# Advice For Putting Down Paths



## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

I have never put paths down in any of my Animal Crossing games before.  Now that I plan to it seems like a very daunting task.  If anyone can offer advice of where to start, things to think about in advance and other considerations I must make I would appreciate it.  Any advice about putting down paths would be welcomed and appreciated.

Also, if any of you have paths around your town please post your dream codes so I can take a look and maybe gather ideas.

Thank you so much to anyone that replies.


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## Mario. (Jul 21, 2013)

you can come visit my town and see if you can get  ideas


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Thank you I will visit your Dream Town momentarily.


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## chriss (Jul 21, 2013)

I like to start at bridges and kinda connect things. I only do 2 row roads though.
I actually got super lucky with my town layout and my paths kinda flow perfectly!


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## kmyk (Jul 21, 2013)

the first path i put down was the one that went from my pier to re-tail because I was going back and forth all the time selling things from the island. The second one was either the one from the train station to town hall or the one from the first path to my house  and then it grew from there. You don't have to do it all at once, I spent about a week putting everything down and I keep redoing it to make it look nice.


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Chriss- I think my town is going to be a pain in the rear end trying to connect everything up (scattered villagers, etc), but I'm going to give it a shot.  Thanks I will start at bridges... and I am already planning on doing a path x2 wide (for running room).  Thank you so much for leaving advise.  I will most likely check out your dream town in a bit.

kmyk- OOoh that is a good idea.  I should go from dock to re-tail because that is my most walked path.  You clever person, you.

Thank you all.  Bell Tree Forums is super helpful and kind.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Also I am going to visit everyone who posts in this thread with their Dream Address listed.


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## kitanii (Jul 21, 2013)

I found this online, it's the order in which patterns drop from where you're standing.


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## Scribbler397 (Jul 21, 2013)

I like to start from the train station and link everything from there. I would suggest looking at dreams for inspiration. It seemed quite daunting to me at first too.


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Wow Mario your town is excellent!  I can tell you've put a lot of work into it.  I especially like the water around your town tree.  I might try something like that in the future... after I get all my paths done.  o.o


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## Lemons (Jul 21, 2013)

I started by making paths to connect the places I go the most: from my house to the town hall, from the town hall to the train station, then to ReTail. After defining those, I made branches going to more places - villagers houses, to the beach, some PWPs etc. And then I pretty much plan the whole town around them, like placing benches or other projects, where the caf? and the police station goes, placing bushes and flowers around it...when I feel the need, I just connect more paths around the ones I put down first.

My dream code is in my signature if you want to see it for yourself.  It's not fully finished yet but you can get the general idea.


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## Mario. (Jul 21, 2013)

ohmyerica said:


> Wow Mario your town is excellent!  I can tell you've put a lot of work into it.  I especially like the water around your town tree.  I might try something like that in the future... after I get all my paths done.  o.o



Thanks  im still working on my town so its not completely done yet


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm on my way to visit Chris of Solitude.


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## kmyk (Jul 21, 2013)

ohmyerica said:


> kmyk- OOoh that is a good idea.  I should go from dock to re-tail because that is my most walked path.  You clever person, you.
> 
> Thank you all.  Bell Tree Forums is super helpful and kind.



oh haha, I'm glad I gave you an idea


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## TheLostEmpire (Jul 21, 2013)

I prefer to only have 2 patterns. I started at my house and went from there. 
5700-2152-2289


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Chris of Solitude - I know I dreamed of your town to check out your paths, but holy crap!  Your house is awesome.  I love the futuristic/space theme of your main room but my favorite room you have is the one that looks like a messy bachelor's pad.  What is that furniture set called and/or how do you get it?  It's so neat!

Also, Marcy has cheese in her pocket.  :S


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## saccharine (Jul 21, 2013)

I started from my train station and moved from there. :>
I had a bit of a vision in mind of where I walk the most and lay the paths down from there. Favorite villagers have paths in front of their homes.

Dream code is in the signature as well if you wanna check my path out.
If I recall correctly, it should be finished.


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## XTheLancerX (Jul 21, 2013)

You can place 2 patterns without leaving the menu by just doing it two times  (One on the tile you are standing on and one in front of you ) Might be a bit helpful because going in and out of your menu and placing one at a time would be really slow.


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Me hanging out in Solitude:



Just had to share.  

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Now I am getting ready to visit Clover.  Thank you everyone for your helpful advice and inviting me to visit your dream towns!


