My problem with how ACNH deals with villagers moving out.

[Mr_Keroppi]

Hello everyone! I know probably no one agrees with me but I miss when villagers would move out on their own! It makes it SO hard to say that someone can leave when you had your favorites! Sure, its nice knowing that no matter what Bunnie is going to still live in bunny for the rest of her life but it makes me sad that its harder to let them go! I LOVED the surprise of new villagers after getting sad that one left. Now I have to have go through an hour long argument with myself on if I should let them go . I also really miss the goodbye letters! They do not do it anymore . NH is amazing in lots of categories but villagers are not one in my opinion. Do you agree or disagree with me? I would love to know your thoughts!

 

[azurill]

I really do miss the goodbye letters. It was a really nice touch that I think they should have continued. It does make it harder to let villagers go but I do prefer them not just leaving. Some of my villagers took awhile to find or showed up at the right time that trying to find them again would be a pain. I do sometimes let villagers randomly move in when I do let villagers leave. I think the only thing that bothers me about villagers moving out is that the last villager can’t move out unless someone else moves out first. I get them not leaving right away but they should at some point be able to ask to move out even if no one else leaves.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I really do miss the goodbye letters. It was a really nice touch that I think they should have continued. It does make it harder to let villagers go but I do prefer them not just leaving. Some of my villagers took awhile to find or showed up at the right time that trying to find them again would be a pain. I do sometimes let villagers randomly move in when I do let villagers leave. I think the only thing that bothers me about villagers moving out is that the last villager can’t move out unless someone else moves out first. I get them not leaving right away but they should at some point be able to ask to move out even if no one else leaves.

I agree with the last villager thing! Its annoying I understand why you like it better now though!

 

[VanitasFan26]

While I understand the goodbye letters were a great in past AC games, I feel like the villagers randomly moving out was not that good. I disagree with this mainly because it happens to any villager despite whatever friendship you have with them. In old AC games they would sometimes move out without you knowing and they would just say in their letters "Its nothing personal but I moved out". To me that just feels a bit strange because its like you treated them so well so why would they suddenly move out?

In New Leaf there was a system where a villager would run up to you and they would ask you if they want to move out but the way it worked is that they would leave on a date of a month. It was sometimes weird because the villager would not agree to this. I had Ed on my town who wanted to move out and naturally I wasn't too keen on him so I decided to let him go, but what happened was he decided "Nah I'm gonna stay because we are such best friends" I didn't like that. It felt like he just wasted my time and that whole move out thing went nowhere.

I like the move out process in New Horizons because at least it keeps it to the point of when you want your villager to move out. It saves the headache of trying to even convince them to move out. So I know you may miss the Goodbye Letters, but I don't like the idea of villagers randomly moving out without knowing because you may never know who it is by the time you read the letter in the mail.

 

[nightglow]

I am really glad villagers do not move out on their own in New Horizons personally. Moving out letters were nice in New Leaf though and it would have been nice to see it in New Horizons. I do feel like that maybe if a new villager stayed at the campsite every week for 7 days at a time, that would help with the "surprise" factor of finding or seeing other villagers. I dunno, I just feel like 1 camper for 1 day in approximately 2 weeks time is just... it could be used better. Maybe a new camper appears every Saturday and leaves on Fridays. It would also be nice to see a camper roam your island. This I would prefer than random villagers moving out. If I want someone on my island, I don't want them disappearing just because I couldn't log in one day. With Amiibos being hard to get ahold of as another point, Series 5 are cards that are new, it wouldn't be fun spending a bunch of time and miles villager hunting for them to just move out randomly and not being able to get them back unless you do all of that all over again.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I am really glad villagers do not move out on their own in New Horizons personally. Moving out letters were nice in New Leaf though and it would have been nice to see it in New Horizons. I do feel like that maybe if a new villager stayed at the campsite every week for 7 days at a time, that would help with the "surprise" factor of finding or seeing other villagers. I dunno, I just feel like 1 camper for 1 day in approximately 2 weeks time is just... it could be used better. Maybe a new camper appears every Saturday and leaves on Fridays. It would also be nice to see a camper roam your island. This I would prefer than random villagers moving out. If I want someone on my island, I don't want them disappearing just because I couldn't log in one day. With Amiibos being hard to get ahold of as another point, Series 5 are cards that are new, it wouldn't be fun spending a bunch of time and miles villager hunting for them to just move out randomly and not being able to get them back unless you do all of that all over again.

