A question about 'scooching'...

[Mr.Fox]

Dunno what people officially call it, but I call it scooching...when your villager does a little side jump to get through a tight space.

Are there guidelines for this action I'm just not aware of? I'm kinda tired of attempting to get through certain parts of my town (usually between a cliff and a fence) that I know I can get through, but having to attempt it sometimes up to about 5 times. Sometimes it works on the first try, so I don't get it...

Do I have to be running or something? Pressing a certain direction? Any input appreciated here.
Oh and sorry if this has been covered before...I can't be the only one who gets annoyed by this.

 

[Pyoopi]

I call it shimmying, but yeah that works too.

I always find that you can shimmy the first time and the second time or more is a hit and miss. I tend to terraform myself in dumb tight corners and I'm a lazyass when it comes to using the rescue 'copter, so I just keep trying until I escape, lol.

From a game dev perspective, I guess it's about the angle (don't quote me, just an artist) and if your character/code recognizes it can squeeze through an area. I just find it really fickle.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I call it shimmying, but yeah that works too.

I always find that you can shimmy the first time and the second time or more is a hit and miss. I tend to terraform myself in dumb tight corners and I'm a lazyass when it comes to using the rescue 'copter, so I just keep trying until I escape, lol.

From a game dev perspective, I guess it's about the angle (don't quote me, just an artist) and if your character/code recognizes it can squeeze through an area. I just find it really fickle.

Thank you! Glad to know I'm not the only one. Fickle is the perfect word to describe it...

 

[eseamir]

I have this happen all the time!! it's like sometimes my character decides they're skinny enough to squish their way through a certain gap and sometimes they're like "nope that's not gonna happen today" and it seemingly has no real rhyme or reason to it?? I have found that I usually have an easier time doing it when I'm walking as opposed to running but even that isn't 100% guaranteed to work all the time :/

 

[Fye]

I personally don't usually have an issue with it, but what really gets me is jumping over narrow rivers. A few of mine are at an angle and getting my island rep to jump over it means trying to run towards the river at just the right angle over and over again until she jumps.

 

[1ce]

i found out that opening and closing the inventory and then trying again works

 

[Mick]

What I do in that case is to just put the analog stick back to the center, then moving it in the diagonal that I want to step in. The character does the little skip and we're running again. Takes half a second and works every time.

The most practical solution is to just keep paths wide and uncluttered, but I still get caught behind trees and cliffs/furniture and cliffs occasionally. I even called the rescue service for it once, long ago...

 

[visibleghost]

idk if this is how it works but i fail almost every time i try to do it with a tool in hand. if i put away the tool (especially ladder or shovel) it is much easier

 

[EmmaFrost]

It's definitely a fickle thing, as someone else said. It works sometimes and not others. It's bizarre.

 

[niko@kamogawa]

I am also having this issue as well! It's inconsistent. How does it work really?

 

[6iixx]

i've noticed that sometimes having the island designer app could falter you as well while trying to do those little 'shimmying' movements between objects - like if you have a path design clipboard or whatever it is out. or a shovel. items in hand seem to hinder your movement more, or make it so you need to be more precise with your direction. it's extremely annoying at times when you're just trying to pick up something that's fallen beside your tree :c

 

[Caracal]

Ugh, yes!!!! This happens to me all the time with trees. I have a bunch of trees on cliffs and I'll try to go around the tree in a circle. First time I can go around no problem but if I forget to do something and have to go around again, sometimes I get stuck! I've actually had to call the Rescue Service once or twice because I got stuck on a cliff above a river.

 

[John Wick]

I had a couple of spots where I had to stealth through, but I got sick of being stuck so I just redid those areas.

I like to be able to navigate freely.

 

[Halloqueen]

As 6iixx mentioned, I've noticed that certain tools, particularly the ladder, render "scooching" impossible until I switch to a different tool or put the tool away entirely. That's about all I can contribute to this.

 

[Mr.Fox]

i found out that opening and closing the inventory and then trying again works

This. Tested it multiple times over the past few days and it has worked for me every time. My temper thanks you

 

[returnofsaturn]

Does anyone know if the villagers themselves can scooch through small spaces like that?

 

[6iixx]

Does anyone know if the villagers themselves can scooch through small spaces like that?

i've never personally seen a villager in any of the areas i've needed to scooch into. i would assume no, but i could be wrong.

a good way to test it would be to box a villager in with only scoochable areas and see if they overcome the obstacle~

 

[Tutle]

Same. I never see villagers "scooch" either. I mostly see the user having to scooch. I usually see villagers just stop and turn a different direction or sit. lol

 

[Mick]

This. Tested it multiple times over the past few days and it has worked for me every time. My temper thanks you

Again, if you just stop walking and start again, you should have the same effect. I assume the inventory thing would work too, because it's the same but with extra steps.

Does anyone know if the villagers themselves can scooch through small spaces like that?

I have never seen a villager do it, and I've trapped them before with gaps that you can't walk through normally. I'm assuming they just can't.

What I do know is that villagers can teleport, I've seen one go from inside his house straight to the plaza - but I don't think they can just go anywhere on the island. You might be able to block off certain sections of your island from villager travel this way.