Multiplayer FAQ

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Hello fellow farmhands. I figured I'd create an FAQ of sorts for some of the more common questions regarding multiplayer, based on my own experiences playing the beta branch over the course of the last three months. Maybe a mod can sticky this if they think it is helpful.

I considered putting this in the multiplayer forum but noone seems to bother using it for questions as they're all being put here. So, without further ado..

1. How do I create a multiplayer farm?

Creating a co-op game is very simple. From the main menu, you simply select co-op and start a new farm.

2. How many people can join my farm?

You can invite up to three individuals to join you.

3. Why can't my friend join my farm?

As the host, you must start a farm with the cabin already built (done during farm creation) or have Robin build a cabin for your friend.

4. Okay, I have a cabin built but only one of my friends can join. Shouldn't another friend be able to join if my first friend isn't playing?

No. Each cabin is tied to a specific player. This means that if you build a cabin for your friends Jack and John, your friend Jill will be unable to use either. You will need to build a cabin for Jill to use before she can join. This also means that if one of your three farmhands stops playing, you'll need to demolish their cabin and build a new one if you want another friend to play with you.

Think of cabins as a player profile slot. Once a player makes a profile, it takes one of those profile slots until it is deleted.

5. Awesome. All my friends are playing with me. Is money shared or separate?

Money is shared amongst all farm hands. It is recommended that the host lays down ground rules for how money is spent. Whether that's a majority vote or the host gives permission is up to you.

6. If I purchase an upgrade, such as a bigger backpack, does everyone get it?

No. Only the person who purchased that upgrade gets it.

7. Does time stop for my friends while I'm in an event or vice-versa?

No. Time keeps rolling by for everyone. Be careful about events that start late in the evening as you risk passing out at 2AM after the event ends.

8. How does sleeping work? Do we all have to sleep at the same time?

Yes. When a player goes to bed, a text dialogue will appear saying "Waiting for players 1 of 4", for example. Only when all players are in bed will the day end and everyone sleeps, unless it reaches 2AM. Any players not in bed will pass out and be teleported to their home. You will be charged for each player not in their home when 2AM rolls around.

9. How do festivals work? Does everyone have to attend?

Yes. When a player tries to attend a festival, they will get a text dialogue much like sleeping. All players must be at the entrance to the festival area before it will begin.

10. What about festivals with minigames or events? Can all players take part?

It depends on the festival.

* Egg Festival - All players take part in the egg hunt.
* Flower Dance - All players take part in the dance.
* Luau - All players can add an item to the pot luck but only the last item added counts.
* Stardew Valley Fair - All players must earn their own tokens. Only one player needs to add items to the display.
* Spirits Eve - All players need to run the maze if they want the Golden Pumpkin.
* Festival of Ice - All players take part in the ice fishing minigame.
* Feast of the Winter Star - All players get their own Secret Santa.

11. How are relationships and marriages handled?

Each player has their own relationships with town NPCs. Players must also be aware of what NPC other players are wooing as once an NPC has been proposed to, no other player may propose. If you wish to see all the heart events for a specific bachelor(ette), you will need to give them a Bouquet before someone gives them a Mermaid Pendant.

12. Do profession bonuses stack? Like if two people take the the Rancher profession, will animal products be worth 40% more?

No. From what I can tell, the game checks for the highest bonus and uses that. So there is little point in choosing the same profession as someone else.

13. Are profession bonuses shared?

For the most part, no. If one person chooses the Botanist profession, only he picks Iridium quality forage. I have noticed that if a player chooses the Luremaster profession and places crab traps, anyone can harvest those traps and they don't need rebaited AS LONG AS they do not pick up the trap. If the trap is picked up, the Luremaster will need to replace it or it will need to be manually baited.

14. Do we have to share the horse?

No. Each farmhand can have their own horse but it requires a stable for each person. Stables take up build space so decide on whether you want to share it to save space for a more important building or not.

15. Is mine progress shared?

Yes. If one player unlocks the elevator every five floors, other players may use the elevator to skip down. They may also open the chest on those floors.

16. Is Community Center and Museum progress shared?

Yes. All players may talk to Gunther and get their rewards for each Museum milestone. Only one person may get the bundle rewards (such as the Charcoal Kiln for completing the Construction Bundle) but the unlocks, such as the Bus, Quarry and Greenhouse are all shared.

17. Do we get to upgrade our homes individually?

Yes. Each player must upgrade their own home. You cannot upgrade someone else's. Also, only the host may purchase the final upgrade to get access to the cellar. Cabins cannot get one.

18. There is an option to "Enable New Character Creation". What exactly is this?

This option allows a host to stop people from joining their game and creating a new character, even if there is an unused cabin on the farm.

19. Is there a way to pause time?

Yes and no. The host can type /pause in the chat panel to hard pause the game. This disables all player input, stops time and allows people to plan. There is no way, without mods, to pause time and continue to work or even move around.

