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A lot of the NPC quests are "locked", in a way, behind things you should already be doing for the main story quest. There are some notable (and fun) NPC quests that start popping at around 4-ish stars/hearts that are both timed and locked behind areas that need to be built/opened before you can complete the NPC quest--and those quests are almost always timed. If you haven't spent enough time just crafting and progressing the story, you'll end up unlocking the friendship/love NPC quests long before you have the areas/tools needed to complete them. Then, you'll be struggling not only to finish the quest but also to gather materials and build the things you need to do even that much. In theory, quests won't unlock before you're ready--but the game almost assumes you should have the skills/tools needed to farm topaz, for instance, at the point you're at when that NPC quest unlocks.
This was far, far harder and more frustrating during EA, as NPC and side quests routinely unlocked well before you had progressed the main quest far enough to even reach the area (looking at you, Bridge to the Desert quest). I believe they've patched a lot of those situations out, but the lesson stuck--if you want to socialize and romance in this game, you need to craft and do the main quest at the same time OR before you start really working on relationships. Socialize, yes, but don't rush it until you've unlocked at least the Desert and have some of the higher level tools in the game (which should also be happening around the time you get the Desert, if you need a marker). It was always smarter to leave the NPC(s) you were focusing on around 3.5 hearts--romance options don't unlock until 4 hearts--until you unlocked the Desert, at least, but even beyond that point, you need to make sure you're upgrading your tools/workshop, saving up gols, advancing the main quest, and doing all those mundane crafting things in addition to the fun social stuff.
There's zero reason to rush anything in this game, including relationships. And when it comes to relationship/friendship quests, rushing to reach those higher star/heart levels makes even less sense, given how many of the character quests are locked behind advancing the main story (or, in some cases, affording pricey quest items that you can--sometimes--find in the ruins, but will usually end up having to buy with gols just to get the damn things). It's a crafting sim, first and foremost, especially in the early game (the first few months, maybe, depending on your play style and if you're planning ahead and stockpiling mats for the next big quest--the wiki helps with this; use it!), before you have the resources and it becomes more of a social sim. So don't rush. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches. :)
Thanks again for all the tips.
Just wanted to respond to this: don't hesitate in building multiple crafting stations. I usually have four Civil Furnaces going by the time I build the Bridge to Amber Island, and my current Builder has fifteen furnaces running all the time to stockpile before unlocking the DeeDee quests (she's had the quest to install the battery in the cave for the past three in-game seasons). Don't be afraid to take the time to develop your workshop before taking on untimed main quests.
If it doesn't have a timer in the quest log, the quest doesn't expire. So go ahead and take time to breathe if you want/need.
As others have said, it's easier to build relationships once your workshop is mostly automated towards the end of the game, freeing up a lot of your time during the day, and you will also be able to make and afford the sometimes rather expensive presents NPCs love the most.
No worries about neglecting socializing--other than unlocking quests that expand on the NPC's backstory and other NPC relationships (as you befriend NPCs, you also gain points with the NPCs in their relationship tree, and the character side quests give a lot of these bonus points, making it even easier to add up those social points later in the game), there's no real point to the NPC quests. They don't affect the main story quest in any way, nor will having or not having relationships with the NPC stop you from getting the main quests. NPC quests are strictly for story telling and relationship purposes, so you don't have to stress about them while you've got everything else going on. Build up your workshop, save up those gols, take your time with the main quests and then, once you've gotten yourself established, focus on the NPCs. (Edited to add that some NPC relationships DO offer nice perks that will help your building/finances throughout the game if you choose to build up those relationships--Gale's friendship discount saves you gols on land expansion; Gust's & Albert's save on workshop and home upgrades, etc; all perks are listed in the character's social profile)
If a side quest is considered *important* (the Portia Times/Printing Press quest comes to mind, which is tied to unlocking the in-game camera and album through a "social experiment" to get Merlin's camera), it will trigger as it's meant to, usually some time after a specific main quest is triggered. Side quests will also require diagrams you can only get through turning data discs into the research center, so keep handing those over whenever the previous research diagram is finished to keep diagrams coming in. Keep upgrading your work bench, as well, so you have access to the refined building items you'll be needing for main and side quests going forward.
Seconded! Build many furnaces and don't hesitate to use the older, smaller capacity ones to constantly craft secondary materials, like charcoal (cannot stress the importance of stockpiles of charcoal!!), glass, and bronze bars (FYI, you will always need bronze bars--there are 12 Dee-Dee Stop locations in total that unlock as you go, and you'll want those stops down as soon as possible to make travel faster, not to mention all the bronze pipes you need for various diagrams--so craft them frequently and you'll always have a decent amount to pull for building). You can squeeze quite a lot of furnaces into a relatively small yard--it might not look pretty, but function is more important than form in the early months before you unlock more workshop automation. You need those machines working at max capacity 24/7 more than you need your workshop and yard looking pretty to outsiders (Ack can sometimes have problems getting at machines that are tightly packed together, but your Builder doesn't, and you won't get access to Ack for awhile, anyway, so don't worry about it).
Even if you don't want to spoil the main story quest, taking a look at the wiki and seeing which main quests trigger other quests is really helpful, as well as having an idea of when the difficulty starts ramping up. This also helps you figure out when you need to plan to upgrade your tools/workbench and start pumping out specific bars/items in high quantities to keep things going--completing the quests themselves goes quickly; it's getting all the materials together to build the diagrams that takes time, so give yourself that time and don't panic. :) Steel, in particular, is in extremely high demand in all the quests/diagrams after unlocking the Desert (and the bridge to the desert requires steel, as well, which I think is the first introduction to it--be prepared!), so you'll want to be stockpiling the raw metals and charcoal that go in to the bars well in advance. (unlocking Bronze bars gives you a taste of what you'll be doing x20 later on when you unlock steel bars, with the two raw metals needed for bronze; steel adds another material, charcoal, for its bars; aluminum and titanium take the requirements even further (pro tip--do not sell or use your sapphires for any reason; you'll thank me later).
Back to the point of the tread, though--if you fail a character-related side quest, it's not a huge deal, just disappointing. Not doing one of the 4-5 star quests won't stop a marriage quest from popping once you have enough hearts, for instance, so don't worry. Also, what the game doesn't tell you is that you don't have to accept those character quests as soon as the little "!" appears for them. They usually stick around for 1 to 3 days and will often proc again (if not accepted and failed in any way) a week/month later when the next heart/star ticks over. Hovering over the little icon on the map will tell you the name of the quest. You can then look it up to see what it requires and if you should take it at that point in time.
Off-topic ('cause that's how I roll):
Don't forget the importance of kicking the apple tree ~~ apples are perfect for Stamina Points SP. The best option is to dry them on dryer racks (doubles the points) & carry them with you everywhere; (I have many drying racks.) Also continually collect herbs (to be made into Health Points HP medicine) and snake berries, which can be consumed immediately for HP. Eventually, you will want to purchase apple trees from the church ~~ which will end all the kicking. Note all the other tree seeds sold there as well: the Crystella Tree will drop crystal (sapphire & even rubies occasionally) ~~ don't forget to fertilize ~~ you will need disks & chips to pay for any items there. (They do not take gols.) There is also the Nitra & Zeolora tree seeds. The rainbow flower seed will produce paints (mix in the blender) (sisal for linen) ~~ so you won't have to continually buy them from Carol. You'll want to grow your own cotton or you'll find yourself purchasing it as well. The apple tree first ~~ when you're ready, but don't forget the importance of the other trees & seeds. You don't necessary need to purchase them at the church ~~ Nora & Lee are usually right at Peach Plaza each morning & at Central Plaza later with the seed & donation box. Lots to learn I know. I just wanted to stress the importance of Stamina Points & Health Points. (The other stuff is extra.) You will need to learn to manage both of these (SP/ HP) for your survival in Portia. ~discombobulating, off-topic, baffling, ~babushka
You can do it simply by mining in the first ruin and completing early commissions.
The priority being improving your worktable to max level to unlock last tier of every tools.
Then farm stuff to make those tools.
With those in hands, everything will turn way easier and it will become way less likely that you'll fail a mission....
Next priority will be farm of data disks to unlock new diagrams.
Then, when you'll be sitting on enough disk to purchase the next diagram but still waiting on receiving the previous one by mail, you might start spending time doing silly things like fishing, or socializing with town's folks.