Stardew Valley ‘mini expansion’ is a wonderful extra treat you can try now

Stardew Valley isn’t set to receive any major updates for quite a long time, but that’s for a very good reason.

Developer Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone is busy beavering away on his next title, the long awaited Haunted Chocolatier.

He’s still making sure Stardew Valley remains bug-free, but that’s about the extent of it.

Let’s be honest though, we’re all desperate to get our hands on Haunted Chocolatier plus there’s plenty to keep us busy in Stardew Valley.

If you do find yourself yearning for something new, however, you can always turn to the game’s vibrant and dedicated modding community - that’s if you’re on PC.

There are plenty of incredible mods out there, whether you want to add Studio Ghibli characters to your game or expand romanceable NPCs’ dialogue options.

The mod I’d like to highlight today is a mini expansion by the name of ‘FIASA’.

It’s been created by NexusMods user cajcbell.

‘FIASA’, which stands for Fern Island Archipelago Science Authority, isn’t a huge expansion by any means, but it does add some welcomed new content to the game.

That comes in the form of a new seasonal boat which can visit the docks of Pelican Town, bringing with it new NPCs and a “random item exchange system”.

“A new boat has docked at the harbour of Pelican Town! What is it doing there, and who is inside?” the synopsis reads.

“On its surface, this mod adds one simple gameplay mechanic that should fit seamlessly into vanilla saves. Underneath, there are multiple fully-fleshed NPCs and locations, promising a deep amount of new content. The events and writing in this mod lean towards magical realism, and aim to mirror the unique flavor of the vanilla game.”

That sounds pretty good to me.

The ship is reportedly inspired by those used by NASA to explore our deepest oceans, with the modder wanting to represent research into coral reefs, the changing climate, and the overall protection of the earth’s ecosystem.

If you do download this mod, you should only expect the boat to dock in summer and winter, as during other times of year, it’ll be out on research trips.

It will not open Wednesdays or Saturdays, nor on rainy or festival days.

As I said, you can partake in an item exchange, and meet various new NPCs.

This mod is available to download now from NexusMods, and it sounds truly delightful.