# Quick Question about time travel.



## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 7, 2020)

So I don't like to time travel (just a personal preference). But I skipped a day once my villager said "I want to leave" so I can get them in boxes to meet an online trade. 

1) So I time traveled by a day to get my villager in boxes (to April 8th) - gave the villager away
2) Then I traveled back in time (to April 7th) - to get the free plot of land (so I can trade with someone else). 

BUT the second time I changed the date, I did *not* quit the game completely. I did it on the home screen before going back in. 
So I'm not sure if this day counted as time travel for two reasons:
- The character who was sold house was still there (despite it saying "they moved" on the door)
- Isabel never gave me any morning announcements

3) I went back to the next day AGAIN (April 8th) just to see if the plot of land would be empty. It finally was. So I went to get a villager from someone (who they had in boxes) - this time I made sure I completely closed animal crossing / and so I got a morning announcement from Isabel this time 

so I thought "Hm, maybe the second day didn't count" (going back to April 7th the first time) because I did it on the home screen, and nothing changed including no morning announcement. 

So I closed animal crossing again before changing the date. 

4) I went back to today (April 7th) just so that I can be on the right day. Now the new villager house is there and they are unpacking. 
But I got no morning announcement (despite me thinking I figured out why)
- But yet this day counted (as the new villager house is there lol)

So was this registered as three days (excluding the one where I left it on the home screen before going back in)?
Or four days? 

I'm so confused. I feel like Linda rn.

	Post automatically merged: Apr 7, 2020

BUMP


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## Dayna (Apr 7, 2020)

You need to fully quit the game when time traveling or else the time in the game stays the same. When you go back in time, you don't get morning announcements (in my own experience).


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## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 7, 2020)

Dayna said:


> You need to fully quit the game when time traveling or else the time in the game stays the same. When you go back in time, you don't get morning announcements (in my own experience).


Oh, thank you. 
But the date changed in-game on the second 'time-travel attempt" despite doing it while the game was on (home/intro screen - character not being played with).


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## Dayna (Apr 8, 2020)

Oh, weird. When I did it, the date still stayed the same. At least everything worked out!


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## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 8, 2020)

Dayna said:


> Oh, weird. When I did it, the date still stayed the same. At least everything worked out!


Thanks man!


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## InkFox (Apr 8, 2020)

I was wondering, I was considering TTing a bit to try and get a villager to leave, but before that I need to know, say you TT and then go back in time to the real date, do you still have the morning announcement on the days you've time travelled to ? Like if I time travel one day forward, then come back to today, will I have a morning announcement tomorrow morning even though I'd have already seen it by time travelling ? I don't know if my question is clear. Also, do the items in the shop change or are they fixed on each day, like if I live the same day twice (TT time and real time) will everything be the same or are some stuff random apart from villager dialogue ?
Thanks


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## Nefarious (Apr 8, 2020)

InkFox said:


> I was wondering, I was considering TTing a bit to try and get a villager to leave, but before that I need to know, say you TT and then go back in time to the real date, do you still have the morning announcement on the days you've time traveled to ? Like if I time travel one day forward, then come back to today, will I have a morning announcement tomorrow morning even though I'd have already seen it by time travelling ? I don't know if my question is clear. Also, do the items in the shop change or are they fixed on each day, like if I live the same day twice (TT time and real time) will everything be the same or are some stuff random apart from villager dialogue ?
> Thanks



Yes, you'll still have morning announcements and a new stock of items those days.

---

Travelling back to your current day will count as '1 day', but it won't reset completely like a new day. Things will still be in place where they were before you traveled forward. "The future can't change the past." I've made the mistake of trying to demolish a bridge/incline on TT'd forward day and then TT back to current time and the bridge/incline will still be there. Seems like boxed villagers act the same way by what OP is saying.

Unless it's vacant villager spots, in that case the game will read that there is a vacancy and will treat it as a normal day going by. I had a vacant spot on the forward day and when I TT back to current time a random villager was set to moving in like it normally would. So I think the only thing that will follow "TT back to current = 1 day" is open housing spots and maybe flower breeding but i didn't pay a lot of attention to that.

Hope this makes sense. I'm writing this at 4am, so I might be fumbling over my words.


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## InkFox (Apr 8, 2020)

Wow thanks a lot for all the info ! 

So anyone can confirm that if a villager is in boxes and I TT one day backwards, he will still be in boxes ?
(I don't want an empty slot on my Island today and risk having a random move-in tomorrow. I'd rather keep island hoping as my day occupation for tomorrow rather than this evening)


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## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 8, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> Yes, you'll still have morning announcements and a new stock of items those days.
> 
> ---
> 
> ...


But when I went back by a day their house and the sign that they moved out was still there. So I don't think it worked then. Unless it's because I changed the in game clock with my game open (despite my character not being played, as it was on the animal crossing home screen). The clock still changed in game so I assumed it registered it as a new day.


