How long do you think it will take to unlock terraforming?

[FreliaCrossing]

I can't wait to start implementing all the ideas I have for terraforming, but I wonder how long it would take to actually get it without time traveling? The direct said something about "the town being more developed" before you could have the licenses but I wonder how literal that description is?

 

[Luca]

Hmm... I'm imagining it will take a few weeks of gameplay at the very least. Probably need to have all the basic shops/buildings built first.

It'd be nice to have it from the beginning so you can get your landscape fixed up before you start putting stuff on top of it, but I understand why they'd make it a late-game feature. At least the fact that you get if after building a bunch of stuff is likely what prompted them to make buildings movable, so that you can reposition them after terraforming.

 

[Khaelis]

It mentioned you get it after your island is developed, so I imagine you need the necessities, being Nook's Cranny, Campground, Able Sisters, Museum and likely the fully built Resident Services. I can't see those who choose not to time travel unlocking it for at least a month.

 

[Xara]

likely between a few weeks to a month or so of gameplay - it seems like a bit has to be unlocked first before you can obtain the terraforming permit

 

[John Wick]

When you've made tools and all the basics, some DIY, villager interaction.
Built and upgraded shops.

I don't know if you'd need to have a house built (partially) or not.

If you worked hard at it every day, you could get the permit in a matter of weeks.

 

[creamyy]

I hope not too late in the game, it would make it pretty pointless to unlock terraforming when my island is already fully developped

 

[tajikey]

In my case, may as well be forever. I'm afraid I'll go scorched Earth on my map.

 

[dizzy bone]

Seems like something we get if we decide to go the "developed town" route instead of the deserted-island-forever look. In the Direct the narrator says "Once your island is fully decked out we will provide you with a permit" which is that Island Designer app that gives us access to paths, waterscaping, and cliff-construction. I'm not sure how long it will take for us to fully "deck out" our islands so it could be as fast as 2 weeks to a month maybe? Typically constructing a building takes a day each and we still don't know how many we're allowed to put on our island.

I bet there'll a few people who wish to have a more simple deserted look with no shops and still be able to terraform their islands but it doesn't seem like that will be possible.

 

[HoennMaster]

This is honestly my biggest worry. The direct said "fully decked out"...but what exactly does that mean? I don't want to wait until the game is almost "done" to be able to start transforming things.

 

[Ossiran]

There might be a few small features that are unlocked early, but I imagine, as many others have said, that you'll need to have your island fairly progressed and developed before you'll unlock full terraforming capabilities. It'll likely take days a few weeks to a few months to fully unlock.

 

[John Wick]

Seems like something we get if we decide to go the "developed town" route instead of the deserted-island-forever look. In the Direct the narrator says "Once your island is fully decked out we will provide you with a permit" which is that Island Designer app that gives us access to paths, waterscaping, and cliff-construction. I'm not sure how long it will take for us to fully "deck out" our islands so it could be as fast as 2 weeks to a month maybe? Typically constructing a building takes a day each and we still don't know how many we're allowed to put on our island.

I bet there'll a few people who wish to have a more simple deserted look with no shops and still be able to terraform their islands but it doesn't seem like that will be possible.

That's the thing. I still want to hold on to part of the deserted look, but be developed enough to unlock the other stuff, without it looking too much like a city full of shops.

 

[DJStarstryker]

I agree with the idea that others are saying that it'll probably take a few weeks, maybe even a month, minimum. This is why it could be potentially be worth resetting for a good island. I don't think you should spend as much time on that as you might've in a previous AC game, but you'll have to use your island as it is for some amount of time. You don't want it to be an island you immediately hate.

 

[Khaelis]

I agree with the idea that others are saying that it'll probably take a few weeks, maybe even a month, minimum. This is why it could be potentially be worth resetting for a good island. I don't think you should spend as much time on that as you might've in a previous AC game, but you'll have to use your island as it is for some amount of time. You don't want it to be an island you immediately hate.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to spend at least an hour resetting for a somewhat decent layout to start out with just for the very fact of us not being able to shape our island for a while. Also the fact that we may not be able to edit the river exits on the beach, so having an island with decent river exits would be beneficial as well.

 

[Fey]

It is frustrating that we likely won?t be able to use it until we?re already ?settled in? so to speak, since I would love to make all major adjustments early on while the island is still more of a blank slate.

Waiting up to a month seems reasonable and gives me time to just play around and explore, but after that I see it becoming a bit tedious, especially when deciding where to place all the buildings.

 

[daffy]

I think it will take over a month, and likely have other prerequisities, like certain buildings. There was a lot of time-gating in New Leaf, and I don't think that's going away. It might seem tedious, but I think it helps the pacing and makes it feel more earned. In New Leaf the time to unlock things bothered me on resets, not my first game, so I'm alright with it.

 

[Loreley]

I think it will be a combination of different requirements, like at least 30 days have passed since moving onto the island, must have earned a significant amount of Nook Miles, unlocked Nook's cranny and so on. I don't think it will be too hard though, since Animal Crossing is a casual game and it would be frustrating if it took months to unlock a feature that has been highlighted in the direct.

 

[Sweetley]

I could imagine that your island has to be developed up to a certain point until you can do terraforming. Overall, I hope it will not take that long to unlock it, as it's one of those new features I would like to use as soon as possible.

 

[Winona]

To me, that sounded like it really is an end-game feature. Like something you would've be given if your town tree reaches its maximum size in New Leaf. I got the impression that this is something to aim for, to "fully develop" your island in order to get - so that there will be a whole new reason to keep playing after everything was achieved. I might be wrong though. But a few weeks sounds way too short for me to get that permit.

 

[Mars Adept]

I’d say it would take about three months if you worked hard. The permit is something that gives you a lot of power, so I don’t feel like they would give you it after only a month of casually playing.

 

[moo-kun]

You'll prolly need more than two villagers living there to vouch for you! You're going to need to talk with them everyday and complete tasks. Once their trust in you is at a certain level, they can say they trust you enough to take care of the island!
You're also probably going to have to gain NPC's trust too so it'll be a little more challenging but not so much it feels tedious (?艸｀〃)