Shipping Value Tutorial and Values of Processed Dairy Products

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In Sunshine Islands, the same Bottle of Milk when processed into Butter, Cheese or Yogurt will have different shipping values. When writing Guides for Sunshine Islands as well as Island of Happiness, it is rather difficult to give precise shipping values for items as they depend on Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness. Although the correct Base values appear in my General Guide, for some reason, I made an error in the value of Cheese in my Items and Shipping List Guide.

An average bottle of Milk, when processed, will be most valuable when made into Cheese and least valuable when made into Yogurt. Here are the values when I used Milk that was Rank A, Quality 10, Size 5, Freshness 10. Incidentally, this is the Milk one receives from a Cow at 10 Hearts who has NOT been entered in the Cow Festival and thus never won a Prize.

The Milk if shipped would have a value of 250G.

Yogurt: 375G

Butter: 500G

Cheese: 750G

The prices in my Guide refer to the Base Values and should conform to my General Guide, which quotes them as:

Yogurt: 150G

Butter: 200G

Cheese: 300G

Actually, I believe this reflects the usual hierarchy of values in Harvest Moon. Cheese tends to be the most valuable processed dairy product, while Yogurt is the least valuable.

You must obtain ALL the Makers in Sunshine Islands and use each 100 times in order to obtain the Sun Stones that each can yield, but if you wish to make the greatest profit as early as you can, you should buy the Cheese Maker first. Another reason to buy the Cheese Maker before you buy the other two is because there are Recipes for Butter and Yogurt, allowing them to be made in your Kitchen. There are no Recipes that allow you to make Cheese.

In Island of Happiness, you had to ship 100 of each processed product but by some quirk in the programming, the game recognised products made in your Kitchen. This was corrected obviously in Sunshine Islands by causing the Sun Stones emerge directly FROM the Makers. Unlike Island of Happiness, therefore, it is not by shipping 100 items but by using the makers themselves 100 times each that the Sun Stones will be 'earned'.

Incidentally, cooking the Milk to make Hot Milk would be less profitable than processing the Milk.

Hot Milk: 275G

You still would make a profit of 25G by cooking the Milk rather than shipping it 'raw', but very little compared to the processed dairy products.

Actually, what is rather sad is that, if you take 2 Milk, make one into Yogurt and then add the other to the Yogurt to make Lassi, you still would make less of a profit than by using the Cheese Maker to make 1 Milk into Cheese.

Lassi: 650G

Another example that compares values of two different Cooked Dishes that use the same ingredient is between Strawberry Jam and Strawberry Milk.

Having shipped 100 Strawberries to complete the total needed to unlock a new Crop, I had 40 B Rank Strawberries I wanted to ship. If I had shipped them as raw Crops, each would have had a value of 66G.

If I cooked them into Strawberry Jam (a single ingredient Recipe), the shipping value of each would be: 124G

If I added Milk to the Strawberry to make Strawberry Milk, the shipping value would be: 349G.

On the surface, the Strawberry Milk may look more profitable, but this is not the case. The Milk I would have to use would ship for 250G which means that the added value 'brought' by the Strawberry would be 99G. On the basis of financial consideration alone, it would be better to make Strawberry Jam and ship that, while making Cheese with the Milk... Remember, however, that shipping values are only part of the equation. Strawberry Jam is not particularly high in energy.

Here are the Energy Values for each:

Strawberry Jam: Energy Value: +8SR +8FL
Strawberry Milk: Energy Value: +36 SR +22 FL
Cheese: Energy Value: Energy Value: 4 SR 2 FL

You gain Skill Points each time you cook, so there are valid reasons for making Dishes in your Kitchen and shipping them but in this case, it depends on how much you are in need of funds. For sheer profit, few single item conversions can be more profitable in financial terms than making Cheese.

One could drive oneself mad with calculations concerning shipping values in either Island of Happiness or Sunshine Islands.

