The passage of time

[soopytwist]

New player here. Is this normal for the game time to go so fast? I barely had time to get to the beach before 5pm because I got lost (until I discovered there's a map!). I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing game but now I feel pressured to do things before night draws in because time goes so fast, and it's stressing me out a little.

[Maculata44]

You have until 2am to do anything because that's when you faint, and once you get used to where everything is it's quite easy. At 5pm you still have 9 hours to do things essentially!

[NBOX21]

It takes roughly 15-18 minutes of real time for a full day (from 6am to 2am) to pass, so you get around that much time each day to get everything done.

Though I wouldn't worry one bit about being pressured by time constraints. You have limited time in a day but unlimited days to play which essentially means you can take all the time you need to.

[soopytwist]

Originally posted by NBOX21:

It takes roughly 15-18 minutes of real time for a full day (from 6am to 2am) to pass, so you get around that much time each day to get everything done.

Though I wouldn't worry one bit about being pressured by time constraints. You have limited time in a day but unlimited days to play which essentially means you can take all the time you need to.

Oh I see. I assume time goes quick so you're not waiting too long for things to grow? I think I need a guide book or something.

[Phirestar]

Time is one of your primary resources in this game, alongside your energy meter.

To give a simple explanation of things: the ways in which you choose to spend your time and energy are what the game’s balanced around. The point is that you can’t accomplish everything in a single day and must plan out your tasks for each day. This is why there’s a lot of stuff in the game adheres to a strict schedule, like how certain stores are closed on certain days, and NPCs go to specific locations / activities at specific hours of the day.

So yes, you’re kind of right when you say that the system makes you feel like you’re under pressured. It’s quite ironic that game has the perception of being so laid back and easy-going, because in reality I have actually seen people say that they quit Stardew Valley due to it being stressful to play, as a result of the clock.

But in my opinion, I think having that strict time limit makes the game more engaging to play, because it gets you to make meaningful decisions with your gameplay. In a game that doesn’t have any sort of deep combat system or puzzle-solving or any other form of traditional difficulty, it’s the one way in which the developer is able to implement adversity and create player agency, which I think are the two factors that get people to say to themselves, “Just one more day.”

The good news for you is that you don’t need to stress yourself too much over not getting everything done in time. While each individual day is tight-fisted like this, the overall game itself really doesn’t have any sort of permanent fail states. There’s no way to lock yourself out of being able to complete the game or end up unable to finish a certain portion of the game. You can take as long as you possibly want to accomplish any of the major goals such as the Community Center or the Museum collection, and you will get it done no matter what. Even Grandpa’s evaluation at the start of Year 3, which is meant to serve as a “deadline” for the game’s core content loop, can be retried over and over by taking a diamond to the shrine. If you want to do it; if not, you can be like me and just take whatever score you receive the first time and call that your “win state”.

The TL;DR version of this is, don’t fret over the time flying by too much. Enjoy the journey and just let things happen the way they’re meant to happen.

[Nakos]

The time pressure is what makes it a game, as opposed to "just" a sim.

[K152]

There's mods to make the time goes slower or freeze it as your liking, a bit cheaty I know. Look up the internet on Stardew Valley modding, there's quite a lot of good mods out there.

[red255]

Originally posted by soopytwist:

New player here. Is this normal for the game time to go so fast? I barely had time to get to the beach before 5pm because I got lost (until I discovered there's a map!). I thought this was supposed to be a relaxing game but now I feel pressured to do things before night draws in because time goes so fast, and it's stressing me out a little.

you get alot more free time after you get sprinklers and no longer have to water your crops every morning

Originally posted by soopytwist:

Oh I see. I assume time goes quick so you're not waiting too long for things to grow? I think I need a guide book or something.

honestly you could treat the entire first year as a tutorial if you wanted to.

[Tanyon]

In my opinion the Stardew Wiki is gold.. pure gold.. I have no idea how anyone can do anything without it.. I have almost 250 hours and that wiki tells me new stuff everyday. I know some people want to explore and learn everything themselves.. but.. even with the wiki and everything at my fingertips it's still a lot. I mean I have about 100 hours in this play-through and just got to Ginger Island lol.

[mansman]

I always recommend doing a play through with default settings and few mods to get the experience. That said, I now play how I want through the use of mods. The time mod allows me to set time to a bit slower and pause time when I want to have a chill experience. The cell phone mod lets me call whoever I want from where ever I am and where ever they are. I use a few others to help keep track of various bits of info.

[Moonshine Fox]

Time management can get a little stressful sometimes, but it's not usually a huge issue once you know your way around and establish your routines. If you feel like you still keep running out of time, there's the Automate mod which is a huge time saver, especially in late game artisan good processing. There's also the Cheats mod that let's you freeze time, helpful if you have no thoughts like me and constantly end up a few minutes too late to do stuff XD

[jenniferjustice2083]

Originally posted by soopytwist:

Originally posted by NBOX21:

It takes roughly 15-18 minutes of real time for a full day (from 6am to 2am) to pass, so you get around that much time each day to get everything done...

Oh I see. I assume time goes quick so you're not waiting too long for things to grow? I think I need a guide book or something.

It's a game. Enjoy it. Stardew Valley doesn't have set goals players are required to achieve. This said at the end of your second year Grandpa visits and rewards you for doing certain things, but you don't 'lose the game' if you haven't accomplished these things. Do them all, do some, do none! Want to go fishing? Go. Want to go mining? Go. Want to spend the day talking to towns folk? Do it. Don't want to talk to anyone? You don't have to. Try different farms. Try different crops. It's up to you.

Seeds tell you how long it takes for them to grow at purchase. If you forget, you can go back to the store and look. There is an official wiki if you think you need it, but the game does a really good job telling you everything you need to know as far as basic gameplay.

[Hoochfox]

Just coming back to the game after a hiatus, and... let's be honest: it's way too fast for a chill experience, and way too chill for a fast experience. Yeah, you can laissez-faire it if you like, but the game judges you if you don't speedrun it to Grandpa's satisfaction. That kind of makes it feel like a 'Choose Your Own Mode of Life Failure Adventure': beloved but destitute, rich but isolated, or wealthy and beloved by all but you're just living a different version of the same old Joja Corp hell that you were trying to escape in the first place. At least Grandpa will approve of your premature debilitating stroke that way.

I think the game could really use a time scale slider, so that it can be a more rewarding experience regardless of play style.

[soopytwist]

Originally posted by Hoochfox:

Just coming back to the game after a hiatus, and... let's be honest: it's way too fast for a chill experience, and way too chill for a fast experience. Yeah, you can laissez-faire it if you like, but the game judges you if you don't speedrun it to Grandpa's satisfaction. That kind of makes it feel like a 'Choose Your Own Mode of Life Failure Adventure': beloved but destitute, rich but isolated, or wealthy and beloved by all but you're just living a different version of the same old Joja Corp hell that you were trying to escape in the first place. At least Grandpa will approve of your premature debilitating stroke that way.

I think the game could really use a time scale slider, so that it can be a more rewarding experience regardless of play style.

Spot on. I've added a mod that gives longer days. Also sitting in a chair restores stamina. Sorry not sorry.

[Ailux13]

Get a horse as soon as you can. It really makes a difference :)

[Tanyon]

Originally posted by Ailux13:

Get a horse as soon as you can. It really makes a difference :)

Yup I did not get mine till like Fall year 2.. and I was like.. wow.. should have gotten this a LONG time ago.