# "bad" town maps?



## Candy_Rose (Feb 11, 2015)

I was looking around the forums about maps and how people found their perfect map and I wonder.

*What's the one thing that would ruin a map for you?* 

I love my map, but mine has a lot of lakes (like 5?) and sometimes it's hard to place PWP's where I want them because of said lakes, so to other people it may be considered a "bad" map.  I like it though a part of me wishes I looked at the other options. (I went with the second one right off the bat)

*Likewise, has anyone ever went with a "bad" map and worked with it to make it wonderful?*

There was this one town (which I won't name) I visited via dream address and the map was absolutely TERRIBLE to my standards. (Their river was all on the lower half of the map and instead of dividing the town into 2 parts horizontally or vertically, it just kinda looped and made a "C"  Which is something I could never work with, but this person did a WONDERFUL job of making it work!


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## scartwright (Feb 11, 2015)

Gotta be those darn rocks! At least with the ponds you can see their placement before you even load the map, so you don't wind up in bad situations with them usually.

Then there's that annoying thing when you get an unbreakable rock too close to your plaza, or right where you wanted your Mayor's house to go. All that effort, wasted!


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## Punchyleaf (Feb 11, 2015)

Rocks. Also a map that has two beach ramps on one side with a "secret beach" and no ramp

They just set me off really bad TT____TT


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## The Hidden Owl (Feb 11, 2015)

I used to HATE HATE HATE my town layout but now that I'm almost done with it its looking really great. c:


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## Tap Dancer (Feb 11, 2015)

Too many ponds is annoying. I like a map with just one or two. Our towns don't allow much room to place PWPs with all of the houses and permanent buildings. The ponds can eat up a lot of space. (Same with rocks, of course.)


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## pocky (Feb 11, 2015)

Eclair's river layout is horrible. But I made it work and get a lot of compliments on my town. Lately though it feels a little noobish... I gotta re-do some areas!

For me though there is really only one thing I hate about maps: excessive rocks! Lakes are easy to avoid just by looking at the map Rover gives you, but rocks are whole different story... T___T


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## Jinglefruit (Feb 11, 2015)

I'm crazy fussy with my town maps, but the big offenders for me are;
- The plaza being in an open area / getting a lot of traffic. ~ I find the tiled floor pretty ugly, and don't like to put patterns down because of their square edges, so I usually aim for towns where you don't need to see the plaza daily. 
- Long winding rivers. This never really bothered me in the past, but on NL where the town is so small I like a 2x2 acre area somewhere at least to make the town feel like theres some space, and most rivers don't permit this.
- Wasted space. Like rivers that start or end at the top of the town leave a random spit of land that you can't do anything with. I try to have a reason to go everywhere in town. Though paradoxically I prefer having a private beach, as this means you can walk around the beach to get to another part of town with both ramps on one side.


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## FancyThat (Feb 11, 2015)

In my main town I have what I suspect many would consider a 'bad' map (three ponds and I have a loop shaped river like you mentioned as well OP) but I think I've really made it work and I do get lots of compliments about the town. I wouldn't want to change it.

My second and third towns (third is currently a cycle town) have more easily workable maps.


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## Vizionari (Feb 11, 2015)

If a map has too many rocks or ponds then I won't like it  My main town's map isn't the greatest but a lot of people say they like my town layout, which I'm surprised by o.o


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## fuzzynumber9 (Feb 11, 2015)

I always find it fascinating seeing what others look for or hate in a town map. I feel like I'm super picky about my maps and every time I've started a new town that I plan to actually develop (not just for cycling or whatever, though I'm still fairly picky on those too since I always want to keep my options open) I just expect to waste a good couple hours on finding the right layout...
My things I dislike are little land bridges, ponds near important buildings or structures (interrupting the flow of potential paths to those places), isolated beaches, and I don't really care for winding rivers.  Obviously a lot of horribly placed rocks are a problem, and can make or break a town, one of my cycling towns I picked the layout thinking I could definitely see myself developing it further only to put in some bridges in decent places and realize there were rocks directly in line with them that would mess with where I'd want to place pathways.


