Why Do People Care About Time Travelers?

[Sweetley]

Oh look, another thread about TTing, why am I not surprised...

As someone who does TTing (but not "crazy TTing" with jumping years into the future or something like this), I'm still able to enjoy the game how it is. I don't get bored about it all, I don't complain about the lack of any characters or shops (as we see that they get added via updates, see Leaf and Reed for example), I also try my best to not ruin anyone's experience who doesn't TTing and making fair trades. I could play the game in the "normal way" if I want, but I'm impatient af, if I get the option to get something a bit faster then I use said option, as silly as it may sounds. But I also not use this option all the time or overuse it, there are actually days where I don't TTing at all and where I play technically the game in the "normal way". I think everyone is allowed to play the game in their own way, after all you pay enough money for the game, console etc., so should have the freedom to enjoy it how you want it. As long as you don't hurt anyone by this, it's all good, right? Of course I understand people who don't like TTing, but it's also not fair to call those people who do TTing "fake fans" or treating them like the devil who wants to steal your soul.

Also, even the creators of AC themself said they don't see TTing as cheating. And they should know it better, 'cause they created that damn game after all...

 

[navleost]

The Thing i don't understand about complaining is how they are saying that tt'ers have an unfair advantage. Without tting you can gather just as many diy recipes, items and such, just by being an overly active member of the trading forums. And many People give out free stuff every day, so the high prices doesnt affect you unless you want a desireable villager, or a rare diy recipe.

Also when it comes to spoilers. Its almost impossible to avoid, unless you stay away from acnh tags on the internet. If you are in the northern hemisphere, you cant ask the southern hemisphere, to put spoiler tags, just because they are in fall. That would Mean that you are also going to spoil them by posting stuff from spring/summer. And before the game Even came out, a ton of game testers, had recieved the game 2-3 weeks prior, and unlocked everything. So Even tho i didnt actively seek "spoilers" it happend anyway.

Also i see some non-tters complain that their Island isnt as advanced. But where they have only put 50-80 hours in the game. Others might have put over 200 in it. And there is different levels of how creative People are with their Islands. Some can easily decorate everything in a few hours, others take months. And thats makes a big difference in progression, No matter if you tt or not.

Sorry for the long post. TL: DR
Seasons are not spoilers. There is not an advantage as long as trading is a Thing. testers unlocked everything several weeks prior to the game release. And how good your Island looks has nothing to do with tting, and everything to do with the hours you put in, and how creative you are.

 

[Clock]

I don’t know why either, I only time travelled once in the game just to synchronize my time. I don’t care if people time travel, because I rather wait naturally in the game just to get something. But people do it to get more items and do time related stuff, which makes them care about it.

 

[Saaga]

I want to make it clear that this my personal opinion on the matter and why I view it as ”cheating” (because I don’t actually view it cheating the same way that item or money duplication is), but also understanding why some people time travel.

The game is real date based and some aspects such as building upgrades, plants and trees growing and villagers moving in out can take few days to go trough, which understandbly is tedious to wait when you could just be done it with it few seconds by changing the system clock. I am slow player and I also work, so I get to play few hours a day at best and therefore time for me goes faster. But now that many people are quarantined, with all the free time they have now to play than in their normal lifes (before covid-19) makes no sense for me to time travel. Of course I take into consideration that people don’t play Animal Crossing all day despite all this extra free time. So it seems a bit impatient to not wait those few days ro progress, but I can see why people do it.

I’m going to continue this later, can’t complete it now due work day.

 

[Rori]

I don't view it as cheating really, and I only really have two problems with it.
One being people that time travelled the first week after getting the game and now loudly complain about the game being "boring" and not having enough stuff to do because they rushed through it, which yeah, is their problem, but I'm just like "It's your own fault?", and the other being some time travelers acting like non-TTs are "boring" because they'd rather take their time. I get that there's a lot of anti-TT sentiments, but the other way around is just as dumb.
If people TT and don't act like that, I don't have any issues with it.

I personally don't TT, though I'd consider it to get a villager I can't get an amiibo card of, but even then.. I'd rather wait for the amiibo itself ahaha

 

[ThomasNLD]

Don't we all secretly know why some object to it?

It can spoil parts of the game because people who TT unlock things way faster (saying you can do the same thing by bargaining online isn't a valid points since not everything get puts up for sale or go for heavy inflated prices.) and cause inflated prices.

