Stardew Valley 1.6 Update: New Features and Fixes

Stardew Valley 1.6.9 patch notes:

New content & features

• A new friend appears in the secret woods who can retrieve lost items for a price.
• Legendary fish can be placed in fish ponds, producing legendary fish roe.
• Beds can be placed and used for sleeping in constructed buildings.
• Items dropped in water now float for a short time, allowing for collection.
• Sam and Shane have work portraits while working at JojaMart.
• Tweaked dialogues and added new Easter eggs.
• Hidden cheat commands have been added (only on platforms where save edits are possible).

Balance changes

• Blue grass growth speed has been normalized.
• Fruit tree growth is no longer obstructed by grass and seed spots.
• Pine trees now drop an extra piece of wood when chopped down.
• Wild slimes killed on the farm now count towards the initiation quest.
• Thorns ring damage stacks when equipping two, and monsters killed by it now drop loot.
• The Gatherer skill’s double harvest chance now applies with the iridium scythe.
• Son of Crimsonfish can now be caught during the night market.
• Robin no longer constructs buildings during green rain in year 1.
• Bomb enchantment effects no longer apply to bomb damage.
• New items added to shops:
  • Adventurer’s Guild: Rusty Sword, Femur, Elf Blade, Steel Smallsword, Crystal Dagger, Obsidian Edge, and Work Boots (unlocked after reaching a specific mine level).
  • Marnie’s shop: Cow Decal.
  • Hat mouse: Sports Cap.
  • Willy’s shop: Advanced Iridium Rod.
• Passing trains are more likely to occur multiple times in a session, but not on consecutive days.
• Willy’s shop opens on spring 2 in year 1 even without reading his letter.
• Queen of Sauce reruns are no longer affected by unclaimed farmhands’ recipe needs.
• Fixed the ability to receive monster damage while jumping down a mine shaft.
• Fixed spa energy recovery with a max-energy buff.
• Fixed stamina reduction when sleeping late while exhausted.
• Fixed the catalogue and Furniture Catalogue selling items from themed catalogues.
• Fixed the fish pond exploit with a golden cracker.
• Fixed the cow milking exploit.
• Fixed the unintended extra chance of green rain trees in fall.
• Fixed skill buffs affecting shop item requirements in 1.6.
• Fixed sturdy ring debuff time reduction in 1.6.
• Fixed lava eel catch chance in the caldera after 1.6.
• Fixed forage crops from garden pots always being low-quality.
• Fixed the iridium scythe with forage crops not giving XP or quality boost.
• Fixed some weapons never dropping from crates with legacy randomization enabled.

Quality of life changes

• The game now recovers most saves automatically if broken, corrupted, or missing files.
• Missed achievements, recipes, and mail are now re-sent to players.
• Fish ponds display the number of roe or output items to collect.
• The wedding event now replays upon reloading the day.
• The tailoring UI has been improved with slot disabling and item restrictions.
• Colored items now sort by color in the inventory.
• Books can only be sold to the bookseller via the book purchase menu.
• The collections tab now shows donated artifacts, gems, and minerals.
• Clint now refills the watering can when upgrading it.
• Save process improvements to reduce corruption chances.
• Anvils no longer accept parrot eggs if the level cannot be re-rolled.
• Chatbox command improvements:
  • Commands are case-insensitive.
  • /help format changed.
  • Descriptions added for /emote, /mapScreenshot, and /unbanAll.
  • Consistent messages added for unavailable commands.
• Performance optimizations implemented.

Technical changes

• Migrated from FAudio to OpenAL, improving audio performance.
• SDL updated from 2.0.x to 2.30.4.
• Fixed compatibility with newer Windows systems using older GPUs.

