Best Starter Scenario

[Izlawake]

I received Stardew Valley as a gift from a friend and I have never played a farming simualtor sort of game like this, Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, or any of the sort before. I noticed upon the start up screen that there's different farms to choose from. Would any one suffice for a beginner like me, or would it not matter that much aside from preference?

[dino_inc]

Choose the large farm - the other layouts are more challenging and limit your space too much for a beginner to experiment with.

[radicald09]

The different farms are all a matter of what you like to do. If you like mining and fighting monsters, go with the wilderness farm or the hilltop farm. I reccomend the forest farm just because you can get rare forage items that you can't get until later, and it's cool.

[radicald09]

Also note that placing buildings takes planning and area consideration. The original farm is basic and easier to plan out, but there is a map planner for stardew online. The other farms can be more challenging, but don't let the learning curve stop you.

[Izlawake]

How about the riverside farm? Or would that be best for a second playthrough or so?

[radicald09]

Originally posted by Izlawake:

How about the riverside farm? Or would that be best for a second playthrough or so?

The riverside is a really pretty farm and excellent for fishing! If you want to focus on different ways of earning a living (other than farming, I mean) it's a great farm to start with. IT's also one of the best farms for crops since water access is everywhere.

[Duplo]

The "standard farm" is the original Stardew Experience. It's a blank canvas full of rocks, weeds, wood, and grass. Plenty of space to put whatever, whereever- don't feel pressured to clear it all out at once either (same goes with every map, but this one especially).

The second most beginner friendly map is the "forest farm," as it has a lot of forage items, and an easy supply of hard wood- for less farming space of course (as is the case with all the differing maps that aren't the standard farm), and you can't place buildings where the bushes are.

[Izlawake]

Originally posted by radicald09:

Originally posted by Izlawake:

How about the riverside farm? Or would that be best for a second playthrough or so?

The riverside is a really pretty farm and excellent for fishing! If you want to focus on different ways of earning a living (other than farming, I mean) it's a great farm to start with. IT's also one of the best farms for crops since water access is everywhere.

The riverside farm sounds really good. At least I won't have to worry about losing my crops to dehydration, which is always a nifty plus for beginners.

[Duplo]

Riverside farm is actually pretty difficult to farm a lot on, because there's such a limited amount of space for crops. Here's a link to all the farms to take a look at em: http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Farm_Maps

The wiki's also great if you need help with gifts.

Originally posted by Izlawake:

How about the riverside farm? Or would that be best for a second playthrough or so?

[Duplo]

Also there's no "auto watering" from them being around water, still gotta whip out the watering can and do it the old fashioned way. That only happens when it rains

[Izlawake]

Originally posted by Duplo:

Also there's no "auto watering" from them being around water, still gotta whip out the watering can and do it the old fashioned way. That only happens when it rains

Gotcha, but again, the advantage of not going far to refill for water.

[MadamLizzy]

I would recommend the first one. If you find it too easy you could always start a second game with the river layout.

[Izlawake]

Originally posted by MadamLizzy:

I would recommend the first one. If you find it too easy you could always start a second game with the river layout.

I think I'll do just that. It's always best to start the easy way, then just restart for a bigger challenge if needed. Thank you.

[radicald09]

Originally posted by Izlawake:

Originally posted by Duplo:

Also there's no "auto watering" from them being around water, still gotta whip out the watering can and do it the old fashioned way. That only happens when it rains

Gotcha, but again, the advantage of not going far to refill for water.

I think it's a plus, but I've also been playing this game like an addict since it released. Like Duplo said, it is tight on space, but the game takes some getting used to regardless, so choose whichever farm. Just be prepared to be frustrated at the beginning as you figure stuff out.

[Duplo]

The only maps where going far for water is an issue is the standard farm, because it's so wide open, and the only original water spots are by the farm house, and near the bottom.

Later on you can build Wells to draw water from, so it's not a super big issue either way. http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Well

[Tumalu]

Water isn't even remotely an issue, really; by the time you're farming SO MUCH STUFF that the distance from water is even noticeable, you've got other solutions.

Riverland farm probably provides the least benefit of all the maps, for the biggest space issues. I wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind and just really like the way it looks. The other maps are mostly fine to use, although Hilltop does really spread the usable space out without much big open space.