20. Are stardrops shared or earned individually.

They are earned individually. Though some can be gotten by all if someone else does the pre-requisites.

* Stardew Valley Fair - Each player must earn 2000 tokens to buy it.
* Mines Floor 100 - If one player reaches 100, all players may take the elevator to that floor.
* Spouse - Each player must get their own spouse to 13 hearts. In a multiplayer game in which two players are married, the Stardrop will be given randomly as a gift that appears as a small purple box next to the players' bed(s) upon waking up in the morning.
* Krobus - Each player must spend 20,000g to buy it.
* Old Master Cannoli - Each player must take a Sweet Gem Berry to the Secret Woods.
* Willy - Each player must earn the Master Angler achievement.
* Museum - Once all items are donated, any player can speak to gunther to receive theirs.

21. Can I convert my single-player farm into a multiplayer farm?

Yes. You will need to load your singleplayer save, go to Robin and have her build a cabin. Once it is built, return to the main menu and click co-op. Your farm should now appear under the "Host" option. You cancontinue to play that farm in single player, if you wish.

22. Is there or will there be cross-platform play?

No. there are no plans to allow console users to play with PC users or viceversa.

23. Is there splitscreen for local co-op?

Not natively, no. However, there is a mod called Split Screen, which is designed precisely for that. you can find it here: https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2139

24. Can I transfer my already existing farmer to another farm?

No. Anyone who attempts to join a multiplayer farm will need to create a brand new charcater. If the host has converted his singleplayer farm to multiplayer, then his farmer and all his skills will come with it.

[dino_inc]

I might as well pin this, it might cut down on the flood of redundant questions.

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Originally posted by dino_inc:

I might as well pin this, it might cut down on the flood of redundant questions.

Cool. Didn't expect this quick of a reply. :)

[RonjaLin]

Can it please be added - if it isn't already - that the host can allow players to pause the game at anytime, especially by opening the inventory?
My friend only wants to play if he has enough time for inventory management.

Sadly the OP says nothing about when or how the game can be paused in multiplayer.

[SashaMkai]

It is late and I am tired but I'm pretty sure I read during beta that if the HOST typed Pause in chat the game would pause. I am not 100% sure at 1 AM. lol

[MaxBeoulve]

Are Stardrop fruits still unique or are they shared between the players now?

[sMinBinG117]

is it out of beta yet?

[404_Not_Found]

I feel like the backpack upgrade should go to all players considering how much you need it early on and how much it costs for early players. I don't mind sharing money, but I feel like players should also share things that make the game easier to balance out sharing a resource that ultimately makes the game harder.

It isn't a MAJOR problem in my friend groups, we're pretty good about co-op play, but it is mildly annoying to have to deal with it for longer than I normally would in SP just because I'm not the miner and the miner is the one we always give priority to. However, I usually get it second because I fish and therefore bring in most of the dosh early. Like I said, it doesn't really bother me that much because my friend group is mature, I just wish this one thing would get shared between us instead of making people possibly wait 4x longer for an upgrade they could get more easily in SP.

Also, each player can get a stardrop fruit from the mines now, right? In beta only the first person there did, and this generated lots of salt from a lot of people (including me.) Has this been fixed yet?

Also, if players marry each other, they EACH get a stardrop fruit right? Or is it still the one who proposes that gets it? That used to be a legit balance issue.

[Reserve Retard]

Who wants to play coop with me?

[RonjaLin]

In general, I'd be interested in trying out the coop, but not dedicating to a full game. Not sure if that works as a "drop in, drop out" kind of mechanism?

(Note: If it is possible, then I'd not be able right now but likely in a few days.)

[Twisted Fate EN]

Originally posted by mr_jurre2222:

Who wants to play coop with me?

the code is E2K2JA48M91 if u wanna join

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Originally posted by SashaMkai:

It is late and I am tired but I'm pretty sure I read during beta that if the HOST typed Pause in chat the game would pause. I am not 100% sure at 1 AM. lol

I knew I was forgetting something. I'll add that now.

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Originally posted by MaxBeoulve:

Are Stardrop fruits still unique or are they shared between the players now?

Not shared. I'll add that to the list.

[Rachie Turtle]

I know that only 3 other people besides the host can be on at a time, but can you change out those 3 for different people? I was hoping to stream this and have followers join me.

[Jonathan J. O'Neill]

Originally posted by Rachiplier:

I know that only 3 other people besides the host can be on at a time, but can you change out those 3 for different people? I was hoping to stream this and have followers join me.

No. As #4 states, each cabin is tied to a specific player. If you want more than three different people to play with you, you will need to demolish one person's cabin and build a new one, or install a mod that allows you to have more people.

[RonjaLin]

He means not more than three different people but changing those different people for others. I.e. Alice is host, Bob, Carla and Danny play with her. Now Danny does not want to play anymore. Can he be replaced with Emma now somehow?