Gameplay fixes

• Chest type swapping is now restricted based on item storage capacity.
• Fixed NPC issues:
  • NPCs no longer avoid passable terrain features.
  • Fixed Krobus being kicked out triggering divorce dialogues.
  • Fixed Leo following his island schedule after moving to the mainland.
  • Fixed Lewis schedule overlapping with Marnie.
  • Fixed a Penny resort dialogue after marriage.
  • Fixed Pierre showing closed-on-Wednesday dialogue after extended hours.
  • Fixed duplicate mail from mom or dad after gender change.
  • Fixed dialogue based on location and heart level only being shown with 10+ hearts.
  • Fixed special NPC gift reaction dialogue inconsistency.
  • Fixed inability to talk to Robin after accepting a house upgrade.
  • Fixed incorrectly split dialogue in Linus’ first heart event.
  • Fixed NPCs not pathfinding through tiles with tents.
  • Fixed NPCs not loading their green rain dialogue if starting the day on the island.
  • Fixed NPCs saying “…” in 1.6 when they bought an item sold to a shop.
  • Fixed spouse sometimes saying “…” instead of neutral dialogue.
  • Fixed fiancée/spouse reacting to a mermaid’s pendant incorrectly.
• Fixed UI issues:
  • Fixed world map not always showing players at the right spot.
  • Fixed links in credits not opening a browser page.
  • Fixed interaction with hidden HUD elements.
  • Fixed issues when resizing the game window:
    • Advanced game options layout issues.
    • Collections page losing its selected tab and page.
    • Social page losing its scroll position.
  • Fixed themed catalogues not having category tabs.
  • Fixed forge UI destroying items after unforging.
  • Fixed museum menu clicks grabbing the artifact behind the OK button.
  • Fixed tailoring menu trashing non-trashable items.
  • Fixed organize button in inventory UIs placing items in special chests.
  • Fixed issue with building prices and window resizing.
• Fixed specific items and machines:
  • Fixed chest color reset when swapping chest type.
  • Fixed crab pots not producing double catches correctly with wild bait.
  • Fixed crab pots duplicating bait when loaded by a hopper.
  • Fixed crab pots not applying deluxe bait and wild bait bonuses.
  • Fixed fences destroyed on click when surrounded by impassable objects.
  • Fixed geode crushers incrementing the ‘geodes crushed’ stat when hovering.
  • Fixed magic quiver trinket sometimes doing nothing.
  • Fixed mannequins losing their clothes when moved into storage.
  • Fixed tents not blocking item placement.
  • Fixed bottomless watering cans sometimes showing a half-empty meter.
• Fixed building upgrades not placing interior items if:
  • Furniture is in the way.
  • An item blocking placement cannot be moved.
• Fixed cases where the Pirate’s Wife quest chain could lock players out:
  • A new War Memento is given if the required item is lost.
  • Talking to Birdie restarts the quest if it was canceled.
  • NPCs can no longer accept quest items as gifts or refuse their quest item.
• Fixed location/map issues:
  • Fixed screen viewport at wrong position after warping on horseback.
  • Fixed wilderness farm not pre-building the first cabin.
  • Fixed grass in Marnie’s cow field never regrowing.
  • Fixed Willy’s bait barrel missing during the night market.
  • Fixed some missing map tiles allowing off-screen walking.
  • Fixed ability to leave the Stardew Valley Fair festival area in odd years.
  • Fixed weed/stone debris spawning on placed paths.
  • Fixed ability to dig up buried treasure from non-diggable tiles.
  • Fixed forest fish not catchable on the four corners farm.
  • Fixed farmhouses using standard farm wallpaper/flooring.
• Fixed pre-1.6 saves losing the Dwarvish Translation Guide (retroactive fix).
• Fixed pre-1.6 farmhand stats not migrated correctly (retroactive fix).
• Fixed pre-1.6 tubs o’ flowers not blooming again after 1.6.
• Fixed the raccoon bundle accepting anything for preserve items.
• Fixed farmer title level requirements lowered by one in 1.6.
• Fixed fish ponds accepting multiple golden crackers before the first lands.
• Fixed two Desert Festival makeover outfits applying male shirts to females.
• Fixed shop items with both a stock limit and stack size.
• Fixed viewing a previous year’s secret santa letter showing the current year’s secret santa.
• Fixed the throw-item-into-shipping-bin animation using the wrong sprite.
• Fixed error loading mobile saves on other platforms.
• Fixed crash when loading a save file in some cases.
• Fixed crash when using a tent on Ginger Island during a night event.
• Fixed some cat gifts applying fishing bonuses from the main player’s rod.
• Fixed movie theater scene failing in some cases.
• Fixed Junimo harvesters losing item color when dropping a crop.
• Fixed a rare case where a Junimo hut output chest has too many item slots.

Multiplayer fixes

• Added an /unlinkPlayer [name] chat command for releasing a farmhand.
• Fixed the ability to steal another player’s roommate.
• Fixed farmhands claiming multiple Desert Festival fishing quests per day.
• Fixed crash when reconnecting later in the day after leaving a festival.
• Fixed host crash if a farmhand disconnects while moving between locations.
• Fixed NPC duplication in multiplayer fish derbies.
• Fixed crab pots and farm animals owned by an offline farmhand checking the main player’s professions.
• Fixed crab pots with no owner checking professions from the main player.
• Fixed farmhands not seeing the message when unable to enter an NPC’s bedroom.
• Fixed Marlon’s desert festival quests not displaying the Calico Egg reward to farmhands.
• Fixed some multiplayer logic not handling offline/invalid players correctly.
• Fixed potential ‘null reference exception’ crashes in multiplayer code.
• Fixed crab pots with no owner checking the Mariner profession for bait requirements.
• Fixed Willy not sending fishing rod mail to farmhands who join after spring 2.
• Fixed ‘waiting for players’ check including disconnecting players.
• Fixed trains not playing chugga chugga sounds for farmhands.

