Animal Crossing, Hard mode..?

[CylieDanny]

I saw this going around, its susposidly like a nuzlock for Pokemon,

( Those who don't know, a nuzlock for Pokemon is playing the game a more difficult way, the main challenge being if your Pokemon faints in battle its counted as and can't be used anymore. Its gotta be boxed or relesed. There are other self imposed rules too, like no items in battle, play on set mode, gotta nick name all the pokemon to grow attached to them, and you can only catch the first Pokemon you encounter on any given route, and msny more rules)

but like an Animal Crossing Nuzlock? At least thats what i know... I heard alot of people starting over are doing it.

I think it has something to do like you cant do certain things, like your limited what you can carry and so fourth. Idk.

Do you know anything about it?

 

[EmGee]

I think I saw something about it a while back for NL. I personally think it's not in keeping with the spirit of the AC games.

 

[azurill]

I have heard about it. For me it is too restricted. So I made my own version of it. It could be fun for people who want a fresh start. These are the rules

 

[Clock]

I've heard about it around tbt, but I'm not interested in doing it since NH feels more of an escapism game to me and I'm already struggling with redoing my island theme

 

[VanitasFan26]

I've heard about it around tbt, but I'm not interested in doing it since NH feels more of an escapism game to me and I'm already struggling with redoing my island theme

I said this before in a similar thread but I'll say it again here and a bit of disclaimer. this is not something for everyone to try out. Everyone has their own way of playing the game and if its something that you want try out yourself then go ahead. If its not for you then don't try it. This is meant to be a fun challenge for those who want to make the game harder.

Me personally I would not try this out because I've restarted like 50 times last year (call me crazy) and I'm fine with both of my islands the way they are and I just think it would be too tiresome and repetitive to redo all over everything.

 

[JKDOS]

Hard mode is a great idea, but it seems odd in someplaces, and leaves me with questions..

• It asks that the first catch be donated. I already play by this rule. Since your character says "Yes" on new catches, it helps you stay organized. I think the hard mode rule should be "you must release all first catches". That way the super rare bugs and fish need to be caught twice before they go to museum.
• There's no rule about pocket upgrades. Maybe hard made should be limited to 20 or 30.
• Only wearing custom designs is a tough one for me. I really love all the outfits from Abel sisters'.
• Inviting the camper to move into your town, and letting villagers out when they are thinking about it pretty much make villager hunts feel useless. Like you spent 10 tickets getting a dreamy, and then they move out in a few in-game weeks later.
• The rules say you can only gift 1 villager per day, but it doesn't say you must. So the starting villagers can theoretically stay on the island forever if you like them. Just don't ever get their photo.
• "Crops must be in bunches of 3 to harvest". Do crops continue to grow until they reach 3? Maybe I don't farm enough to understand the mechanics.
• Time Travel is limited to within 7 days. Is that upto 7 days within a single IRL day, or just 7 days at a time? I'm not a time traveler, so I don't see how this makes things more hard. Most people only need to TT 1 day for things to move.
• "You must post your designs in Abel Sisters". I don't know why this is required, especially if fellow hardcore players are not allowed to wear anything but their own. Regardless, I already do this, so it's no change for me.

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2023

I have heard about it. For me it is too restricted. So I made my own version of it. It could be fun for people who want a fresh start. These are the rules

View attachment 480904

Do you have a list of your rules?

 

[VanitasFan26]

Hard mode is a great idea, but it seems odd in someplaces, and leaves me with questions..

