How Do Y'all Terraform?

[your local goomy]

Okay, I obviously know the basics of terraforming, but, like...how do you guys prepare? This is my first major terraforming project that involves completely flattening my island and making everything from scratch. Clearing the island is already pretty time consuming and relocating is a bit of a chore for me since I don't TT...so I don't want to screw up. I know what I want to do, I just don't know how to start when I finally get a blank slate. I've seen people place tiles down, dig holes to mark where stuff is going to be...all of that. I just want to do it right. So, how do you guys set up? I could really use some advice. Any help is appreciated!

 

[LambdaDelta]

I just flattened everything and went from there without much proper planning

 

[your local goomy]

I just flattened everything and went from there without much proper planning

Good to know. I might try planning something though, I'm not good at eyeballing things without them ending up looking abysmal

 

[peachycrossing9]

With great difficulty No, I don't really have any method to my madness, I just go for it and hope it turns out ok. Sorry that's probably not very helpful.

It makes it slightly easier for me right now because I restarted, so there isn't too much to flatten. But as suggested flattening everything first really helps.

 

[your local goomy]

With great difficulty No, I don't really have any method to my madness, I just go for it and hope it turns out ok. Sorry that's probably not very helpful.

It makes it slightly easier for me right now because I restarted, so there isn't too much to flatten. But as suggested flattening everything first really helps.

My island is pretty new as well, thankfully. I'm definitely going to try and do SOMETHING since this is my first big terraforming project, but I'll most likely end up starting with a very basic design and working on it as time progresses.

 

[Looigi]

I planned on a peice of paper where everything is gonna go and how it would look on a personal map of my island, then I do it

 

[moon_child]

In my first island, I flattened everything and terraformed into the island I planned using the designer tool. However, after I finished everything, I realized I’m not very good at making planned spaces look natural so in my second island, I just terraformed an area at a time eyeballing everything. This resulted in something I prefer much more.

 

[skarmoury]

I'm going to go completely opposite and say don't flatten your whole island in one go. Edit things in small chunks. It's completely normal to do and re-do an area so don't be afraid to just go for it!

When I did my first island Milkiss, the start was completely different from what it looks like now. I had a general idea of what I wanted (like a school area, downtown area, etc.) but I wasn't very good at designing a whole island from scratch, so I did things bit by bit until they just slowly fell into place. If you're worried that eyeballing this will look abyssmal... well, based on experience it will. I don't think any piece of artwork is perfect at the first stroke, that's why there's an erase button so you can do and redo an area until you finalize the smaller details.

You can definitely approach your island the way you want to, but personally, flattening the island feels so exhausting to me, and seeing the whole island just flat feels so... overwhelming to me. I wouldn't know where to start or what to do without some sort of marker like the terrains, trees, or rivers. At least with these "markers" I feel like I'll know where I'd like an area of my island to start and end.

 

[sleepydreepy]

For me I completely cleaned out and flattened the area I wanted to redo (about 75% of my island) by creating a second character and upgrading their house to max storage to hold all outdoor decorations I had previously put up. After everything was all cleared out I kind of just went for it. I had several ideas of terraforming aesthetics/designs I wanted to try out so I just started in one area and expanded from there. Although I had various ideas in mind (like a spa, shopping area, or fishing spot) I tried to not set up any decorations until I was sure that I liked it (just because that gets tedious). I also would go back and forth between the area I was working on and town hall to try out/preview various bridges and stairs without actually buying them to save me money and time. But yeah, for me I just tried out several designs I had in mind until one of them stood out to me. I Sometimes I would put down markers to divide areas or to represent large buildings but I generally did not plan the actual terraforming tile by tile, and rather planned a general design on paper that was not to scale.

 

[deana]

I like to measure with custom designs, when I was doing the majority of my island I would mark things out with two alternating patterns I find this makes things a lot easier to count rather than using just one design or using holes. For marking out where I wanted my cliff to be moved I used the in game paths so that I could see what it would look like on the map, since the in game paths show up on the map but custom designs don't.

