Complete n00b, dunno what seeds I need to grow and how many

[BenieTheDragon]

Bought the game after watching a Youtuber play it for awhile, but I'm unsure where to start. Basically, I want to do farming. But I'm unsure what plants would have the biggest payout for making money (and what the populace of Pelican Town usually would require).
I have finally unlocked the Fertilizer and the Scarecrow, though. So I'm just asking for advice.

[max]

In my opinion, just buy as many seeds as you can and plant them. Parsnips are quick and help you make profits fast, since they grow in only four days. Though, crops that you plant then they continue producing harvests throughout the season are rather profitable too! It's all based on what /you/ want to grow, not necessarily what the townspeople want. Though, remember to save 5 gold star Parsnips for the Community Center. I forgot, and I only have 3, so I had to wait another year-
Oh, and here's a tip for summer for whenever you reach it.

Blueberries.

That's it.

Chop down trees for wood, then collect the sap and create tons of basic fertilizer. Then, till a huge field and fill it entirely with blueberry seeds that you buy within the first five days of the season. For me, I'd typically get 80+ normal, 20+ silver, and 10+ gold star blueberries, and that's already upwards of 10,000 gold!

In the end, just try to experiment and see what works for you best. It's all about having fun, not stressing yourself out!

[BenieTheDragon]

"not stressing yourself out", when I read that your grandfather's ghost pays you a visit on Year 3 of the first day of Spring to see if you're actually doing his dying wish. And with how fast the days go by, it makes me feel I barely have enough time.
Yeah. Totally no pressure. Really wish I didn't read that. :/ It makes me feel the game ends when this event happens.

[Nathiri]

It's ok Benie, I seem to remember it was patched at some point so you could resummon him later with a diamond on his shrine or something.

I agree with Max, the crops that continue producing are good money spinners, though you will want to diversify at some point if you wish to do the community center bundles, and various achievements like those with shipping and cooking. And then there's fishing, and mining, and being a generally helpful and friendly town citizen.

Fishing is tricky at first, but can really help with your cashflow once you get into the swing of it.

But seriously, just enjoy the game and don't sweat any "time pressure" on your first playthrough. there's a lot of stuff to explore :)

[MassConnect]

There's nothing wrong with buying 1 of every available seed type, and if you can afford a second round, or a 3rd, buying an equal amount of each (however many that is).

In my experience, the random quests are rarely crop related. But, getting the community center finished the "good" way, and getting the achievements finished will basically ask you to do everything. It isn't pleasant when you realize you miss something and have to wait another year to do it.

For evil playthroughs where money is more important, fast crops are the way to go. Parsnips, hot peppers, egg plants will make you the richest the fastest. But in order to to do your absolute best, you need sprinklers, which you can't make easily if you didn't level fishing to at least 4 (don't waste your coal on refining quartz - you can get refined quartz from the recycling machine).

[BenieTheDragon]

Wait. "Evil" playthrough? As in, joining JajaMart and not talking to people?
I just want to be able to get the upgrades fairly quickly. I do know the thing with upgrading tools (how it takes a few days 'till the upgrade is applied), and to wait 'till you have 2,000g and it's raining the next day to upgrade the watering can.

Another question. When it's Winter and you won't be able to grow anything, can you still fish/mine to get money?

[Vimpster]

You can actually still farm in the winter along with all other activities. However your farming is restricted to only the season's foraging plants.

[BenieTheDragon]

I see. Interesting. Well, I unfortunately read something else that I wasn't told by the Youtuber. It was this 13 "tips" for new players. I see them as requirements rather than 'you can do that, but you could also do this' tips.
The first one makes sense, but also annoys. Planning ahead. How can a new player even know HOW to plan in this game, to plan ahead? Are they just supposed to magically know how to play?
I think this is what brought up my original OP question, of not knowing how many and what type of plants would work (while still able to get a profit). Yet from what I hear is to 'experiment'. I very much dislike experimenting. I like knowing ahead (aka to 'plan ahead').
I actually enjoy planning ahead, but only if I had enough time to do so. This game feels like it's rushing the player to think (with how quick the days, months and years go by). Feels a bit too hetric on a person that is barely struggling to think how to plan ahead.


And the 6th of the 13 tips, is to additionally remember at all times, where the villagers are to not waste time. This actually brings up a question. Do I really have to talk to them at all? I hear that by talking to them, you'll raise up their friendship with you (which makes perfect sense). But what if I was to say 'screw it, I'm not remembering any more than I need to go here and go there at this specific time!', would I lose the ability to talk to them?
The reason I ask is I had forgotten to talk to a few people, and they have two grayed out hearts at the 9 and 10 spots of their social bars. I wonder if this completely goes all gray, will they just stop caring for you?

It just feels a bit micro-manage'y instead of the player able to focus on themself. I'll still help out the Community Center; it's the least I could do. And of course attend the festivals and do my best to remember their birthdays and give them things they like, but that's really all I can do.

For reference, this is the site that has the 13 'tips';
http://techraptor.net/content/stardew-valley-13-beginner-tips

[Nathiri]

Getting your friendships going in the village is useful, as friendly villagers will give you tips about the game, and what others like/dislike (if you're not using the wiki to plan gifts), and they will send you things like food, resources and most importantly cooking recipes.

Getting at least two hearts with people will allow you to enter their bedroom, which can be very useful when you have a deadline to make a delivery.

In the beginning you don't have a lot of time and resources to throw around as gifts, but there's some forgaged items that work as starter gifts for some villagers, and you can save time by visiting the tavern on a Friday night and find a lot of villagers there. Also doing the delivery quests that pop up on the board outside Pierre's is worth it, as in addtion to making the villager happy, you will be paid for the delivery.