For example, to descend into the truly arcane advanced shipping value considerations, take three different Vegetables that, when combined with the same Milk, could make a Vegetable Smoothie.

Here are the details:

Cucumber: Rank A, Quality 10, Size 5 1/2, Freshness 9: 135G

Turnip: Rank B, Quality 9 1/2, Size 5 1/2, Freshness 9: 132G

Onion: Rank B, Quality 9, Size 5 1/2, Freshness 9 1/2: 175G

Vegetable Smoothie made with the Cucumber: Rank A, Quality 10, Size 7 1/2, Freshness 9 1/2: 495G

Vegetable Smoothie made with the Turnip: Rank B, Quality 9 ½ Size 5, Freshness 9 ½: 446G

Vegetable Smoothie made with the Onion: Rank B, Quality 9 ½ Size 5, Freshness 9 ½: 445G

Vegetable Smoothie made with BOTH the Turnip and the Onion: Rank A, Quality 9 ½, Size 7, Freshness 9 ½: 476G

As you can see, the Vegetable Smoothie made with 2 Vegetables in the form of a B Rank Turnip and Onion had a lower shipping value than the Vegetable Smoothie made with a single Cucumber. It did have a higher Energy Value, however, both in terms of Stamina Recovery and Fullness.

It may be worthwhile to mention Vegetable Juice here as some rather peculiar facts will emerge when you experiment with it in the Kitchen. The shipping value of Vegetable Juice is rather low, making it a poor choice if you are looking for income-raising Dishes. It is an odd Dish in terms of Cooking, as the order in which Optional Ingredients are added affect the result, which can be either Vegetable Juice (improved) or a Failed Dish, depending on the order in which you attempted to add another Vegetable to the mix. For example, if you begin with a Turnip and attempt to add a Carrot, the result will be a Failed Dish. If, however, you begin with a Carrot, you may be able to add a Turnip as the next ingredient in the sequence. All the Vegetables listed as Optional Ingredients CAN be added, but you must be careful as to the sequence you use in any case.

When you add more than one Vegetable to the mixture to create Vegetable Juice, the shipping value may remain far lower than the value of a single Vegetable used to create a specific juice such as Carrot Juice or Tomato Juice. The Energy Value, on the other hand, will be much higher. For example:

Carrot Juice: 560G
Ingredients: Carrot
Obtain with 1st Carrot from Haila at Cafe
Energy Value: +22 SR +6 FL
Optional Ingredients: Carrot Juice

Vegetable Juice: 345G
Ingredients: Bell Pepper/Cabbage/Carrot/Cucumber/Onion/Spinach/Tomato/Turnip
Obtain with 2nd Carrot from Haila at Cafe
Energy Value: +36 SR +16 FL
Optional Ingredients: Bell Pepper, Cabbage, Carrot, Corn, Eggplant, Onion, Pumpkin, Spinach, Tomato, Turnip, Vegetable Juice, All Jams

If you intend to ship the Dish, it is better to use the Carrot to create Carrot Juice. If you intend to use it as a Recovery Item, it is much better to use the Carrot to create Vegetable Juice. Adding another Vegetable, such as Spinach, to the Vegetable Juice, will improve its Energy Value but in terms of Shipping profits, you would be better advised to create Boiled Spinach with the Spinach and Carrot Juice with the Carrot.

Finally, if you make Vegetable Juice as a single-ingredient Recipe, it does not matter which Vegetable you choose in terms of Energy Values. The amount of Stamina and Fullness will remain constant. Neither the identity of the Vegetable nor its Rank will affect Stamina and Fullness values of the resulting Vegetable Juice. Shipping values will change according to the Vegetable you choose but the increase or decrease is not significant enough to make it worth shipping the result. It is when you add a second Vegetable that the boost in the amount of Stamina and Fullness will depend on the actual Vegetable chosen

So there you have it. Make of the data what you will... Note that the game gives you the ability to gauge the potential value of any Cooked Dish when, after the ingredients are chosen, you see a display on the top screen that shows precise details of the finished product with Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness and a prompt to the effect that: 'It will turn out like this. Make it like this?' You only have this option if you choose 'Make some Alterations' when you prepare the Dish. If you use one of the quicker menu options, you will not see the result in terms of Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness until the Dish actually has been completed. What is displayed on the top screen instead is the BEST version of the Dish that you ever made in terms of Rank, Quality, Size and Freshness.