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## talisheo (Feb 11, 2015)

I don't even think of these things. Whatever town I start with is the down I deal with. I just force things to work out, even if it kills me. I hate resting for things, especially since I have to reset a lot for dream villagers and where they put their house @.@;


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## TheGreatBrain (Feb 11, 2015)

Candy_Rose said:


> I was looking around the forums about maps and how people found their perfect map and I wonder.
> 
> *What's the one thing that would ruin a map for you?*
> 
> ...



Lol. Would that be my Critters town? It makes a c-shape. If you are taliking about mine, it is a rather unique shaped map. I guess I chose it because it was so odd.


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## Mega_Cabbage (Feb 12, 2015)

I wasn't really picky when I first chose my town, but now that I have had it for several months, I realized what I really like.

I don't really like having two separate beaches. I prefer just one long stretch, so I don't have to go running around town to chase after one fish that can't sit still.

I also prefer to have a decent amount of ponds. They make great places to put the more scenic PWPS like the picnic blanket or benches.


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## Zenoah (Feb 12, 2015)

The plaza or town tree HAS to be in the middle of the map for me...it just does. I will cycle thru maps until I find a plaza in the middle.


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## ellabella12345 (Feb 12, 2015)

Nothing ruins a map! They're all unique and make decorating the town a challenge which I love to have! But I do agree rocks are annoying!


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## Royce (Feb 12, 2015)

Rocks. I hate Rocks 。rocks rocks rocks
ˊ_>ˋ
But 
Why gotta be Rock


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## Shax (Feb 12, 2015)

I think I'm fairly picky, but when you find the perfect town for you, it's totally worth the fuss. I prefer rivers that cut the town horizontally. The bridges look so much nicer on horizontal rivers, I think. Vertical rivers are good for fishing, but I rarely fish in the river without having a reason. I also prefer the buildings to be out of the way and evenly spaced out. I don't mind having a lot of lakes, as long as there isn't like 2 or 3 of them right next to each other.


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## Donacabana (Feb 12, 2015)

I don't think any town in inherently bad, it's what you make of it!


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## DarkFox7 (Feb 12, 2015)

Lots of ponds, a sideways waterfall instead of seeing a nice pretty front view, a non-blue train station, a non-blue/green town hall, lots of rocks, and a tiny beach would ruin it. (yes I am picky).


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## Spooky. (Feb 12, 2015)

Too many ponds is my main issue. I've come across so many maps when I was resetting with nice rivers but the map was ruined by ponds that get in the way of re-tail, town hall, etc. Then of course, to echo what everyone else has said, ROCKS.


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## CozyKitsune (Feb 12, 2015)

Spoiler: My town map







  This is my town layout... (Old photo btw I have the police station and cafe now....) But I have lots of rocks and a 'secret' beach its annoying! And I have like no placements for pw's, But I still try my best to make my town look the best it can! because I done to much now to start over!


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## Candy_Rose (Feb 12, 2015)

TheGreatBrain said:


> Lol. Would that be my Critters town? It makes a c-shape. If you are taliking about mine, it is a rather unique shaped map. I guess I chose it because it was so odd.



YES it was Critters.  

I was surprised when I saw your map, because it would be one that I would immediately click "NEXT" for, but looking around, I LOVE LOVE LOVE how you made it work!   I really love how you turned that space within the "C" into a little residential area for your villagers, and to note, your characters in animal costumes are so cute!  


 When I saw a bunch of lakes on my map, I was brand new and I thought that it was normal, so I never took them into account.

They have gotten in the way a couple of times when it comes to placing PWP's but I'm proud with how my town has turned out and so far I've gotten a lot of compliments! 

I totally agree with you about the rocks though.  They were never a huge deal to me before, but sometimes it's annoying when they're in the way of where I want a PWP or something.


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## TheGreatBrain (Feb 12, 2015)

Ahh, thanks for the compliments. I'm glad you liked my town even though the map is a bit crazy. Lol.


