What are your thoughts on the new rise of modding in ACNH?

[xandraxian]

Totally ready. Just bought the stuff to do it, and it looks easy...can't wait to easily edit the island.

 

[ACJedi]

3) as an extension to number 2, the risks aren't made all that clear by many youtubers. In fact, some even give semi tutorials on how to do it. This is dangerous.

This is true. I described in detail how to protect yourself if you do take the risk, but the mods deleted my post and gave me a strike because of it (no hack talk). I will just say for anyone that wants to do it make sure you do the research. It is possible to do this in a safe manner, but don't be stupid.

 

[Hsn97]

I don’t mind it and I think it can add some really cool and awesome content to the game. There’s so much stuff missing from NH I honestly wouldn’t mind if people found a way to mod it back in.

 

[Etown20]

There are a lot of interesting ideas in the mods, and it seems like it's bringing back enthusiasm to game. I think those are both good things.

Nintendo's stance against mods concerns me that they are going to continually make it more difficult or find some way to disable it. It's a bummer, but Nintendo is probably the least consumer-friendly of the big three companies. If Animal Crossing were made by Sony or Microsoft it would probably also be on PC and have a robust modding community, which would probably add to the lifespan of the game.

(For the record I have no idea how hard it is to do or how it could mess up the hardware)

 

[PacV]

Theres a channel on Youtube that adds customize Villagers. In other hand, i think like in New Leaf and City Folk is always interesting to see what others has done with his islands with modding.

 

[Shasaur]

There are a lot of interesting ideas in the mods, and it seems like it's bringing back enthusiasm to game. I think those are both good things.

Nintendo's stance against mods concerns me that they are going to continually make it more difficult or find some way to disable it. It's a bummer, but Nintendo is probably the least consumer-friendly of the big three companies. If Animal Crossing were made by Sony or Microsoft it would probably also be on PC and have a robust modding community, which would probably add to the lifespan of the game.

(For the record I have no idea how hard it is to do or how it could mess up the hardware)

Why is Nintendo against the modding? It seems like a net positive result for everyone: fans get extra content and on the other hand the game gets more popular because there’s more to do.

Games like Skyrim and Minecraft have had huge mod scenes which made a massive difference to their replayability. Mojang even wanted to embrace it with official mod support (not been following the game for a while so not sure how far they got with that though).

 

[Etown20]

Why is Nintendo against the modding? It seems like a net positive result for everyone: fans get extra content and on the other hand the game gets more popular because there’s more to do.

Games like Skyrim and Minecraft have had huge mod scenes which made a massive difference to their replayability. Mojang even wanted to embrace it with official mod support (not been following the game for a while so not sure how far they got with that though).

I don't think Nintendo has ever released an official statement, they just have a history of taking down fan projects and issuing online bans to players with jailbroken Switches.

There are a lot of possible reasons, some legit and some less so, but in general, I think the company is overprotective of its properties for misguided reasons of quality control. I think they may believe if someone plays Animal Crossing differently than how it was designed to be played, it somehow tarnishes the game or Nintendo brand. I think that's silly though. As you mentioned, no one views Skyrim or Minecraft as being tainted because they have mods and its added a lot of replay value and logetivety to those series.

 

[Belle T]

There are a few things to consider with regards to these hardline stances against modding.

1) The Switch runs on proprietary software and hardware, and jailbreaking proprietary devices in order to install mods is a legally murky area already. I've mentioned in this thread (or another modding thread, I've forgotten which) that Sony has sued hackers for this in the past. And all three do not like you tinkering with their systems, so I wouldn't call Nintendo the most anti-consumer in this regard.

2) It's worth keeping in mind that consoles aren't manufactured solely by the big name corporation selling them, but often make use of different parts manufactured and assembled by other companies. So even if the company itself were more friendly towards mods, they might still have other companies breathing down their necks, pressuring them to prevent it.

3) Reverse engineering your Switch will void your warranty, and if people are buying Switches strictly for modding, it creates a headache for customer service.