The most valuable Ranch Products are obtained from Sheep but even ordinary Sheep cannot be sheared daily. One has to weigh the intrinsic value of an Animal who yields product daily (Your Cow) with one who yields product less frequently (Jersey Cow, Sheep and Suffolk Sheep). The values of the products that Sheep of any variety can offer are rather impressive:

S Rank Yarn: 3750G

S Rank Superb Yarn: 9375G

Even inferior Superb Yarn yields a nice price. For example, one B Rank Superb Yarn, Quality 5 1/2, Size 5, Freshness 10 had a value of 6437G.

You cannot obtain S Rank Ranch Products in the ordinary course of Events from any Animal who has not won 1st prize in an Animal Contest, but with Livestock, the Touchsceen Mini-Game, when the option appears, will allow you to obtain it on that day. Note that, although the Ranch Products that a 'rare' breed of Chicken, Cow or Sheep yields is more valuable than those given by ordinary Animals, you can win the Animal Contests with ordinary Animals as easily. It is all a matter of heart levels, not of the intrinsic value of the Products. Nonetheless, when given the opportunity, it certainly is worth investing in animals who can give you Products that ship for almost 10,000G! The Jersey Cow is unlocked by shipping 1 S Milk and the Suffolk Sheep by shipping 1 S Wool. To unlock the Silkie Hen, ship 1 S Rank Egg.

Finally, I do not have time to test every item comprehensively in this fashion, but any player can do it himself/herself using the following tactic:

Save your game at 4.30 p.m. Now stand about until 5.00 p.m. when all your items have been shipped and note your income total. Now reload to 4.30 p.m. or thereabouts. I suggest 4.30 p.m. only to give your character sufficient time if he/she needs to run to the Maker Shed to process an ingredient for a Recipe. Now ship one item... whether it is a raw 'ingredient' or an item that you cook in your Kitchen. DO NOT SAVE YOUR GAME but simply stand about until 5.00 p.m. when the total representing the original with the addition of the one item you added will be displayed in your Assets. Subtract the total that includes the item from the original total and you have the shipping value of the item. Hardly elegant or complex but it will give you valid totals for individual items. Remember, however, that the value will be completely accurate only for THAT specific item. Any variation in Rank, Quality, Size or Freshness or variations in the ingredients used to create the item may result in a different shipping value... which is why my Guides for Island of Happiness and Sunshine Islands only give approximate or average values.

Only an insane person would perform these calculations endlessly. All the time spent in discovering the precise value for a single item could be used more effectively to plant, water and harvest MORE Crops and participate in LIFE on Sunny Island or the islands of Sunshine Islands.

Friendship Point Values for Actions in Sunshine Islands

A player posted a comment asking about specific point values of actions in Sunshine Islands. This information is included in my Sunshine Islands Walkthrough and General Guide, but I will post it here as well:


Friendship Point Values

The following are the actions that will increase or decrease Friendship with an individual with their point values:

Actions that increase Friendship/Affection:

Meeting and Greeting an Individual on any ordinary day: 100 points

Meet and Greet any Individual during a Festival: 400 points

Show any Individual an Animal he/she loves: 100 points

Give a Gift an Individual likes: 100 point to 800 points depending on the Gift

Give a Birthday Gift an individual likes: 300 points to 2400 points depending on the Gift

Actions that decrease Friendship/Affection:

Neglecting to meet and greet an Individual on any ordinary day: -100 points*

*You have a 30% chance of losing Friendship with any individual. This decrease will not occur 70% of the time.

