Gift system a huge let down...

[Canniballistic]

I've been loving this game and normally I'd sooner open up cheat engine than grind for items and I don't normally 'become' the character I play these days.

That said since I started played Stardew Valley I cant help but get into my character and I care about my farm and the other characters in the game.

Since I started trying to become friends with the NPC's I've seen how completely random and shallow it is.

Here I am trying to contiously think of what gifts each NPC likes based off of their character designs and eventually out of frustration I checked the wiki and now I see clear as day they don't have any connection to each other.

Each character seems fleshed out, they have personalities, hobbies and intersts but the gifts they like are absolutely random.

I would have liked to see a variety of gifts that fit into their personalities.

Also, probably worse is the fact that you only get a single generic response for a gift most of the time.

You give Abigail a flower and she says how shes grateful because shes hungry... wtf kind of response is that?

And its not even something you can brush off as game design corner cutting because I should be able to recieve info from her reaction as to what kind of gifts I can expect her to enjoy.

Gifts are a core game mechanic in Stardew Valley and theres no way to deduce from the game that an emo girl into video games, dungeon exploration, the super natural and the flute is going to love some "spicy eel" and hate a "bone flute"...


TL;DR
Gift system is shallow and random.

[G3rman]

It's not a core mechanic. This is not a gifting simulator.

And if you are as in tune with learning about characters and getting into the world, then you shouldn't just take dialogue at face value. Like with Abigail, it's weird but she eats stuff like minerals. Nice reminder that you are living in a fantasy world, if the Wizard and spirits wasn't reminder enough. She is legitimately going to eat those things and it says something about the weird unique qualities of her character.

Also, I don't know what you're talking about since for the most part gifts are pretty obvious why each character would like or dislike them. Bad gifts are generally universal just because of their oddity or their lack of value or aesthetic look.

And in comparison to say Harvest Moon, the game's gifting has more tiers than just like or dislike. So I'd say it's just fine.

Also, regardless of the game, trial and error is going to exist. The only reason characters don't give you an in-depth dialogue response about why they don't like that item is because, hey, gifting wasn't a core mechanic.

[M.B.M Industries]

Originally posted by G3rman:

It's not a core mechanic. This is not a gifting simulator.

And if you are as in tune with learning about characters and getting into the world, then you shouldn't just take dialogue at face value. Like with Abigail, it's weird but she eats stuff like minerals. Nice reminder that you are living in a fantasy world, if the Wizard and spirits wasn't reminder enough. She is legitimately going to eat those things and it says something about the weird unique qualities of her character.

Also, I don't know what you're talking about since for the most part gifts are pretty obvious why each character would like or dislike them. Bad gifts are generally universal just because of their oddity or their lack of value or aesthetic look.

And in comparison to say Harvest Moon, the game's gifting has more tiers than just like or dislike. So I'd say it's just fine.

Also, regardless of the game, trial and error is going to exist. The only reason characters don't give you an in-depth dialogue response about why they don't like that item is because, hey, gifting wasn't a core mechanic.

You really think she is going to eat the crystals? What? Sorry... But no. This is obviously a faulty dialog response that has not been fixed. Best case scenario it has been left in as a joke after the fact. But that is beside the point.

By the way gifting is very much a core mechanic, the player's relationship with the characters is a major part of the game (The artwork page speaks for itself on this subject) and it is directly influenced by the gifts you give them. If that is not considered a core mechanic then I guess shooting people is not call of duty's core mechanic.

I've just hit winter in my game so I've been doing a lot of gifting (Don't have not much else to do beacuse I have unlocked most stuff in the game at this point)

The gift system is so out of touch with the characters at times it is quite ridiculous. For example with Maru, one of the first things she tells you is that she wants to build a robot, so obviously the Dwarf Gadget would be the perfect gift for her....

Nope. She hates it.

I really can't stress enough how silly this is. It seems to be like this across the board, characters will like some things and not like other things that are very similar.

Oh! And the Dwarf! Can't forget him... First thing he says to me is how he eats a lot of cave carrots, so I gave him one and he says "Is this what Humans like?"
I mean come on. Really? So a wile later I found a Lemon Stone, descriptions says "Some claim the powdered crystal is a dwarvish delicacy." So obviously I gave some to him. He then asks me again... "Is this what Humans like?"
But he likes the Dwarvish Helm. Great consistency.

This game is a pretty simple platform and this type of thing is a bit grating to see considering it is only a few lines of text that determine what characters like and don't like.