 

[dizzy bone]

I've never flattened my island before but the thought sounds a bit daunting to me and not like my play style. I've done so many island redesigns by chipping away at areas I dislike little by little. This way seems to have worked for me so far and is not as overwhelming! I like working with a little foundation and scenery to help me gauge where I am on the island because sometimes I get disoriented by how spacious a knocked-down area is. I prepare by clearing as much as I can and moving flowers and items from the old design to the beach. Usually I'm happy with my general idea from my old design but I want to upgrade or improve on it, so I like to have my old items handy that way I can try out decorating ideas straight away. I always keep these items in my pockets: trash can, multiple shovels, DIY table, custom kits, fences, and a warp pipe that goes to my house. For areas that might use forced perspective, I like to use fences as markers so I know how far I away I need to make my cliff/view point. I also draw on top of a screenshot of my map to help me plan an area beforehand, but a lot of the time I just improvise as I go.

 

[DragonAceSg7]

Most of it, I built or corrected from what was there since I'd liked the height spots when I chose the island. I did make the area behind my house and the river into a giant waterfall and that was less planning and more, is it big enough?'

 

[Peach_Jam]

I don't think I've flattened completely before, but instead just altered what I already had. How I terraform also depends on the area I want to create. Some cliffs I make small and round to add a tree or small waterfall, while other cliffs I'll extend and make it a large area for houses, shops etc.

I think the easiest thing would be to start with your entrance and experiment there, since it's usually not as daunting as other parts of an island.

 

[S.J.]

Well, I have nothing helpful to add, because I haven't flattened my island before, but the more dream addresses I visit, the more I wonder if I should start again.

The thought of even just flattening the entire island does sound overwhelming though.

Once you're on your way, I'd love to hear how you planned and whether it worked well!

 

[Mick]

I normally pick only one area to work on to make the task more manageable. Often, finishing one area provides the inspiration I need to work on the ones next to it, which I find easier than trying to come up with ideas for the entire island at once.

Apart from that it's mostly trial and error! I spend a lot of time running back and forth, considering the things I want to see from a particular viewpoint and which I don't. (I often find myself obscuring adjacent areas with trees, cliffs, and other tall things. And make sure my paths don't run too close behind large buildings.) And it doesn't have to be perfect first try, you can always alter it later!

 

[Sasey]

I let the natural features guide my terraforming. Rather than flattening all of it I like to work with what is there already. I will widen areas or add water. Maybe take out some cliff side. But I always try and use what’s already going on in an area. I like to think of it as a challenge and let my ideas be inspired by the restrictions of an area.

 

[bestfriendsally]

i never flattened my island until a little while ago... i regret it now... but i'm glad i have all of my cliff & rivers back now :3


but!!

i'm going to make a plan for my 2nd island when i get my switch lite! :3

 

[Croconaw]

I just go with the flow. I don’t plan or anything. I’ll work with what I have at the moment. Although, I think flattening your island is a great start.

 

[Dunquixote]

I am not good at terraforming. I have done small adjustments to the river. I made a ship and something else, which only needed me to chip away with what space I had and make adjustments to both sides of the river (for the one project that is by the river. For the projects that involved no water, it was trial and error. I wish there was an undo button, but so far if I messed up or found I didn’t have enough space for idea, I was able to get it back to looking as it had before I messed around with the tool for the most part.

 

[Violet Witch]

I flattened a lot of my island in the beginning and then decided to just flatten certain areas I wanted to change. Also I watched a tonne of speed builds on YouTube which helped me out a lot with terraforming and waterscaping in general.

I do find tiling areas for buildings with the correct dimensions helps a lot as well. There’s nothing more annoying than getting your cliffs and waterfalls just right and then realising a building won’t fit when you’ve spend hours terraforming.