Making the map look nice; do you bother?

[boorah]

I keep seeing pictures of these perfectly manicured in-game maps, and it makes me want mine to look as good. With no random dream option and an abundance of talented artists and graphic designers creating ads for alot of amazing islands, the least we can do is put forth a good looking in game map if you want people to feel interested enough to actually type in a code....right? I personally gave up long ago for a plethora of reasons, but I still look on at those beautiful maps with a bit of envy, NGL!

 

[Insulaire]

Of all the things I learned people cared about after weeks of playing the game, the map thing was the most surprising. I never used my own map once I learned my island, so it never mattered one bit. I truly, madly, deeply don’t understand the lengths to which some players contort themselves to arrive on some kind of ideal map image.

 

[Nami]

Lol I don't understand it at all. I make my island pretty and how I want it to look, I dont care what it happens to look like on the map. I've explored islands with designed maps and they have been some of the biggest pain in the neck experiences. They were so hard to walk around in, lol. That's probably not true for all of them, but I still dont see the appeal.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I prefer more straightforward islands, tbh. If I visit another town, I find it easy to get lost if the map isn't very clear.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

It blew my mind that folks designed with their map in mind. Some of the ones I've seen on Reddit definitely made me laugh -- "Got milk?" and Danny DeVito come to mind. Personally, I tried to strike a balance between ergonomics/navigation and what I like the look of; I admit my map is nothing special and it works for me. Kudos to anyone who has the ability (and patience) to make a funky map, though I question how easy it is for them to navigate around it/shoot down balloons without worrying about them disappearing themselves.

 

[Peach_Jam]

i don't think you should care about how your map looks like, unless you're going for those elaborate designs like a star or character face etc. i only use it occasionally when terraforming to view the layout of what I'm creating. i didn't realize people were actually concerned over something like this o:

 

[Aurita]

I think the map focused ones are cool but I don’t care too much about the map personally! I mostly just use the map to navigate and to see what I’m terraforming

 

[faerie]

My island is for my pure enjoyment. I really don't care if someone approves of it or not. You could have a great looking map but you town could look awful. Do what makes you happy because that's really all that matters. If anyone shares an island do what the group can be happy with and agree on.

 

[HappyTails]

I see a lot of cool maps but in reality, a 2D map doesn't do the islands much justice. The map itself can look like garbage but when you visit the real thing it could be gorgeous. So I chose designing how the island looks and the map could look like whatever.

 

[Khaelis]

The map display will always be 'ugly' since it doesn't follow the cliffs/land/water 1 to 1, causing it to look incredibly jagged. I've just come to terms with that, and I just make it look 'acceptable' or 'natural.'

 

[boorah]

I see a lot of cool maps but in reality, a 2D map doesn't do the islands much justice. The map itself can look like garbage but when you visit the real thing it could be gorgeous. So I chose designing how the island looks and the map could look like whatever.

I've seen some custom maps that folks have made that give the map alot of 3d elements! It really does take it to another level.

 

[Karmahri]

im using a lot of custom paths that don't show up on the map and im too lazy to put real paths underneath so i think i'll just leave my map the way it is. Although i have seen people make really cool designs of their maps but i think that how my island looks in person is more important than how my map looks in my opinion

 

[Lanstar]

I like to strike a balance: A map that makes an island look fun to run around in, while the island itself is also fun to run around in in reality.

I've seen loads of maps, and think various things about their islands of the bat:

"Very messy with the hills and waterfalls... How on earth are you supposed to run around in it?!"
"Funny Shapes... but very flat, square, and stale-looking."
"Is there actual 'grass' anywhere?"
"I hope I get a ladder for this dream."
"I bet they wished they could remove river outlets altogether."

I.e.: Both map and decorating work hand in hand. And while the map doesn't totally reveal how well an island is designed, it can leave a good first impression.

 

[Pyoopi]

I care how my map looks and I use it a lot when I terraform. Before I even started to shape my cliffs, I still used my map to lay out my design.

It's also really similar to what I do for work, so I'm really aware how playable my island is. It keeps me entertained and I like problem solving.

 

[MapleSilver]

I don't really care how my map looks. I hardly ever look at it after a while so there wouldn't be much point in making it look pretty.

 

[Xara]

i genuinely don’t care about how my map looks; i don’t look at it all that often, anyways, and so it’s not something i consider when decorating my island or choosing my villagers.

that being said, i don’t really like how the nook mile paths will show up on the map; i feel like that makes the map look kind of,, crowded, i guess? i don’t really know how to explain it but i just,, don’t like how it makes the map look aha

 

[Jessi]

Honestly the map doesn't do my town justice, because I use a lot of custom path and for some reason it doesn't show up as paths on the map. So I don't care what my map looks like honestly

 

[Manah]

I mean everyone can do whatever they please with their own games, but THAT is something people care about when looking at others' islands? Holy expletive.

 

[John Wick]

Maps always look worse than what the island is.
The most messy looking map might be an amazing looking island.

 

[Lilyacre]

I always want my map to look nice. It doesn’t have a design or picture to it but I don’t like it looking cluttered. When maps have lots of thin bits of water without a main river running through and lots of brown where the paths are, it puts me off visiting because it looks too cluttered to me.