About Chara.Chat

This is an independent project, originally made as an experiment to improve immersion in dialogue-heavy single-player games, like RPGs. It is not officially affiliated with Stardew Valley or any other game.

How it works

Your game → Chara.Chat mod → our chat server → Smart and chatty NPCs!

FAQ

What games are supported?

Stardew Valley for Windows and Mac! If successful, we hope to expand to other games and platforms soon.

How do I get started?

1. Get Stardew Valley for Windows or Mac if you don't already have a copy.
2. Get SMAPI to enable mods. Follow its installation instructions.
3. Download the Chara.Chat mod. Install it by unzipping the folder into your mods folder.

   Most likely, that is ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Stardew\ Valley/Contents/MacOS/Mods/
   You can also find the "Mods" folder through Steam by right-clicking on Stardew Valley in your Steam Library, like this.
   

4. Make an account on this site, if you haven't already.
   Sign up / Log in!

   Note: during the closed beta, this is invite only. Ask for access

5. You will need popcorn to use the chat feature. Your beta invite should have come with a ticket; you can redeem it for popcorn on the account page.
6. Open the game and play! You can initiate a chat by approaching and trying to talk to any character who has run out of dialogue from the base game.

Are other platforms supported?

Currently, only the Windows and Mac versions of Stardew Valley are supported. Other platforms may be possible in the future.

What limitations are there?

Please note that functionality is limited to chat for now; the base game is otherwise unaffected.

• Other languages are basically supported, but they have to know you are speaking to them in another language. So if you prompt them with just "Ciao" they may not realize they should speak Italian. If you give them a substantial prompt, it should work. It may occasionally be unreliable; there are plans to improve reliability for other languages in future updates.
• Based on testing, other mods are compatible. However, the AI may have limited knowledge of characters from other mods, so expect reduced accuracy.
• Remember that you cannot affect their behavior. You may ask them to do things for you, and they may agree. However, they will not actually deviate from their normal routines.
• Your relationship with the character you're speaking to is taken into account. Your spouse should speak to you differently from someone you just met, for example. At present, conversations you have with this mod will not affect your relationship. This feature is planned for an update.
• Japanese language: the IME requires the use of the Enter key, which is currently used to send a message. This is a known issue. It will be fixed in a future update.
• Generally speaking, it will be possible to get them to say inaccurate things. The AI's knowledge of Stardew Valley is extensive but not complete, and it only has some information about the present conditions of your playthrough.
• Characters do not retain memory of your conversations once the window is closed. This feature is planned for a later update.

What is popcorn?

Popcorn is a consumable, in-game item that enables you to chat with the characters. It is available for purchase on this site.

Why does it cost money? Why have you introduced microtransactions?

This project relies on external chat AI services. Those services are too expensive for us to eat the cost at scale. However, we endeavor to keep the cost reasonable.

Why do I have a negative amount of popcorn?

This is called antipopcorn. It is made of antimatter, similarly to antipasta.

Actually, your balance is checked before a reply is generated. If you have enough popcorn to make the request, the game will do so. However, the reply may be long enough to use more popcorn than you have. It will still be deducted.