🎉Weekly Update🎉
🧺SDV Mods 🧺
HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY, STARDEW VALLEY! I am trying to enter the SDV Modfest 2026 contest, so unfortunately, there won’t be any retexture updates until the end of the month. Nyapu did give me permission to make a retexture contest entry, but realistically, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish any of the bigger projects in time. Instead, I decided to focus on a few smaller side mods that might have a chance to win a prize (I hope!).
Some really heavy hitters have already taken over the Portrait and Visual Graphics categories, so I’ve been scrambling to find categories where I might still have a shot, and mods I actually wanted to make anyway. The good news is that working on all these mods means I get to add them to my own game too, which was the original goal.
- Farmer Portrait Commission: I’ve been commissioned to create a custom Seasonal Farmer Portrait Set for a client. I’ve finished her base outfit along with the summer and fall versions. She’s a really cool character! I’ll show her off once I’ve completed all four outfits.
- Colored Torches: I’ve been working hard on mods for the contest, and a lot of my color-themed projects felt like good candidates. I originally started this mod because I wanted colored lights to actually glow different colors, but I couldn’t find a working mod that did it. Unfortunately, after asking around in the modding community, I learned that changing the light color for torches and lamps requires C# code—and even then it’s known to be pretty buggy. Since I’m nowhere near ready to code in C#, that idea had to be shelved for now. What I was able to do was create three different torch types in 15 colors. I also added a festival décor overlay for people who like seasonal decorations on their farms but don’t want to constantly place and remove items each season. (If that sounds interesting, feel free to check out the mod page to download or endorse it. I’d really appreciate the support. Links below.)
- Colored Fences: I am going to be seeing pixel art and programming code in my dreams. I’m exhausted but still pushing forward. The iron fences needed heavy edits, while the others were mostly recolors. I also created new gate designs since I’m not a huge fan of the originals. I wanted the front-facing and side-facing gates to look the same, but unfortunately, the side-facing versions are limited by the height of the original tilesheets, so they had to be thinner. Programming all the options for both Content Patcher and Alternative Textures versions was… a lot. But they’re finally done! I also added some additional festival décor options that aren’t included in the torch mod. I thought including things like markets and fishing days might be a bit much for torches. I didn’t get around to finishing the SVE fences, but those are in the works and will probably come after the contest ends. (Like the mod details above, feel free to check out the mod page to download or endorse it. Links below.)
- Colored Horses: I originally planned to make a color-themed horse mod because, believe it or not, there aren’t any true red horses! Since I want to do more color-themed playthroughs, I wanted my mounts to match. While working on the recolors, I decided to redo the horse animations as well. There have been a few animation mods over the years, but many of them break when you add hats to the horse. So I left the head mostly untouched and focused on the body and hair to keep hats working properly. This was surprisingly hard because I referenced footage of a real horse running and then had to reduce it down to seven frames. Besides the animation update, I’m planning several mounts: unicorns, ghost horses, witch brooms, deer, war hogs, dragons, dire wolves, bears, and maybe big cats. I’m not sure how many I’ll finish before the contest ends, but whatever doesn’t make it in time will come later. If somehow I finish this, I might also squeeze in some color-themed coop and barn animals.
🎮Games 🎮
- Core Keeper: My friend and I beat the last Hive Mother Queen (I forgot the boss’s name). We also explored the new voltage/robot area. It’s smaller than I expected, but still really fun. My friend and I tore through it pretty quickly since we both have powerful end-game miner builds. The enemies there are tough, though, you definitely have to be careful. I won’t say more, so I don’t spoil anything.
- Resident Evil Village: Playing this with my husband has been a blast. We just finished the dollhouse, and wow… that section was terrifying. At first, we thought it was kind of tame, but toward the end? Nope. Absolutely not. I won’t spoil anything, but both of us completely panicked when that thing chased us in the dark. I have never wanted the lights back on in a game so badly.
- No Man’s Sky: This is one of my “forever games” that I always come back to. It had been a long time since I played, so I started a new save. The core gameplay that made me love the game is still there, but they’ve added so much content since I last played.
- I just unlocked the warp drive and was heading toward the anomaly, but then I found a new ship I absolutely had to have. So now I’m spending my time fixing it up.
- Hades 2: I love playing this when my hands cooperate with me. Unfortunately, my dexterity isn’t always great, so I can only play it here and there. I’ve made it to the Sirens, but they keep kicking my butt. Still, the art and voice acting are just as amazing as the first game, and I’m really excited to see where the story goes.
đź“–Readingđź“–
- Demon World Boba Tea Shop:
This series is incredibly cozy. Whenever I want something with very little drama, this is what I pick up. I’m currently on volume two, where the MC is experimenting with warm beverages using his skills. There was also a really nice camping scene that I enjoyed. - Mark of the Fool:
I just finished Book 4 and jumped straight into Book 5. I was really nervous when Alex decided to retrieve the Fae tree by himself! The final battle was incredibly satisfying, though. I won’t spoil anything, but the way Alex handles the villains is basically my favorite strategy in games (minion and summoning builds for the win.) Book five starts strong with the introduction of a live dungeon core. And Baylin? Absolutely terrifyingly powerful. The scene where he takes down a dungeon by himself made me realize I would never want to fight a wizard like that.
đź’–Life đź’–
I’ve been burning the midnight oil trying to finish as many mods as possible for the SDV Modfest 2026 contest. I originally wanted to submit a foliage or portrait mod, but some incredible creators already dominate those categories. There’s no way I’m beating entries with over 1K downloads. I don’t have much hope of placing in the Visual & Graphics category either (even though I just finished two mods for it), so I’m shifting my focus to the Pets/Horses category.
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Wish me luck! And if you’d like to support my contest entries, I’d really appreciate it:
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Torches:
https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/43118
Fences:
https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/43259
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Overall, I had a great week, which I’m very thankful for because I have a lot of time-limited projects right now. Once everything settles down, I’m hoping to get back to my portrait retextures, writing, and trading studies again.
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If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read, and I’ll see you next time.