Showing any individual an Animal he/she dislikes: -100 points

Give an Gift an individual dislikes: -300 to -5000 points

Littering on an individual’s home island or on Meadow Island: -100 points

Littering inside an individual’s dwelling: -300 points

As you can see, if you are diligent with a daily ‘meeting and greeting’ ritual that includes all characters on all the Islands, you will raise Friendship levels even if you never give a single Gift. Social interactions are extremely important in Sunshine Islands. In fact, neglecting an Individual not only can cause him/her to reject a Gift when you next meet, but can cause a decrease in Heart Level. As you can see from the point value list, the results are random, occurring only 1/3 of the time, but it CAN occur.

Remember always that, although you can raise Friendship Levels through conversation alone, you need to give five Gifts that are received 'with music' to receive the 'personal' Sun Stone that any Character has to offer. Furthermore, the experience of players has shown that you cannot even trigger the 'Owner/Head of Household' Sun Stone Event until you have obtained that individual's 'personal' Sun Stone first.

In fact, it would be foolish not to give 5 preferred Gifts to every Character as soon as they begin to accept Gifts from you as their Sun Stones are needed to raise all the local Islands. I currently am revising my Sunshine Islands Walkthrough.

A player asked about the value of using the stylus to greet a Character rather than using the 'A' Button. Although using the stylus to greet a Character allows you to do so from a greater distance, I do not believe that there is any added point value in choosing this form of greeting.

Note here that on a Festival Day, you CAN meet and greet individuals who do not attend the Festival itself. Although icons will not be displayed on the Map on a Festival Day, Characters will be at their usual locations once the Festival ends and shops, including the Diner and Cafe, will be open for business.

I have come to the conclusion that Volcano Island is the first Island you should raise, both for earliest access to the Mine and for the number of new Characters that will be unlocked. Furthermore, it only requires 8 Sunstones where Mushroom Island and Mystic Islands each require 12. Although Animal Island requires only 10 Sun Stones, it offers no new Characters with potential gifts of Sun Stones. It is crucial to raise ALL the Islands. It is only the order in which you raise them that is discretionary. I would suggest that the next Island raised after Volcano Island should be Mushroom Island, simply because your Character will need the Mushrooms that can be found there, even though Mystic Islands offer more new Characters with potential Sun Stone Gifts than Mushroom Island. Mystic Islands should be raised next as it offers five new Characters with potential Sun Stone Gifts as well as being the home of the Harvest Goddess and the Church, both necessary in terms of any future plans to marry.

Link Island is necessary to any future plans to grow Rice, Fruit Trees or Crops out of season as it is only when you have raised Link Island that you will have the option to raise Rice Island, Fruit Island and Greenhouse Island. Rice needs to be planted in Spring in order to mature before Winter, when Crops automatically die. It is unlikely, however, that you will be able to meet all the requirements that would allow you to grow Rice in the first Spring, even if you raise Link Island and Rice Island and build the necessary bridges. I therefore would suggest that you raise Animal Island before you raise Link Island.

Marriage Requirement in Sunshine Islands

Sometimes, it is not useful when a guide writer plays a new game perfectly. In my own first game of Sunshine Islands, my first priority was to obtain as many Sun Stones as possible by befriending Characters in order to raise all of the Islands. Whenever I proposed marriage to an Eligible Bachelor, my proposal was accepted instantly.

Players began to write to me about their own inability to make a successful proposal. I always knew that a requirement of marriage was to raise Mystic Islands in order to meet the Harvest Goddess as well as Nathan and Alisa at the Church. As players wrote about their unsuccessful proposals, I began to wonder if the requirement could be wider in scope, if one had to raise ALL the Islands.