[Vroomi]

Originally posted by M.B.M Industries:

Originally posted by G3rman:

It's not a core mechanic. This is not a gifting simulator.

And if you are as in tune with learning about characters and getting into the world, then you shouldn't just take dialogue at face value. Like with Abigail, it's weird but she eats stuff like minerals. Nice reminder that you are living in a fantasy world, if the Wizard and spirits wasn't reminder enough. She is legitimately going to eat those things and it says something about the weird unique qualities of her character.

Also, I don't know what you're talking about since for the most part gifts are pretty obvious why each character would like or dislike them. Bad gifts are generally universal just because of their oddity or their lack of value or aesthetic look.

And in comparison to say Harvest Moon, the game's gifting has more tiers than just like or dislike. So I'd say it's just fine.

Also, regardless of the game, trial and error is going to exist. The only reason characters don't give you an in-depth dialogue response about why they don't like that item is because, hey, gifting wasn't a core mechanic.

You really think she is going to eat the crystals? What? Sorry... But no. This is obviously a faulty dialog response that has not been fixed. Best case scenario it has been left in as a joke after the fact. But that is beside the point.

Abigail eats almost anything, it's not a faulty dialogue response.
http://stardewvalleywiki.com/Abigail
When you give her any ''good'' items, she'll give you the same response.
Also, there's something called Pica syndrome if we're gonna be realistic.
We have a wizard, it's a fantasy world. It's not really supposed to be realistic.

[Crai-Crai]

I can see the logic on both sides of this debate. You can play the game without gifting, but I still think it's a core mechanic to the way a lot of people play the game.

I always consult the wiki before gifting. It would be nice to see some tweaks to the game so that likes and dislikes are a bit more consistent with character, and also more clues within the game so that wiki consultations are not essential.

Some items sell for a lot of money but everyone hates them. That seems odd to me. Some items are key ingredients in things that people love, but the items themselves are disliked.

On the other hand, some likes are consistent, such as Clint's affinity for metal products, and Pam's love of beer and ale.

[SportyHeadShot]

Im sure they will adjust this in a future update

I think a lot of people were hoping for a harvest moon clone, but honestly this game is amazing for coming from a small group

[Old Skool Raver]

Originally posted by SportyHeadShot:

Im sure they will adjust this in a future update

I think a lot of people were hoping for a harvest moon clone, but honestly this game is amazing for coming from a small group

Single person.

[Old Skool Raver]

Originally posted by M.B.M Industries:

You really think she is going to eat the crystals? What? Sorry... But no. This is obviously a faulty dialog response that has not been fixed. Best case scenario it has been left in as a joke after the fact. But that is beside the point.

Some say [top gear reference] that Abigail is the illegitimate daughter of The Wizard, there's pretty strong evidence to back this claim up

After a sufficient relationship is built up, Pierre will confess that he worries that Abigail is not his biological daughter. Later, the Wizard will mention that he has reason to believe one of the townsfolk is his daughter. At one point Caroline will mention that she used to visit the old tower to the west before she met Pierre.

Abigail also has purple hair, like the Wizard.

Caroline says that Abigail had chestnut brown hair before she dyed them.

Abigail mentions that she doesn't remember las time she dyed her hair and that it never fades from purple.

Caroline wonders where she could have gotten her interest in the occult from (wizard?).

I still don't get how that would correspond to her eating diamonds however.

I think CA created the dialogues then simply randomised which gifts each person likes/dislikes and didn't go back in and remove minerals, rocks and jewels from her like list. This is backed up by the fact Abigail loves blackberry cobbler but hates blackberries.

[Canniballistic]

Originally posted by G3rman:

It's not a core mechanic. This is not a gifting simulator.

The story in the game drills into you that you need to make friends and there is plenty of content that is locked if youre not friends with characters let alone the content itself of being friends and marying characters.

Its a huge core mechanic IMO.

Originally posted by G3rman:

And if you are as in tune with learning about characters and getting into the world, then you shouldn't just take dialogue at face value. Like with Abigail, it's weird but she eats stuff like minerals. Nice reminder that you are living in a fantasy world, if the Wizard and spirits wasn't reminder enough. She is legitimately going to eat those things and it says something about the weird unique qualities of her character.

I didnt take it at face value untill i thought that she might like some of the "dark" monster loot, her being into that sort of thing and she hated it. =\

Thats what annoyed me like i said theres no feedback and it makes no sense.

