Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update releases sometime today (PST), and as Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone hasn’t given us a specific time, I was ready to spend most of my day staring aimlessly at the Steam page, waiting for any signs of life. But now, thanks to an intimidatingly long list, I can pass the time sifting through all the compatible mods instead.
1.6 makes fundamental changes to Stardew Valley’s code, so it almost went without saying that multiple mods would break unless they were updated to be compatible with the newest version. While it may sting, this short-term pain is a fair trade-off for the exciting 1.6 update, which isn’t just adding a whole new farm type but also making modding easier. However, it looks like most problems are already behind us, as Barone tweeted an extensive list explaining which mods are compatible with 1.6 and which are broken.
“For people who use mods: A ton of mods are already updated for 1.6 (check out https://smapi.io/mods). Also, I’ve added a public Steam branch that will let you stay on version 1.5.6 if you choose. I recommend trying out 1.6 without mods, but it’s up to you.”
There are hundreds of mods and content packs to choose from in this list. Many of the staples of any great Stardew farm are present, like Schedule Viewer, which I love to use to keep tabs on the other villagers, or my favourite trinket-hoarding tool, Chests Anywhere, which lets me access the storage from anywhere on the map. But sadly, not everyone made it through. Cantorsdust’s All Crops, All Seasons mod, which enabled me to create a mega farm that held every single crop simultaneously, is no longer maintained. So if you’re jumping into 1.6 just remove the mod and replace it with Crops Anytime Anywhere instead.
Checking through the list of mods to see whether I had any that were broken opened my eyes to some of the strangest add-ons I’d ever seen—who’s using airstrikes in Stardew Valley? But I’m not here to judge. What you do in the privacy of your farm is entirely up to you, even if that means carpet-bombing cows.
Barone also gave us a vague hint as to when we can expect the update in the replies to this tweet. In response to one player asking one question we all want to know, Barone simply said that 1.6 will release “during the day (PST), I need to be awake and present for the update launch, and I’d like to sleep tonight.” Which is more than fair, but I’ll still be glued to my screen just in case he has a change of heart.