Actually, I want to ask. If someone like me who have zero experience in coding, how do I learn? I mean, what should I learn first? 🤔 I'm asking because many of you know how to code and make a mod, so I'm just wondering! ^^
Thank you in advance if I got a reply! :) I'll consider learning it one day.
Good news! I know nothing about coding but have successfully learned how to put an NPC in the game. (Granted I'm still not 100% sure how to do movie taste or events, but I'm working on it)
There are a few guides out there that cover the basics, but here are a few good resources that I've found to be pretty useful (mostly in the order I personally took when developing Skylar)
Manifesting your NPC
Miss Coriel's NPC Creator (Window's Only)
NPC Manifestation Tutorial
Stardew Valley Wiki - NPC Data
NPC Template
Writing Dialogue (Including Spouse Dialogue)
Dialogue is typically formated by day of the week and heart level. You can have there be different dialogue at each heart level (1, 2, 3 hearts, ect), but the standard is generally every other level (2, 4, 6 hearts, ect).
As far as conversation topics, it can generally be things like family, friends, work, environmental (seasonal/weather based), current events (community center vs. Joja), hobbies, small talk and gossip, or tips/hints (like gift tastes or gameplay mechanics) <-courtesy of Yri from the East Scarp Discord
Haywrites breaks down the heart levels further to help with writing events and dialogue like this:
0 Hearts - Strangers
2 Hearts - Friendly
4 Hearts - Acquaintances
6 Hearts - Friends
8 Hearts - Good Friends
10 Hearts - Trusted
Personally, I kind of like to translate this as :
0 - small talk, current events, environmental
2 - possibly gossip, tips, work
4 - hobbies, possibly friends and family (anything observable)
6 - more open about friends and family, shares more about themselves
8 - The same, but with more details or follow-ups to previous conversations
10 - Secrets and thanks, conversations they probably wouldn't have with other characters
For All The Technical Stuff
SDV Wiki - Modding Dialogue
NPC Dialogue Tutorial
Creating Schedules (Including Marriage Schedules)
SDV Wiki - Schedules
Miss Coriel's Position Tool
Gift Tastes
Gift tastes are what will take your NPC from anti-social to befriend-able! Giving you the ability to unlock all that heart-level dialogue you spent all your time writing and allowing heart events. Vanilla items are simple to implement as they all have item codes that can be found either online or in the game files themselves (either by extracting them or SMAPI console commands)
Implementing gift tastes for modded items follows a different format though. Instead of a numbered ID like in the vanilla game, they're typically implemented through a mod called json Assets and have the ID {{spacechase0.jsonAssets/ObjectId: <Name of Item>}} instead. The name of the item can be found by going through the mod's [JA] folder.
SDV Wiki - Gift Tastes
Item ID List
Movie Data
There's not much I can tell you about this, because I'm still trying to figure it out myself. From what I can tell, the movie invitation dialogue is handled in the dialogue file. The rest of the data is divided into Movie Concession tastes, then Reactions (if they enjoy it or not) and Response Point Dialogue (things they say before, after, and during a movie). Concessions and movies tend to be divided by tags.
Concession tastes can be the name of the item or tags like sweet, candy, fatty, healthy, joja, gourmet, ect.
Movie tags are things like family, sci-fi, horror, comedy, ect.
Movies are also determined by their release rather than their title as follows:
spring_movie_0 - Brave Little Sapling (family, comedy)
spring_movie_1 - Natural Wonders (documentary, family)
summer_movie_0 - Prairie King (action)
summer_movie_1 - Wumbus (sci-fi, comedy, family)
fall_movie_0 - Mysterium (horror, art)
fall_movie_1 - Howls in the rain (horror)
winter_movie_0 - Miracle at Coldstar Ranch (family, romance)
winter_movie_1 - Zuzu City Express (classic, romance)
SDV Wiki - Movie Data
Events
As many or as little as you like. The standard tends to be 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 14 for marriage candidates (Although, several modders tend to add a 12-heart events in, too). Non-romanceable candidates tend to have 3, 5, 7, and possibly 10 heart events, but most of these tend to be letters with items or recipes.
Honestly, it's entirely up to personal preference.
NPC Creation - Events by LemurKat
SDV Wiki - Event Data
Event Modding Resource
Event Basics Tutorial
Eventing Ep 1
Eventing Ep 2
Festival Inclusion (Optional)
I think my Festival data is being held together with duct tape. The way I went about it was not very efficient. It does work, but not in a way that I know how to explain when it comes to proper formatting. All I can tell you is that you have a few things to keep in mind.
