My great town design dilemma

[Lanstar]

Somehow, whenever I try to design a layout, my town ends up feeling very small. I keep going to dreams, and feel amazed at how large their towns feel compared to my town - Even though each town has the same space. I want to utilize space better so it feels like I have more space enjoy wandering about.

But at the same time, I want everything to feel accessible, where I can get to everything without needing a ladder nor a pole vault. I don't want my town to look cramped, cluttered, nor claustrophobic-looking, just to make everything look large. I want to feel a sense of freedom as I stroll across a landscape, without the need of very heavy decorating.

Yet as I redecorate, I'm having a rough time making a town that works: Something that is very space efficient to make the town look larger, yet also completely accessible and uncluttered. Is this just me? And does anyone know a dream that does this effectively?

 

[Serabee]

I mean, I don't want to toot my own horn, but I feel like I've managed it pretty well? You can see my (no longer totally accurate) DA in my siggy.

But I get what you mean. Personally, I feel like have different areas helps. By which I mean- I have a forest. A shopping area. Multiple mini-neighborhoods (I personally feel like towns feel smaller when all the houses are lumped together in one giant neighborhood). Beach areas. And, at the time I uploaded, a sprawling festival area that I'm planning to keep and change up seasonally (already looking forward to doing it for Toy Day!) I feel like, when I wander my town, I feel like I have the perfect mix of different environments to make wandering satisfying, but it's also well-developed and everything is accessible and convenient. Mine is possibly/probably a bit more decorated then what you might want, but I try and decorate in a way that doesn't feel too decorated. Like, yes, I have a lot of furniture placed... but in the more natural areas it doesn't look too distracting (IMO, of course).

I hope this whole post doesn't sound super braggy, because obviously it's only my opinion that my town does this well, and I just wanted to share what works for me

 

[Kalle]

Some islands that have a town feel can come across as a bit unorganized to those that didn't actually create the layout. It comes with the territory of placing a lot of items outdoors. But I think there's a way of doing it by utilizing good pathways and roadways and not placing too much on them to make everything feel more open and uncluttered. But then again, what actually is a good island design based on any theme is subjective. Perhaps you could just be too hard on your own work? Would you like me to visit your DA and send you a DM to let you know what I think?

 

[Lanstar]

I mean, I don't want to toot my own horn, but I feel like I've managed it pretty well? You can see my (no longer totally accurate) DA in my siggy.

But I get what you mean. Personally, I feel like have different areas helps. By which I mean- I have a forest. A shopping area. Multiple mini-neighborhoods (I personally feel like towns feel smaller when all the houses are lumped together in one giant neighborhood). Beach areas. And, at the time I uploaded, a sprawling festival area that I'm planning to keep and change up seasonally (already looking forward to doing it for Toy Day!) I feel like, when I wander my town, I feel like I have the perfect mix of different environments to make wandering satisfying, but it's also well-developed and everything is accessible and convenient. Mine is possibly/probably a bit more decorated then what you might want, but I try and decorate in a way that doesn't feel too decorated. Like, yes, I have a lot of furniture placed... but in the more natural areas it doesn't look too distracting (IMO, of course).

I hope this whole post doesn't sound super braggy, because obviously it's only my opinion that my town does this well, and I just wanted to share what works for me

I'll take a look and check your address sometime to see what you're talking about.

Some islands that have a town feel can come across as a bit unorganized to those that didn't actually create the layout. It comes with the territory of placing a lot of items outdoors. But I think there's a way of doing it by utilizing good pathways and roadways and not placing too much on them to make everything feel more open and uncluttered. But then again, what actually is a good island design based on any theme is subjective. Perhaps you could just be too hard on your own work? Would you like me to visit your DA and send you a DM to let you know what I think?

My dream is kind of outdated, but you may view it - it was what my town looked like prior to when I was trying to redesign it to make it look spacious. It's a mix of natural and fancy themes.

 

[Kalle]

If you think it'll help, I'll check it out. I see that you have three DA, which one should I visit?

If you're looking for a mix of natural and town/village for any inspiration, my island has that. I don't know if it would help, but you're free to visit.

 

[Lanstar]

If you think it'll help, I'll check it out. I see that you have three DA, which one should I visit?

If you're looking for a mix of natural and town/village for any inspiration, my island has that. I don't know if it would help, but you're free to visit.

It is the 3rd one - Everbloom. The others were just my towns in new leaf.

I'll take a look at your town as well to see if it helps.

 

[Lanstar]

...So I checked the dreams of both of those towns... Now I know my problem: I don't use fencing and paths as much as most towns! Such limited use of that makes areas look less decorated and less confined, which make my town feel less large.

This is a unique challenge I might have to figure out. I really don't like using fencing and paths that much, so I'll have to use different measures to make my town feel larger instead... It might involve a very special way of terraforming to separate areas efficiently.

Now I wish we could build more than 8 inclines. :/