how do you feel about terraforming?

[Alolan_Apples]

I really like this feature. The cliffs should’ve been taller, but it’s still fun.

Though I wish terrain textures can be changed rather than having dirt or sand as paths.

 

[Gabby]

I wouldn't say that I am anti-terraforming, and I've done a little of it on my island, but it's not my favorite feature of the game. Some of the fun (I thought) of previous AC games was the randomness of your town and learning it as you run through and try to find people. I think one of my main gripes of NH is being able to play "god" way too much. It's less of a randomized community, and more of a creative playground game. Those games can be fun, but not what I expect from AC.

Either way, terraforming is here to stay I would imagine, so maybe I should just get good at it.

 

[g u a v a]

i like terraforming! i'm not a big fan of leveling and island and starting over, but that's mostly because i don't have that kind of time to spend on games these days. my favorite is to work with the exiting randomized terrain and tweak it wherever i need but in a very natural and unnoticeable way.

i find that this style of terraforming melds nicely with my more natural way of decorating.

 

[Soigne]

i don't like it. my focus with animal crossing has always been about nurturing my relationships with my villagers, making a pretty (plants, trees, and more as we've gotten more through the series progression) town, and focusing on things like bug hunting, fishing, finding fossils, etc. i've never been bothered by the constraints of our layouts in the previous games, and the only times i really terraform in this game is when i'm widening a river or something if i need a bridge or ramp to go somewhere. but even then, i don't really do much. and i would have been fine if it wasn't an option to begin with.

but i'm glad it's available to people who need total control over their maps! it's just not my playing style.

 

[Zinnia.]

I think it's neat! It's been really cool to see all the creative things people have built with it. But it's not for me since that much control makes it hard for me to decide on anything. It also takes a long time to wait for the tool animation. If it comes back for future games I think it should be useable from a menu with a top-down perspective and faster animation, like when using the interior designing tools.

 

[tanisha23]

I think I really like seeing the final product of terraforming, and can sometimes find it quite relaxing when I’m not accidentally undoing something that I just got perfect. I tend to go for a sort of natural style of terraforming with lots of asymmetry, and when I am able to get that natural look just right, I find it every satisfying. I don’t have the experience of resetting my island b/c I get way too attached to do so, but I imagine if I had the guts to reset, I would eventually find it quite tedious. It can take so long to terraform, and sometimes accidentally undoing something, having a villager sit in an inconvenient spot, or having a villager naruto run into be while I’m trying to get terraforming done can really test my patients. I can only imagine doing that several times over many island resets. With all that though, for me, the pros outweigh the cons, so overall I like it.

 

[BobRocks20]

I’ve thought about doing some major terraforming my island for a while until I used the feature to thin out a river to make room for my farm. The only other time I remember terraforming was to move a pond from one spot to another.

The process took a while, and sometimes I made a mistake and it also took a while to fix it. So I’ve decided to leave the island as it is and not do any terraforming on it.

Terraforming does have potential, though. Once I get around to making a second island, maybe I’ll be using that feature a lot.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I love that I can do it, and I love that I don’t have to do it to enjoy the game. Even though I don’t do anything fancy with it, I like playing with the feature and I’m glad it exists as an additional creative option. Weirdly maybe, I like how difficult and frustrating it can be. It would be too easy and take you out of the game too much if it worked like decorating our houses or the sims or something,

I like that you have to position your little character just right because you are creating from their pov. I especially like that the villagers constantly come disrupt you because they are wandering by, or decide to eat a sandwich right where you want to build, or need to sell goi dozens of random items.

I think a lot of people come to hate it by mistakenly flattening their island and then becoming overwhelmed. Not sure if it is still true, but for a while it seemed like people felt like flattening your island was all but a requirement. (Flatten it all you want if it makes you happy ofc).

 

[Sgt.Groove]

Terraforming is amazing to me. I see all the crazy stuff people do and it blows me away.

But me? Well, every time I reset I try and terraform and it's the worst process. It's so slow and tedious that I wanna monkey scream. I've thrown in the towel and have decided to give it up entirely for a simple flat town. To fit the old games vibes.

It's something that has completely changed how players enjoy animal crossing. I believe terraforming is going to be critical in future games (if any).
My hopes are for more options. Different cliff types, water, etc. But more likely than not it'll be the same.

 

[micat]

I'm pretty neutral on it, and i wouldn't care if the game didn't have it. to be fair I was happy with my island layout so it wasn't very necessary for me. I did try it anyways and yeah it's a little annoying to use because it keeps cycling through the angles (like on the corners) and sometimes I couldn't get the right one or it just didn't look right.

Also I don't see how it gives you too much control since it's just the layout of your town/island,, I think letting us put houses down wherever feels like too much control, since I liked working around what the villagers did in other games.

