Stardew Valley 1.5 will have a new farm type, advanced game options menu

Players of Stardew Valley have been looking forward to the 1.5 update since August. While there have been teasers about what to expect in this new massive content package, the developers of the game just gave us some new ideas of what to expect when it finally arrives. The latest updates are the Beach Farm and the Advanced Game Options Menu.

Beach Farm

The Beach Farm is an entirely new farm location for players to explore and build upon. This will be the seventh farm in the game and will take players to a sandy coast. For those who are concerned about the potential for your crops to grow in sand, fear not. According to the game’s creator, Eric “Concerned Ape” Barone, all crops, including grass, will be able to grow in the sand. More details on what exactly to expect in the Beach Farm are expected to come soon.

Advanced Game Options Menu

The Advanced Game Options Menu is a new quality of life addition that lets players have a bit more control over their farms. These options include changing the Community Center Bundles, Guaranteeing Year 1 Completion, changing Mine Rewards, and the option to Spawn monsters on the farm. 

The Community Center Bundle remix creates new bundles in the Community Center and adjusts the requirements for earning older variations. Whether that is a different type of crop or fish, you will have to earn them in a new way. If you choose ‘Normal,’ then the bundles will be unchanged.

Guaranteeing Year 1 Completion allows players to complete the game in Year 1. The main issue is that a bundle requires the red cabbage, but it cannot be earned in the first year. If you choose this option, the red cabbage will be available sooner.

The Mine Rewards adjustment will increase or decrease the rewards you earn from mining. The ‘Spawn monsters on the farm’ will do exactly what it says it will, making things a bit more tricky for you to maintain.

Previously confirmed updates

This is the latest in a plethora of expected updates, but here is what we already know about update 1.5.

• There will be banana trees – (Twitter post) (Discussion thread)
• Cribs will be removable – (Reddit post)​
• Beds will be movable – (Twitter post) (Discussion thread)​
• Willy has a new door in his house 
• You can sit on furniture)​
• Furniture can be placed outside 
• Ducks can float on the water, unknown if they’re the same ones on your farm 
• There will be another way to acquire hardwood
• Splitscreen co-op is coming to PC and consoles. The amount of simultaneous players may vary per platform. 
• A new mining-like area
• 2 new monsters, one looks like a new type of slime and the other looks like a new type of metal head
• several placeable objects– one that has a bone engraved on it, a phone, a new type of brazier, an item with a solar essence statue, a dark box-like object and a brown box-like object
• 2 new types of chests
• There is a new weapon
• There is a new consumable item, looks like ginger 
• There is a new placeable floor type
• There is a new hat 

Update 1.5 is available now on PC, and will arrive on consoles sometime in 2021.