Is it just me?

[dragonair]

I feel the exact same way. I've been feeling really sad about my island because I flattened the entire thing and re-terraformed it and it's STILL not anywhere near what I see everyone else's being like. I just feel like I'm playing the game wrong honestly.

 

[Aliya]

I was just thinking of using one of those island planners because I just tore up the area/river behind my town's plaza and now I'm like ?? what am I even doing. Do you have any in particular that you use? After reading all these replies, it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one in this predicament. I wish we never felt this way in the first place though. I used to be mega accepting of everything I had, but today I woke up and was like "nope this isn't it," and I've felt restless since.

Here you go! It's Happy Island Designer. You just upload a screenshot of your map and you can draw over it with paths etc. I love it and it's helped me plan out so much.

 

[Mary]

Yes! Although I'm starting to like my island now, I went through a phase with it where I hated everything about it and didn't want to look at it anymore. But then finals happened, and I was forced to step away from it for a bit and do other things. After that, I was able to get back into it and have had a great time taking it area by area! Now I have some places that still need work and figuring out, like some patches of flowers I have no idea what to do with. But I also have some stuff I really like, like my pirate ship and forest entrance.

I'm not sure if it'll help you, but taking a step back from my island for a little bit helped me a lot. I also pinned a bunch of stuff to a Pinterest board and that helped me firm up the aesthetic I wanted rather than trying to picture it in my head.

Here's hoping you have a better experience going forward!

 

[Angelbearpuppy]

I have. It bugged me so much I restarted. I was unsure if I should, but it was like a breath of fresh air. I feel as if I can move on amd focus on beutifying it instead of feeling stuck.

 

[Fluuffy]

I always assume everyone’s gonna get tired of their island one day and will terraform it to a different layout. As for me, I want to change and terraform but the layout I have is not only appealing for me but also very convenient. For now and the near future, I will not change or terraform anything aside from adding furnitures to it.

 

[Magus]

People really needs to STOP comparing themselves with others, you can see everyday on social medias like instagram, youtube, pinterest etc beautiful 5 Stars Islands yes, made by gamers that played multiple hundred of hours and probably TT a lot ALSO YES.
So sure your island is not as perfect as theirs but it's yours, it's unique. It takes time.

I think we all have to re-think the way we play the game because I see this struggle too many times here and the purpose of Animal Crossing is not to get anxiety, it's quite the opposite, it's a chill game, you have to progress little by little to be proud of your accomplishments in the end.

For my concerns, when I unlocked terraforming I was a bit scared to mess everything, so I thought of some themed areas first in my head, then I used Happy Island Designer to help me place things on my actual map to see what I have to move/terraform. This way I did not had to change EVERYTHING but more to work with and around what I initially had. I want my island to still be natural and keeps some traits that she already had in the beginning.

Now I progress slowly, I use diverse pictures from movies/photos/other players island to boost my imagination, not to copy the exact things they do, sometimes I can get a bit frustrated but it's more because I have a lot of ideas but not the DIY or furniture I want yet lol, but I still think it's the charm of this game to progress at a slow pace. If we already had every items and options since the begining the game would be done and boring very fast...

 

[Angelbearpuppy]

Want really comparing. I juat felt like my first island taught me everything it could. And I wanted to start fresh with a more planned and purpose island. I find insperation from blank slates. So it helps to go back so to say jatead of feeling "locked in" just the way my mind worlds.

 

[PugLovex]

i’m kinda upset about my main street with my shops, looks kinda weird to me

 

[Clock]

I feel the same way when terraforming, but I try to forget about it and try to start small, even on the hard parts.

 

[fairyring]

i felt this way but then i used it as fuel to fix it!! i had a bunch of areas i was really happy with and then some other areas i thought were messy and awful and flat and i hated them. whenever i would watch those youtube island tours i would just turn them off because i was so sad about how much better those islands were than mine. but i tried to figure out WHAT it was i was unhappy about with my island and what i liked about the others i was seeing and i realized i just liked how those islands were so dynamic with tons of cliffs and inclines and bridges and different areas. so i ran around my island and looked for places i could rework into cliff areas. i built up a cliff for my museum and also made a new area i could make a bridge across to, and i expanded my forest with more cliffs and interesting areas. now i love my island so much and it's exactly what i wanted!

so basically long story short just figure out WHAT you don't like about your island vs what you like about other people's and walk around and think of ways to work with what you have already done to make it more like what you want. or swap areas around! stick some buildings on the beaches and build some cliffs and see if anything calls to you.

i think it also helps to think about what kind of look/theme you're going for and think of areas that would go with the theme or ways to landscape that would match it.

