Returning to Stardew

I wanted to write a quick message so everyone in the SV community knows where I am right now (ergo, I haven’t fallen off the edge of the Earth).

Over the past few months I have been ghosting in the background of Tumblr, truly humbled by the amount of likes and reblogs my old posts have been receiving, despite my being completely inactive for half a year now. Rest assured, everyone, I’ve noticed how many of you have liked and reblogged my tool set, my Japanese-style cooking recipes and the purple palette for the Starry Sky Interface. Reading between the lines, it’s obvious that some of you still really want these mods to be released. It makes me incredibly happy knowing that my mod ideas resonate with others and may help make your games more enjoyable, or even rekindle your love of Stardew Valley altogether.

So that’s why I should come clean...

When I took my hiatus over the laptop crash, it was probably much more about my spiralling depression than I would have liked to admit at the time. I’ve struggled with depression for many years, and at the time I was feeling lonely and anxious, surviving Christmas-time all by myself in Japan, with family and close friends thousands of miles away in the UK. Essentially, the laptop crash destroyed what little motivation I had left at the time for modding. I realise now that I was pushing myself, desperate to finish mods because I wanted to give back to you amazing people, and while I had good motives, I was trying to fit too much on my plate. And it was taking its toll on my health. But I went home to the UK not long afterwards. I recharged my batteries, indulged in some much-needed TLC, and returned to Japan with a vengeance. I am now feeling much better, much lighter - much more myself.

So I ask that you all just be a little more patient with me. Just give me a little more time.

I really doubt I’ll have much time at all to mod for the rest of my time in Japan. next month I will be taking on a role as an English teacher, so the stakes will be higher and it will be a huge learning curve for me. But I’ll be homeward-bound in September. And after that I promise -

- I promise you all -

- I will get back on the modding horse with that same desire for revenge I had against the challenge of living halfway across the world from everything I’ve ever known. By nature I am a perfectionist. I don’t like to be beaten. And I certainly don’t like to leave things unfinished.

At the very least, the three mods I promised will be completed for all my fans to enjoy. I promise you that.

As always, I love you. Thank you for everything ♡

See you again soon...

Computer Crash - Hiatus

Today I lost everything. All the files I had been working on, all the progress I’d made on my interface and tools mod. I’m so angry and upset and stressed right now that I don’t know if I can put into words how crushed I feel. Immediately after it happened, I was struck by a series of panic attacks. Then I felt sick, enraged, and now I’m just mentally exhausted.

The bottom line is I don’t know if I’ll be able to recover these files. One saving grace is that I’m heading to Tokyo tomorrow, so I might be able to find a professional who can help me. Either way, this whole affair has left me fragile and emotional and, whatever happens, I need a break.

I’m sorry to do this when I had some mods lined up, but at this point I don’t even know if I’ll have the mental energy to return to them again. Right now (admittedly, in the heat of it) I don’t want to touch modding ever again. I don’t really know what to say, guys. All my work (writing drafts and photographs too) is gone, and I feel broken.

I need to not think about all this for a while. I hope you all understand ❤️

Pastel Witch Toolset: now named & confirmed for release!

A few days ago I posted an image of some tool recolours, unsure whether to release them to the GP. Weeeeell, I think it’d be a shame not to! So, since this personal WIP will be up on Nexus when it’s finished, here’re some previews of the fishing rod recolours ♡ I’m hoping to jazz them up even more, but for now I just wanted the palettes done.

Hope you guys like them~

some tool overhauls

Something I started a while ago due to insomnia. I’m thinking of doing the whole tool set this way. I’d be curious to know if anyone else would want something like this (the whole shebang... colours changed for all the different grades of farm tools, maybe none of that ugly ‘brokenness’ the starter set has...)

soon

Admittedly, I’ve been finding it difficult to find the time to work on the new palette. I’m living in Kyoto right now, and between my job, language classes and a desire to see the entire city on a meagre budget (no subways or buses for me!), my time is mostly being eaten up by things other than modding. But as of now the only file left to edit is cursors.xnb, which is the bitchiest bitch of a file but ho hum. I’ll get through it, somehow.

I’m gonna be sprikling in a few new features for both palettes. Once the pp is done, expect both files to be updated on Nexus :3

Starting a new life in Pelican Town....

Ali’s Flower Grass is still one of my favourites

WIP: startup screens, total overhaul

the pastel revolution begins....