Festival Dialogue (self-explanatory), and festival positions.
The positions are divided up into setup (where they are at the start of the event) and main event (where they are during things like the egg hunt or fishing competition).
Festival Positions
SDV Wiki - Festival Data
Custom NPC Positions (Data on Custom NPCs positions from other mods)
Custom Maps (Also Optional)
I've yet to fully figure out how this works too, but I'm focusing on other things at the moment. These are just things I have bookmarked for later.
How to Make Maps
Tiled
SDV Wiki - Modding Maps
SDV Map-Making Tutorials
Misc
SMAPI Debug Commands
How to Unpack XNB Files
Content Patcher: Dynamic Tokens (Allows for things like seasonal changes)
slowburn or love at first sight // fake dating or secret dating // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // there's only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt/comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // smut or fluff // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one-shot or multi-chapter // kid fic or road trip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high-school romance or middle-age romance // time travel or isolated together // neighbors or roommates // sci-fi au or magic au // body swap or genderbent // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane
tagging the same folks @studentinpursuitofclouds @reallyghostlypost @ampleappleamble @cherulee @elisa6102
I still laugh at the fact that Julian didn't immediately grasp the meaning of Lance's words, and like “Oh, holy shit—” tried to carry on the conversation as if nothing had happened 😂😂😂
wyll being incorruptible is actually a core part of his character and i love it so much. warlocks in general arent well known for putting strong morals ahead of power on their list of priorities, but heres a fiend warlock who exerts his willpower (or wyllpower, if you wyll) over his fucking devil patron by refusing to let her make him worse. he cant rewrite his pact, but he can choose to break it when he deems necessary. he cant dodge her punishment, but he can choose to not "learn his lesson" and continue pissing her off. its ballsy as fuck. he asserts his autonomy and flexes on the lady who owns his soul and hes a fucking legend for it. no it would not make him a "deeper" character if he succumbed, it would make him fundamentally a different character and exactly what youd expect from a fiend warlock
zariel based seemingly her entire plan on wyll caving to pressure and letting mizora run the gate. but he didnt. his force of will (force of wyll) was stronger than the archduchess of avernus had even passingly thought to account for. wyll choosing to spit in mizoras face and suffer the consequences, simply on principle, fucking owns
Wyll Ravengard is the very first time I have genuinely enjoyed a “classical prince” archetype in media since childhood (at least. possibly since forever though, idr.) being romantically-challenged (aroace) myself I just tend to find the trope mildly annoying lol and not terribly engaging much of the time.
but Wyll is special because it’s his fantasy. he holds himself to the image of the archetypical “hero” in fairytales the same way I might hold myself to the image of a benevolent creature in fairytales, to draw strength from in order to be kind and brave. that’s authentic and so very real. he’s not “pretending” because that is who he is inside, but he is, like so many of us, leaning on the values of his beloved stories to guide him. both in striving for good and also in simply having fun.
Everyone in Wyll's life just assuming the worst about him at all times as if he's not a walking beam if sunshine makes me want to throw hands with half of the nobility of the city. I won't, because he would want to be the bigger person, but they should understand the only thing between them and a "I didn't ask how big the room is" fireball is Baldur's Gate Prince Charming
weird question maybe but can your custom plushies be washed? i have some cleanliness/germs related issues so i want to check on that before thinking too hard about commissioning you >.<
No worries! I totally understand and it's something I've tested myself for this exact reason. (Am I always worried about passing on my dog's fluffy allergens despite him not being allowed in my work space and washing my hands before working? Yes. Yes I am.)
I do wash the pieces before final assembly, but they're primarily made out of acrylic felt so they should be washed by hand and line dried/tumble dried in a (delicates bag on no air) if possible because heat can melt the fibers and the abrasive tumbling can pill and tear the felt. (Rip the blank base who was sacrificed to the wash to test this 🫡)
The same principles apply with yarn hair, but felt or minky hair is definitely easier to clean so I would recommend those options.
If it being washer/dryer safe is a MUST then feel free to dm me about it and I can look into some more durable fabrics though it will likely cost more/take longer because I might need to get the materials shipped if it's not at the local shop and they tend to cost 2-4x more than felt.
I'm starting to hear that goddamn palette house music in my dreams...
Anyway, Kai's outfit. IDK if I'm gonna f with making the pants I feel like this games siphoning off bits of my soul
Also, the Mezzanine album cover because I'm still proud of it dammit