Well, one need not raise ALL the Islands before one can marry, but there are requirements that concern Sun Stones obliquely with respect to marriage. With respect to marriage to Shea, for example, you need to have obtained both Sun Stones from Shea (one as an individual and one for his 'house') as well as the Sun Stone from Wada. I would imagine that any player who has trouble with his/her proposal to another Eligible Bachelor or Girl has failed to obtain all the Sun Stones that individual and his/her family has to offer.

Thanks to the players, Adriana (NeonCrucifixion) and Shannon who discovered that Shea's 'additional' requirement for marriage was that he/she must obtain the Sun Stones both from Shea and from Wada. These Sun Stones ALL are based on Friendship Points. Another way of defining the requirement would be that the player must make certain to raise the Heart Levels of all members of the family...

It is only when players encounter problems in any game that guides can become truly comprehensive in scope.

Comparison of Island of Happiness with Sunshine Islands

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Now that I have permission from Natsume to post about Sunshine Islands, I can share some of my responses to the sequel to Island of Happiness.

Although players of Island of Happiness will find many of the fundamental principles of Sunshine Islands reassuringly familiar, there are a multitude of exciting new options as well as some changes.

As in Island of Happiness, farming degree points are at the very foundation of the requirements for unlocking new options. The many 'teams' of Subsidiary Characters that corresponded to some extent to these point totals in different areas are not found in Sunshine Islands, however. There are Harvest Sprite teams, but they serve a different function and are unlocked by Friendship Levels with other Sprites.

In terms of what were the 'subsidiary characters' in Island of Happiness, you have only two Fishermen and two Miners as well as the owners of the Diner, Cafe and Inn.

As far as 'Main Characters' are concerned, Sunshine Islands features the same cast of Characters but with a couple of exciting new introductions. Lily and Will are introduced as two new 'Eligible' Characters. Mark or Chelsea remain your 'counterparts' and eligible for marriage. The Mineral Town characters visit Sunshine Islands seasonally much as they did in Island of Happiness.

Farming is very similar in terms of Sunlight and Water requirements. It has been made a little easier, however, in that Rice, Wheat, Soybeans, Buckwheat and all the products derived from them are on sale at Chen's Market from the start of the game. (Yay!) This gives you a nice little exploitation when you can afford to build a Maker Shed and purchase a Seed Maker. Although the Seeds for the various Grains can be unlocked, you can buy the product at the Market and throw it into the Seed Maker to produce a bag of seeds. As the grains all take more than one season to mature and nothing grows in Winter, you can modify your farming strategy to suit the seasons and grow grains even before you have unlocked the Seeds.

Rice, of course, requires paddy fields and you need to raise a special Rice Island in order to be able to have access to the four paddy fields in the game.

This brings me to the fundamental plot of Sunshine Islands. At the start of the game, after meeting your first Harvest Sprite and his companions on Sprite Island, you will be introduced to the reality of the situation in the Sunshine Islands. Sadly, most of the chain of Islands has sunk into the sea. With the aid of magical Sun Stones, a Sprite named Agete COULD raise them again. There are specific Sun Stone totals that must be met for each Island. Here, strategy is important as knowing which Islands to raise first will help you unlock new important characters as early as possible in the game.

Unlike Island of Happiness, where most of the Eligible Girls and Bachelors actually had to arrive on Sunny Island before you could meet them, the majority of Characters are living on one of the two remaining Islands in Sunshine Islands at the start of the game. The exceptions are Shea, Wada, Mark/Chelsea, the Witch Princess, the Witchkin, Nathan, Alisa, the Harvest Goddess, Will and Lily.

Shea's home will be on Mushroom Island, one of the Islands that has to be raised again. When you have raised Mushroom Island, you will be able to meet both Shea and Wada, as well as being able to collect a veritable cornucopeia of Mushroom types in all seasons. (Two of the subsidiary goals in Sunshine Islands is completion of the long list of specific mushroom and fish types.)

