Stardew Valley 1.6’s most impactful updates are big, small, and stupid

polygon.com:

Stardew Valley developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone wasn’t lying when he said that update 1.6 was going to be huge. The new patch, released Tuesday, is chock-full of changes to just about every aspect of the game, from story events to fishing, endgame content, and even the maps. Of course, there are also the typical bug fixes, which lead to some hysterical bullet points in the patch notes.

It’s not enough to feel like a whole new game, but it’s a huge refresh, which is impressive considering the original game came out over eight years ago. And while some of the changes feel small at first, they can have lasting effects on how players approach the game. Sure, there’s a new farm option and new events, but what about NPCs not destroying your chests anymore if they run into them? That can be life-changing for the right person.

From big changes to small ones, here are some of the most impactful updates we found in the official patch notes.

[Ed. note: This post goes into 1.6 updates, so there will be minor spoilers for new content. Avoid if you want to be surprised.]

To incentivize multiple playthroughs and to cater to different kinds of players, the game has multiple farm types and layouts you can choose from at the start. Update 1.6 has added a new type: the Meadowlands Farm, which caters to animal lovers. Your farm will start off with a chicken coop and two chickens, along with new blue grass for them to eat. There is also the chance to get a blue chicken to match in Marnie’s shop. Just remember to clean out the path to the coop first before doing anything else.

Stardew Valley has a ton of things to do, but it has an endgame problem. What the end of a farm might mean differs per player — getting married, unlocking all the skills, getting your farm into a great place — but without a doubt, the game struggles to maintain interest after a certain point. There have been a lot of updates to add late-game content, and the latest huge one is the new mastery system. Once you