What is your take on NOT Terraforming your Island?

[chocolatepumpkin]

i like terraforming and all but i barely have anything to do with it :/ ive only used it once but thats it. i prefer focusing more on decorating than terraforming

 

[kknocturne]

i always wanted a terraformed island ever since the game came out, but every time i try i end up getting overwhelmed and never finish lmao! maybe one day i’ll finish that forest themed island lol

but i don’t mind the layout i have now, and i like that fans are appreciating their original layouts again!

 

[RiceBunny]

I stopped terraforming years ago because I noticed when I did terraform I would experience a lot more burnout. I only use terraform and waterform for fixing a few things here and there. I also stopped using QR paths for the same reason; it'd take too much of my time and I experienced a lot of burnout. I now play the game vanilla and don't change much about the island; haven't reset my island since I've made that decision and I've been consistently playing for a little over a year now

 

[Giddy]

I think adding terraforming was a great idea for some, not so for others. But the fact you have a choice of terraforming or not is perfect, because you can still make the island yours by furniture, patterns on the ground and more so its not limiting your creativity.

I do wanna terraform but other times it leaves me stressed and confused how I wanna go so I'm not forcing myself.

I actually do have a island theme idea that would work wonders with a non terraformed island and that's my teddy bear island idea.
An island of just bears and cubs, and one lone wolf hidden on the island. A non terraformed island would work so well with that.
I haven't started yet but one day I will.

 

[KittenNoir]

I couldn't NOT terraform my island as for me I find it adds more character to the island instead of it being all flat.

I have terraforming all around my island with a huge terraformed designed area.

 

[Bulbadragon]

I terraformed my first island several times, so on my current island, I'm trying not terraforming. I still haven't unlocked it, but there are a couple areas I'm going to change slightly. There's a part of the river on the second level that has nowhere to put a bridge, and a stretch of cliff that is getting in the way of decorating around a villagers house.

 

[-Blue-]

I stopped terraforming years ago because I noticed when I did terraform I would experience a lot more burnout. I only use terraform and waterform for fixing a few things here and there. I also stopped using QR paths for the same reason; it'd take too much of my time and I experienced a lot of burnout. I now play the game vanilla and don't change much about the island; haven't reset my island since I've made that decision and I've been consistently playing for a little over a year now

It also doesn't help that terraforming is such a chore with how QoL unfriendly it is. I can't tell you the amount of times I accidentally hit a tile further than expected, undid it, only to redo it again with much frustration. A little cursor pointer would've been an easy update for a frustrating design choice.

I remember because there were rivers/cliffs/trees ect in the way of this one part of my island, that I had to go to stupid lengths to terraform around it. Just for a single grid lol. I think everything was on the 2nd tier so I had to go far away to a spot and terraform tunnel from the 1st tier all the way to where I needed then undo everything I just did just for that tiny little grid spot. If we could have terraforming behave in the same way decorating inside a house does it wouldn't nearly be as overwhelming as they unnecessarily make it out to be.

If this feature comes back in the next title it needs to be polished a lot more.

 

[ghostcoastx]

I used to do it for every single island I made. But it caused a lot of burnout (as others have said, the way it's handled is a tedious nightmare) and every time I wouldn't even finish the ideas I had because of that. So now I've started a new island again and I'm going to do to extremely little terraforming (if anything I'll widen or straighten bits of rivers and cliffs, and make spots for inclines) and see how that goes!

 

[toni_brinstar]

I would say the idea of terraforming is so enticing, but ACTUALLY doing it is so insanely boring, unfortunately lol. We needed like a tractor or a crane to do it way faster. Similarly for bridges, having to talk to the front desk and go through a dialogue, walk to the area you want it, place it- it's all just a lot. So I respect anyone who does a no-terraform island.

 

[Candy83]

Having just recently started up a new Island, I found myself very endeared to the layout I have. It's really pretty, in my opinion anyway. I like it and honestly I'm feeling like I don't really want to Terraform (other than bridges/stairs for accessibility obviously.)

I'm curious, what is your take on not terraforming your Island?
Do any of you have Islands you have NOT Terraformed?

I'd love to see pics, if you want to share, too!

My take is that you are the person who is playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

You do with your island as you will.

This answers the topic’s question about terraforming.


New Horizons, as one game-content creator pointed out a few years ago, is a design game. People design their islands. (Consideration for limited options.)

I think people should be encouraged to design as each person will. And this includes whether or not one terraform.

Now, if I had made this decision—to not terraform—there are two things I would still incorporate into over design of my island: Bridges and Inclines. That is a functional purpose.


Again…it is your game. Your to do with as you will.

Respect.