How to you plan your town? (Landscaping!)

[Berrymia]

So I?m interested in how you plan your town. What is your process in arranging your town like?
Do you have an idea before you start? Like, a theme? Or do you plan area by area?
Do you start with paths or PWPs and then decorate around them? Do you try to get inspiration from like, tumblr etc or dream towns? Or copy from something you?ve seen?

Personally I never know how to start. I tried to lay some paths around to the villagers I?m planning on keeping longer and on the main routes. But not sure how I decorate around the paths. Then I build PWPs I really like. But I don?t know how to decorate around them either yet.

So I?m curious how you come up with you landscaping ideas! Let me know!

 

[Imbri]

I started with figuring out my main routes to get around town. I don't use paths, so before I had access to bushes, I used flowers to line the areas I wanted to travel.

I made some markers to get an idea on size/placement for PWPs (campsite, The Roost, etc.) which helped to work around them, in a general way.Once my villagers were all moved in and the PWPs were in place, I started filling in with trees, bushes, and flowers. I used different bushes and flower combinations to create little neighborhoods in town. My dirt paths connect everything, but each area has a slightly different feel to it.

The main parts of it are almost complete, but I'll probably tinker with it forever. Your tastes will change as you play, so don't feel that you have to have it just so right away.

 

[Quill]

This is an extreme example and I am by no means saying that anyone should do this. It was 100% the actions of a desperately procrastinating university student.

But with Solstice, I mapped it out onto graph paper. 1 block in game = one block on graph paper. I laid down tiles in alternating colours across the entire town and counted them so I knew exactly where everything was, and then planned it out on paper.

In the end it wasn't the best idea because I still didn't take into account things like dead zones (where trees and bushes just won't grow), and losing a villager and having to go through the 16 villager cycle (this was before the amiibo update) messed up my plans big time anyway. But I might do it again when I restart my second town, so I can start with a totally fresh slate and see it through to completion this time.

 

[Berrymia]

@ imbri: yes you’re right, it’s a process and the taste can change over time!

@ quill: wow that’s amazing! I can relate tho as I’m a perfectionist too! I’d love to see your tow !

 

[Croconaw]

I always make my towns an urban theme. It’s simple, and it goes with the overall feel of the town. I want to try a spa resort or an island resort theme town. Towns centered around resorts are pretty cool. My creativity sucks when it comes to putting down paths. I just don’t feel creative enough to do a town theme other than urban. I like to keep things simple, although I have always wanted a resort theme. Maybe some day I’ll have the creativity and the patience to work with it.

 

[Quill]

@ quill: wow that’s amazing! I can relate tho as I’m a perfectionist too! I’d love to see your tow !

I'm still cleaning up the mess from my cycling, if you can believe it! It was supposed to be done AGES ago and I still haven't uploaded a dream address because I have unwanted villagers on my paths lol

I'm jumping back to it with a vengeance though and it should be ready by the end of the month

 

[Sakura625]

But with Solstice, I mapped it out onto graph paper. 1 block in game = one block on graph paper. I laid down tiles in alternating colours across the entire town and counted them so I knew exactly where everything was, and then planned it out on paper.

That's amazingly elaborate ^^ I'll probably do that with my next few towns ;v;


For my current town, I placed paths connecting all of the houses, facilities, and routes that I used to get around, and set all of my public works projects, flowers, bushes, and trees based on that ^^

Personally, I think you should just do whatever you think would work best, and change it if you don't like the look of it later ;v;

 

[Toot]

I don't plan the landscaping. If I have a theme, I just let the theme go with the flow of the map.

 

[dizzy bone]

My first town I took a more random/carefree approach to landscaping. I planned out general landmarks like the cafe, police station, playable character houses, etc. Then I let my villagers plot/move in wherever they wanted. I didn’t actively search for specific villagers and grew to like a lot of the randoms that moved in, so when my town was full I basically planned my paths around them. Because I had a lot of winding paths, I made them into dirt paths and turned the town into a foresty feel. The town, Tinytree, is complete if you want to have a look at it. DA is in my signature.

For my second town I’ll be planning it completely using QRpatterns to block of certain areas. I’ve already planned out a main “villager cluster” but I’ll be doing the same for potential future PWP projects.

 

[Kawaii Slowpoke]

I sorta have a theme going and its a "kawaii" type town (though I plan to make it spooky in sept-oct). I generally will lay out my paths that fit best with my town. (very little plot resetting cause im lazy) and then I plant flowers, trees, PWP, paths, etc. around that I guess. I just go with the flow lmao

 

[MapleSilver]

I usually start my town with a specific vision in mind, and I pick the map that would best suit that. Then for the first month or so I don't build any PWPs. When I play like that, I find locations for PWPs just come to me naturally as I become used to my new town's layout.

 

[Burumun]

I did something very similar to Quill. I went through my entire town and laid down flowers and patterns so I could get the spaces right, and then plotted it out in Excel. Then I used that to figure out a layout.

It's great especially since I can plan it out exactly, and if I end up not liking something I can go back in and change it, or make a copy of the spreadsheet and make some changes to see if I like them, or if they would even work.

This is what it currently looks like:

Spoiler

As for the order of planning things, I went with the most important things first, such as that I wanted to have my campsite as close to the tunnel as possible, then chose where to put paths, then made little areas from that.

 

[Khaelis]

I often use natural dirt paths for my towns, and will often take the same route to places through out town. The paths will naturally form over time, and I can think while playing "what can go here, and there?"

Eventually my landscaping comes together and I get a decent looking town.

 

[Quill]

I did something very similar to Quill. I went through my entire town and laid down flowers and patterns so I could get the spaces right, and then plotted it out in Excel. Then I used that to figure out a layout.

It's great especially since I can plan it out exactly, and if I end up not liking something I can go back in and change it, or make a copy of the spreadsheet and make some changes to see if I like them, or if they would even work.

This is what it currently looks like:

Spoiler

As for the order of planning things, I went with the most important things first, such as that I wanted to have my campsite as close to the tunnel as possible, then chose where to put paths, then made little areas from that.

Um, this is amazing. I'm definitely using Excel instead of graph paper next time

 

[Christy.lee1989]

i feel like im the worst and landscaping. i have tried going without paths cause i heave read people say how much they love it and everything but i cant do it. i love having paths (qr code) because for one it helps me find my way around without having to look at the bottom screen, and i can also plant flowers and try making hybrids without being scared of running over them. i feel like with paths i can plan where all my main pwps will be too.


this time with my new town i waited a few days to a week finding where i normally go to and from places, like my normal route and in that time had a side account so she can hold all my paths for me, i got her ready to use the qr machine. anyways, i just laid down my paths and planned where my police station, cafe, big stuff like that and put my paths down where i liked it. i use the empty spaces in between for my flowers and decorated them up. im planning on putting a few bushes on the sides of my paths, not like a constant row of them, just some every now and them. i always make sure on my map before getting it that there is a big enough space for my orchard. i plant 3-4 trees of each type of fruit in one spot except for my main fruit which i plant around, or have a small space alone for a bit of those, like a seperate smaller orchard for my town fruit. i also plant my perfect fruit seperately too

 

[Kiaren]

I usually lay down patterns on the first day to control where the new villagers move in, then lay paths when i have the villagers i want in my town and then i start putting down pwps. usually i keep a free area for a campground and another one for the cafe.
I like to make my paths half clovers and half tile pattern. I'm also a fan of cedar trees and white/orange/black cosmos so any town i make will have a ton of those I alternate between a natural town theme and an elegant one, leaning more towards a natural one lately.