As Stardew Valley fans continue to wait patiently for the previously announced 1.7 update, creator Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) has dropped a couple small, vague, yet exciting hints about what said mysterious update might entail: a new farm type, and "more character/social stuff."
I mean, the original release had Skeletron as the final boss, which is not even the last one before hardmode now.
So 7 or 8 bosses, wings, “classes” (specialized equipment) including summoner with wasn’t a thing at all, new weapon types like yoyos, expert mode, several biomes, many events and mini games, town building, NPCs, modding support…
Fyi, the next “last” update is expected to drop mid to late January (though it’s been delayed multiple years at this point). If that’s something you’d want to wait for.
In this particular update, they’ve said that it will not be the last. But yeah, January is highly likely.
It feels so bad how long it has been delayed. As you say, its been years now. But that’s not because it keeps getting delayed over and over. It’s only really been postponed once. The original release date was dropped because they decided to increase the scope, and then their feature-creep seemed to get out of hand. But I think that by far the biggest reason for the delay is the death of one of their team members. In that small tight-knit team it has caused a lasting malaise and loss of focus; understandably so, I think.
In any case, I’m looking forward to that update. Terraria is a great game.
Fwiw, my note about the delay wasn’t a complaint, just a setting of expectations. I think it’s amazing that they’re still doing this much support, essentially for free, for so long. I’ll take it whenever they manage to get it out. Super grateful for the whole team.
I think he has also said that there are other people working on the game now and he is mostly focusing on his new game iirc. So it sounds like he has just passed the torch and we’re gonna get more Stardew content forever lol
I just read the announcement. He’s working solo on Haunted Chocolatier and says this about Stardew
with 1.7 I have been trying to take more of a “creative director” role in the team, so that (at least for now) I can focus the vast majority of my attention on Haunted Chocolatier.
and also
in order for me to maintain a full connection to the game, I need my hand to touch every piece of new content. And there are some aspects of content development which I insist on doing myself, like the music.
That was the last update where he was doing all the work, I think. Heavy lifting on newer updates is done by his employees now. His primary focus is Haunted Chocolatier, though he does approve everything that goes into Stardew Valley.
In the case of terraria I feel the game’s become a bit overstuffed. Bosses like dear clops and the old one’s army event don’t fit neatly into progression and there are plenty of items that seem redundant since you can get a better version in 10 minutes.
Obviously this is a minor complaint by someone who’s been playing terraria on and off for nearly half my life but I do wish they worked on a full sequel but I doubt that’s ever going to happen.
I’ve completed Stardew valley twice and I don’t feel like replaying all the same character interactions. It feels a bit depressing to build up relationships the second time. That’s why I’m so excited about haunted choclatier.
I do want the developers to work on what they’re passionate about and I am glad they’ve supported these games for so long but I do wish they just let them rest.
“Cash cow”. What a rude misrepresentation of a game that’s released large, free updates for nearly a decade on a game that’s never cost more than $15 usd, that many get hundreds of hours of enjoyment from.
If it was about money, it would be blatantly obvious, with mtx and dlc shoved into every pore. This is a passionate creator that just can’t stop adding more.
Didn’t this game’s creator say that a given update was the last content update quite a few times already?
Same as the Terraria devs, yeah.
Glad he’s found a passion project that makes him happy!
Terraria is going to keep adding versions until they jump to 2.0
To be honest, compared to 1.0, is almost a different game
Not looking for a full changelog or anything but what would you say have been some of the most significant changes over the years?
I mean, the original release had Skeletron as the final boss, which is not even the last one before hardmode now.
So 7 or 8 bosses, wings, “classes” (specialized equipment) including summoner with wasn’t a thing at all, new weapon types like yoyos, expert mode, several biomes, many events and mini games, town building, NPCs, modding support…
Ahh ok I’ve played since most of those were added but not the mini games or towns. Might have to give it another play this winter
Fyi, the next “last” update is expected to drop mid to late January (though it’s been delayed multiple years at this point). If that’s something you’d want to wait for.
In this particular update, they’ve said that it will not be the last. But yeah, January is highly likely.
It feels so bad how long it has been delayed. As you say, its been years now. But that’s not because it keeps getting delayed over and over. It’s only really been postponed once. The original release date was dropped because they decided to increase the scope, and then their feature-creep seemed to get out of hand. But I think that by far the biggest reason for the delay is the death of one of their team members. In that small tight-knit team it has caused a lasting malaise and loss of focus; understandably so, I think.
In any case, I’m looking forward to that update. Terraria is a great game.
I hadn’t heard about the death. That’s awful :(
Fwiw, my note about the delay wasn’t a complaint, just a setting of expectations. I think it’s amazing that they’re still doing this much support, essentially for free, for so long. I’ll take it whenever they manage to get it out. Super grateful for the whole team.
Hey, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely wait until then
I think he has also said that there are other people working on the game now and he is mostly focusing on his new game iirc. So it sounds like he has just passed the torch and we’re gonna get more Stardew content forever lol
I just read the announcement. He’s working solo on Haunted Chocolatier and says this about Stardew
and also
That was the last update where he was doing all the work, I think. Heavy lifting on newer updates is done by his employees now. His primary focus is Haunted Chocolatier, though he does approve everything that goes into Stardew Valley.
Is it a problem if he did?
In the case of terraria I feel the game’s become a bit overstuffed. Bosses like dear clops and the old one’s army event don’t fit neatly into progression and there are plenty of items that seem redundant since you can get a better version in 10 minutes. Obviously this is a minor complaint by someone who’s been playing terraria on and off for nearly half my life but I do wish they worked on a full sequel but I doubt that’s ever going to happen.
I’ve completed Stardew valley twice and I don’t feel like replaying all the same character interactions. It feels a bit depressing to build up relationships the second time. That’s why I’m so excited about haunted choclatier.
I do want the developers to work on what they’re passionate about and I am glad they’ve supported these games for so long but I do wish they just let them rest.
Why kill a cash cow? Just keep updating and releasing for new platforms.
“Cash cow”. What a rude misrepresentation of a game that’s released large, free updates for nearly a decade on a game that’s never cost more than $15 usd, that many get hundreds of hours of enjoyment from.
If it was about money, it would be blatantly obvious, with mtx and dlc shoved into every pore. This is a passionate creator that just can’t stop adding more.
Cause Eric makes so much money off of every free update he releases lmao
If it was about money, these updates would be bundled into a DLC, or they would be focused on churning Haunted Chocolatier out.
ConcernedApe is just a swell guy who loves Stardew Valley
I suspect he just goes back to the star dew hole when he feels stuck on haunted chocolatier.
Stardew was a passion project and has made enough money at this point that he could just retire so I expect he would quit when he has had enough.
Yeah it’s definitely got to be his comfort programming.
Goddammit Todd