These are all things that I think you can maybe kind of empathize with, and are reasonable stances against moded games from the perspective of a company. There are others that I'm sure play an equally important if not even moreso role, such as protection of copyright and desire to have complete control over the user experience. Those are... less empathetic, admittedly.

But even as someone who completely supports modding and thinks it is only ever a good thing, I don't entirely blame Nintendo for not openly condoning modding. I don't expect every company to be as on board with it as a company like Valve is. But there is a difference between not condoning something and being actively hostile towards it, which is what all three of the first party companies are. If memory serves, Microsoft has tried to create a reasonable middle ground by allowing Series X owners to access developer mode, essentially reducing the need to completely reverse engineer the operating system. But I don't remember the specifics of it.

 

[Etown20]

There are a few things to consider with regards to these hardline stances against modding.

1) The Switch runs on proprietary software and hardware, and jailbreaking proprietary devices in order to install mods is a legally murky area already. I've mentioned in this thread (or another modding thread, I've forgotten which) that Sony has sued hackers for this in the past. And all three do not like you tinkering with their systems, so I wouldn't call Nintendo the most anti-consumer in this regard.

2) It's worth keeping in mind that consoles aren't manufactured solely by the big name corporation selling them, but often make use of different parts manufactured and assembled by other companies. So even if the company itself were more friendly towards mods, they might still have other companies breathing down their necks, pressuring them to prevent it.

3) Reverse engineering your Switch will void your warranty, and if people are buying Switches strictly for modding, it creates a headache for customer service.

These are all things that I think you can maybe kind of empathize with, and are reasonable stances against moded games from the perspective of a company. There are others that I'm sure play an equally important if not even moreso role, such as protection of copyright and desire to have complete control over the user experience. Those are... less empathetic, admittedly.

But even as someone who completely supports modding and thinks it is only ever a good thing, I don't entirely blame Nintendo for not openly condoning modding. I don't expect every company to be as on board with it as a company like Valve is. But there is a difference between not condoning something and being actively hostile towards it, which is what all three of the first party companies are. If memory serves, Microsoft has tried to create a reasonable middle ground by allowing Series X owners to access developer mode, essentially reducing the need to completely reverse engineer the operating system. But I don't remember the specifics of it.

These are all good points, and I didn't mean to shift the topic to console wars. Something that separates Microsoft and Sony in regards to modding in my opinion is their willingness to put games on PC (and then not care when people mod them). It's Nintendo's right to keep all their games exclusive to their console of course, but I think Animal Crossing would be a big hit on PC with a modding community.

 

[Belle T]

These are all good points, and I didn't mean to shift the topic to console wars. Something that separates Microsoft and Sony in regards to modding in my opinion is their willingness to put games on PC (and then not care when people mod them). It's Nintendo's right to keep all their games exclusive to their console of course, but I think Animal Crossing would be a big hit on PC with a modding community.

Well, Microsoft can usually afford to put their games on PC considering they have a near monopoly in that market as well, so I wouldn't assume any kind of altruism on their part. And Sony has been buying out timed exclusives for a few years now. Spider-Man PS4 is only recently coming to PC because of Sony's meddling.

But eh, Nintendo has always had a weird relationship with their fans in general. From DMCA-ing fan projects to being very slow to be accept the prominence of let's plays on YouTube. So despite my earlier points, I tend to think a lot of Nintendo's specific problems are bundled in with whatever horrible logic they use to justify things like that.

 

[daffodilcrossing]

I love seeing pictures of people’s islands with mods, I think they look really cool! But like most people on this thread it seems, I wouldn’t do it myself. It seems way too difficult for me. I’d also be afraid of lag from the crazy amount of items and things that seems to be everywhere on modded islands. I already experience lag when I get close to finishing islands (before I inevitably restart lol) because I’ve got a lot of stuff out, so I’m wondering is it worse with modding? And what about when people go on dreams of the island? Whenever I go on dreams it always lags so I can’t imagine what dreaming of a modded island would be like

 

[JKDOS]

Why is Nintendo against the modding? It seems like a net positive result for everyone: fans get extra content and on the other hand the game gets more popular because there’s more to do.