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## Nefarious (Apr 8, 2020)

The Mad Hybrid Botanist said:


> But when I went back by a day their house and the sign that they moved out was still there. So I don't think it worked then. Unless it's because I changed the in game clock with my game open (despite my character not being played, as it was on the animal crossing home screen). The clock still changed in game so I assumed it registered it as a new day.



I believe the game will check the date and time when starting up the game and when loading the game after the start screen, so I don’t think it makes a difference whether you close the game completely or wait on the start screen to change your time.

When you went forward, that villager was in boxes right? After someone adopts them, does the house say “I’ve moved out” on that same day?
If that’s true, the “I’ve moved out” phase is the same as if a villager was in boxes. If you TT back and the house is still there the same way then that villager is still in the box phase but just inaccessible.

This is how it would go:
Villager wants to move out -> they’re in boxes (house will be unaccessable if adopted -> “I’ve moved out” sign) -> vacant spot -> spot will say sold -> new villager moves in

@InkFox
I haven’t tested it myself, but it’s what it sounds like from op’s post. Though, it’s propably safer to just move forward in time till your new villager settles in safely. Better safe than sorry.


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## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 8, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> I believe the game will check the date and time when starting up the game and when loading the game after the start screen, so I don’t think it makes a difference whether you close the game completely or wait on the start screen to change your time.
> 
> When you went forward, that villager was in boxes right? After someone adopts them, does the house say “I’ve moved out” on that same day?
> If that’s true, the “I’ve moved out” phase is the same as if a villager was in boxes. If you TT back and the house is still there the same way then that villager is still in the box phase but just inaccessible.
> ...



People kept saying that you have to close the game completely for it to work, which I don't think is true. 

Oh okay. Well, I think it counted as 4 days then (as I went to the 8th then back to the 7th, then to the 8th again, and back to the 7th). Just that the first time I went forward - the villager who was adopted on the 8th house was in the below phase:

*House will be unaccessable if adopted -> “I’ve moved out” sign *

So when I moved back to the 7th the first time, they were still in that phase ^ (which is why I was not sure if this counted as a day of time travel). 

So not sure as to why their house was still in the phase when I went back to the original day. 

But when I went to the 8th one more time, they were gone completely. Then when I went back to the 7th, the new villager I just got was unpacking. 

Sorry for making this so confusing lol.


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## Nefarious (Apr 8, 2020)

The Mad Hybrid Botanist said:


> People kept saying that you have to close the game completely for it to work, which I don't think is true.
> 
> Oh okay. Well, I think it counted as 4 days then (as I went to the 8th then back to the 7th, then to the 8th again, and back to the 7th). Just that the first time I went forward - the villager who was adopted on the 8th house was in the below phase:
> 
> ...



Ok so it is working the way I think it is. It did count as 4 days. When a villager is in boxes they'll stay in that phase when going backwards and won't progress to the next one till you go forward in time. Makes me wonder if you'll be able to go backwards if you accidentally give a villager permission to move so they forget about wanting to move in the first place. 
A vacant spot won't follow that rule, so going back a day from that point will progress to the next phase, the new villager moving in.

No worries, it's more like the mechanics and quirks behind TT are confusing lol. This motivates me to test out some of these what ifs and hows haha.


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## The Mad Hybrid Botanist (Apr 9, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> Ok so it is working the way I think it is. It did count as 4 days. When a villager is in boxes they'll stay in that phase when going backwards and won't progress to the next one till you go forward in time. Makes me wonder if you'll be able to go backwards if you accidentally give a villager permission to move so they forget about wanting to move in the first place.
> A vacant spot won't follow that rule, so going back a day from that point will progress to the next phase, the new villager moving in.
> 
> No worries, it's more like the mechanics and quirks behind TT are confusing lol. This motivates me to test out some of these what ifs and hows haha.


Thanks so much! This clarified a lot for me haha!


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## Ciary (Jul 15, 2020)

I have no idea how to count days when timetraveling backwards.
I noticed this: when you timetravel back

when you asked a villager to move out, they will remember you asked but will not be in boxes yet
when they are in boxes, they will still be in boxes
with an empty plot ... I don't know for sure. I would think it remains empty?
when you invited someone, they will be unpacking their stuff even though you never got the announcement
I noticed this before. and I feel sad that I have 2 villagers that I never really got an announcement for. last time I cleared someone out I made sure to travel back 2 days before the current day after asking them to leave. this timed it just right so that the date a new villager would move in would be tomorrow.


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## Mikaiah (Jul 15, 2020)

if you backtravel isabelle doesnt make mornning announcements

you don't need to full exit the game. as long as you save and quit, once you see the screen "Save Complete, see you soon" (stay on this screen, press A after changing the time) you can exit to your system, change the clock, and reboot the game again.

in the future tho, I would jump Apr 7 (villager asks to move) -> apr 8 (villager in boxes, trade w/ someone -> apr 9 (open plot, you invite someone somehow -> apr 11 (new villager moving in) -> apr 7 (current day)


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