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Just got back from Clover- now I know for certain I will have to have paths that are two tiles wide.   I had trouble staying on the single tiled paths in this town.  Can't wait to go to the next town on the list.


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## AnimalCrossngAddict (Jul 21, 2013)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your town is so BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Thank you Kitanii, that was a very helpful diagram.     I will have to lay down 3 tiles and then move, because I want my paths to be 2 wide, not 3.  That is super good to know, thank you for your help.


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## saccharine (Jul 21, 2013)

Also, you mind find that you'll need to cut down trees (a lot maybe) as you lay down your path.
I suggest stocking up on axes (unless you have a gold one already) before laying down your path. That way, you can chop and lay down your path in one go. No need to wait for another axe if one breaks.

I saved about 5 or so axes before starting my path since I don't like to leave things unfinished. xD
With a lot of my trees, gone I also stock piled saplings as I could so I could replant when I finished my path. In fact, I just started replanting things (saplings and fruit trees) last night. This morning I hit perfect town~


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Getting ready to visit Liz of Tellius   Can't wait!


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## intropella (Jul 21, 2013)

I'm not sure how I started..
I think I started from the train station and work my way there. Also try to connect each other and gives space for future projects I want to do. 
If you want to see how I did it, then visit my Dream! :]

I hope this gives you a little idea!
Here's my Dream Code: 5800-2117-4529


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## ohmyerica (Jul 21, 2013)

Oh wow that is so true, thank you for pointing out the axe thing.  Anyone willing to bring some axes to my town? I will pay 5k bells per axe to make it worth your while.  

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Also I have a question about paths- if I do it all in one tile pattern and then I save another pattern over the path-pattern, will my path change to the new saved pattern?  (I hope I worded that question well enough for people to understand.)


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## Lemons (Jul 21, 2013)

ohmyerica said:


> Oh wow that is so true, thank you for pointing out the axe thing.  Anyone willing to bring some axes to my town? I will pay 5k bells per axe to make it worth your while.
> 
> - - - Post Merge - - -
> 
> Also I have a question about paths- if I do it all in one tile pattern and then I save another pattern over the path-pattern, will my path change to the new saved pattern?  (I hope I worded that question well enough for people to understand.)



I hope you like my town!  I was just visiting everyone's dreams too. Nice town ideas everywhere.

About the pattern question: if you change the pattern in your pattern menu, it will also change in the floor. That is pretty lame, because you get stuck with the paths in your character and that's why a lot of people create a character just for holding paths. However it's convenient if you want to change the design without having to replace everything all over again!
I have only my main, but all the slots are full with the patterns of the floor...


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## saccharine (Jul 21, 2013)

ohmyerica said:


> Oh wow that is so true, thank you for pointing out the axe thing.  Anyone willing to bring some axes to my town? I will pay 5k bells per axe to make it worth your while.
> 
> - - - Post Merge - - -
> 
> Also I have a question about paths- if I do it all in one tile pattern and then I save another pattern over the path-pattern, will my path change to the new saved pattern?  (I hope I worded that question well enough for people to understand.)


Yes.
If you have Path A on a character and Path A is spread all over your town, when you save another pattern in Path A's spot, that pattern will be spread all over your town. Like Lemon said, people tend to make multiple characters for paths. I personally have one for paths and another for the water path I use in my town.
But that pattern overwriting also makes changing your paths easier. c: Also remember that Mable can save patterns as well. Just make sure you put the right patterns over whatever you're saving on top of. For instance, right corner needs to overwrite another right corner pattern.


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## Gladtobemom (Jul 22, 2013)

I construct a "single square" path piece and put it everywhere I want a path.  Then I go back later and put in edges and pretties.   
I have one character that is my "gardener and path builder," he holds all the path pieces.  Then . . . if another character makes a "boo boo" and picks up some path, they lay down something contrasting for the gardener to fix later.   

I find that path building sort of evolves as I play.


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## Twisk (Jul 22, 2013)

Here's a gridded map of my town with my layout of paths so far (might tweak it in the future): http://i.imgur.com/9sJYOVH.png
The pink squares are pattern paths and the brown squares are dirt paths. I like for pattern paths to be straight as possible (unless they're stepping stones or something), whereas I think curving, winding natural dirt paths are cute.

I want one side of my town to have a more developed city atmosphere, so I have a 2-space-wide pattern path leading to bridges and the major buildings, like Re-Tail, the Train Station, and the Town Hall. I'd line this path with a mix of street lamps, bushes, trees, and flowers.

