Stardew Valley: Play vanilla *and* modded SMAPI at the same time.

...aka, "how to trick Steam into thinking Stardew Valley with SMAPI *and* Stardew Valley 1.3 beta are two different games you can play alongside one another" - but that didn't make for such a catchy title.

I hadn’t played Stardew Valley in a while. A couple of days ago, my friends hit me up saying Stardew Valley co-op is out. I did what any former addict would do: relapse.

I installed the game again, got beta set up and got started on a new co-op file. My boyfriend and my friend joined me, it was lots of fun – but soon the nostalgia started creeping in again. I want my flashy grass mod, I want different trees, I want a different farmhouse, I miss the Automate mod, etc. But these mods aren’t updated yet – and the beta isn’t a stable release yet anyway. So I was faced with a difficult decision: either I am social and play mod-less but with friends, or I ditch the friends and get SMAPI again. I thought long and hard on it, until I realised… why not both?

Step 1: Clean Stardew Valley (non-beta) install

If you have only been .xnb modding (recolouring) your game, you can leave these edits in there. But if you have been trying out the beta already, that needs to go. Either disable the beta the same way you enabled it, or uninstall your game altogether for a clean install.

Step 2: Make a copy of your Stardew Valley folder

When you have your non-beta game installed, go to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\

and find the Stardew Valley folder.

Copy it in the same location, and name your fresh copy something like “Stardew Valley – Copy” (very original, although you might call it Bob for all I care).

Step 3: Download and install SMAPI

Get the latest non-beta version of SMAPI from https://smapi.io/ – at the time of this blog post, that was version 2.5.5.

Run the installer, press “1” and enter to install SMAPI to your vanilla Stardew Valley folder (not Bob).

Step 4: Add SMAPI to Steam

Do NOT follow the instructions to change your Stardew Valley .exe file to the SMAPI one through Steam. Instead, go back to your

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\

folder and change the name of the “Stardew Valley” folder to “Stardew Valley – SMAPI 2.5.5″, then change the “Stardew Valley – Bob” folder’s name back to “Stardew Valley”. You now have, once more, a vanilla Stardew Valley folder and a separate, modded SMAPI folder.



Go to your Steam library, click on “Add a game +” and then on “Add a Non-Steam Game…”



Don’t wait for the software to find all the software you have installed on your computer. Instead, click on “Browse…”



Navigate to your

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley - SMAPI 2.5.5

folder and select the

StardewModdingAPI.exe

file.

Step 5: Activate the beta

Now right-click on your regular Stardew Valley (not the SMAPI we just added) and select “Properties”



Click the BETAS tab, enter the beta access code

jumpingjunimos

and click on “CHECK CODE”



Another option is added to the beta drop-down menu. Select “beta – Help test new updates before they go live!” and close the window.



Your game will now install an additional update to activate the beta.

Switch between the two Stardew Valleys in your Steam Library to either play vanilla beta / co-op or modded SMAPI.

WARNING: do NOT load a beta save in SMAPI or a SMAPI save in the new beta!

Loading these saves in the wrong version of the game will corrupt and freeze your game.

Your saves from “the other game” will show up in-game like this:



This is normal – just don’t load the corrupt looking file that’s meant for a different version and you’re golden.

If you are looking for mod suggestions, check out my blog[blog.lydocia.com].

Enjoy!

[.Avi]

right click it in your library, then press browse local files underneath manage to find the files easily.
Also I'm not sure if both versions work for acheivements (which is what I want), but I do know that if you make a new custom profile of the modded versions default stardew valley.exe that will work too

[Unknown Senpai]

Unable to find the steam folder on Mac, it just doesn't show up when I go to application support.

[Master Taco]

You rock, thanks.

[Takashi_Gaming]

ok thanks

[lydocia]

I'm sorry but I'm not affiliated with the creators in any way. You'd be better off asking them directly, through https://community.playstarbound.com/forums/stardew-support/ Good luck!

[Takashi_Gaming]

everytime my friend and I play, he has 10 Hearts with Emily but then everytime I wait for him to finish it just freezes the game, we cant move on until he quits the game. if you could ask the creators to try and fix this it would be appreciated

[lydocia]

If I come across a change of code, I willl most definitely update the guide. :-) I'm not sure if / when it will change or how we would know, but I'll keep an eye out!

[Galben]

will you update the code if it changes ?If it will changes where can i find it?

[lydocia]

Oh, good catch! It was "jumpingjunimos" all along, but apparently a space snuck in. Thanks for letting me know!

[kitkat!!]

{LINK REMOVED}http://bit.ly/2KeJ0kY

Beta code was changed apparently. jumping junimos wasn't working for me, no spaces ended up working out. Otherwise, big ups.