The only times I do find myself stressed is when the initial plan isn't working out and I have to think on the spot on how to make it work. However, I'm a problem solver and I can get the work done.
This is my terraform progress (map #4 isn't the most current):
I'm not very stressed because I use Happy Island Designer to get the general idea of my island down, and then I'm able to get a lot of things design to how I want them and usually end up happy with the result!
Terraforming is definitely stressful and slow process. For my first island, I built as time progressed without any plans. I need plenty of inspiration. I see it as rewarding when I finally got the final plan out for an area without having to redo it multiple times. As for my second island I made a rough plan on a piece of paper. So far it is going well. I did hit a roadblock where I wanted to create a certain build that I feel like would clash into another area I had planned for. I guess it is time for reconsideration... My plans are not concrete and I am sure that better ideas will come. I also kind of want to hold off on decorating and terraforming in anticipation for the new items for future events.
I personally like to fill in empty spaces as with flowers, trees, and / or little cafes. I have a general idea of what themes I want to make for certain areas.
I'm doing a full island redesign for the spring - I wanted to change from a mountainous layout to something more like a meadow.
I must admit: switching layouts and reterraforming can be quite stressful - especially when your previous layout was decorated to the gills. There are some tricks to managing and reducing it, however:
Have a good idea of what your desire result will look like before building it. Try taking a screenshot of your map, and use a painting app to draw on top of it. Plan all the rivers, cliffs, ponds, paths, etc. in advance, and mark where you'll put the buildings and attractions. Harv's island is also there to help with decorating ideas as well. All of this helps remove the uncertainty and anxiety about a very giant project like this.
Place some limitations on how you'll terraform and decorate. For instance, I make sure to keep the ponds and rivers natural looking, and all the cliffs smooth-curved and accessible via inclines. I also make sure to restrict the flowers I use and the theme I want to achieve with the new layout. Knowing what you don't want in your layout is equally important to know as what you do.
While it might get stressful, terraforming can be worth it! I loved my mountain-like layout quite a lot, and it kept me sane throughout the winter months. I hope the next one I do will keep things fun for me during the spring.
i have a serious love/hate relationship with terraforming... when it looks good i'm happy but sometimes i can spend hours on a single area only to end up hating it...
I don't find it too stressful, but I only terraform when I'm in the mood for it. For whatever reason, I'll want to play but I don't want to think too much about it, and if I already have a vague plan terraforming can be pretty zen. I have a huge inspiration board on Pinterest and use ideas from there to piece together bits and pieces that I like. Sometimes it doesn't all come together so I leave it alone until I find something else that might work. If I'm feeling creative but don't want to terraform, that's when I work on actual landscaping/decoration.
Lately I've taken a crack at terraforming, and I'm stressing a little. I need to follow my own advice and keep things mostly natural so I don't go overboard. The hard part is coming up with a new "flow".
i definitely do - to the point where i actually avoid doing it lmao. the only terraforming i’ve done so far is narrowing/widening my rivers which wasn’t too bad but the thought of doing any larger projects scares me a bit as i’m not very good with that sort of thing and honestly, i’m not even sure what i want yet lmao. that being said, i have been looking at inspiration online so while i’m nowhere near being ready to do large amounts of terraforming, i’d like to think that i’ll be ready someday aha. :’)
Not at all. I don’t find the game stressful, nor do I stress about how my island looks. I just go round and change things and decorate things as and when I want to without putting pressure on myself.
I find it quite fun terraforming but usually that's because I have an idea in mind and would only do bits at a time (as when I did my terraforming a while ago it involved moving about 5 houses), granted I was a little impatient waiting for all the houses to move but yeah, it can be pretty fun and productive if you don't overwhelm yourself.
Literally so frigging stressed on my previous files, so now when I find someone that can hold onto my items while I reset I'll try to take a step back from terraforming and go back to my WW vibes of just enjoying getting cute villagers and just talking to them and getting back in The Chill Zone lol
I'll still terraform but hopefully not to the extend and at the speed I did before.
I get too stressed doing it. It was fun at first, but I've never seen a game like this with so many hidden 'nope can't do that' warnings everywhere, and how iffy the controls are. I place down a cliff, move to the right and... NO NO NO, DON'T TAKE IT DOWN AGAIN! Turns out I'm one pixel too close.
Also, is there any reason - any at all - that there isn't a way to do it faster? Why can't I just pick a start and an end point with a clear path, press a button and have my character create cliffs all the way along? Why is it so vital that I have to press a button, watch the (fairly slow) animation, move to the next point, press a button, and repeat until it's all done? Same with the pavements. Let me buy an expensive upgrade to help with my Nook Miles already!
Tldr; it stresses me out because it takes far too long compared to other games I play like this. No one's gonna see my island anyway, so... Back to interior decorating, I guess, since that's a lot easier to manage.
YES. on my old islands I've tried to terraform and I ended up being unhappy with it. I have recently reset my island and I decided that I'm not going to do any terraforming because no matter what I do, I end up hating the finished result.
I get stressed about everything xD
I hate it when I accidentally destroy the wrong part! Sometimes it stresses me out when I need to smooth everything out and it doesn’t look the way I want it! Or when I think about how long it takes to destroy a larger place urggg
But the end result is worth the stress!
Coming from someone who has flatten their island 2 times now Its really tiresome and stressful. I am happy with what I made my island look out to be but I am just getting to the point where I don't need to do much terraforming again. Sometimes I contradict myself when I come back to the game 5 months later and say "Man this place doesn't look as good as I thought" that was me in 2020 and I was just being too hard on my hard self that I could make it better. I just told myself to make whatever stands out so I did that and it paid off well.
You need to take a break from terraforming. I know that we always get that peer pressure whenever we see awesome islands on Social Media but you should not force yourself to redesign your island just because you saw a really great island. Its always best never to compare yourself to others. I was gulity of that myself last year when I was overwhelmed by so many good islands from other people. I learned that its best to just to make what you feel works for you. Sure I have taken inspiration from others but still I made whatever was in my head. No copy or paste from other's islands. I know sometimes we are at war with ourselves when we struggle to find what makes an island so good but the moral of story is always make how you feel works for you and not worry how others do their island.
