Stardew Valley mod makes food look even more delicious

Food has always been cute in Stardew valley, the popular farming simulator developed by Eric Barone. A new food mod adds more realistic and charming details to Stardew valleyfood sprites and puts them in an isometric perspective. The mod designer, who uses Lux on Twitter, has redesigned 80 of Stardew valleycooked food. And while classic sprites have always looked light-hearted, this is the first time I’ve seen a mod that literally makes me want to eat these meals, especially given the, uh, interesting way they acquire some of them.

Cooking is a fundamental part of Stardew valley. Although players do not have a culinary skill to maximize, preparing meals is a strategic part of the game. Eating food restores a certain amount of stamina to the player, and many foods impart bonuses such as +3 from fishing or foraging. Over time, you learn to strategize, replenishing Lucky Lunches (+3 luck) in your inventory before mining the Skull Caverns. Cooking is also a fun way to spend time and Stardew valley no stranger to food mods, with the popular mod Love for cooking with more than 29,000 downloads on Nexus Mods.

Lux started developing these new food sprites in 2018 as a fun personal challenge, rather than a mod specifically, making around 15 during that time frame. In April 2021, he took up the project after seeing his pixel art being shared on Pinterest. This time when Lux shared the project on social media, the response “far exceeded my expectations and a lot of people asked me if I was doing a mod or would I consider doing one,” DM told Polygon via Twitter.

Initially, Lux wasn’t sure how to develop her artwork into a mod that would work for Stardew valley – your sprites use native 24×24 resolution hence the added detail, rather than Stardew valleyis 16×16. Fortunately, a “generous stranger” calling himself Ceedtroid on Twitter helped her determine that such a mod would be possible. Since then, Lux has been working on the mod in her spare time. It is currently available in early access to it. Patreon subscribers, but Lux plans to make the mod free to download on November 1.

“As an artist and game developer, I understand the rarity of having something that you think resonates deeply with so many,” Lux said. “I decided to go ahead with the project in my spare time with the intention of releasing them as a mod and allowing others to enjoy my work.”

Each object takes about an hour to design from “research to completion,” with some leeway for more complex ones, Lux said. Lux uses food photography as a reference to capture texture and detail, and as a way to achieve the correct “presentation and plating”, while ensuring that it stays true to the heart of the original design. The higher resolution of your work means capturing a greater degree of realism, although “often [has] get creative with the ‘pose’ of the object to make the most of the square space. ”

Lux was also inspired by the classic Neopets item icons. “Although they are not pixel art, there is a lot to learn about how to use space effectively and stylize details in a really lovely way,” he said.

So far the hardest to get right have also been Lux’s favorites for styling, especially breaded items like crab cakes and fried eel. The pepper poppers were also a challenge, but Lux’s taste aligns with that of Stardew valley Shane’s character in this one: “I think it’s one of the dishes I’d like to eat the most!”