Display text and localization fixes

• In the credits, the Reddit/Twitter links have been replaced with a “News & Community” link.
• Fixed a large number of translation issues for non-English players, with automated tests for future consistency. This fixes:
  • Unimplemented dialogue/event changes in 1.6 for some languages.
  • Missing dialogues and event actions.
  • Missing, outdated, or incorrect translations.
  • Missing event preconditions.
  • Events playing the wrong music, not being skippable, or placing players/NPCs incorrectly.
  • Translations having different dialogue portraits, breaks, etc.
  • Conversation topics not starting when something happens.
  • Text being shown one word per dialogue box.
  • Grammar improvements.
  • Various errors and typos.
  • Many other issues.
• Improvements and fixes to translations and sprites, including some re-translated item names.
• Renamed “cranberries jelly/juice/wine” to “cranberry jelly/juice/wine”.
• Fixed some bad words being produced by the random name generator.
• Fixed NPC text signs and some chat/UI messages not always displaying in the player’s language.
• Fixed flavored items in some chat/UI messages not showing correctly.
• Fixed various typos in English text.
• Fixed special order objectives not re-translated when the language changes.
• Fixed Robin showing the wrong number of hardwood required for a house upgrade in some languages.
• Fixed some languages showing Willy’s back room invite mail as “???” in the collections tab.
• Fixed some languages having inconsistent hat hair behavior.
• Fixed some languages producing items with a different internal name.
• Fixed French players not seeing the prismatic effect for Magic Cowboy Hat and Magic Turban.
• Fixed French and Japanese showing a ‘needs 5 coal’ message for the dehydrator.
• Fixed Russian club coin and slots offset issues.
• Fixed Russian Joja movie theater tilesheet not showing up.
• Fixed Russian tool tooltips having overlapped names.
• Fixed Spanish jukebox showing a blank name for ‘Ginger Island’ song.
• Fixed buy-ticket messages showing an unformatted price.

Cosmetic fixes

• Added lights to Marcello’s book stand.
• Sam now changes uniform when entering JojaMart, instead of only reaching his work tile.
• Fixed many bugs related to light sources.
• Fixed issues with the golden walnut and Qi gem drop-down display:
  • Added support for showing both at once.
  • Fixed display sometimes stuck permanently.
  • Fixed display showing the wrong type in some cases.
  • Fixed display sometimes appearing in multiplayer when the value didn’t change.
• Fixed line wrapping for movie concession description tooltips.
• Fixed visual glitch during the even-year Spirit’s Eve if the player has the Joja movie theater.
• Fixed padding on the edge of maximized game windows on Windows.
• Fixed a shirt that looked weird.
• Fixed tooltip display issues.
• Fixed missing shadows behind some colored items in menus.
• Fixed texture wrapping issue with the Joja door.
• Fixed glitched hidden emote animations in NPC profile menu.
• Fixed red slime item sprite drawing one pixel lower.
• Fixed missing pixels in anvil sprite’s outline.
• Fixed stray pixel in dried mushroom color mask.
• Fixed Krobus showing a gift icon for the void ghost pendant when he cannot accept it.
• Fixed the item-received message cutting off part of the item name.
• Fixed the item-received message sometimes showing no or wrong count.
• Fixed some farm animals having double shadows.
• Fixed stardrop tooltips showing incorrect health/energy recovery amounts.
• Fixed timing of the Easter egg in the summit event.

Gamepad fixes

• Fixed various issues and crashes with gamepad support.
• D-pad can now be used to move the cursor when buying animals or buildings with a gamepad.
• Gamepad triggers in the community center bundle UI now return to the same spot.
• Added a delay before canceling a waiting-for-players dialogue with a gamepad.
• Fixed gamepad issues on the new game screen.
• Fixed dresser tabs not being selectable with a gamepad.

Changes for modded players

• Added a Content/ContentHashes.json file containing MD5 hashes for vanilla content assets.
• Improved debug console commands.
• Horses/mounts now return home when a temporary location is removed.
• Fixed ‘Jewels Of The Sea’ book producing roe for custom fishing catches.
• Fixed forage crops outside the farm being removed each week.
• Fixed meteorite, strange capsule, and stone owl only appearing in the top-left area on large custom farm maps.
• Fixed pagination in the powers tab when mods add more powers.
• Fixed edge cases throughout the game code related to items whose stacks cannot be reduced to zero.
• Fixed various errors when custom items have no name.
• Fixed error when mods apply audio changes if no audio device is available.
• Fixed error if no movies are available due to a mod bug.
• Fixed crash if a farm animal is in a broken building or location.
• Fixed crash if a smoked fish’s original fish data no longer exists.
• Fixed crash when custom sounds loaded from .ogg files are paused/resumed multiple times.
• Fixed map tilesheet crash in some cases when playing split-screen mode with mods.
• Fixed issues when the game’s whichFarm and whichModFarm fields are out of sync.
• Fixed ‘light source already exists’ and ‘changing net field parent’ warnings.
• Fixed mod data reset on chest type swap.
• Fixed berry bushes showing wrong sprite in locations where seeds can be planted in any season.
• Fixed stardrop gift reaction dialogue for custom NPCs defaulting to raw data.
• Fixed ability to enter the Adventurer’s Guild back room without meeting the requirement.
• Fixed triggered actions being logged twice.

Changes for mod authors

• Refer to the 1.6.9 mod author migration guide for new APIs, dialogue keys, game state queries, debug commands, map properties, C constants/fields/methods, data fields, and other technical changes.