I need some help!

[Mayor Monday]

I've had three towns. The first I restarted because I had played it a long time, and I simply wanted a new setting to work with. The second town I had was one I loved- but it's also where my issues began.

I've always been a control freak. I love order. I want things to be the way I want, in-game and out. But in real life, it's definitely not as bad as when I'm playing AC.

My second town was where I played about four-five Amiibos of villagers I liked. Then I realized I had too many of the same personality. I disliked where they had their houses. Then I started kicking myself because three of them were pretty popular and I wanted to avoid the more popular villagers (personal preference). Then I started finding fault in my design. "It's too girly" and "Everything's too polished".

So I restarted my town. My current town has been my absolute favorite. I only used two Amiibo cards at the start- one for cycling out when I wanted to, and one as a genuine favorite. But then it happened. I started finding faults about three months in. Not with the town, but the villagers. I didn't like the fact the Amiibo I used for cycling wasn't one I really wanted. I got rid of her to replace her with a smug, which was a personality I required to get a couple of pwps I wanted. He placed his house right on top of my park area despite the huge area the previous villager left. So I kicked him out to save my park- opening another large space for the second to go. She landed on my foreign fruits.

Mind you, I use patterns for protection. But the game refuses to go by what I do!

But in the end, my main problem isn't the Amiibos (though my difficulty with plot-resetting doesn't help.)

I'm debating on whether or not to restart again. I want to be freer to let myself do what I enjoy, instead of what strict plans I create. I drain the fun out of the game for myself because I'm such a perfectionist.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone ever done this, or am I just being crazy?

 

[John Wick]

Don't restart!

Amiibo's can cause problems, but they can also solve them.

I get it.
I ended up with an all amiibo town in the end.

Amiibo's can solve your problem though. Just keep moving them in and plot resetting. If they aren't moving where you want you need to check if you've left space elsewhere, or the plot you've left is legit.

Try and find a villager you really want, then boot someone out with their amiibo card or figure, and plot reset. ^_^

 

[skeletontape]

I'm dealing with the same problem, but it was my fault (accidentally erased one of my patterns.)

As far as why the villagers keep moving in weird places, there are some invisible rules about how you can place buildings in NL.

Every building has a "center" and an invisible border around them. (PWP have a border, but no "center"). The game is also divided into invisible "acres" (16 x 16 spaces each). You can only have the CENTER of THREE buildings in each acre. This includes villager houses, player houses, and permanent structures like Re-tail, the cafe, the police station, etc. The game doesn't show you where your acres divide up. You have to actually go in your town and count the spaces.

Some buildings, like the cafe, also have weird borders. Bridges also have borders. So you may be trying to place something too close. To test where borders are, try planting a tree. If it grows, it's clear. If it dies, it's in the border.

I don't know where this image is from, but it shows the different building shapes, borders, and their CENTERS (the red dot inside each building). Imo grouping too many building centers in the same acre without realizing it is the #1 cause of people not being able to plot villager houses the way they want. Because if you leave only space for their house, but the house is in an acre with three buildings already, they will place their house randomly, ignoring your patterns. the only way to sure sure you don't "overcrowd" an acre is to manually plot out your map. It's tedious, but if you are a perfectionist about placement it's worth the time and will save you the frustration of plot resetting.

 

[Mayor Monday]

I'm dealing with the same problem, but it was my fault (accidentally erased one of my patterns.)

As far as why the villagers keep moving in weird places, there are some invisible rules about how you can place buildings in NL.

Every building has a "center" and an invisible border around them. (PWP have a border, but no "center"). The game is also divided into invisible "acres" (16 x 16 spaces each). You can only have the CENTER of THREE buildings in each acre. This includes villager houses, player houses, and permanent structures like Re-tail, the cafe, the police station, etc. The game doesn't show you where your acres divide up. You have to actually go in your town and count the spaces.

Some buildings, like the cafe, also have weird borders. Bridges also have borders. So you may be trying to place something too close. To test where borders are, try planting a tree. If it grows, it's clear. If it dies, it's in the border.

I don't know where this image is from, but it shows the different building shapes, borders, and their CENTERS (the red dot inside each building). Imo grouping too many building centers in the same acre without realizing it is the #1 cause of people not being able to plot villager houses the way they want. Because if you leave only space for their house, but the house is in an acre with three buildings already, they will place their house randomly, ignoring your patterns. the only way to sure sure you don't "overcrowd" an acre is to manually plot out your map. It's tedious, but if you are a perfectionist about placement it's worth the time and will save you the frustration of plot resetting.
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Thanks so much for the advice!

I'm just having trouble managing my whole 'iron fist' and 'critique everything' mentality. That's what gets me into these messes.