 

[kojuuro]

Yeah, I've stopped looking at other people's islands because of this mentality. If I keep comparing my island to other's I will never be satisfied with my own. I have a lot more I want to do with it, but I'm ok with taking it slow and building what I want. Of course there's a lot of really cool inspiration you can find online, but bringing yourself down because you think your island isn't as awesome as someone else's is normal but it's such a great place to be in

 

[Blueskyy]

I’m kinda sad that I’m too lazy to pick up all the flowers growing everywhere but I’m too lazy to stay sad for long.

 

[Solarae]

My island looks rather different from others' islands because I'm going for a more woodsy, mountainous look so it doesn't look like most people's I see in videos. Their islands are a hell of a lot more open, which I envy because space gets a little cramped in areas on mine. Some people even have tons of their buildings and houses moved onto higher levels, spread out across their map, which I think adds a lot of extra interest and I have no idea how they had the patience to transplant everything like that, even with TT.

However, I haven't 100% taken the time to thoroughly work on my island as much as I want to since I've still been trying to obtain the villagers I want and also have TT'd so much I can barely make myself work on the other things when I'm deadset on removing the droves of overgrown flowers and weeds. I also tell myself that even though I get a bit unhappy and envious of others', mine is still a work in progress and I should feel proud of my own work.

I think you should spend your time plotting some ideas of what you want/like, maybe even draw out a map, and take your time slowly piecing your plan together. Don't give up, even if you have some things you can't change. I'm sure eventually you'll find something that fits more of your preferences c:

 

[Tiger_Lily]

I have been working on different areas on my island slowly and its been trial and error as I have tried different things until I was happy with it, but I do just wish I could figure things out as my island is nowhere near finished and I still have some figuring out to do with the rest of the island.

 

[Suicune]

I felt that way the second I started terraforming. I flattened most of my island to make the most out of land space, but now it's been weeks and there are still parts of my island seriously underdeveloped and very boring to look at. I've accepted that my island will never look like those jaw-dropping, totally planned-out islands, but I still get that feeling that I should be doing more... it's very frustrating.

 

[Mello]

Does everyone come to a point where they’re absolutely unhappy with the way their island is? I’m upset with how I terraformed

Me: I've got an amazing idea for this area.
Me right after I move the buildings/make anything at all: Wow, I hate it.

 

[ForgottenT]

You should compare, what's all this about "nono don't look" do look, do get inspired, and do redo.
You'll only get better by taking action, you clearly want a better island, so go for it, yeah you might have to redo the entire island multiple times to be completely happy with it, but you'll not only have a better island you'll also have improved your creativity, eye for design, and planning.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and those amazing islands people post aren't their first design, they also redo all the things over and over, like polishing a dirty gem until it's beaming.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

When I look at other people's islands, I expect to see something different from mine. Different things are interesting; same things are boring. I do not want to terraform my island to resemble someone else's. So I feel there's never a need to compare.

My own island is not the "wow" variety. I like lots of flat area for convenience, and because I simply enjoy the space. There is no spectacular waterfall feature at the area near my airport or museum. I like seeing lots of green on the ground, so I only lay one-tile-wide paths. Because I enjoy open spaces, I dislike putting up fences. Instead I use trees and flowers to act as dividers. My villager houses have no fences too. They do have bushes on one side, flowers on the other. I know, there is no symmetry! Because I'm not fond of symmetry. Things are more interesting to me when they are not perfectly symmetrical. I know, I know. What's wrong with me.

Most people would cringe to see what I've done. But my island is my island, and as long as I'm happy with it, that's all that matters. There may come a time when I feel I want to start over, for the sake of change, but unhappiness would not be the trigger. That would be restlessness. An urge for a new adventure. I like trying new things. But I will always be true to whatever aesthetic it is that makes me happy and, I think if I do that, it will always be a satisfying endeavor.

 

[senbeiiscool]

Tbh, I've never felt that way for my island at all. I've been super inspired and I had ideas flowing through my head since I chose my beginning map when I could choose between the 4 maps from Timmy and Tommy. I realize I'm probably in the minority though. I think it's great to get inspiration from other players but because of how grand some look, it really makes you look at the "flaws" on your own island.

You're your worst critic! I think if something bothers you, sit on it for a week before changing it! That way you know for sure if it's a passing feeling or something you really dislike! I have a bunch of friends unhappy with their place but I personally think their places all look stunning. There's no way to fight against that though as a friend. But as a friend, I'd say to take a step back and maybe work on another part of your island first before returning to the "problem spot"!

 

[moon_child]

Definitely not just you. I just hit five star yesterday but so far I’m not very happy with my island. I want a more foresty rural vibe but in order to hit five stars, I had to develop my commercial area and stuff even though I’m not fond of the urban look (I needed items on display to hit the five star rating). Now I’m just at a standstill waiting for enough Jacob’s ladders / lilies of the valley to spawn and then I’ll tear them all down and redo my island how I want it. I know they deduct points for too many trees and they also won’t award that much points if you don’t have much furniture outside but I don’t really dig that look so once I get enough of those rare flowers, I’m just gonna turn it back into a whole forest. Lol.