I think all arguments considering making the game boring and considering it cheating is a personal viewpoint which holds no validity in morally judging others TT'ing.

I think even those who TT realise this is a valid point, they just don't want to be confronted by it because either they feel somewhat truth in it or otherwise approach this carefully when it comes to spoiling the game for others.

Those who don't TT seem sometimes to really love the "moral highground" or complain about it, because thats just what people love to do. For proof of that check the onsane length of the AC: NH rant thread.

Personally all I hate about TT'ing is that people keep argueing about it and making so many threads about it. We can all have our thoughts about it but lets all just enjoy the game we see fit. I have a dislike for people spoiling content though. Other than that, I couldn't care less.

 

[Zebetite]

It's the same reason people complained about the Game Genie back in the 90s (hi I'm old), and the same reason people lose their minds if Dark Souls or Undertale isn't played a certain way. Namely, people get it in their heads that something needs to be experienced in a very specific way, usually the same way that person experiences it, and they freak out if someone dares to enjoy the same product they do in a different manner.

"You're not having fun in the same style that I am, so stop having fun." That's it. That's the whole reason behind it. Any other factors or logic are just window dressing over this core issue.

(Also, it's rare that I get to put Undertale and Dark Souls in the same category )

 

[Kristenn]

I NEVER understood it. It's a personal game.... who cares..... I mentioned when I got the game I would set it a few days behind so I could play the first day for a long time and I was shamed for it..... AND IT WAS ONLY LIKE 3 DAYS AND I'M UP TO DATE ..... called impatient an immature for playing my game how I want.

 

[Tako]

I don't TT, but I do play with a couple of friends who do. I think it shouldn't matter as long as people who TT are considerate and do not spoil the later parts of the game for those who want to play at their own pace. Everyone enjoys their game in a different way, and it's unfair to call anyone out if they want to play a game in their own style. It's similar to belittling people who want to play games on easy.

If there is one thing I am mildly frustrated about TTers are the unfair advantage they have when it comes to trading or auctions for villagers. Because I don't TT, I have a fixed window of time to find a villager I want and to win an auction. But 90% of the time, I would encounter TTers who joins the auction stating that they don't have an open plot, but then TT'ed until they had one.

However, it is something I have learnt to live with because I made the decision to play it at the pace I want to play it at. If I can't get the villager today, I will wait for the next villager to move out so I can try again.

 

[naranjita]

I'm gonna be honest: as someone who time travels occasionally (I TT'd to get Able Sisters earlier, as well as to speed up the construction of some bridges, and to get a villager to move to make space for a dreamie. just saying for full disclosure lol), I see way, way more people complaining about non-TTs "gatekeeping" than actual non-TTs doing any sort of real gatekeeping.

and, for what it's worth, non-TTs have no real power over how others play the game, but TTs do, and often abuse that power. someone saying that TT is cheating is just a personal opinion that cannot alter the way you play and enjoy the game, but someone posting a spoiler online does inevitably change how you experience the content of the game. you will never know how you would have experienced that content if you hadn't known about it beforehand.

I know the obvious response to this is "it's your fault for getting spoiled, you should have avoided social media"... which just sounds extremely entitled to me. sharing experiences with others is a huge part of enjoying media, that's why fandom exists. taking that away from someone just because you couldn't take an extra 5 seconds to spoiler tag something is extremely selfish, especially so during a time where people can only share their experiences and thoughts on the game with others through the internet, due to current world events. it just strikes me as completely unempathetic to ask someone to just isolate themselves from the community just because you don't want to add a spoiler tag.

 

[DJStarstryker]

When I played Gamecube and Wild World, I wasn't part of the AC community, so I don't know how it was then. But there was definitely TT haters during New Leaf. The TT haters have just gotten a lot more vocal.

I don't TT, but if you want to TT? Who cares, have fun. I've said it before, but in non-competitive games like this, it doesn't really matter. People can play whichever way is most fun to them.

 

[bam94-]

Whilst I personally don't time travel, I don't look down on other people for doing so. I've done it in the past, and I found that it took my enjoyment out of the game because I had everything available at my fingertips rather than playing in real time and having to wait for it. But at the end of the day, it's just different gaming styles. A lot of time travellers love having that freedom, and it enhances their gameplay even more. Which is great, and I can't think of a good argument as to why people shouldn't enjoy the game exactly how they want to - time travelling or not.

At the end of the day, if you pay for a game, you can enjoy it however you want to. Thinking people should play a certain way is just odd.

