A part of me is giving up.

[UglyMonsterFace]

I've been addicted to this game since launch and I was starting to really fall in love with my town until today, when I realized I have run out of room on my island. I cannot fulfill my plans anymore because I overestimated the amount of space I had. I gave the animals quite generous yards and now to fix everything to create space will cost so much and take soooo long. Plus I'm so attached to the parts of my town that I've already done that I can't give it up and downgrade the yard space or even the space my campground has. Then my storage situation.. I love the clothes so much that I buy every single thing in every single colour and my closet is completely overflowing. I've tried to get rid of stuff but it gets full immediately after. I don't know how to manage this. And I need a bunch of the nook miles items but I don't wanna try to buy it from here because I know they're going for crazy amounts that I can't afford. I still love the game but I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed. My floor outside is now littered with excess furniture and crafting materials, bugs and fish, etc. And I can't move forward with the design of my town without ripping everything the shreds first. And I also can't get items I need here cuz of how expensive everything is. Is anyone else feeling this way? I kinda just need help finding the motivation to continue.

 

[Krissi2197]

I think you should take a break.

I'm not saying that to be condescending but burnout is very common if you play something for hours a day for weeks at a time.

Whenever I get burnt out on my art or a video game I stop playing for a day or two. Do your daily activities and that's it. Then turn the game off.

Maybe make a list or a diagram of what you think is the best course of action for your town. Then take it from there.

Taking a break and coming back the next day with a fresh relaxed mind may give you inspiration!

 

[Ezamoosh]

Try uploading your town map into this:

Happy Island Designer

Plan your dream island map. Made for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Draw terrain and paths, place buildings, and trace your in-game map.

eugeneration.github.io

You can play around with the design without it costing lots of time and money, so that you can be sure you're happy with a final design before you make any changes that might discourage you.

 

[Mairmalade]

One thing I’ve seen a few people do to help with the storage situation is to dedicate one of their rooms in their house to be a walk-in closet. You can place some of your faves in your room to save some storage space.

Island planning CAN be overwhelming but nothing is ever final. It does take time and bells, but maybe you could try switching your focus? Enjoy the areas on your island you currently have while making bells. Fish, get and sell turnips, catch bugs, sell fossils and fruit. Save up a lot of bells for your future construction projects. Make note of the areas you love and redo sections at a time. Planning out your island with the tool @Ezamoosh linked is super helpful.

 

[moonolotl]

I think you should take a break.

I'm not saying that to be condescending but burnout is very common if you play something for hours a day for weeks at a time.

Whenever I get burnt out on my art or a video game I stop playing for a day or two. Do your daily activities and that's it. Then turn the game off.

Maybe make a list or a diagram of what you think is the best course of action for your town. Then take it from there.

Taking a break and coming back the next day with a fresh relaxed mind may give you inspiration!

Just want to emphasise this because i totally agree with the advice!

I was getting burnout because I was so stressed about how my island was looking, so I took about a 3-4 day break. When I came back, I went in full force and now I know exactly what to do and the game doesn't seem like such a chore/stressful experience.
It varies from person to person, but the jist of it is stop playing until you WANT to play again. Never force yourself or thats when burnout will hit

 

[Sanaki]

Unfortunately I felt/feel the same way. I didn't feel like tearing everything down so I restarted (not suggesting it to put it into your head) but people are right, you should take a break. At the moment I know it might feel stressful, but the walk in closet is such a great idea. I recommend giving yourself some time, this game is supposed to be fun! (I take designing and stuff way too seriously, so I know how you feel.) I also fear trading here, or even posting my wishlist because of the prices people are charging.

Not to sound dramatic but I literally cried to my boyfriend about restarting and feeling like everything I was doing was horrible.

The pressure of good design especially with online pics/videos makes this game also feel like a competition. I hope you take some time to possibly draw out your island on a planner and think about maybe making some changes that you're going to feel good about, or just tweaking existing spaces so that you can create some wiggle room for your other ideas. You can do it!

 

[petrichr]

I know it's easy to get sucked in for hours and hours at a time but perhaps you can try playing for shorter periods and taking breaks. AC shouldn't feel like a chore!

It's really hard to avoid all the pictures and videos online but I find it super stressful to compare my island to others.

Even if I make a change and immediately regret it, I try to leave it alone for a bit and play around it. I literally wanted to throw my Switch the other day when I spent ages mimicking something I saw in a vid and it didn't turn out how I liked. But I turned the game off and left it. Next day I realised it wasn't that bit a deal, tweaked it a bit and now I'm happy with it.

Plus remember with all the new features in the game, you can change pretty much anything. Try not to place too much weight on crafting the perfect town. It can change all the time!

To address the storage, I found I was hoarding stuff wayyy too much. 900 spaces of storage is what I have at the moment and I need a good clean out. Like.. do I really need 50 giant clams for crafting shell beds? Nope. Do I need 80 peaches? No they regrow every 3 days. Sell your stuff and make that cash moneyyy.

The clothes I get the drama but so much stuff I have bought only to realise it doesn't match. I would sell it back to Nooks tbh and reorder it from catalog if you decide you want it.

Nook Miles items are so overpriced here, but you don't really need to buy all the variations. You can trade for the ones you really want but try not to stress about completing the whole set or anything.

