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Note: CopperSun graciously offered to interview me (Himetarts) I hope you enjoy our responses.

So what's this ARV thing you've been working on?

Always Raining in the Valley is a 3-NPC mini expansion that features Sterling, Henry, and Mia! The mod is all about interpersonal relations, and the connections we make with people. I'm going for a very mellow, warm vibe; very much what I call a fall-themed mod.

However, ARV is unfortunately not a mod that makes it rain more in the valley. -soft sad, Hime noises-


Wait, so it doesn't always rain in the valley? Where did the name come from then?

I wish it did ! The name actually came to me about two days after I began working on the mod. It is all about mood, really - my attempt to convey a very moody, mellow atmosphere. Like staying at home on a rainy, autumn day. Rain became a very prevalent part of ARV's storyline and imagery.

I won't give away the details, but rain within the mod represents a very specific thing. And it also changes from character to character! I hope it'll do its storytelling job.


Would you encourage players to use cheats to manipulate the weather?

HAH! It sure would contribute to the mood of the mod, but it's not really necessary. Only one event requires rainy weather. For the other events, I take care of it myself :wink:


What gave you the inspiration for ARV? How long have you been working on it?

I've been working on it since exactly January 5th of this year. I originally started because I wanted to see my portraits in a mod but now... ARV means a lot to me. It's a creative outlet, it's something I set out to make as a New Year's Resolution and did. This mod has seen me through a really rough breakup, me dropping out and subsequentially going back to university, a major anxious break and my best friend's attempted suicide. I'm going to be cheesy for a moment, but this mod truly has my heart and love. I hope it can get someone else through something, even if it's just a gloomy day!


So ARV is part of East Scarp 2.0? What was it like working on that? Was Lemurkat hands on, or did you just let her know what space you wanted, or...?

Yes it is ! They're here to become Aideen's and Tristan's neighbors as well as ruin (or make!) your day.

Working with Lemur was absolutely amazing. I 100% consider her my mod-mom and without her and the modding community ARV would've never come to happen. I remember informing her I wanted to take one of the ES houses in January, but we work on a system where there's no real "reserved" spot in ES until you show considerable progress on your mod. She essentially helped me from day 1, despite the fact I had no mod knowledge, and halfway through development the house was all mine!

Lemurkat was very hands on in her help, but she gave me full creative liberty and never butted in to criticise the concept or characters. Working with ES is a very fun, freeing, and creative experience I wish more people experienced. We need more NPCs and people for the East Scarp family!


You're primarily known for your fabulous vanilla-style portraits. Is this the first time players will get to experience your writing as well?

It will be! I actually originally started ARV because I had finished over 100 Stardew Valley portraits but no one had ever used them for mods. It wasn't like a huge gripe, but it was a dream of mine to see my art be used in a mod.

Funnily enough, Elhvry, Juna's creator, commissioned me for all of Juna's assets while I was working on ARV. And she actually published way before me, so I got my dream without even having to do it myself! However, because of my background, I might've gone overboard with all of the portraits and outfits I designed for ARV....


Just how many portraits did you make for ARV? Who has the most?

Oh my god. A lot. Like a lot a lot.

Sterling currently has 17 portraits for each one of his 28 outfits. However, for Sterling's 6-heart event I had to make a lot more. That event's spritesheet has 30 portraits in total! Mia and Henry have what I call "placeholder portraits" with 8 and 10 respectively. [Ed. Note: that is still more than the vast majority of vanilla NPCs] However, I suspect they will both end up with around 30 expressions at least each for their full releases, as even Sterling's 17 ended up being restrictive, and I felt I had more fun and control over the story-telling with a lot more expressions.

When it comes to seasonal outfits, Sterling has 4 outfits per season with 9-10 outfits for his festivals. Mia and Henry only [Ed. Note: "only" O_o] have 1 per season + 8-10 for the festivals, but they'll also get the full number with their big release.


So, there are 3 new NPCs in ARV? Inquiring minds want to know: who can I date?

Eventually, all of them! However, this first major release features the base of the mod + Sterling's full, marrigeable release. Mia and Henry are both antisocial NPCs for now. The next major updates will have their full marrigeable releases at their core, with the next one being Mia!

Sterling currently has over 10 events in total and 800+ dialogue lines just for himself. Plus 28 outfits! Because of this and more, every marrigeable release takes a lot of time to prepare.


When Mia and Henry get their "releases," will they be separate mods or part of an ARV update?

They will be the 2.0 and 3.0 ARV update respectively.


Does ARV "crossover" with any other mods?

It does! Obviously, it crosses over with East Scarp's NPCs. The 1.5 update will be a massive crossover with my best friend Arknir's Lavril. It will feature a new storyline with new events, items, and quests! It'll also crossover with Diverse Stardew Valley in the future for a Mia storyline.

I would love to collab with more mod authors if they'd like to reach out to write a crossover for our characters. I'm always looking to add more content to ARV.


The obvious question: Will ARV be SVE compatible?

ARV is indeed, compatible with Stardew Valley Expanded. Cry no longer, people of the realm of Nexus!


What feature of ARV do you think players might not notice but you're very excited about?

I love this question! I hid a lot of things in Sterling's storyline that will provide additional/optional context for every stage of his story. Hint: Search around the maps ARV adds. :wink:


Is there anything else you want to say to fans/potential players before we end this interview?

Remember, kids! Be gay, do crimes, and always carry a pocket umbrella in your bag. [Ed. Note: Please do not do crimes.]