Moving villagers where you want

[ashubii]

The way I do it is just covering it randomly to make sure there's no 3x3 space, I suggest doing random diagonals, or just filling random spaces and checking to make sure there's no open spaces (especially around nature/trees). It's actually really not as time consuming, because it can be 100% random and not specific!
I hope this helped ^__^

It does, thank you so much! I had an undeveloped town I just reset for a better map and I really want to try this method out!

 

[Blood Eclipse]

Wow, thank you so much. Bookmarked. Finally!! I was looking for a well explained guide to this. No wonder my villagers moved over my patterns.

This is so simple to understand, guess that means my animals need even nore space than I thought. ;_;

Now to test if they still move over my patterns.

 

[Bluebellie]

Leaving a door square is really not necessary. I have always done just the border around the 3x3 and have never had an issue.


Also, regarding the game corruption, was it a digital game or a physical?
And how many times approximately would you say you and friends reseted trying to plot set? Sorry to ask, I have always done plot reset and have never had a problem. Normally it only takes me one or two resets to get a villager where I want them. I see people who reset like 20 times or more though And I?m Wondering if it?s a correlation. Im asking to be on the watch out with my own game.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

Theyre still moving over paths ;-; I have two open areas following this guide but theyd rather be in the worst spots right next to or directly under buildings . Ugh.... I hope plot resseting 50+ times will work, they seem to choose the same 3 bad areas and ive resetted 8 x so far


Edit ok FINALLY after 12 plot ressets it chose the path i layed out for it, meaning i did things right but the game was being stubborn. Thank GOD for plot resset. Whew.

 

[Loriii]

They won't move on top of paths if the 3x3 space is valid in which the villager can realistically move into. That's what I did to line up my villager houses (like a community) in one area, and also with the help of plot reset, just to be sure.

Once they're (the 10 houses were) all set, I never needed to reset whenever I want to change a villager. I just cover the other possible 3x3 spaces (rows of flowers, spaces near the trees/bushes, etc) so they won't move there and instead, move in the previous villager spot.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

I'll try adding flowers because patterns aren't working for me. Trust me, I have the appropriate sized area made for them, but they only move there, in my experience, after I've resetted a bunch lf times. I've covered my tiwn full of patterns and when I plot reset I check the inconvenient area they were previously in to see if I properly covered it, too, and it *was* covered. Full of patterns. I have the updated version of acnl, too, so I don't get it. I'm just glad plot reset is a thing.

 

[LadyDestani]

Are the gem rock or fossils spawning in your open plots? If they are, that could be what's keeping your villagers from plotting there. Make sure you leave space for those things to spawn elsewhere (just not a 3x3 space) and try filling the open plots with flowers that you don't mind losing. Villagers will move on top of flowers, but they'll keep the rock and fossils from spawning there.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

Are the gem rock or fossils spawning in your open plots? If they are, that could be what's keeping your villagers from plotting there. Make sure you leave space for those things to spawn elsewhere (just not a 3x3 space) and try filling the open plots with flowers that you don't mind losing. Villagers will move on top of flowers, but they'll keep the rock and fossils from spawning there.

I'll try the rock and fossil trick then. :>

Yeah the spots were empty. I'll have to screenshot to prove my case though, maybe record a vid of my whole town.

 

[Frisky134]

Before I start, there has been a guide already made regarding this topic. While the guide itself is pretty good at explaining the basics, it does not include all information.
NOTE: the plot resetting trick is not recommend. It can destroy/corrupt your game, please be wary when using said trick. This guide does not at ALL include the plot resetting trick.

The Welcome to Amiibo update added many new things, but the updated also included that villagers no longer move onto paths. And due to this, will NOT at all move onto paths*, so this is how to move your villagers in to locations you want.

*With no available spaces, villagers will move where ever. It also includes that when moving villagers in from the amiibo cards, I will further explain this.

So, with that said, let us begin!

---

VILLAGER REQUIREMENTS
Much like how PWPs work or mayor/character houses work, you MUST have a certain amount of space to allow a villager to move into, otherwise, villagers will may/may not move into that space.

So, what are those requirements?
- A 3x3 space
- A 5x5 space surrounding the house

That is all that is 'required' for each villager house by itself.
So, each villager house looks like this.
GUIDE:
[X] = space around house
[H] = house space
[D] = villager door space
XXXXX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XXDXX
XXXXX
In game, it would look like this.
View attachment 200382

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- All spaces surronding said 5x5/3x3 area MUST be covered in paths in other to make the villager move into that area
YOU MUST COVER ANY 3x3 SPACES, VILLAGERS WILL MOVE INTO THOSE SPACES REGARDLESS.
TIP: Placing paths in diagonals make it easier, also making the paths grass based also helps with aesthetics.

AMIIBO CARDS
I must explain, since using Amiibo cards and the paths, I realized that it's much ore difficult to have them move into locations I want them to be.

Amiibo villagers (with 10 villagers) will move into random locations. They are very difficult to move in, with each villager, they will move into either​

A) A space you've made, depending on how many spaces you've made avaiable
B) A random location due to the NPC seeing that there are no open spaces for them to move in due to paths*
C) The location of the villager you wanted to move out
​

*The NPC is quite a struggle, as they view open spaces you've made as blocked by paths, and due to that will move randomly

Amiibo cards require a lot of trial and error, and if you do not do TT, I highly suggest you do not use Amiibo cards with this trick.

PWPS
Not much to be said about PWPs, they work the same as houses and depending on size, you can move villagers pretty close to PWPs (Requires at least two spaces in between), and you can also use them to avoid having villagers move into 3x3 spaces.

VILLAGER HOUSING ARRANGEMENTS
The whole point of this guide is to have villagers move in where you want them to, and by that, you can create really nice and even places for your villagers to move in!

So, let's take our house,
XXXXX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XXDXX
XXXXX
Now, let's say we wanted our villagers to move into a row of four, so... taking that house, we'll just add three more!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XHHHXXHHHXXHHHXXHHHX
XHHHXXHHHXXHHHXXHHHX
XHHHXXHHHXXHHHXXHHHX
XXDXXXXDXXXXDXXXXDXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As you can see above, there are exactly TWO spaces in between each house, and that is because, as each house on it's own is 3x3, it needs at least ONE space surrounding the 3x3 space.

Here's an in game example!
View attachment 200385

The same could be down with the houses being moved in vertically.
XXXXX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XXDXX
XXXXX
XXXXX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XHHHX
XXDXX

Rather than two spaces horizontally, it's just vertical!

---

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions/concerns, please don't be afraid to notify me!
I'll be happy to help.

I'll update this guide if any new information may come forth!
​

Thanks for this, it clears up a lot because i am having some troubles in my current town. Tho i still have some questions open.

1) Can i also block with trees? If i have a mashup of designs and trees in my town, will it work as well? I don't wanna remove all my flowers and trees so i have patched really lightly. The places for my villagers are also marked generously because i don't need them in an EXACT spot. (I will attach pictures)

2) Can i replace a 10th villager with amiibos and without having another move out before them, but still change the location of their house?? I have asked this question before but i didn't realize i was on a new horizons discussion.

3) How close can villagers move to objects like for instance the Coffee shop, the Mayor house or the police station? Going by your guide, i would guess that these buildings also have an [x]-space, thus leaving 2 blocks open near buildings and one block near cliffs? If this were to be true, it would make patching with more designs if needed easier because i don't need to patch the whole area.

Here are some pictures attached: