Stardew Valley is known for its immense gameplay, so you might feel burned out after completing everything the base game offers you. But what if we told you that there are endless new and exciting things for you to do in Stardew Valley?
Stardew Valley has a dedicated modding community that is constantly creating unique content for this popular indie farming sim. While the idea of modifying your game might seem overwhelming at first, it’s actually very simple.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to install and run mods in Stardew Valley using SMAPI so you can break out of burnout and keep playing your favorite farming sim.
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What are mods?
Video game mods are user-made modifications of the game. They are made by fans for fans to give the game more replay value.
There are hundreds of mods for Stardew Valley. Some are aesthetic mods that change the look of your game, while others add entirely new content and behave almost like fan-made video game DLC packs.
What do I need to install mods for Stardew Valley?
There are several ways to download and install mods in Stardew Valley, but the most common method is using SMAPI (Stardew Modding API). This program is specially designed for Stardew Valley, which makes it a very user-friendly experience.
You will also need the Content Patcher mod and a shortcut Account. Nexus is the website where you will find SMAPI, Content Patcher and any other mods you might want to install.
How to install SMAPI
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The first step on your way to mod Stardew Valley is to download and install SMAPI on your PC. Here’s how:
- Search for SMAPI in Nexus.
- Open SMAPI and go to files Tab.
- Choose Manual download from the main files of SMAPI.
- Here you will be asked to log in to your Nexus account. If you haven’t created an account yet, do so now.
- After downloading SMAPI, locate your Stardew Valley game file in file explorer.
- Open your downloads in another window and right click on your SMAPI zip file.
- Choose extract everything.
- Go back to your Stardew Valley game fileright click on the filenameand choose Copy address as text.
- Paste this into the text box in the extract everything Window. This will move SMAPI to your Stardew Valley games folder.
- open that SMAPI installer folder and start it with the operating system you are using.
- A black pop-up window will appear prompting you for input 1 to confirm the move of SMAPI.
- Enter 1 to install again.
If you’re running Stardew Valley through Steam, you’ll need to redirect the game’s launch options. Once SMAPI has been successfully downloaded, it will provide you with the code you need to do this.
- Copy the code from the black pop-up box.
- Go to Stardew Valley on Steam.
- Right click on the game and press Characteristics.
- In which General settings see the Boot Options. Paste the code here.
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You’ll know everything installed correctly when the black box that appears when the game starts shows only white text. Extremely easy to use, SMAPI will let you know if something went wrong installing your mods.
Some mods require other mods to be installed first in order to work. If this is the case, faulty mods will appear in red text in the black pop-up window when launching the game.
If other mods are required, SMAPI will provide you the download link to install them. Similarly, if a mod requires an update, SMAPI will provide you with the link so you don’t have to find it yourself.
How to install the content patcher
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After you have successfully installed SMAPI, it’s time for step two of your mod Stardew Valley quest, which is downloading and installing Content Patcher.
- Find Content Patcher by typing it into the search bar in Nexus.
- Download and install it using the same procedure as before.
- Go back to the Stardew Valley game file on your computer. You will see that it is brand new model File was added.
- Open the content patcher zip fileright click on the filenameand choose extract everything.
- Copy the file destination of the model folder by right-clicking on the filename and select Copy address as text.
- Paste it into the text box.
Content Patcher is the first and most important mod you need as no other mods will work without it. Content Patcher allows you to make changes to the game data without corrupting it.
It’s modding time!
With SMAPI and Content Patcher installed, you can now start adding other mods. The best place to find mods for Stardew Valley is on Nexus. Nexus has mods for over 1500 games, including numerous mods for Stardew Valley, so you’ll find everything you need there.
To find Stardew Valley mods, go to Nexus and type “Stardew Valley” in the search bar. This will filter all mods related to Stardew Valley. Now all you have to do is browse them all and download what appeals to you.
Since Content Patcher is a mod itself, you can follow the same instructions you used to install Content Patcher to download and install other mods. Just download the zip files and make sure you unzip them into the modifications folder.
There are a few other things you may need to be aware of when downloading and installing mods. The first is to make sure your mods are compatible with the latest Stardew Valley updates. If a mod was created a long time ago, it may not work with the new updates.
As mentioned, some mods require others to be installed. You can check if this is the case in the mods main files section if you prefer to avoid error messages.
Under the main filesyou will see a section labeled Optional files where you can find suggestions for similar mods that might interest you.
Play Stardew Valley to infinity and beyond
If you feel like you’ve exhausted Stardew Valley, modding is a great way to reinvigorate your game. By adding more content, characters, and even maps, you can keep playing your favorite games without worrying about burnout.
Modifying your games might seem intimidating at first, but it’s one of many great tools to get even more out of your simulation games when they’re feeling a little stale.
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