Stardew Valley's next update will add a beach farm
Beach farm! Beach farm! Beach farm!
Beach farm! Beach farm! Beach farm! I might just be overexcited because I'm playing a lot of Stardew Valley at the moment, but developer ConcernedApe has revealed the game's next update will come with a brand new farmstead - the beach! It might sound like a nice little seaside getaway, but this farm seems like a tough one to get started with - mostly because sprinklers won't work on that pesky sand.
If you fancy even more of a challenge, ConcernedApe says update 1.5 is bringing some "Advanced Game Options" too, making community centre bundles and mine rewards a little more interesting.
I think this may be the start of yet another Stardew playthrough for me, although I'm slightly concerned at the lack of sprinklers. Who will tend to my crops while I'm down in the mines? Also, I'm lazy. Luckily this update is adding split-screen too, so I could just drag in some pals to do it.
Stardew's upcoming "Advanced Game Options" will allow you to choose how community centre bundles (the packages you fill with crops and produce to restore the community centre) appear before starting your farm. Selecting "remixed" on the drop down menu will randomise new bundles and create variations of old ones, asking you for slightly different stuff to complete them. There's also an option that guarantees you'll be able to fill all the bundles in your first year if you don't want it taking ages.
On top of that, mine rewards will be changeable too (though it's not entirely clear what all the options for that are), and you can turn on (or off) monster spawns for your farm.
Last month, ConcernedApe said Stardew Valley's 1.5 update is "in the home stretch", so hopefully it won't be long now until we can start our new lives as farming beach hermits. The developer has mentioned previously that 1.5 will also add "a significant new piece of endgame content", and banana trees are on the way as well.
Stardew Valley truly is the gift that keeps on giving. It's one of the best management games and best RPGs on PC, we reckon.