Nintendo are definitely against online cheating, as any good company would be. Cheating ruins the fun for others and is made possible by modding.

Modding also opens the doors to piracy.

Nintendo is rightfully against modding for these reasons, and likely some more I didn't mention.

 

[Dork]

i’ve thought about it a bit more since i’ve made this post and i’ve changed my mind on some things

i love vanilla animal crossing. and i think if i was given the option to “cheat” it would have been hard for me to return to playing vanilla. i’m not the best with temptations like this lmao. once i’ve been able to cheat in other video games (like stardew valley for example) i simply couldn’t return.

of course i wish i had access to the amazing items modders create. being able to mass terraform and spawn any item in an instant would be incredibly, but i progressively love building my island overtime. i don’t think i’d be as tempted by modding if we simply had quality of life updates that made the game less tedious.

to those who wish they could mod and are sad their islands can’t look as spicy, your island is amazing too!!!

 

[DJStarstryker]

I personally have no interest because Nintendo has a very strong anti-piracy, anti-modding stance. You're taking risks that I don't feel like taking, especially not for a current console, and one that's a bit online access heavy. I have less issues modding older Nintendo consoles, and I have a spare 2DS sitting around that I've considered modding/hacking for various reasons but have not gotten around to doing it to yet.

That being said, I don't judge people who do it. If you want to have fun doing that and are willing to take on the risks, you do you.

I do a lot of modding for Stardew Valley, but Eric Barone (the creator of the game) is completely fine with people doing that so there's zero issues there.

 

[maria110]

I think it's interesting but I don't really want to do it. It can be confusing though when I see a photo and want the items in the photo until I realize or find out that the item is only available through modding. I have HHP but haven't unlocked much in it so I'm not sure what is available through that versus what can only be done through modding.

Post automatically merged: Oct 7, 2022

of course i wish i had access to the amazing items modders create. being able to mass terraform and spawn any item in an instant

Mass terraforming is tempting to me because it's such a drag not being able to do it but if I tried to modify my Switch for modding, I'd probably ruin my Switch and my current islands by making a mistake.

 

[oath2order]

I have mixed feelings. I probably won’t risk my switch or cloud save to do it, but I really don’t care if other people do it. Just don’t harm other people’s save files and i don’t care.

I know most people get offended over it and think it’s cheating but I don’t have the time or energy to tell someone how to play a game. You bought it so you do you.

That's my fear! I don't want to damage my Switch, especially because I have at least a decade's worth of Pokémon on it.

I personally have no interest because Nintendo has a very strong anti-piracy, anti-modding stance. You're taking risks that I don't feel like taking, especially not for a current console, and one that's a bit online access heavy. I have less issues modding older Nintendo consoles, and I have a spare 2DS sitting around that I've considered modding/hacking for various reasons but have not gotten around to doing it to yet.

That being said, I don't judge people who do it. If you want to have fun doing that and are willing to take on the risks, you do you.

I do a lot of modding for Stardew Valley, but Eric Barone (the creator of the game) is completely fine with people doing that so there's zero issues there.

You should ABSOLUTELY both a) Look at Stardew Valley Expanded and b) Keep an eye out for 1.6, which is intended to make modding easier.

 

[MiraForceOne]

Modding kept COD WAW relevant, and now it's basically ACNH's life support

 

[Fruitcup]

It reminds me of when people modded new leaf, its interesting to see what people do with the game. i like most of it but some mods just dont fit the games aesthetic and make the game look weird, it really makes me excited for the next sequel.

 

[Foreverfox]

I don’t mind other people modding their games, etc, but I’m not going to do it to mine. I do remember using cheat codes with Sims, but I know that’s slightly different.

 

[smug villager]

I honestly can't blame anyone for modding the game. Even with the 2.0 update, ACNH feels very unfinished to me, like the game was abandoned too early.

There's a lot of cool custom items, I especially like all the new tree types and the strawberry crops I've seen. If modding we're simpler, I'd do it to my Switch, but I don't want to risk my save file.