🐯

Ember says: keep it small for your first new area. A garden the size of two houses that works is worth more than a huge island that half-loads. Small and finished wins.

🛠️

Try it in the browser: sketch your new area and export it for Tiled in the Stardew Mod Studio map editor.

🧠

Pick Your New Place

One idea, one purpose

Active

🎯

Goal for this step

Decide what your new area is and what it is for.

1Choose something clear: a secret garden, a mini beach, a cave shrine, a trader's camp.
2Decide its purpose in one sentence, like "a quiet garden with a bench and flowers".
3Keep it smaller than the farm. A new area is about quality, not size.
4Name it something simple with no spaces if you can, easy to type in content.json later.

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

Why make your first new area small?

ABecause Tiled cannot make big maps

BA small finished area works and teaches more than a huge unfinished one

CBecause warps only work on small maps

🆕

Make a New Map in Tiled

File, New Map, right settings

Locked

🎯

Goal for this step

Create a blank map file with the right layers and tileset.

1In Tiled choose File > New Map and set a small size, for example 30 by 20 tiles.
2Set the tile size to match Stardew, 16 by 16 pixels.
3Add the layers you need: Back, Buildings and Front.
4Add a tileset by pointing at the same outdoor tilesheets the farm uses, so the art matches.
5Save it into your mod as assets/maps/SecretGarden.tmx (use your own name).

✏️

Fill in the Blanks

+15 XP

You start a brand-new map with File then . Stardew tiles are pixels wide.

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

Why add the same tileset the farm uses?

ASo the new area's art matches the rest of the game

BBecause tilesets are limited

CTo make the map bigger

🎨

Fill the Space

Paint it like a mini farm

Locked

🎯

Goal for this step

Turn the blank map into somewhere worth visiting.

1Paint ground across the whole map on Back, all the way to the edges.
2Add features: water, paths, a building or two on Buildings.
3Add tree tops and arches on Front so you can walk behind them.
4Set the ground tiles Passable true and anything solid false, just like Episode 5.

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

Why paint ground right to the map edges?

ASo the player cannot walk off into empty space and fall

BTo make the file bigger

CBecause borders are required by Tiled

🚪

Tell the game your new place exists

Locked

🎯

Goal for this step

Add your new area to the game's list of locations.

1A loaded map is only a picture. The game also needs a location entry, or warping there drops you into a black void.
2Add an EditData change for Data/Locations with your new area and a CreateOnLoad MapPath.
3Give it a DisplayName and a DefaultArrivalTile so the player lands somewhere safe.
4Start the name with your mod id, like YourName_SecretGarden, so it never clashes with another mod.

content.json (register the location)

{
  "Format": "2.9.0",
  "Changes": [
    {
      "Action": "EditData",
      "Target": "Data/Locations",
      "Entries": {
        "YourName_SecretGarden": {
          "DisplayName": "Secret Garden",
          "CreateOnLoad": { "MapPath": "Maps/YourName_SecretGarden" },
          "DefaultArrivalTile": { "X": 3, "Y": 3 }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

✏️

Fill in the Blanks

+15 XP

A loaded map is not enough. You must add a entry in Data/Locations. CreateOnLoad MapPath points at your .

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

What must you add so the game knows your new area exists?

AA second tilesheet

BAn entry in Data/Locations with a CreateOnLoad MapPath

CA bigger map

📦

Load the Map and Add a Warp

Load your map, then wire the doorway

Locked

🎯

Goal for this step

Load your map and add the doorway that reaches it.

1Add a Load change for your new map: Target Maps/YourName_SecretGarden, FromFile your tmx.
2Add an EditMap change on Maps/Farm with AddWarps to send the player to your new location.
3Each warp entry is five values: fromX fromY toArea toX toY. The area must match your location name exactly.
4Your tilesheet sits beside the map, so it loads automatically. Save content.json.

content.json (load the map + add the warp)

{
  "Format": "2.9.0",
  "LogName": "My First Farm",
  "Changes": [
    { "Action": "Load", "Target": "Maps/Farm",
      "FromFile": "assets/maps/Farm.tmx" },
    { "Action": "Load", "Target": "Maps/YourName_SecretGarden",
      "FromFile": "assets/maps/SecretGarden.tmx" },
    { "Action": "EditMap", "Target": "Maps/Farm",
      "AddWarps": [ "8 4 YourName_SecretGarden 3 3" ] }
  ]
}

✏️

Fill in the Blanks

+15 XP

Load your map with a change, then send the player there with an change and .

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

Your warp sends the player to a black void. Most likely cause?

AYou forgot to paint the ground

BThe new area is not registered in Data/Locations, or the warp area name does not match the location name

CThe tileset is the wrong colour

🧪

Visit Your New Area

Walk in, look around, fix oddities

Locked

🎯

Goal for this step

Complete the journey and polish.

1Load your save through SMAPI and walk to the new doorway on the farm.
2Step on it and arrive in your brand-new place. Walk around it fully.
3Walk back through the return doorway and confirm you arrive home.
4Fix any floating tiles, stuck spots or border drops, then reload. This is your own world now.

🧠

Knowledge Check

+15 XP

You arrive in your new area but cannot move. First check?

AThe target point's Passable rule and whether it lands inside a solid tile

BYour keyboard

CThe colour of the grass

🎉🏝️🚪✨🎉

You Made Somewhere New!

A brand-new map, connected to the world with two-way warps and loaded by Content Patcher. Episode 9 packages everything into a clean, shareable mod.

Total XP

Level

Best Streak

Accuracy

📦 Episode 9: Package Your Mod →
⭐ View My Progress & Certificates

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Somewhere NewEpisode 8: A Brand-New Area

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Episode 8: A Brand-New Area