Feeling overwhelmed now that ive hit lategame...
- Thread starter xxrv
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Overwhelmed and intimidated. By a game. A very slow-paced one at that with cuter than life animal characters, and very optional goals. Sheesh ! 
Next thing I know, people will claim they've been micro-agressed by Animal Crossing.
Suggestion : just start with small, easily completed projects. Do not level your entire island, erasing hills, and the river. Work with what you have. Don't try to get a clean slate.
Next thing I know, people will claim they've been micro-agressed by Animal Crossing.
Suggestion : just start with small, easily completed projects. Do not level your entire island, erasing hills, and the river. Work with what you have. Don't try to get a clean slate.
I haven’t done much terraforming because honestly it was a bit much for my little unartistic brain 
At the beginning I made a waterfall, then I made a platform. Eventually I had to make some rivers a little wider.
My island isn’t a masterpiece but it’s mine. I can’t make islands like I have visited with amazing terraforming. It’s not me or something that I am able to achieve so I won’t stress about attempting anything like it. Amazed at what is achievable but impossible for me. Some of the nicest islands are the best places to visit as they are so well thought out and inspirational.
This game isn’t going anywhere so take your time and make your island your happy place
At the beginning I made a waterfall, then I made a platform. Eventually I had to make some rivers a little wider.
My island isn’t a masterpiece but it’s mine. I can’t make islands like I have visited with amazing terraforming. It’s not me or something that I am able to achieve so I won’t stress about attempting anything like it. Amazed at what is achievable but impossible for me. Some of the nicest islands are the best places to visit as they are so well thought out and inspirational.
This game isn’t going anywhere so take your time and make your island your happy place
Flunkifera
Senior Member
I have terraformed whole sections of my island over and over again and I totally understand the initial anxiety. What you could do is go with a certain theme, vibe or color? That would make things easier as to what kind of space you could create and what flowers and bushes or items you might use to fill up the space once you have terraformed.
The good thing is, that there is no right or wrong. You can start doing one thing and feel you don't like it, and just stop. You can take your time and figure out what kind of terraforming style you like. You might look online on Youtube, Instagram or Pinterest for inspirational photos and ideas and try to rebuild something. Just because you build it doesn't mean you can't change or undo it again, just try to find what you like. It took me many tries to, you don't need to get it right on the first try!
The good thing is, that there is no right or wrong. You can start doing one thing and feel you don't like it, and just stop. You can take your time and figure out what kind of terraforming style you like. You might look online on Youtube, Instagram or Pinterest for inspirational photos and ideas and try to rebuild something. Just because you build it doesn't mean you can't change or undo it again, just try to find what you like. It took me many tries to, you don't need to get it right on the first try!
brutalitea
tae bae
Don’t terraform if you don’t want to. Doesn’t matter what other people are doing. If you don’t how to change something, don’t change it. Just wait until you have an idea. It’s literally a video game. Nothing bad will happen.
There’s really no rush to start terraforming especially if you currently lack inspiration. Also there’s no need to go crazy with it unless you want to. The general shape of my island is mostly the same personally. I moved part of one of my rivers a bit more north to give more space in one area and made one of my upper cliffs a bit bigger but otherwise that’s mostly it. Crazy cliffs and waterfalls people make do look really nice but they are by no means a requirement for you to make.
Just make your island how you want. Don’t worry about intricate terraforming if that’s not really your thing. It’s perfectly ok.
Just make your island how you want. Don’t worry about intricate terraforming if that’s not really your thing. It’s perfectly ok.
DarkSlayer1331
Senior Member
I was overwhelmed at first too. So I didn't do any terraforming or much decorating projects or anything for a long time. Like, really long. Then I put in a pond on one of my cliffs, to have another one somewhere on my island. Then I kind of smoothed out one of my river bends a bit so it wasn't so... jagged? It just seemed jagged or something to me. That's really all the terraforming I did. Then I put down paths. First just on one side of my island, where my RS building was, and Nook's shop and the museum. Four of my villagers houses are on that part too. I did more decorating, putting more stuff outside my villagers' houses. The side with Abel's shop has a little "village" setup with the six villagers that live on it.
I began to put things down here and there on the island. A lighthouse. Life guard chair. Just some things. Then I decided to do a shell theme on my south beach. Looks pretty nice actually, and I have a sand castle there, and a closet/fitting room wardrobe item that looks like a nice changing booth. And then came fall. I started making more stuff like barrels, hay beds, butter churns, and put them around. Leaf piles. Scarecrows. The whole works. Then this month came, and it was pumpkin DIY galore, which I've used to heavily decorate my lower level of my island with. And then just a few days ago I added a picnic area up on the cliff with the pond that I made months ago. There's garden rocks, a couple of benches, a stone table with stone stools. Looks pretty neat.
