Starsand Island Forum

Hey everyone! Welcome to the official Starsand Island forums. Whether you just washed up on the beach or you've been building your dream farm for weeks, this is the place to share tips, ask questions, show off your builds, and connect with fellow islanders. A few quick ground rules: - Be kind and respectful to other players. - Use spoiler tags for story content and Heart Stories. - Bug reports go in the Bugs category. - Have fun! The game just launched into Early Access on February 11, 2026, so expect frequent updates from Seed Sparkle Lab. Check the Post-Launch Roadmap wiki article for what's coming next.

We're about a month into Early Access now and I think Seed Sparkle Lab has done a solid job so far. The base game loop is strong and the world is gorgeous. But there's definitely room to grow. My personal wishlist: 1. More furniture variety. The current set is decent but I want more decorative options for interior design. 2. A proper quest log that tracks side quests better. Right now it's easy to forget what NPCs have asked for. 3. More floors in the Moonlit Forest. I cleared Floor 10 and want more. 4. Some kind of island-wide event system beyond the seasonal festivals. What's on your list?

I missed the Beach Festival because I didn't know it was happening. Are there set dates for the seasonal events? I don't want to miss another one.

After spending most of my first playthrough obsessively fishing, I figured I'd share what I've learned about the best spots for each season. Spring: The ocean spots near Half-Moon Bay and Blue Beach are great early on. Rainbow Trout, Anchovy, and Clownfish are common catches. Upgrade past the Wooden Rod to a Chrono Rod as soon as you can for better results. Summer: Head to Coral Sea (accessible via the Parrot Ship from Starsand Port for 30 coins). The deep sea zones have the most valuable catches. Also, Lionfish and Emperor Angelfish spawn exclusively during summer rain, so watch the weather. Fall: River fishing picks up in autumn. Chinese Perch and Red Porgy are solid sellers. If you've unlocked the Celestwave deep sea zone, you can find Ribbon Eel there at night (8pm-2am). Winter: Lake fishing at Cloudrest Lake has winter exclusives like Baikal Sculpin (rainy nights only, very rare). The Moonlit Forest rivers (Spiritshade River zone) also have unique fish like Ink Phoenixfish that are worth checking out. General tip: always check the weather. Some fish only spawn in rain or snow, so rainy days are prime fishing days for rare catches.

The roadmap says multiplayer is coming in the Summer 2026 update alongside the 1.0 release, and honestly that's the feature I'm most excited about. The idea of having one person focus on farming/cooking while the other does Moonlit Forest runs and mining sounds incredibly efficient. They mentioned it'll support up to 4 players online with shared building via some kind of Modular Villa system. Being able to visit each other's islands and co-build sounds amazing. Anyone else planning to play co-op when it drops? What are you most looking forward to?

Has anyone been paying attention to the environmental storytelling in the Moonlit Forest? The Gravecrystals scattered throughout the zones, the Moonweaver crystals at each camp, and the way the corrupted creatures seem to cluster around certain areas all hint at something bigger going on. When I got to the Mural Valley zone, there are these elaborate stone carvings that seem to depict how the corruption spread. And the Ruin Guard at the end of Moonlight Meadow feels like it was built by someone to guard something important. Does anyone think this might tie into the main story later? Solara drops some cryptic hints about the forest during the early quests but never elaborates.

