How to Mod Stardew Valley on Steam: Two Easy Methods

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Stardew Valley, launched on Steam in 2016, is already an unbelievable recreation with hours and hours of content material, however what if you would like extra? Learning how one can mod the sport could sound intimidating if you’ve by no means done it before, however it’s truly really easy when following the suitable steps. Right here, you’ll discover these steps and some ideas to boost your modded Stardew Valley experience. Relying in your chosen methodology, you may play modded Stardew with or and not using a mod manager.

Abigail portraits pictured, top to bottom: Character Portrait Overhauls by Kamirose, Baechu’s Portraits by Baechu and Variant Anime Portraits by Bunnerz.

Backing Up Your Saves

Before the rest, again up any present saves. You don’t necessarily have to, but it’s always better to be safe in case something goes improper. This may be achieved in Steam by deciding on Stardew Valley, then the cog icon and Properties. As soon as the brand new window has popped up, choose Local Information from the menu on the left, then click “Backup sport files”.

Backing up recreation recordsdata is vital.

You’ll see a list of your video games and Stardew Valley needs to be selected automatically. You’ll be able to then use Steam’s default backup location or select your own. Now, you just must resolve whether or not to use a mod supervisor.

How to Mod Stardew Valley on Steam: The basics

You’ll solely need a number of issues for modding Stardew Valley: a duplicate of the game, SMAPi (which I’ll cover in a moment) and, optionally, a backup of your present saves. You’ve already discovered tips on how to back up your saves by way of Steam, so let’s soar into installing SMAPI.

Downloading & Installing SMAPI

SMAPI’s web site displays the program’s download entrance and middle.

No matter what mod supervisor you’re utilizing, if you’re utilizing one at all, you’ll first have to obtain SMAPI. SMAPI is the Stardew Modding API and is required for pretty much each mod. To download SMAPI, merely head to their website and click on the inexperienced download button.

As soon as SMAPI has been downloaded, head to the placement you saved it to. For most people, this will be the downloads folder. As soon as there, proper click the SMAPI–installer zip file. Then either select “Extract All… ” or use your most popular software to unzip the file.

Be certain that to pick the right set up file!

After you’ve unzipped the file, go into your newly created folder. Once inside, choose the file that matches your operating system. For instance: if you’re using Home windows select the set up on Home windows bat file.

Now, depending on which file you clicked, these steps will look a little bit completely different. But, as far as I’m conscious, the steps should be functionally the identical.

Be sure you copy the entirety of the tackle bar.

All it is advisable to do is affirm your game’s install folder. It ought to be detected robotically, but when it isn’t here’s what to do. Go back to steam and select the cog icon. Select “Manage > Browse local files” and you’ll be taken to the install folder. Simply copy the text proven within the deal with bar and paste it into the SMAPI window. Now you’re ready to go!

As soon as you’ve confirmed your Stardew Valley’s set up location through Steam, type “1” after which hit enter. Now SMAPI will install into your game’s folder!

SMAPI is finished putting in!

The ultimate step is to repeat the inexperienced text proven within the SMAPI window into Steam. The textual content ought to have your install location adopted by the SMAPI exe and %command%. To paste it into Steam, return to the Stardew Valley sport web page and select the cog. After that, go to “Properties” and paste the textual content beneath “Launch Options”.

Installing Mods

Congratulations! Now you can start installing mods! If you need to make use of a mod manager, you possibly can skip this section and transfer on to the following.

There are a ton of places to obtain mods from, but the primary place to go is Nexus. You possibly can install any mod you want, however for this instance I’ll show tips on how to obtain Content Patcher. I might advocate you obtain it as effectively, because it’s a requirement for a lot of, many mods.

The Vortex button is only if you’re using a mod manager.

Click on the “Manual” button in the top proper. For Content Patcher, the one dependency is SMAPI, so you can click on “Download”. It will show you any dependencies you want and offers you links to their obtain pages. You can save the file to wherever you’d like, but avoid placing them in the identical folder as SMAPI for now. If you’re downloading a number of mods without delay, put them all in the same folder to help speed up the subsequent step.

Now, extract the Content material Patcher zip file like before. Next, drag the Content material Patcher folder into the Mods folder. As soon as that’s achieved, go into the new folder. Click the cog, then go to “Manage > Browse native files”. You will discover the mods folder in the same method we found the Stardew Valley set up path earlier. There you’ll discover the mods folder.

Your folder might need different files, since this is your first mod.

And, with that, you’ve now installed your first mod. Content Patcher won’t do anything by itself, so go take a look at some extra mods on Nexus! I’ll additionally recommend a few of my favorite mods at the tip, so feel free to check them out as well!

How to Mod Stardew Valley on Steam: Utilizing a Mod Supervisor

This methodology is a bit more work than the first one, however I feel it makes things easier in the long term. A mod manager, for these unaware, will allow you to simply activate and deactivate mods without manually moving them around. Some mod managers can even obtain mods for you, making things way easier.

Which Mod Supervisor Ought to You use?

Stardew Valley Mod Supervisor, a now defunct mod managing program.

While numerous mod managers have been abandoned as of 2023, there are still a couple of choices to choose from. I’ll go over the primary three I’ve used, although be happy to use a special one if you’d want.

Stardrop

Stardrop is, in my opinion, one of the best mod supervisor for Stardew Valley. It seems great, is tremendous lightweight and I have but to encounter a single bug. It helps a number of profiles, has great sorting performance and makes it simple to obtain/update mods.

The biggest subject with Stardrop is that you just can’t browse mods in this system. You’ll have to find them on-line. Moreover, Stardrop will only obtain mods from Nexus. If you discover mods wherever else, you’ll need to import the zip file manually.