Really, just go slowly. Do one thing at a time, and like other people have said, go ahead and bounce from one area to another. My "main stretch" will literally never be complete, because I will constantly be updating with the seasons. After Halloween, the Spooky items are going to have to go. Maybe not right away. But once I start getting the mushroom stuff, I'll definitely be swapping things out. And then when December rolls around, it's going to be changing things to Christmas. With January, it'll be basic winter, and probably back to basics. Honestly, being able to decorate your island is what is going to keep me playing this game. Because I'll constantly be changing with the times. And in between, I'll think of little things to do around my island. I'm already thinking of making another one of my cliffs a little cafe area. For some reason I don't really see my villagers going on the cliffs... not sure if it's because there's not as much stuff on them as there is on the ground level?
Have fun! Look at ideas, but don't stress about making it "look perfect." You want to be able to enjoy and play the game too, and like others said, a lot of those islands make it extremely difficult if not downright impossible to catch bugs, fish, and just go about enjoying life on the island with your villagers.
I began to put things down here and there on the island. A lighthouse. Life guard chair. Just some things. Then I decided to do a shell theme on my south beach. Looks pretty nice actually, and I have a sand castle there, and a closet/fitting room wardrobe item that looks like a nice changing booth. And then came fall. I started making more stuff like barrels, hay beds, butter churns, and put them around. Leaf piles. Scarecrows. The whole works. Then this month came, and it was pumpkin DIY galore, which I've used to heavily decorate my lower level of my island with. And then just a few days ago I added a picnic area up on the cliff with the pond that I made months ago. There's garden rocks, a couple of benches, a stone table with stone stools. Looks pretty neat.
Really, just go slowly. Do one thing at a time, and like other people have said, go ahead and bounce from one area to another. My "main stretch" will literally never be complete, because I will constantly be updating with the seasons. After Halloween, the Spooky items are going to have to go. Maybe not right away. But once I start getting the mushroom stuff, I'll definitely be swapping things out. And then when December rolls around, it's going to be changing things to Christmas. With January, it'll be basic winter, and probably back to basics. Honestly, being able to decorate your island is what is going to keep me playing this game. Because I'll constantly be changing with the times. And in between, I'll think of little things to do around my island. I'm already thinking of making another one of my cliffs a little cafe area. For some reason I don't really see my villagers going on the cliffs... not sure if it's because there's not as much stuff on them as there is on the ground level?
Have fun! Look at ideas, but don't stress about making it "look perfect." You want to be able to enjoy and play the game too, and like others said, a lot of those islands make it extremely difficult if not downright impossible to catch bugs, fish, and just go about enjoying life on the island with your villagers.
LittleMissPanda
🍑 feelin' peachy 🍑
As many have mentioned before, take it one step at a time. I too was overwhelmed by terraforming once I finally unlocked it. I was excited and hasty to unlock it but once I did I was like "okay where do I start?" Yes watching videos of "perfect" islands (no such thing btw) did stress me out because all I kept thinking was "how can I make my island look like THAT? Or THAT?!" and all I did was compare and overthink the whole process. Until I realized "you know what? I want to start right here, making a nice little cliffside hill by the coastline" and what do you know, that's where my terraforming progress began. I made a really nice hill, and on top of that hill I will put Annalisa's house, and from there everything else slowly came to fruition. I had a lot of brainstorms going, and I would visualize how I wanted areas to look like, but as I like to consider them they are just a rough first draft, like writing a story. I'll just make a draft then I'll come back and make any changes/add little details here and there.
I stopped worrying about how other people's islands looked because I didn't just want to do what everyone else does. I wanted my island to be unique to MY tastes. No theme, no excessive furniture/patterns/custom designs everywhere... All that is too much clutter! And what I came up with I really love, because I took it slow and let my ideas develop on their own. If I didn't like something, just put the items in storage. Am I overthinking again? Stop, take a deep breath, put the game down and take a break. You can't just do every project in one day, you will only cause yourself more frustration and you will begin to rush and that will lead to disastrous results.
Go with the flow when it comes to terraforming let your ideas take shape themselves.
I stopped worrying about how other people's islands looked because I didn't just want to do what everyone else does. I wanted my island to be unique to MY tastes. No theme, no excessive furniture/patterns/custom designs everywhere... All that is too much clutter! And what I came up with I really love, because I took it slow and let my ideas develop on their own. If I didn't like something, just put the items in storage. Am I overthinking again? Stop, take a deep breath, put the game down and take a break. You can't just do every project in one day, you will only cause yourself more frustration and you will begin to rush and that will lead to disastrous results.