It's like if two people bought some potatoes, someone could mash them, and someone else could cut them up and fry them. Even if the seller of the potatoes intended for them to be baked, what's stopping people from using them in a different way?! Forgive me for the odd analogy.

 

[DJStarstryker]

Its simple. I'm not talking about folks on here but as the AC community as a whole, would Time Travelers still be interested in AC if TT didn't exist?

I know on gamefaq, a lot of TT would have never bought the game, quit, or move on. There already TTers on reddit, youtube, and gamefaq that are not happy that AC is base on real time and want to change the fundamental aspect of the game.

I know that if TT were restricted, there will be far less people playing AC while non tters like me will continue to enjoy and support the game. Because we love AC no matter why. This is the only game franchise that puts a smile on my face. Can TTers say the same? Can TTers handle the long wait if Nintendo get rid of Time Traveling?

That is the real question in this debate. Can you guys dig deep down and stay vigilant and learn to delay your gratification or is that too much?

Because true AC fans will stay with the franchise no matter what. There a reason the earth day update concide with regular folks finishing up their upgraded Nook Cranny. That no coincedence.

Cause I can assure you that there will be quite a number of folks leaving this game if Nintendo got rid of TT. Patience is a virtue which is something that seem loss nowadays.

This is a good post. I want to put in some personal perspective.

My husband only really plays NH because I do and expressed interest in playing together. He is interested in the customization part of NH, and that's why he continues to play. But he doesn't like the time aspect. He doesn't mind the day-to-day time aspect. What bothers him is when things change within 1 day. It's mostly the store closing and Daisy Mae-related. He would prefer to play from about 10pm-midnight. But by then, the store is closed. On Sundays, Daisy Mae would be long gone. He hates feeling like Animal Crossing dictates his schedule.

I've offered to change the time on our Switch, maybe so that 10pm in-game would be midnight our time. That way he wouldn't have issues with the store closing on him. But he turned me down because, ultimately, that wouldn't fix his issues with Daisy Mae leaving way before he would prefer to play, and thinks it would be easier to track the game if it was based on our real world clock. At this point, he has decided that it would be best to either accept that the game works this way, or to stop playing. So far he's still playing and still grumping about it. lol

I imagine others are like him - they don't like a video game dictating their schedule. They want to play a video game when THEY want to play a video game. When you play Animal Crossing, you feel like you have to play at certain times because of FOMO (fear of missing out).

 

[Romaki]

People are allowed to view things differently and discuss their opinions. Technically, changing the clock on your system isn't a part of the game. The only thing that isn't objective is how you treat people, this also includes constantly making threads about "hot" topics to inflame people.

 

[Mairen]

The thing is, I'm seeing more unkindness (and dare I say, absolute hatred and judgmental attitudes) from some of the time travelers in this thread (that first page especially...ouch guys!), than from non-time travelers. I understand there's good and bad people in both groups, but please remember that not all non-time travelers are "gatekeeping" or "having an inferiority complex". You are kind of painting a negative image of the very group you are trying to defend by making claims like that.

I've time traveled in the past, but have chosen not to do it on this game and I'm having a lot of fun! When I time traveled, I did consider it cheating, but I guess in a lighter more fun sense of the word. I know some people can get touchy when you use that word, but it's just how I personally feel about it, no harm intended in the slightest. Play in a way that you enjoy the game the most!

But just because someone doesn't choose to time travel and is against it doesn't mean that they deserve to be insulted. They are against your style of play, not against you personally. (There are exceptions of course, but not as much as you guys think). That goes for both groups~

So the next time that someone says "I'm against time travelling" just take a moment to realize it's not usually not a direct insult to you yourself. I happily play alongside both types of people and believe it or not, we do so without bringing each other down

 

[skogkyst]

My biggest complaint about time travel continues to be that the community has the same discussion about it over, and over, and over. And I'll keep saying my same opinions - that even though I personally consider time traveling cheating and haven't done it for this game, that people can do what they want; that there's nothing wrong with playing the game the way you want; that trading was shot from the get-go because of time-traveling and duping; and that I have seen more intense defense of time travel than I have seen people actually complaining about it.

 

[Fuzzysaurus Rex]

Its simple. I'm not talking about folks on here but as the AC community as a whole, would Time Travelers still be interested in AC if TT didn't exist?