Stardrop’s UI is straightforward and intuitive.

Even with those issues, I would nonetheless suggest Stardrop over the opposite mod managers listed here. You possibly can download Stardrop from Nexus.

ModDrop

I don’t have a ton of expertise using ModDrop. I’ve only used it for a short while to familiarize myself with it for this information. I’d say ModDrop only really beats Stardrop in downloading mods. The UI feels more cluttered and it feels a bit slower. It may, nonetheless, obtain mods from both Nexus and the ModDrop webpage. It’s also possible to browse mods available on their website whereas utilizing the app. It shares most different features with Stardrop.

ModDrop means that you can browse mods proper within the app!

ModDrop, with how straightforward it is to browse mods, makes a solid competitor to Stardrop. If you’re looking for a mod supervisor that makes finding and downloading mods as simple as possible, ModDrop may be for you. You possibly can download ModDrop for Home windows from their website. MacOS is at present in beta and Linux is unavailable.

CurseForge

The third and ultimate mod supervisor I’ll mention is CurseForge. You must probably go together with certainly one of the other mod managers, but I’ll mention some good factors. CurseForge helps a ton of video games, so it’s unlikely assist for it should die anytime soon. It’s also possible to browse CurseForge mods from inside the app.

CurseForge has a small choice of easily accessible mods and no solution to obtain from external sites.

I wouldn’t advocate CurseForge for most situations. It tends to be buggy and sluggish, plus downloading mods is extra of a problem. So, if you happen to at present use it for modded Minecraft and don’t need to put in another mod supervisor, go ahead and use this. You’ll be able to obtain CurseForge from their webpage. Nevertheless, it’s extremely popular for Minecraft mods. Linux unavailable.

Establishing Your Mod Manager

Now, I’ll present you methods to set up either Stardrop or ModDrop. Since I only advocate utilizing CurseForge if you already have it, I won’t explain how it works here.

Setting up Stardrop

Stardrop was launched at the top of 2021, however it’s already an unbelievable program.

First off, you’ll must download Stardrop from Nexus. As soon as you’ve received it downloaded, extract the brand new Stardrop zip file. After that, fitgirl repack just move the Stardrop folder to wherever you’d like to maintain it. The Stardrop exe file in that folder will now launch the mod manager.

Installing Mods with Stardrop

There are two methods to install mods with Stardrop. First, you can just obtain the zip file as you’d normally after which import it into Stardrop. Merely click “File > Add Mod” and select the mod’s zip file.

Putting in mods with Stardrop is straightforward!

One other approach to download mods with Stardrop is to hyperlink your Nexus account. To do so, go to “Nexus Mods > API Connection” and follow the instructions. As soon as your account is linked, you may click the “Vortex” button in the highest right of a Stardew Valley mod web page and it will be despatched to Stardrop. All mods will set up next time Stardrop is opened.

Organising ModDrop

ModDrop’s web site will take you straight to the app’s obtain page.

After downloading the ModDrop exe, open it and choose where to put in the program. As soon as it’s been put in, you’ll need to click on “Run” to open the app. It is advisable to login with a ModDrop, Fb, Google or Twitch account. You’ll be introduced with a login screen. If you don’t have an account, you’ll be prompted to create one.

Putting in Mods with ModDrop

Once your account is set up, all of your video games ought to routinely be detected. Choose Stardew Valley from the menu on the left and start on the lookout for some mods! To connect with Nexus, click on the “Enable Downloads from Nexus” button and observe the directions. Now you can set up mods by clicking the “Vortex” button on Nexus pages.

Launching Your Mod Manager Through Stream

Your “Launch Options” box ought to seem like this.

To have your mod manager open once you launch Stardew Valley by Steam, you simply must do one factor. Go to your mod manager’s install location and proper click on on the exe file. Click on copy and return to your Stardew Valley properties page in Steam. Replace the “\SMAPI.exe” with the textual content you simply copied. Now, your mod supervisor will launch while you click on play in Steam.

Some Mods to Get You Began

Animal Crossing Dig Spots adjustments the look of the game’s dig spots to match a certain different life sim.

Now that you’ve finished setting up SMAPI and a mod manager, here are a couple of mods that I’d suggest to anyone just beginning out with modded Stardew Valley.

Animal Crossing Dig Spots

One in every of my favorite small mods is Animal Crossing Dig Spots. While I do like the bottom game’s dig spot texture, it’s so much simpler for me to acknowledge them with this mod.

Higher Water 2

The “Teal” choice in Higher Water 2.

Better Water 2 modifications the look of the game’s rivers, lakes and oceans. There are a couple of configuration options out there, so you can customize things to your liking.

Stardew Aquarium

While fishing is certainly a very enjoyable and rewarding pastime, Stardew Aquarium provides a bit more incentive to catching fish. Once you have access to the prepare station, you possibly can travel to an aquarium and donate your fish! It’s a fun time watching them swim around their tanks.

The Curator, a new NPC from the aquarium.

And that’s it! Hopefully you’ve found this guide useful. If you’re in search of more data on Stardew Valley, check out a few of our other guides.

Stardew Valley Cooking Information: How one can Make All Recipes (Winter / Yr-Round)
Final Information on Where and When to Catch Any Type of Fish in Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley: How to search out and Use Mushrooms

Nathaniel has been writing for nearly so long as he’s been taking part in video games. Starting with a Pokémon fan page and blog posts in an Animal Crossing group, Nathaniel has all the time written about what he loves. Above all else, he just desires to see that definitely-taking place Kirby’s Epic Yarn sequel.