ConcernedApe shares Stardew Valley mod workaround ahead of update 1.6, says "I recommend trying out 1.6 without mods, but it's up to you"

Stardew Valley creator Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has been teasing various features for the game's long-awaited 1.6 update over the past week, and now he's got an important PSA - and a welcome workaround - for mod users ahead of the patch's launch.

"PSA for people who use mods," Barone says in a tweet. "A ton of mods are already updated for 1.6 (check out https://smapi.io/mods). Also, I've added a public steam branch that will let you stay on version 1.5.6 if you choose. I recommend trying out 1.6 without mods, but it's up to you."

The link in that tweet will take you to the database for the Stardew Valley mod loader, which tracks compatibility with the current version of the game across a wide variety of mods. The list has already been updated to note which mods are broken in the beta version of the new update, which should carry over into the full release of Stardew Valley 1.6.

There are indeed quite a few mods that already appear to be compatible with 1.6, and that list is likely to grow after the update actually launches. If you want to stick with 1.5.6, you can do so by right-clicking the game in your Steam library, heading to the betas page, and selecting the 'legacy_1.5.6' version from the dropdown menu.

Barone has also given a slight idea of when to expect the update on March 19, noting that it'll launch "when I'm awake tomorrow (PST)." I'm not going to speculate on what kind of sleep schedule Barone keeps here, but at least we know the update is likely to hit during daylight hours for the US.

In a genuinely massive change, Stardew Valley is getting a whole new farm type that comes with 2 chickens and "chewy blue grass that animals love."