• It asks that the first catch be donated. I already play by this rule. Since your character says "Yes" on new catches, it helps you stay organized. I think the hard mode rule should be "you must release all first catches". That way the super rare bugs and fish need to be caught twice before they go to museum.
• There's no rule about pocket upgrades. Maybe hard made should be limited to 20 or 30.
• Only wearing custom designs is a tough one for me. I really love all the outfits from Abel sisters'.
• Inviting the camper to move into your town, and letting villagers out when they are thinking about it pretty much make villager hunts feel useless. Like you spent 10 tickets getting a dreamy, and then they move out in a few in-game weeks later.
• The rules say you can only gift 1 villager per day, but it doesn't say you must. So the starting villagers can theoretically stay on the island forever if you like them. Just don't ever get their photo.
• "Crops must be in bunches of 3 to harvest". Do crops continue to grow until they reach 3? Maybe I don't farm enough to understand the mechanics.
• Time Travel is limited to within 7 days. Is that upto 7 days within a single IRL day, or just 7 days at a time? I'm not a time traveler, so I don't see how this makes things more hard. Most people only need to TT 1 day for things to move.
• "You must post your designs in Abel Sisters". I don't know why this is required, especially if fellow hardcore players are not allowed to wear anything but their own. Regardless, I already do this, so it's no change for me.

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2023

Do you have a list of your rules?

Like I said before everyone plays the game differently and there is no shame on setting your own rules. I know some people are doing this out of peer preassure probably because they want to make the game fun again for them. I know some of the hard mode rules my seem outlandish but, if some people want to be challenged then by all means they can do so, its just not for everyone and that is fair.

 

[JKDOS]

Like I said before everyone plays the game differently and there is no shame on setting your own rules. I know some people are doing this out of peer preassure probably because they want to make the game fun again for them. I know some of the hard mode rules my seem outlandish but, if some people want to be challenged then by all means they can do so, its just not for everyone and that is fair.

Because I can, I'm thinking about trying it. I'd probably play by the rules though so I can be apart of the community.

 

[CylieDanny]

I suspose the only.thing I would have a hard time with would honestly be having create my own custom designs. Ive had my current outfit for like a few months, but I defently couldn't do that... ^^; Id change that rule.

I don't mind the villager rule, but it would be hard. Like having your favorite Pokemon die in a nuzlock which was hard. But if I don't grow close to them I could manage.. Id really rather not have to keep my sisterly ^^; I adore jocks though. It's honestly my least favorite personality, and Ive never really grown attached to them, or really liked them. So it would be just as hard as a Nuzlock. Except Nuzlocks have an end point, and animal crossing doesnt.

 

[azurill]

Post automatically merged: Feb 6, 2023

Do you have a list of your rules?

My rules are definitely less strict. I didn’t bother with restarting my 2nd island again because I had just restarted in Dec and I’m very happy with this island.

My villager rules are :
No island hopping
Villagers are auto filled or campers
I play as both my playable characters so I won’t move anyone out unless both characters have their photo . This is my way of seeing different villagers. I get attached to some of my villagers and hate to see them go but at the same time want to have different villagers.
Gifts for villagers have to be crafted or cooked.
I will try and invite the campsite villagers but only replace a villager if I have photo’s for both my characters.


Things to do each day :
Complete the 2x nook mile tasks
Find and hit all rocks
Find at least one new bug or fish available that month.
Daily stretches
Complete special visitor requests
Once I finally get Katrina on Harv’s island I will have both characters fortune read

As far as time traveling. The only time travel I do is at the beginning of the week if I buy turnips. I put my clock forward by one hour since I would miss the am price if I didn’t.
As for designs I want to use in game paths. Try to make as many designs as I can . I did find and use two for my library since no matter how hard I tried it looked terrible. I might if I have time try again. I love ables clothing to much to limit myself to just custom clothing.
I did make my own flag
For farm plots my plots are slightly bigger but I don’t sell my veggies they get used to make gifts for villagers.
I can’t really wait for Flick and C.J to show up ( sometimes I miss them) so I just sell any bugs and fish I don’t donate . If I had more time to play I would probably wait but unfortunately time is limited so I don’t bother to much with restricting what I can and can’t sell .

