Stardew Valley Mods Add New Areas

Stardew Valley [official site] - the runaway success Harvest Moon-a-like sandbox RPG from lone developer Eric Barone - is officially expanding by way of a long-promised co-op multiplayer mode. Unofficially, fervent modders are keen to grow its bounds even sooner by way of modded farm expansions. Enter Tego's Stardew Expansion and Yama's Desert Expansion.

Besides boasting names you might expect to see wandering around Stardew's town centre itself, modders Tego and Yama have both crafted mods designed not only to expand the Valley's borders but also introduce a handful of new features.

Tego's Stardew Expansion aims to promote exploring and foraging in order to "make Stardew Valley feel bigger and better", which means expanding your farm southward thus allowing for more space to grow plants, house animals and store kegs. New areas include: House in the Hills, Aspen Grove, Riverbank, Hot Cave, WIPCave and Bus Stop Woods - the latter of which is now a separate location. A new tilesheet also adds Aspen Trees. "There are three versions of farm expansions," says Tego. "You will not receive a huge area right after start. You have to upgrade your tools to access most of the additions."

Similarly, Yama's Desert Expansion adds three new desert areas named: The Canyon, The Dunes, and The Flood Plains. More locations are in the works, while a warp puzzle maze, new flora designs, custom items, wadable water, and new cave textures and aesthetics are expected too. "I will eventually be adding a few new maps, npcs and more once I learn how/as soon as it's possible to do so efficiently," says Yama. "I'm open to suggestions, but I will most likely not be doing any major edits to the original desert location, just the areas surrounding it."

Full details of what both mods offer, as well as installation instructions, can be found here and here.