Mystic Islands is a small chain of two separate Islands. The Harvest Goddess and her Church, inhabited by Nathan and Alisa are on the western island and the Witch Princess and her delightful niece, the Witchkin, are on the other. These Islands need to be raised before you can meet any of these important Characters.

Animal Island is the Island that provides an option that many players have longed to find in Harvest Moon for many years. This is the option to interact with Wild Animals, first encountered finally in Tree of Tranquility. How many players wanted to interact with the Animals that roamed the landscapes of Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not Valley. Now, in Sunshine Islands, when you have raised Animal Island, you can journey there to befriend the various types of Wild Animals who live there. Making them your friends has concrete rewards in the form of Gifts of items...

There usually is at least one Mine in any Harvest Moon game and Sunshine Islands is no exception. The Mine is located on Volcano Island, another Island that has sunk beneath the waves. When you raise Volcano Island, your life will be enriched enormously with the opportunity to meet two amazing new Characters in the form of Will and Lily. (I am utterly infatuated with Will myself, but if I were a lad, I'd definitely fancy Lily!)

If you wish to grow Rice, Fruit Trees or build a Greenhouse, you need to raise a number of Islands, beginning with a small barren place called 'Link Island' that simply serves as a hub for all the special farming Islands. Each of the three special farming Islands must be raised separately and bridges must be constructed to them from Link Island before you will be able to travel to them.

As you can see, there are similarities here to Island of Happiness, where access to new areas (and introduction to new Characters living in those areas) was based on the construction of Bridges. The Sun Stones add an entirely new dimension, however.

Sun Stones can be obtained in a number of different ways. When you have given any Main Character five 'Most Favourite' or preferred Gifts, he/she will give you a Sun Stone in return. Taking the boat from Island to Island will result in the gifts of a few Sun Stones from the pilot, Kirk. When you have attained 2 Hearts with the owner of any business or home, he/she will give you a Sun Stone in a little special Event. The Fishermen and Miners can be given 5 'Most Favourites' to persuade them to give you Sun Stones but the Mineral Town characters have none to offer. Oter Sun Stones can be found on the various Islands. Agete gives hints about this. My General Guide, by the way, lists the method by which all Sun Stones are obtained...

When you have raised ALL the Islands in the Sunshine Islands chain, you will not be able to rest on your laurels... for it is at this point that Sunny Island sinks beneath the ocean!... More about that later...

Finally, in terms of Pets and Ranch Animals, Sunshine Islands has expanded the list to include Dog, Cat, Horse and PIG as Pets and rare Ranch Animals such as a Jersey Cow, a Suffolk Sheep and a Silkie Chicken. Youa re able to choose between two Kittens, two Puppies, two Horses and two different Pigs. There are interactive mini-games with all the Pets that are 'practice' sessions for the various Contests. Those of us who missed the old Disc-throwing game with our Dog in FoMT/MFoMT now are able to throw a Disc to the Dog in Sunshine Islands. The Pig is unique, however. He has his own Pen on Mushroom Island and HIS mini-game is hilarious. Throw him into the bushes and he will emerge with a random Mushroom. He will not give it to you meekly, however. You have to chase him and catch him before he eats it! The Pig is amazingly fast and cunning... At very high Friendship Levels, however, you have a chance of obtaining the rare Truffle from him.

These are only a few of the new options in Sunshine Islands. In terms of Courtship, Island of Happiness remains unique, with its alternate 'paths' in Heart Events. In Sunshine Islands, there is only one path for Heart Events to follow. Rival Couples can marry in the fourth year at the very earliest, but there are no children from these marriages. It is here that Harvest Moon as a series once more demonstrates its genius. Despite all the wonderful new innovations in Sunshine Islands, there still are very good reasons to play Island of Happiness!

Both of these games are complex, challenging and fun. Both have their unique strengths and for me, the ever-evolving universe of Harvest Moon continues to fascinate and delight.

Note: Screenshot taken from Vaughn's Green Heart Event in Sunshine Islands