Stardew Valley update ‘future-proofs’ the game, makes modding easier

Stardew Valley’s latest patch isn’t necessarily a big one, and it doesn’t add new content, but it “futureproofs the game” by migrating to a newer framework, according to version 1.5.5’s patch notes. Mods can now use up to 4GB RAM.

Version 1.5.6 is coming soon and will include more modding support. Modder PathosChild & SMAPI. Stardew Valley The mod tool that they created. The patch notes didn’t go into greater detail on what 1.5.6 will have coming, but “some long requested ‘holy grail’ changes” are on tap. PathosChild now has access Stardew Valley’s source code for the changes on the way.

PathosChild was also responsible for the migration. Stardew Valley off XNA, which Microsoft hasn’t developed since 2013, and into MonoGame, which is an open-source implementation of XNA 4. Vanilla XNA used to be the Xbox Live Indie Games platform on Xbox 360.

Stardew Fans will appreciate the minor but important quality-of life improvements made with 1.5.5. You have the option to buy back any item you sell (as long as you do not sell it again in the same session), or carry over your preferences and settings into new saves.

But the biggest is the ability to scootch a pet out of the way if they’re sitting on a space where you want to build. Simply nudge them by clicking on them and they’ll move. It’s much more effective than grumbling and swearing at the screen.

You can find the full patch notes detailing a number of fixes to the game. Version 1.5.5 was released on Tuesday. No word on when 1.5.6 deploys; it doesn’t sound like it should be too long, but version 1.5.5 did follow 1.5.4 by almost 10 months.