Stardew Valley is one of the most popular indie farming sims of all time. From the captivating storylines to the clever game play, Stardew has become one of my personal favorite games to chill to. So the question is: Why mod a game that's already so feature packed and exciting? One answer: Because the community that loves Stardew Valley also loves making amazing content that enriches the game and expands it's horizons.
The modding scene in Stardew is 10 years strong and still pumping out amazing content daily. Creators love this game and many have continued to support their mods through the most recent update. Even older mods have been updated unofficially just to keep the content alive in what's now Stardew 1.6. Whether you're looking for a cottagecore aesthetic, enhanced combat system, or even a more ahem...adult encounter with the friendly faces of Pelican town; you can find a mod for it.
SMAPI or "Stardew Modding API" is what makes a modded Stardew experience possible. Without this program, you're limited to simple XNB and asset replacements.
From there your best bet is Nexus Mods, where I personally obtain my mods.
After that? The possibilities are endless! I'd recommend just searching around the popular mods section on Nexus with a 1.6 tag to make sure it's compatible with the newest version of the game. Each mod will have "Requirements" that you should download to properly run your mod. Always check the requirements before you download a mod!
While modding you may come across some issues. Most of the time SMAPI will display a log in red that states a mod cannot load. Other times, you'll have some graphical or gameplay glitches displayed in the game. Here's a small troubleshooting guide that I've found fixes most of my issues.
SDVE is one of the best content expansions in the community. The content expands upon most gameplay features including: New Villagers, New Romances, Unlockable Areas, Expanded Storylines, More Items, New Farm Maps, and more updates to come!