Go with the flow when it comes to terraforming
let your ideas take shape themselves.
saucySheep
I've frikin' LEFT the forum :D bye!! won't miss ya
1st of all, just remember that it's your island and you don't have to do anything with it unless you really want to (which you seem to).
it may help to pick one small-ish spot on your island that you want to fix up. go to the spot and think of all the things you could possibly transform it into (not necessarily w/ terraforming, but that usually plays some role in remodeling). you can look at reddit and pinterest for lots of ideas. then just get to work, you might start by removing all the trees/plants/any other furniture and then make a little layout of how big you want the area to be (i.e if you're making a cafe, you might make it 11x12, idk. but you can do this by drawing on the ground with some paths)
another idea is to draw out what you want your map to look like - there are websites and apps, of course (like happyislanddesigner.com) or you can just use paper (like me... though it may be slightly harder). and you can literally just map out the entire island. seems weird but it can help!!
hope this helped lol. gl
it may help to pick one small-ish spot on your island that you want to fix up. go to the spot and think of all the things you could possibly transform it into (not necessarily w/ terraforming, but that usually plays some role in remodeling). you can look at reddit and pinterest for lots of ideas. then just get to work, you might start by removing all the trees/plants/any other furniture and then make a little layout of how big you want the area to be (i.e if you're making a cafe, you might make it 11x12, idk. but you can do this by drawing on the ground with some paths)
another idea is to draw out what you want your map to look like - there are websites and apps, of course (like happyislanddesigner.com) or you can just use paper (like me... though it may be slightly harder). and you can literally just map out the entire island. seems weird but it can help!!
hope this helped lol. gl
Blood Eclipse
𖤐 ♱ 𖤐
I looked through so many YouTube videos of other player's islands for inspiration because, like you, I had no idea where to even begin and I don't trust my self enough to try creating an island I could look back on 3 years from now and not feel immensely disappointed and want to start from square 1 again.
I found one I really liked after weeks and weeks of searching, and used that as my base, then added bits and pieces of areas I liked from others islands into it, and with a few alterations, I now have an island I'm 90% comfortable with, so I'm happy.
I found one I really liked after weeks and weeks of searching, and used that as my base, then added bits and pieces of areas I liked from others islands into it, and with a few alterations, I now have an island I'm 90% comfortable with, so I'm happy.
I know it's easier said than done, but terraforming (and the game in general) becomes a lot more fun when you aren't comparing your island to other people's. It's not a beauty contest. You aren't going to lose the game if you aren't getting 100 likes a day on your animal crossing instagram pictures. Once you are able to move yourself beyond that manner of thinking, the game becomes a lot less stressful and more fun.
That being said, looking at other islands for ideas or sources of inspiration can be a fantastic way of bringing ideas back to your own island. But your island is your island and their island is their island, so there's no need to stress about not being able to create the exact same thing. Make your own thing! Your island is something to be proud of too.
That being said, looking at other islands for ideas or sources of inspiration can be a fantastic way of bringing ideas back to your own island. But your island is your island and their island is their island, so there's no need to stress about not being able to create the exact same thing. Make your own thing! Your island is something to be proud of too.
My advice is to not compare your island to others, and to just take your time. There's no hurry to complete or decorate an entire town. Remember that it is your town to decorate and enjoy. It's your own little work of art that will take time, and that's part of the fun.
I remember when I first started, and had very little to work with. I had lots of temporary areas. Messy areas too. Furniture, and craft items everywhere. Tools that I crafted, all over my beach.Then there was the realization that my villager homes and museum were in lousy spots. They seemed to take forever to move.
I first decorated around my home and campsite. Both of those areas have been changed over the months as I got more items and recipes.
I also recommend decorating in ways that reflect you. Favorite colors, hobbies, or interests. For example, I like bold, bright colors, anything retro, farming, and everything cute. I don't have a lot of cliffs or waterfalls, and I always go big. Big yard, big campsite, big farm area, etc.
And last bit of advice is if you don't like an area that you've decorated, it can always be changed. Nothing is permanent.
I remember when I first started, and had very little to work with. I had lots of temporary areas. Messy areas too. Furniture, and craft items everywhere. Tools that I crafted, all over my beach.Then there was the realization that my villager homes and museum were in lousy spots. They seemed to take forever to move.
I first decorated around my home and campsite. Both of those areas have been changed over the months as I got more items and recipes.
I also recommend decorating in ways that reflect you. Favorite colors, hobbies, or interests. For example, I like bold, bright colors, anything retro, farming, and everything cute. I don't have a lot of cliffs or waterfalls, and I always go big. Big yard, big campsite, big farm area, etc.
And last bit of advice is if you don't like an area that you've decorated, it can always be changed. Nothing is permanent.
eseamir
festive water baby
I'm also in this same boat!! I just recently unlocked terraforming and part of me was super excited because I had been waiting for it and then the rest of me is like oh god... I'm going to try and do something and then Ruin Everything so I haven't actually started making any changes. I'm planning on doing a small area at a time (once I start haha) and making little tweaks that I know will benefit the playability of my island and also help out make some cute little themed parts around my island. people who are super good at terraforming honestly intimidate me a Lot but I'm sure it's one of those things you pick up through trial and error! (I'm hoping so at least 
)
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