I know on gamefaq, a lot of TT would have never bought the game, quit, or move on. There already TTers on reddit, youtube, and gamefaq that are not happy that AC is base on real time and want to change the fundamental aspect of the game.

I know that if TT were restricted, there will be far less people playing AC while non tters like me will continue to enjoy and support the game. Because we love AC no matter why. This is the only game franchise that puts a smile on my face. Can TTers say the same? Can TTers handle the long wait if Nintendo get rid of Time Traveling?

That is the real question in this debate. Can you guys dig deep down and stay vigilant and learn to delay your gratification or is that too much?

Because true AC fans will stay with the franchise no matter what. There a reason the earth day update concide with regular folks finishing up their upgraded Nook Cranny. That no coincedence.

Cause I can assure you that there will be quite a number of folks leaving this game if Nintendo got rid of TT. Patience is a virtue which is something that seem loss nowadays.

Oh boy, here we go with the "No true Scotsman" fallacy. Arguing that only "true fans" refuse to TT is a pile of garbage. You're the kind of person people bring up when they mention purists. You're the kind of person who can't handle that people play the game differently. I'd still play even if TT were somehow permanently removed because I love AC and have been playing for almost 20 years, but I enjoy it even more because it's an option. I work 60+ hours a week and I'm out of the house from 5:30AM to 7:00PM (or even 9PM sometimes in busy season). 90% of my time traveling is going back a few hours so I can enjoy an event or catch things that don't appear at night and the other 10% is I need that bridge/incline built so I can terraform around it. I physically cannot play the game the same way you do at all times even if I want to so why am I the bad guy?

 

[Toot]

I'm sure a similar post to mine has been posted already, but I am not gonna read through all the posts to verify lol.

It's 50/50 to be honest. Some people don't care that you TT. Just try not to be super spoilery about some things. Then there are the people that have the superiority complex that look down on you and say you aren't actually experiencing the game and are ruining for yourself. Like seriously... who cares? These people are the toxic people. Even more so when the people that act like this are the ones who hop on your back when you TT as soon as it looks like it could benefit them. TT? Eww gtfo. TT to good turnip prices? Holy hell let me in! TT? You freaking suck! TT to let me have Raymond, Judy or Audie? Hurry tf up! The irony is dumb, kinda funny, and makes you look like a hypocrite. Like come on...

On another note, I agree with the OP when he/she said no one batted an eye in older games. I've notice this as well. I'm not saying this is fact or that everyone is doing this, but I feel like people here are riding the trails of some popular YouTubers. Nothing against them, but they make videos on lists of how you can ruin the game or include TT in game features as cheating. Some people hear a YouTuber they like say that TT'ing is cheating, they have to hop on that train right along with them. It's just silly and it needs to stop. Like the OP said. These people are literally making the community more toxic than it needs to be. Just chill out and have fun.

 

[Fuzzysaurus Rex]

Sadly we can't ever seem to escape this topic. It happens with every game and NH is no exception. The way I see it, you have two camps with two subgroups. You have the Non-TTers which fall into two groups: Purists and people who just enjoy it that way. Then you have TTers which fall into: Hackers/Power Grinders and people who just like playing that way without affecting anyone else. Everybody dislikes the hackers and power grinders but the purists sometimes see no difference between the two types of TTers. Everybody else is just live-and-let-live about it, which is how it should be but the purists go on and on about it, and thus these two extremist ends of the scale end up ruining it equally for everyone, be it directly or indirectly. I think this may be the last time I comment on this topic going forward, however. My enjoyment won't be ruined by anyone of any playstyle. Let them play.

 

[Dustbird]

It's an attitude problem.

I don't have a problem with TTing in itself, but it starts bugging me when people who have skipped ahead 6 months into the future start complaining about a lack of content, all while forgetting that non TTers JUST got the Nooks Cranny upgrade.

This is the people who also believe the free content updates should have been included from the start. I mean, TT all you want but you can't expect Nintendo to cater to your playstyle when you are de facto playing it "the wrong way".

Most of all TTers risk ruining the fun for themselves, which is a shame, and some self awareness couldn't hurt some people. Animal Crossing was meant to be an antidote to instant gratification, and even if you TT it bears to keep that in mind. You are not supposed to get everything at once, and you're not entitled to Nintendo tweaking the game for you while spoilng it for the rest.

Other than that I couldn't care less, I caved in after a while and TTd as well, mainly to cycle villagers and simplify the process of desinging my town.