 

[Fruitcup]

love the feature of terraforming but it can also be pretty overwhelming. A very revolutionary feature, much loved.

 

[Snek]

I think its what was needed, a logical progression from New Leaf with the service projects. There are a few limitations (like the shape of your island, can't create higher cliffs than four, etc). Despite that though, it allows for the player to freely design the island that suits their aesthetics. I have spent hours terraforming for the right sort of aesthetic and then end up doing something else entirely. The possiblities are endless with terraforming. Keeping it natural is what I've been doing so far with my island but I may terraform in the future. I haven't been terraforming as much as on my previous island but that is because I am rebuilding again and I am dedicating the time to inventory. Terraforming, in my opinion, is a good QoL feature that needs to stay and be carried over to future AC games. I am not sure how they will implement it in future games but I feel that they would find a way (as long as its not another island lol)

 

[annika]

it's fantastic for ppl who enjoy detailed customization and creativity, but i can see how it might feel overwhelming since it kinda disrupts the more communal feel of previous games

personally, i'm somewhere in the middle. i love the creative possibilities terraforming provides, but there are moments i just prefer the simplicity of the older games, where the community's development felt more organic. it's a trade-off between creative expression and the more communal, established vibe from other entries

i've gotten kind of used to having the option to terraform though, so... i really hope it stays for future iterations of the game haha ^^;

 

[watercolorwish]

I'll never forget how excited i got when one of the trailers dropped terraforming footage. but it turned out to be a bit tedious and time consuming.
I believe if it returns in a new game it will be faster and maybe even something like the New Leaf map editor which is super fast and efficient for what it is.

I recently reset my island and plan on doing close to no terraforming since my last island was consumed by it. but With my new map some of the cliffs and waterfalls look very unnatural despite being preset so im definitely going to fix those specific areas.

and sunken waterfalls are the most beautiful thing to come from animal crossing

 

[faerie]

I really enjoy terraforming. I like the creative freedom it allows to really make an island your own. I hope it continues in the next game with a few changes. I’d really like if we could terraform in a way like we do with decorating from above inside. Since villagers like to sit where you’re usually terraforming, why not give us the option to hire them to help, or if your town is five stars give the villagers jobs to terraform an area for those who find it overwhelming. I’d also like it if we could make caves. Trees should also be able to be planted on the edge of a cliff,and I will stand firmly on that hill, and so will my trees.I’d also live the ability to stack two layers and have it form one large layer instead of the star stepping two.

It’s great that they added terraforming bc it gives me the choice of my island is truly done, or not done. Regardless I’m happy for the freedom it provides despite needing improvements.

 

[Shawna]

I love how we have such an OP feature, I know that there’s a lot of us that have a specific layout in mind.

However, it can get VERY overwhelming and tedious.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I actually really enjoyed terraforming in New Horizons; sure it can be a little annoying at times (especially when villagers decide to plop themselves down right where you want to terraform) but it's so nice being able to customize your island to that degree. I hope the next AC game has an even more in depth terraforming feature... like it could be cool to dig downwards, or to make tunnels/caves, etc.

 

[AshtonDraws]

While I think terraforming is a VERY useful feature, especially when going for a certain theme, it can be VERY tedious. I also think the way water terraforming works can be annoying at times. I also believe more paths should've also been added. Personally, I think a boardwalk for the beach would've been really cool. Speaking of, we should've used paths for beaches. I find this upsetting that we can't, especially since we have sand as a path for our actual island. Sure you can use custom designs on beaches, but I would've loved to use the actual paths given. I also think it would've been cool to see the cliffs go higher than 2 extra levels. Maybe an extra platform could be swell to see. Another thing about terraforming, it can get tedious to move certain things blocking the way. Especially if it's a villager home or building. I find it quite tedious.
Regardless, I think it ain't bad for a feature. Pretty OP nontheless, but could use improving in the next game if it returns!

 

[Paperboy012305]

I really think this is a great feature to have, as it can turn islands into very interesting looking islands as long as you know what you're doing and how you want it to go.

As a person who wants to make a Citycore, but is a novice at the terraforming skills for it, I learn every way I can to make it look as amazing as I imagined it would.

While yes, I do get overwhelmed on what I can possibly think of to make the illusion of buildings with the terraform feature, but lately (Not since 2020-2022) I've been full on at work, chugging along with the process the best I can.

tl;dr: If I can think of it, I quickly get it done. (Hopefully)

 

[oath2order]

Good feature, and I'm glad I left my town mostly the way I found it. I think I've terraformed one or two things, which was to add enough space around my natural river-surrounded island to be able to actually vaulting pole on it from everywhere.