And no she doesn't eat the flowers she just only has a single response for anything classed as "good".

Originally posted by G3rman:

Also, I don't know what you're talking about since for the most part gifts are pretty obvious why each character would like or dislike them. Bad gifts are generally universal just because of their oddity or their lack of value or aesthetic look.

Shes an emo whos into caves full of monsters with a book in her room about playing the flute and she likes to hang out in the graveyard when she isnt playing with her spirit board... you would think she would be into creepy stuff but their "universal hates" its an entirely arbitrary and random system.

Originally posted by G3rman:

And in comparison to say Harvest Moon, the game's gifting has more tiers than just like or dislike. So I'd say it's just fine.

Being better than something else does not make it just fine. If I had to choose between getting shot in the hand and shot in the foot I'd be upset either way.

Also I never played harvest moon.

Originally posted by G3rman:

Also, regardless of the game, trial and error is going to exist. The only reason characters don't give you an in-depth dialogue response about why they don't like that item is because, hey, gifting wasn't a core mechanic.

Except it is so they should be more in-depth.

The game is advertised as having the feature "Become part of the local community" with a relationship system that has a fair bit of depth, letting you marry people and become friends which unlocks things for you in the game. Its fair to say you can't "complete" the game without becoming everyones friend or at the very least youre missing out on a large chunk of the game that obviously saw a lot of attention.

Now the way you do this is by participating in seasonal activities with the town and giving gifts, the later being the main way to increase your relationships with the characters.

So if we have established that its important in the game to be friends with all the characters and to do that you will need to give them gifts, its not too unreasonable that if I give the emo girl who likes the supernatural a gift thats supernatural, that she would ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ like it or at least not say shes going to eat it.

[Canniballistic]

Originally posted by M.B.M Industries:

...

The gift system is so out of touch with the characters at times it is quite ridiculous. For example with Maru, one of the first things she tells you is that she wants to build a robot, so obviously the Dwarf Gadget would be the perfect gift for her....

Nope. She hates it.

I really can't stress enough how silly this is. It seems to be like this across the board, characters will like some things and not like other things that are very similar.

Oh! And the Dwarf! Can't forget him... First thing he says to me is how he eats a lot of cave carrots, so I gave him one and he says "Is this what Humans like?"
I mean come on. Really? So a wile later I found a Lemon Stone, descriptions says "Some claim the powdered crystal is a dwarvish delicacy." So obviously I gave some to him. He then asks me again... "Is this what Humans like?"
But he likes the Dwarvish Helm. Great consistency.

This game is a pretty simple platform and this type of thing is a bit grating to see considering it is only a few lines of text that determine what characters like and don't like.

I agree completely.

I was enjoying the game so much, and not to say I've stopped because I haven't, the games awesome, but when I started noticing the inconsistancies between each characters design and their reactions (let alone responses) to various gifts it completely broke the immersion for me.

I was so engrosed in the world and the characters and then taken out in an instant.

I dont think I could ever go back and recapture that feeling even if this issue was addressed but at least I could confidently recommend the game later on when the MP rolls around.

But that said you know what, I haven't had a truly positive experience with a game in so long, its nice to be able to play something so enjoyable.

I just want perfection when I see near-perfection.

[dino_inc]

I gave up on trying to figure out the gift system a long time ago, and now my crystalariums producing diamonds handle all my friendship needs, because everyone likes/loves diamonds.

[tamorr]

Originally posted by Carl Johnson:

... This is backed up by the fact Abigail loves blackberry cobbler but hates blackberries.

This makes sense to me due to the fact I love apple pie, but don't like baked apples... I am also not really all that patial to apples themselves either... but is better than baked apples. Cobbler usually sweetens and changes some of what you would taste. So there is a difference in flavor. Might be just me though that thinks this way.

And yes abby's gifting was purposefully left in, as a quirk she has. The bit about eating almost everything you give her.

Some people have some strange tastes, likes & dislikes; and more often than not even in real life I find a lot of controdictions that may make sense to some and not so much to others.

Each candidate have their quirks...

I am one that doesn't gift any the villagers often, although I do a few of the quests I can. I usually talk to every one I cross paths with, and have managed to gain friendship this way without gifting a whole lot. Then again I take a relaxed turtles pace throughout the game. :P

[MaroonDrops]

Originally posted by Pyrofish:

Originally posted by M.B.M Industries:

You really think she is going to eat the crystals? What? Sorry... But no. This is obviously a faulty dialog response that has not been fixed. Best case scenario it has been left in as a joke after the fact. But that is beside the point.