I guess my main point is the game has not even been out for a month but due to TT and online sharing, it can feel super overwhelming or that you are behind. Please remember it's not a race!

 

[Sanaki]

Also if you ever wanted to exchange for Nook Items (I have white streetlamps, white lighthouse, white snack machine) you can DM me! I only charge the same amount in miles for exchanges, I don't charge excess or anything crazy. Not sure of your variants but just throwing it out there ^^

 

[buny]

i agree people are overpricing things. it's no longer about fair trading and helping each other, it's about making profit and yall know what that stinks of : )

either way tho i dont think u should let that ruin the fun for u!! the game is fun even if u dont have everything from day 1. pace yourself, take breaks if u need to, enjoy working step by step and im sure your island will be lovely!!

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

Thanks guys! I do appreciate all the encouraging words! I guess I could just do trades for the Nook Miles items if people are willing to do it that way. Though it'll be hard since I don't time travel.. and yeah. I think I'll take a step back from the game. Well.. after the fishing tourney today of course lol. But I'll focus on what I love about my town instead of what makes me upset! You're all right. Thank youuu!

 

[Krissi2197]

Thanks guys! I do appreciate all the encouraging words! I guess I could just do trades for the Nook Miles items if people are willing to do it that way. Though it'll be hard since I don't time travel.. and yeah. I think I'll take a step back from the game. Well.. after the fishing tourney today of course lol. But I'll focus on what I love about my town instead of what makes me upset! You're all right. Thank youuu!

I dont time travel and I find a lot of good people who do NMT item trades!! Dont let other people time traveling discourage you.

 

[meggtheegg]

I dont time travel and I find a lot of good people who do NMT item trades!! Dont let other people time traveling discourage you.

ive found even a lot of TTers are 1000% fine with waiting an extra day for me if i'm doing a trade that requires me to order when i explain i dont TT. lots of friendly trades and traders to be found here, even though it all looks so intimidating. you just gotta try <3 worst thing that happens is you dont find a trade and you gotta bump your post or browse a lil more

 

[Altarium]

I'm facing a similar issue with island space! I started a neighborhood and gave the villagers VERY generous yards (talking 6x9 big) and now I'm thinking I can't possibly fit 10 villagers there. But because I like what I've done, I've decided I'm going to have 4 villagers (my 4 favorites) live in these bigger houses and then put everyone else in smaller plots. May not look as symmetrical and perfect as I had envisioned, but it is what it is.

I'd say take a break, or try to play a little less. Once you come back with a fresher mindset I'm sure you'll see things in a different light and you'll think of ideas you wouldn't have thought of before. I'm cheering for you! <3

 

[DJStarstryker]

Limited storage space has always been a problem in the AC series. If you like collecting everything, I would actually suggest selling most of it right after you buy it. Just keep the clothes you really like and the things you need to decorate your house. Also, keep any non-reorderables that aren't DIYs, and any DIYs that are hard to make again because of rare materials.

Everything else you can always either order it again from the catalog later, or just make it with your DIY bench again later.

 

[Mairen]

I'd also suggest a break for a day or two. It sounds like you need to do some planning for your town as well! I'm someone who had an absolute blast planning and organizing my island, so if you are the same, you could use this as a way to enjoy the game without actually being on the game. Make things easy and create a to-do list for things you'd like to get done.

And yes, the markets are very intimidating here, but there's people around who are more than happy to help out with trading those nook mile ticket items without looking to make a huge profit.

 

[matt2019]

You can create another player account on your switch, for more storage.

 

[moon_child]

When I started terraforming, I did a very drastic move and leveled my town because I can’t seem to make things work with things in the way. So there were days I had nothing and it literally looked like a wasteland. No trees, no rivers, no cliffs. I started working portion by portion. And I slowly am completing some parts very very slowly.

As I don’t TT, it sometimes gets very discouraging because I don’t have that much stuff to complete the areas I’m going for. There were a few times I felt like giving up. But I’ve had bouts of hope and inspiration every now and then. Know how I do? This may sound strange as it’s only a game, I know...but there were times I wanted to give up or reset so I would quit the game to avoid that feeling and the loading screen will show one of my villagers walking about in an area I just worked on and it just warms my heart. It reinforces the idea that it may not be as complicated or artistic as other islands I see on YouTube tours but my island is their home and they love it and they deserve to keep living in it so I persevered and worked through it. Now I’m almost 50% done and it’s slowly coming along. I still got a long way to go but I’m so happy. That just means I still have a lot of things to look forward to in the game.

 

[Stevey Queen]

I still have a lot of areas on my map that I don’t know what I’m going to do with.

and I have the opposite problem with the yards for my villagers. Mine are too small and my residential district is too small and cramped to really expand it. And yesterday I ended up placing a house one space off and I don’t really want to fix it. I’m just going to work around it and maybe I’ll fix it one day.

You just gotta take it slow and fix what you don’t like. You literally can manipulate every detail of your island to your liking. Just don’t try to do it all at once.

 

[Mr. Q]

Honestly, I'd just take a break.

 

[crystalmilktea]

For hoarding clothes - definitely try to sell most of the clothes you don't wear often! You can always re-order them if you really want to wear it one day, and since you've bought all the variations once they'll always be available in your Nook Stop