 

[angelcat621]

As I stated in my similar thread about this subject, Hard Mode is definitely not for me. I do enjoy watching people play it on YouTube but I'd never do it myself. I like the freedom to choose what I do and not play by a somewhat vaguely defined set of rules. I didn't spend hours hunting a villager I like just to have RNG spirit them away randomly. At least though it seems to be reviving interest in the game for now.

 

[Lanstar]

I've tried various restrictions in Animal Crossing, and making a 'Hard Mode' just to make the game hard isn't very fun. Instead, it's better to base such restrictions on taking out parts of the game that do make the game unfun over time.

My latest town does have restrictions, but they have reasons in my mind: They expand the length of the gameplay over a longer period of time. The big ones include:

- I limit the amount of time I play each day to around 1 hour.
- I don't terraform the existing cliffs and rivers.
- I don't play the Stalk market, other than buying maybe <100 turnips each time in order to get Daisy Mae's DIY stuff.
- I don't hoard crafting materials other than major rarities.

Even then, I only follow the rules loosely. It's just to make the game feel more chill to me.

 

[nightglow]

I find ac an odd game to do a "nuzlock" on. I mean, if I wanted something more random where I have to adapt more, then I'd just go back to one of the older games? They plop thier plots wherever in those games.

Keeping a villager until you get thier photo then letting them go could be interesting, but definitely not something for me. I gotta have some I like on my island to keep me playing instead of all randoms.

 

[Red Cat]

Hard mode sounds kind of dumb to be honest. There aren't any real challenges in it anyway that would force you to reset if you fail. A real hard mode would force you to do things like pay off every loan within a week or reset or grow every hybrid within a time limit instead of silly restrictions on what you can wear.

 

[-Blue-]

I read some of the hardmode rules and it just kind of sounds too much like homework to me. Like one of those syllabuses you got to follow where there's no room for creativity. Which kind of defeats the purpose of a game like Animal Crossing.

 

[Vintersol]

I have a hardcore island. I follow every rule except the one where I have to play everyday. With work, family, animals and everything else in life it is impossible to keep up. I still count it to be harcore. It will just take longer time to develope. ^^ It have to do. Otherwhise I would not be able to have one

 

[ConfusedDad]

If i could have another switch and island, i would definitely do this, but i love my island so much rn and could never reset. I really wish i could do this, though it sounds like so much fun. Also, some of these things I already do lol.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

• Only wearing custom designs is a tough one for me. I really love all the outfits from Abel sisters'.

I think that rule might be poorly worded; I think what they're trying to say is that you're not allowed to download custom designs from the custom design portal; so either you go to someone else's Able's to get a custom design from someone else, or you design your own custom design. Otherwise, I think you're allowed to wear the in-game clothes... I would hope, anyway.

---

After reading the rules I find it kinda strange that time travel is allowed? Feels like a no time travelling rule would be a no-brainer for a hard mode. Time travelling is what makes the game easier, especially when you're just starting out.

I don't think I'd ever wanna try this challenge myself but more power to those that do!

 

[-Blue-]

After reading the rules I find it kinda strange that time travel is allowed? Feels like a no time travelling rule would be a no-brainer for a hard mode. Time travelling is what makes the game easier, especially when you're just starting out.

I don't think I'd ever wanna try this challenge myself but more power to those that do!

Yeah that's what I thought. There's been a lot of debates about time traveling not being cheating, but with something called hardmode time traveling would make it easy. I read that rule and it just didn't sound right. But it doesn't matter since I won't be doing it any way.

 

[JKDOS]

I think that rule might be poorly worded; I think what they're trying to say is that you're not allowed to download custom designs from the custom design portal; so either you go to someone else's Able's to get a custom design from someone else, or you design your own custom design. Otherwise, I think you're allowed to wear the in-game clothes... I would hope, anyway.

I checked out some streams by NintenTalk, and the Discord, and he makes it clear you have to wear your custom designs only. The only exception to this rule are you are allowed to wear pants, hats, accessories (glasses, socks, shoes, etc)