Hey guys im fairly new to this forum and new to Animal Crossing. I have over 250 hrs on the game but haven't done a single thing in terms of terraforming my island. I also chose an island i instantly regret given the none centered services center and my two rivers on the south parts of my island. I've seen so many vids on youtube on people islands and i need help with designing as most people are very nice and have a river exit on the West or East. Please help D:
Need help with terraforming ideas
- Thread starter juicy j
- Start date
I would say pick a piece of your island to do at a time. If you start thinking about what you want to do here and there your brain will turn to mush and you’ll burn out pretty quick. For ideas I always look on Pinterest! I don’t copy but if I like something I’ll try to put my own spin on it 
Doing a little bit at a time, or one "feature" (museum, campsite, etc) at a time is definitely the way to go, and even then you don't have to complete that one bit straight away!
I prioritize being able to get around my island easily over anything else, so much of my own terraforming centers around being able to navigate quickly, rather than aesthetics. Having a bunch of cliffs/waterfalls looks nice, but whenever I see pictures of those kinds of islands I wonder what happens if a balloon goes by or an NPC spawns in that area (like ponds/lakes with "stepping stones" instead of bridges). That might be something to keep in mind.
There's plenty of inspiration and ideas around tumblr and reddit, so pick and choose what you like and don't feel pressured into having a certain kind of town unless you really like it. Best of luck!
I prioritize being able to get around my island easily over anything else, so much of my own terraforming centers around being able to navigate quickly, rather than aesthetics. Having a bunch of cliffs/waterfalls looks nice, but whenever I see pictures of those kinds of islands I wonder what happens if a balloon goes by or an NPC spawns in that area (like ponds/lakes with "stepping stones" instead of bridges). That might be something to keep in mind.
There's plenty of inspiration and ideas around tumblr and reddit, so pick and choose what you like and don't feel pressured into having a certain kind of town unless you really like it. Best of luck!
VelveteenCat
Senior Member
Like the others said, one step at a time.
How you get started kind of depends on your personal style - do you like to plan ahead or work intuitively? In case you want to plan everything out, there are tools for that out there, probably someone else can provide you with what exactly they are called. Personally, I went about it with only a very rough idea in mind and found it helpfull to start with the entrance. What do you want people to see when they first step out of the airport? From there you can go further and if you come across landscape you don't like, terraform it. In my opinion your plaza location isn't bad at all, you have a lot of space between Resident Services and the airport and therefore a lot of possibilities.
Questions to ask yourself before getting started would be whether you want a more rural or urban style or a mix of both; if you want a specific theme or little areas with different themes or something else entirely; if you want one or several small neighborhoods or all of the houses scattered about....
And don't be afraid to begin, basically everything can be undone if you don't like it.
How you get started kind of depends on your personal style - do you like to plan ahead or work intuitively? In case you want to plan everything out, there are tools for that out there, probably someone else can provide you with what exactly they are called. Personally, I went about it with only a very rough idea in mind and found it helpfull to start with the entrance. What do you want people to see when they first step out of the airport? From there you can go further and if you come across landscape you don't like, terraform it. In my opinion your plaza location isn't bad at all, you have a lot of space between Resident Services and the airport and therefore a lot of possibilities.
Questions to ask yourself before getting started would be whether you want a more rural or urban style or a mix of both; if you want a specific theme or little areas with different themes or something else entirely; if you want one or several small neighborhoods or all of the houses scattered about....
And don't be afraid to begin, basically everything can be undone if you don't like it.
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