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## CR33P (Feb 12, 2015)

Candy_Rose said:


> I was looking around the forums about maps and how people found their perfect map and I wonder.
> 
> *What's the one thing that would ruin a map for you?*
> 
> ...


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## infinikitten (Feb 13, 2015)

For me, it's mostly about river/beach placement and access. If there are little inaccessible spots of beach, or thin protrusions of land that I can't do much with, I don't like that map and wouldn't use it. I like the "halves" of the town to be divided pretty equally so nothing will end up feeling "squished" or overcrowded (unless my villagers decide to put down their plots directly next to one another, which is a thing that's been happening for some reason - haven't bothered with plot resetting since it does no harm as long as they're not blocking or destroying anything). I'm happiest with Re-Tail close to the tracks and train station, while others prefer it to be near the beach... it's different for everybody obviously. Wish I could post a screenie of mine but, lol.


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## Candy_Rose (Feb 13, 2015)

CR33P said:


> yes oh my god i have so many ponds and my river cuts up my land into narrow sections
> and why won't you name the town? i need some inspiration




Originally, I didn't name it because I didn't want the owner to be offended, but she came in the thread and guessed I was talking about her town and (Thankfully!) Wasn't offended.  

It was Critters, Mayor is Honey  Her Dream Address is 4100-3150-6643.  

The map would be one I would consider "bad" upon first glance, yet she turned it into something ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! <3 <3 <3


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## Han Solo (Feb 13, 2015)

I never even consider rocks and ponds.
I've always picked one with a good river to land ratio haha, if that makes sense.


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## cheezyfries (Feb 13, 2015)

i was such a noob and chose the first map i saw, and my layout just sucks haha, all the villagers have congregated towards the southern half of my town, my re-tail is the absolute farthest away it can be from the beach, and i have a private beach  i really want to reset but maybe some other time


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## tumut (Feb 13, 2015)

This was my second AC  game ever, first being gamecube. I really didn't know what to consider since It was 8 years since I played the game, I just chose the first one that seemed decent, by decent I mean had a river that went straight through. However I HATE where my plaza is, it's in the bottom corner of my whole town which is really inconvenient. Also some villagers just piss me off as far where they move...


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## Hypno KK (Feb 13, 2015)

I don't think there are actual bad maps, it just depends on your playing style. A map that seems bad at first can be fun to work with since it's more of a challenge to make it look nice (and the final result can be just as good). It also depends on the look you want for your town. If you want a town covered in patterns and PWPs you'll have to be careful with the placement of ponds and rocks, but if you want a more natural town, it doesn't matter as much. Personally, I think that rocks in parts where you'd put paths would be something I wouldn't want but I don't mind most other things. 

Also, even a good map can be difficult to work with if you don't plot reset and get a bad placement for your villagers' houses.

My map isn't bad but it's not perfect either and I don't mind. I like the challenge of working with it and it makes my town feel more unique.


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## jcnorn (Feb 13, 2015)

Rocks are my nemesis! And I also don't like it when the waterfall points to the sides instead of down. Otherwise I'm fairly ok with things  But those Rocks! I went to place my house in my new town, found the perfect spot, only problem, two rocks, right there. No matter how much I whined I wasn't allowed to place my house there! So I don't like rocks


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## jobby47 (Feb 13, 2015)

I don't know, I liked my first town and haven't restarted yet.


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## tokkio (Feb 13, 2015)

well my town layout is really bad T__T I really don't like it, mostly because of the damn rocks, and the sort of uneven division of the upper and lower parts of town, and the beaches too asfgsgsgh really wanna reset because of this tbh


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## lunathenia (Feb 14, 2015)

How many rocks would you guys say is a lot?


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## elle7 (Feb 14, 2015)

lunathenia said:


> How many rocks would you guys say is a lot?



I would say more than 6-7 is a lot personally


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## jcnorn (Feb 14, 2015)

lunathenia said:


> How many rocks would you guys say is a lot?



