(Modded Farmers) New to Modding? Check out these FAAQS
What is FAAQ? → "Frequently Asked Annoying☆ Questions"
These are some of the common queries asked in the Stardew Valley Discord (or on Reddit), often by new or inexperienced modders, and attempts to answer them.
☆ 'Annoying' (/lh) because of their frequency as well as the particular types of these questions that can be roughly categorized as ~too broad; too subjective; asking for info provided elsewhere; asking for things that violate the rules and/or community standards.
• I have a question. /Can I ask a question?
Please just ask the question. There's no need to ask permission.
• What is the best mod? /What are the best (<category>) mods?
"Best" is subjective and not a useful qualifier here. If inquiring about users' opinions on their personal favorite mods, it would still be difficult for many modders to rank any one mod as the "best" as mods are various and diverse.
Relatedly, questions like "Any good mods?" or "What are some good mods to recommend?" are similarly vague and hard to answer. (Obviously, the answer is "yes" to the former.) It's better to ask for specific recommendations related to what you're looking for.
Also, check out "recommendations from players" for personal mod recs lists as well as themed mod recs lists. And feel free to add your own!
• Which NPC should I marry? /Why can't I marry <unavailable NPC>?
The former is another surprisingly common question that relies on highly subjective tastes and considerations, as well as being too broad to meaningfully answer.
The latter usually refers to NPCs - both vanilla and modded - who are not designed to be marriageable for various reasons (ex. already married/monogamous; NPCs who are minors/too young; the author's choice to not make their NPC marriageable).
• Is <mod> compatible with <mod>?
This info will generally be stated in the mod's description on the mod page, often in a marked "compatibility" section.
It's also wise to look through the Posts and Bug Reports tabs on the mod page to see what other users have shared on their experiences. (Note: the number of Bug Reports isn't as helpful as the content inside them.)
If you aren't sure about a specific compatibility issue, it's okay to try the mod and see for yourself.
• How do I use <mod>? /What does <mod> do?
This info will generally be stated in the mod's description on the mod page, often in a marked "instructions" or "how to use" section, and sometimes include links to the mod's documentation which will provide a more comprehensive guide to using the mod or creating content packs for it.
• Does anyone.../am I the only one...?
Yes. / No.
"Does anyone use <mod>?" - most certainly someone does if it's published and not broken. Best to include the actual question you want to ask about it.
Generally speaking, you're almost never 'the only one' who does something/feels some type of way/uses said mod.
• What's <mod> like?
Too subjective/too broad, likely covered in the mod description.
• Is <mod> worth it?
Too subjective/too broad - but generally speaking, yes.
If you have specific concerns, it's best to state them (ex. Is <mod> still in early development? / I see <mod> makes a lot of changes that are not configurable, are there any good alternatives?).
There's really no downside to trying a mod and deciding it's not for you. Mods are offered free of charge; there’s no cost to consider other than time.
• How does one have <x number> of mods? /How many mods is "too many"?
Although many modders will often include their mod counts in their nicknames, the number of mods can be misleading. SMAPI counts every loaded manifest.json/DLL as a mod, therefore many mods that have several components that rely on various frameworks will be counted as x mods rather than one single mod.
As far as game performance concerns, the sheer number of mods one has installed is not the most relevant aspect as different mods do different things depending on how they are coded and what they contain.
Generally speaking, the expansion-type mods are the most space/resource-intensive (East Scarp, Ridgeside Village, Stardew Valley Expanded, Downtown Zuzu, etc.) Pro-tip: Many people often choose to play with one or two of the larger expansions per play-through or save.
“But that’s so many - where do you even find them?” There are over 20,000 published mods on Nexus (not to mention mods offered on other sites like ModDrop, NaverCafe, or personal blogs) where people will find them and download them.
Re: "Too many" - There is no set number of mods. The limit depends on one's computer and individual preferences. A high mod count, on average, is probably ~800-1000 mods – people play with much fewer or even more!
(Note that mod count totals by SMAPI are counted based on the number of loaded manifests.)
• Can you send the link to <mod>? /I can't find <mod> Anywhere!
Most mods are found on Nexus and are fairly easily searchable. (Some mods are also found in a few other main sites for Stardew mods such as ModDrop, NaverCafe, GitHub, as well as forums such as stardewvalley.net or the older community.playstarbound.)
Nexus has a Mods Categories filter to view mods in various categories. You can also search for keywords based on what you're looking for if you don't know the mod name (ex. "dog", "interface", "recipe", etc.). However, the Nexus search function is honestly not very good and will often show no results if the search terms do not match exactly. Using an off-site search engine such as Google can often provide relevant results.
People may share links to the mods they are discussing, but this is an extra courtesy and not something to be expected. Instead of/before requesting links, give it a quick search on your own first.
• Do I really need to download all of <mod's dependencies>?
Yes. In general, mods will list the other mods they need to run under the Requirements tab on their mod pages. Sometimes the list will include optional or "soft" requirements that are not strictly needed for the mod to work but are highly recommended for the optimal experience as the author intended.
Many mods share common dependencies on popular framework mods (ex. Content Patcher, JSON Assets, Expanded Maps Layers, SAAT, etc.); these framework mods only need to be downloaded once and will work for all of the other mods that require them.
• Can someone send me some mods (files)? /Can someone send me a copy of <mod no longer publicly available>?
No. Redistributing files is against the terms of service (ToS) and violates the permissions policies of most published mods.
People do share mod lists, often with links or easily searchable terms/mod names, that others can use to go download those mods.
The Stardew modding community is supportive of mod authors and protective of respecting their terms. If a mod was removed by its author, then it’s no longer available.
• Can someone DM me or VC me to help me troubleshoot?
Most likely, no. Many people are willing to help troubleshoot in the support channels but most people are not willing to engage in DMs or VC for this purpose or at all, especially with strangers on the internet. Chatting in channels, sharing SMAPI logs and screenshots, as well as having patience and practicing clear communication, have been more than sufficient to help many modders solve their issues.
[Disclaimer: this is not the “questions police” - questions and discussions about mods are welcomed and encouraged (especially in #modded-farmers). This is simply a list of commonly asked questions that attempts to provide answers / some guidance on the FAAQ.]