3]

I'm the exact same, it doesn't help that many of us were playing our pre 1.5 files when the update released, and we were basically at the end of the game (and most of the way to the current perfection status bar ginger island stuff) when we got there, which I know slightly skewed my perspective.

Yeah that's why I always did a new save for a new update (with the exception of 1.1 cause that was a lot of endgame stuff)

 

[Wolf Haley]

yea il prob start a new save when 1.6 reaches switch (in about 10 days!)

 

[FilthyGorilla]

Yeah that's why I always did a new save for a new update (with the exception of 1.1 cause that was a lot of endgame stuff)

I get all the stuff in my lategame save/s then make a new one to experience everything properly. I'm too excited to have a measured save file when the update just drops (and I like helping people out/editing the wiki which I can't do without actually knowing the content) so exploring everything ASAP is always the best part of the game for me, then having a real save to enjoy the new farm (in all of the latest updates pretty much) and see everything the way it's meant to be encountered