I want the other side of my town to have a more natural, earthy, garden feel, so I'm going for dirt paths on this side. I have flowers collected from island tours marking the edges of the path and I try to run on the paths everyday, watching the progress of the grasswear. I don't have access to bushes yet (other than hibiscus), but eventually I'd like to have some bushes to help control the edges of the dirt path more. 

Some tips that come to mind right now:
- Look at a map of your town and mentally connect the best path between the major buildings, or draw it.
- Feel free to lay a simple preliminary path down first (like without all the edge pieces), just so that you can figure out where you want to put the path. Then later on you can make it a more complex path with all the corner pieces and such if you want.
- It's your decision just how many paths you want to have, like if you want to have paths leading all around town, or just to the major buildings, or whether or not you want to have paths set up to villager houses or community projects.
- Work with your town's imperfections (rocks, villager houses, ponds, etc.). There's an annoying pond in mine where I would rather just have a straight path going across, but I ended up having to wrap the path around the pond. But I guess I'll plant flowers around the pond and hopefully it'll turn out looking okay. In fact, sometimes it can look nice when a path is wrapped around something, like a fountain or flowerbed, forming a square around it.
- Paths look great when they're bordered with things like flowers, bushes, street lamps, and/or trees.


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## RisingSun (Jul 22, 2013)

Both my son and I have paths down.  Both dream addresses are in my signature line.


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## TheCreeperHugz (Jul 22, 2013)

This is quite useful, ive been planning to make paths in my town soon. I harvested all of my fruit and put it in storage, than sked someone with a golben axe to chop down all of my trees. This way, i can plant them around in places they wont be in the way


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## ohmyerica (Jul 22, 2013)

I just got back from visiting Liz of Tellius- thanks for letting me visit your dream address.  I love the pattern you used for your paths, very nice.  Thanks for letting me use your town for inspiration, xox.

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Getting ready to visit the town of Atlantis!


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## Bluesky (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm in your dream town right now Erica.  What are you trying to hide in that back room?!


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## DaisyDynamite (Jul 28, 2014)

This is all really useful! I'm so glad I stumbled upon this thread. I've wanted to put paths down for ages but I've only just got around to it today.

I've just put down a template design because I can't find any patterns that come in both double and single spaces. Does anyone know of any?


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## Oriana (Jul 28, 2014)

DaisyDynamite said:


> This is all really useful! I'm so glad I stumbled upon this thread. I've wanted to put paths down for ages but I've only just got around to it today.
> 
> I've just put down a template design because I can't find any patterns that come in both double and single spaces. Does anyone know of any?



I'm not really sure what type of path you're looking for since there are sooo many options, but try looking on Tumblr or DeviantArt. I've seen really cute ones there.


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## DaisyDynamite (Jul 29, 2014)

I ended up getting a grey stone pattern that was meant to be used as a corner decoration, but it's plain enough that it can be used as a full path, just in case anyone else was having the same problem


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## mattyboo1 (Jul 29, 2014)

I wish placing paths used the same drag and drop method as wild world did. on new leaf you have to manually select the option to drop from the menu each time. its so tedious. but ill have to do it when I put my paths in.


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## Hypno KK (Jul 30, 2014)

I start by thinking about the look I want to achieve and finding paths that match that or making them myself. There's a lot of options so it helps if you know what look you're going for and which paths would look nice, whether that's brick or wood, which palettes and patterns, how many tiles you want (just single ones or sets depending on your path width and how complex you want them to be).

Then I start laying them out. I start by connecting the points I use most often like between my house and places like Re-Tail or the houses of the villagers I like best. Then I connect the other points.

One of the things I do that helps A LOT is paying attention to the routes I take to get to places. If I tend to go a certain way when I'm going to Re-Tail I'll use that as the base for my path instead of laying it out between the same points but using a different route since it'll be easier for me to follow the path that way.

It's also helped that I did it in stages and stopped whenever I was getting bored. I'd lay the path between my house and one place one day, then my house and another place on another day, and so on. Then between a villager's house and another spot and so on until I had a whole network of paths. 

Sometimes you'll have to redo paths, it's normal and it happens if it turns out that a spot is not very intuitive or if it looks weird when connecting paths. Don't worry about it and remember that for trickier spots like right next to a river or pond, you can always use flowers if you dislike grass wear.


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## cassiepink (Jul 30, 2014)

I've got a path sorta down at the moment but I don't think it fits in with my town, I would be grateful for any feedback or suggestions for new codes, I have spent hours looking online but can't find the right one!  My DA is 6300-3729-7718


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