Do you not know what Pika is?

You mean Pica?

[McGoodGreen]

Soooo....is there any other examples of poor gifting responses besides Abigail and the Dwarf?

Because just because a legend says Dwarfs like something, does not mean it will be a fact. Dwarfs and most other parts of the "magical" world are just legends to the people of StarDew Valley. It does not shock me that they don't know "actual" facts about what their fantasy creatures like.

I do agree Abigails comments were a bug. But now they have become part of a cute little lore. Plenty of errors and bugs have become part of cannon through equally silly means.

I find most people do actually have tastes. As someone said, Pam loves booze, Clint loves metals...

Emily loves fabrics and gems to make her own outfits.

The children love sweet treats.

The old man loves bitter plants

The old woman loves flowers from a nice garden and baked sweets

The Fisherman loves fish

Pierre...is a douche >.>

Wizard loves magical artifacts

The bum loves things you can forage in the wild.

The list really does go on. I'd say there are more dead on hits than there are "shallow random choices." Just because someone has a taste for say, Fish, like Willy, does not mean they have to LOVE every fish. It would be ACTUALLY shallow if someone had a taste for a specific genre and just accepted EVERYTHING having to do with it. People with special interests often know much more about the specifics of their field and thus have a higher demand for specific items that suit their needs.

Using Willy as an example again, just because he loves Fish, does not mean he would be overjoyed for a Pufferfish.

TL;DR: I feel the villagers interests are actually rather spot on when it comes to gifting. If you go in trying to learn a persons favorite gifts without looking it up, you should expect some bad results. Thats the whole point of the villagers having disliked items, its supposed to create a challenge to making friends outside of "just make sure you give them something today." without being too difficult.

[Old Skool Raver]

Originally posted by McGoodGreen:

Soooo....is there any other examples of poor gifting responses besides Abigail and the Dwarf?

Because just because a legend says Dwarfs like something, does not mean it will be a fact. Dwarfs and most other parts of the "magical" world are just legends to the people of StarDew Valley. It does not shock me that they don't know "actual" facts about what their fantasy creatures like.

I do agree Abigails comments were a bug. But now they have become part of a cute little lore. Plenty of errors and bugs have become part of cannon through equally silly means.

I find most people do actually have tastes. As someone said, Pam loves booze, Clint loves metals...

Emily loves fabrics and gems to make her own outfits.

The children love sweet treats.

The old man loves bitter plants

The old woman loves flowers from a nice garden and baked sweets

The Fisherman loves fish

Pierre...is a douche >.>

Wizard loves magical artifacts

The bum loves things you can forage in the wild.

The list really does go on. I'd say there are more dead on hits than there are "shallow random choices." Just because someone has a taste for say, Fish, like Willy, does not mean they have to LOVE every fish. It would be ACTUALLY shallow if someone had a taste for a specific genre and just accepted EVERYTHING having to do with it. People with special interests often know much more about the specifics of their field and thus have a higher demand for specific items that suit their needs.

Using Willy as an example again, just because he loves Fish, does not mean he would be overjoyed for a Pufferfish.

TL;DR: I feel the villagers interests are actually rather spot on when it comes to gifting. If you go in trying to learn a persons favorite gifts without looking it up, you should expect some bad results. Thats the whole point of the villagers having disliked items, its supposed to create a challenge to making friends outside of "just make sure you give them something today." without being too difficult.

It's odd that Willy likes most fish but hates Sashimi though, don't you think?

Also Diamonds, Abi eats diamonds. C'mon dude.

[McGoodGreen]

Originally posted by Carl Johnson:

It's odd that Willy likes most fish but hates Sashimi though, don't you think?

Also Diamonds, Abi eats diamonds. C'mon dude.

As I mentioned, I am perfectly fine with what Abi has morphed into.

Perhaps Willy does not take the fish you give him and eats them.

Or, perhaps since Sashimi can be made with ANY fish, he prefers a refined taste with a specific fish~

Also, as a note to the earlier comment about Maru not loving a Dwarven gadget, she strikes me as the kind of person that enjoys what she understands. She wants to make a robot, but if she were handed ancient technology that she cant wrap her head around, she may just assume it is junk. Especially if you take into account how, again, Dwarfs and the like are just legends to these people.