More than 5, but it's the placements that are harder for me, number can fluctuate if they are in good placed  Like I have one rock, one space from the fence up top, It's awesome when it's the moneyrock! If they were all like that I wouldn't mind having like 10 of them  But scattered around all over, I think 5 is as high as I could go


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## Piggles (Feb 14, 2015)

I hate the rock placements in my town, and also to the left I have a really thin bit of grass where no houses or anything to go and it annoys me no end! >.<


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## elle7 (Feb 14, 2015)

Piggles said:


> I hate the rock placements in my town, and also to the left I have a really thin bit of grass where no houses or anything to go and it annoys me no end! >.<



Oh those thin parts can be annoying! Does it lead to a small part of land? Because if it does you could style it to look like a secret path to a private part of your map perhaps?


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## Cynder drag (Feb 14, 2015)

I feel like I wouldn't be as fussy as I am with town maps if I wasn't so obsessed with it being "unique". To me, the ACNL maps aren't as interesting or as dynamic as they are in Wild World or City Folk where, if you reset enough, you could get a town with rivers that jutted out in two places forming what I would always call an "island" (which is what I would usually look for and was really disappointed to see that the rivers in New Leaf didn't seem to do that) or where the cliffs leading to the lower part of your town would jut straight out of the cliff wall (like I had one in City Folk do). The maps in New Leaf are fine enough I guess, though I do think sometimes they can end up being rather plain looking or take up too much space. 
For me, the things that I can't stand having on my map are:
-rivers that either go straight across or make a box shape (particularly where the plaza would be right in the middle of this). First, the river itself takes up wayyy to much space, plus the addition of the plaza usually being right in the middle of the clearing made by the box shaped river takes up even more space. I feel like these towns hardly have any room to put anything at all
-too many ponds of course, though it can be acceptable depending on how they are placed. (in my town, I have three ponds in a diagonal row, but the little spaces in between are really cool looking so I actually am quite fond of it)
-rocks. I will always end up with a rock right where I want to place a pwp or my house.
-plazas right in the middle of the town that take up too much space. depending on the river, this can be acceptable but more often than not, the plaza is just always... there. does anyone else think maybe the plaza is just a bit too big?

Things I often look for are:
-plazas that are out of the way, not taking up too much valuable space
-a unique, sometimes looping river that gives my town a lot of hidden, open spaces
-a river that ends with the waterfall on the south side of my beach (which unfortunately I don't have)
-a starter villager with a house that's not right where I want my house to be
-and a ramp down to the beach that goes straight down, with the two cliff thingies on either side (im bad at explaining)


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## AmantaRae (Feb 14, 2015)

I don't like when all of the main buildings are spread all over the town. It is easier for me to make my landscaping make sense if the buildings are in groups.Plus, I find towns feel more spacious if the buildings are near each other.


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## spelling88 (Feb 14, 2015)

my town has rocks directly in front of the train station and my town hall, i considered resetting for a while but i just work around it


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## Piyoko (Feb 24, 2015)

AmantaRae said:


> I don't like when all of the main buildings are spread all over the town. It is easier for me to make my landscaping make sense if the buildings are in groups.Plus, I find towns feel more spacious if the buildings are near each other.


Same here. For me, the plaza, town hall, train station, and Re-Tail have to be relatively close together. It bothers me especially when the town hall and plaza are on opposite ends of town, it just doesn't make sense. And when the plaza is right next to the inland cliffs, it feels really claustrophobic...


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## candiedapples (Feb 24, 2015)

I understand that there are a lot of features that make it easier to work with certain maps, but honestly I don't think there is such a thing as a bad map. Sure there are a lot of things that may be inconveniences, sure it would be nice to have the important buildings clustered together, but I think you can work around anything and still make it look pretty. I think it would only help players be creative in finding solutions to the annoyances. I would be far more impressed to see a beautiful town that has a million rocks and ponds, and with buildings all over the place, than to see every map be similar with circle grass, apples, centralized plaza, Re:Tail near the train station, etc.


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