Mining is one of the most important aspects of the game but I see a lot of people ignoring it early on. Here's why you should invest in it. First: upgrade your pickaxe as soon as possible. The upgrade chain is Stone Pickaxe, Bronze Pickaxe, Iron Pickaxe, Gold Pickaxe, Primorite Pickaxe, and Aurorite Pickaxe. Each tier lets you mine new ores. The Stone Pickaxe can only get Copper and Tin. You need the Iron Pickaxe to mine Gold, Quartz, and Fluorite. Ore locations by rarity: - Copper and Tin: surface deposits, especially around Bastrom Heights - Iron: Moonlit Forest early zones (Evernight Forest, Gate of Life) - Gold and Quartz: Moonlit Forest mid zones (Crystalith Hideout area) - Primorite and Magnetite: deeper zones, need the Gold Pickaxe - Moonstone, Aurorite, and Starflare Crystal: late zones like Darkwater Shore, need the Primorite or Aurorite Pickaxe The Ore Analyzer (Intermediate Crafter certification) is essential. Ore chunks from the Moonlit Forest can be analyzed to reveal hidden resources including Spirit Cube Fragments. Once you get the Robot Terminal at Expert Crafter, you can deploy mining robots to farm copper and iron passively while you focus on the deeper zones yourself.

I finally got my farm looking decent after a lot of trial and error with the Terraforming tool and building placement. Current setup: - Main crop field (6x8) with Quality Sprinklers covering the whole area - Chicken coop and duck house on the east side near the pond - Cow barn and sheep pen on the north hill with auto-feeders - Jam Maker, Pickling Jar, and Brewing Barrel in a processing shed - Small orchard with 12 fruit trees (mix of apple, peach, and orange) The key insight for me was leaving room for paths between buildings. It makes the daily run so much more efficient when you're not zigzagging around misplaced structures. Would love to see what other people are doing with their farms!

I want to prep properly before diving into the deeper Moonlit Forest zones. What are the must-have food buffs for combat? Currently I've only been using basic Grilled Fish but I feel like there must be better options. Also, how many food buffs can you have active at once?

I keep dying to the Crystalith boss in the Moonlit Forest (around the Crystalith Hideout zone). Its ground slam sends out this ripple shockwave that keeps destroying me. Am I underleveled or am I missing something about the fight mechanics? I've tried bringing food buffs but even with Grilled Fish I can't get it below half health before running out of healing items.

I keep accidentally giving NPCs stuff they don't like and losing friendship points. Is there a cheat sheet somewhere that shows what each NPC loves/likes/dislikes? The in-game social menu only shows preferences after you've discovered them which isn't helpful when you're trying to figure things out.

Noticed a bug where my cows and sheep clip into the fence posts when I reload my save. They just stand there vibrating against the fence and won't move until I break the fence section and replace it. Happens every time I load, always in the same corner of the pen. Running the game on PC, Steam version 0.9.2. Not game-breaking but it's annoying to deal with every morning. Anyone else seeing this?

I see there are multiple sprinkler tiers but the crafting menu descriptions are vague. Can someone break down the coverage area for each type? I want to plan my crop layout before committing to a design.

A lot of people seem to be struggling with coins early on so here's what worked for me. Day 1-3: Focus on foraging. Pick up every shell on Blue Beach and every mushroom in the forest areas. You can easily grab 40+ shells per day just running along the coastline and they add up fast. Day 3-5: Get your fishing rod upgraded at the Workbench. Upgrade from Wooden Rod to Chrono Rod as soon as you can. Ocean fishing near Half-Moon Bay gives you decent catches like Red Porgy and Spinefoot that sell well. Day 5-7: By now you should have your Junior Farmer certification. Plant potatoes since they grow fast and sell well. With sprinklers from the Crafting Station you won't need to water manually. Bonus: Once you unlock the Jam Maker, turn your extra fruit into jam. Processed goods sell for way more than raw fruit. By end of week 1 I had a solid amount saved up. Enough for the first Land Expansion and a coop for chickens.

I'm curious who everyone is romancing or just enjoys talking to. I'm currently going for Lunelle because her Heart Stories are genuinely sweet and I love visiting her clothing shop Ethereal Styles in Starsand Town. What about you all? No wrong answers here.

I have about 600 hours in Stardew Valley and heard good things about Starsand Island. Just bought it yesterday. What are the biggest differences I should know about? The anime art style is a big shift but I'm open to it. Also, is the farming deeper or more shallow than Stardew? That's the main thing I care about.