I guess everyone hates randomly moving out! Its okay we all have opinions! Thanks for your thoughts! (But dont you just think its a little weird how they have no free will????)
Edit: Also yes I understand the hatred of when they move out when you haven't played! Felicity moved out when I forgot to play for a week and she was my favorite for YEARS.

 

[MidnightAura]

I miss villagers leaving of their own free will. And I say that as someone who plays all the AC games so it’s not rose tinted glasses. I prefer it because I like knowing my villagers have agency and I don’t want to be their overlord. I do understand not wanting to come back after six months away and find your favourite gone. It’s one of the reasons I don’t bother playing ACNH every day. No one will go anywhere.

I too miss the goodbye letters.

 

[Croconaw]

I love not having to worry about my villagers randomly moving out. I hope it stays this way in future mainline games. I think it’s less stressful this way, too. I enjoyed getting the goodbye letters, but sometimes have to replace a good thing for a better thing.

 

[Suntide]

I feel conflicted. On one hand, I love that I don't have to worry about my favorites leaving if I don't have time to play for a while. On the other hand, I get too attached to everyone and don't ever want to let anyone leave and then end up with the same villagers for, like, an entire year, and I wish there was a way to spice things up without me having to tell them to leave. I've compromised by only picking two villagers I plan to keep forever (Whitney and Dobie). The others, once I get their picture I let them leave when they ask.

Goodbye letters were great. I miss them. I actually keep one letter from every villager I've ever had to remember them by when they're gone.

 

[Violet Witch]

I never played the old AC games but hearing how they randomly moved out makes me glad that's not part of ACNH no matter how much I may or may not like some of my villagers. To me it's quite cold and calculating to leave the game one day and return the next to find a villager has decided to move out and has only left a letter behind, especially if you had a strong friendship with that villager. It's why I'm glad that ACNH has the option of a villager pondering whether to leave or not and you're the deciding factor in their decision alongside the other option to move a villager on if you invite your dream villager to the campsite via amiibo or if they appear at random.

 

[-Blue-]

@TalviSyreni It was very unforgiving in the early games because they never even told you they were doing so. Nothing. They would just vanish one day. NL did it better where a villager would be planning to leave in a week and you could talk to them and stop the move. Some villagers would mention who was thinking of leaving and you could then stop them. The villager would also ping you and bring up the subject of them moving.

Some people like having a bit of uncertainty and not that everything is under their control and I can get that. Personally not my thing in this instance. It's not like villagers moving out this time would really mess things up because the plot stays where it was and doesn't go away when the villager leaves. They're not going to do this, but they could had made an old-school ordinance or gave an option on the phone to toggle it on or off.


New Horizion has a lot of the more technical issues that are an improvement, but I'm not going to lie, the villagers were kind of stripped down in the process. Yeah NL's villagers weren't that amazing either, but the thing is that it wasn't as obvious in NL as it was in NH (pre-update launch) because there was so much content ready at the go. So I didn't have the time to realize it early on, but with NH launch and there not being a lot of content for the 1st year+, villagers were what I fell back on.

But with villagers being a little more stripped down than NL it was a lot more obvious. Neither game was carried by them, but with bare-bone updates and lack of villager interactions it was super obvious and while NL had the same problem their were other fun distractions that weren't grindy and pulled my attention away from it.

Something as simple as good-bye letters was taken out due to oversight. A little charm is lost with decisions like this. NL had April Fools where your villager would get copied by Blanca (cat with no face) and you had to figure out who the dopple-ganger is. It was a cute event. Leading up to the events villager's would talk about how excited they are for them and what they plan to do, but now we have to wait for the crew to get around to actually updating the existing holiday back in to get that dialogue which was often a week or a few days before said event.

I do like NH, but I feel like they could had done better.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I miss villagers leaving of their own free will. And I say that as someone who plays all the AC games so it’s not rose tinted glasses. I prefer it because I like knowing my villagers have agency and I don’t want to be their overlord. I do understand not wanting to come back after six months away and find your favourite gone. It’s one of the reasons I don’t bother playing ACNH every day. No one will go anywhere.

I too miss the goodbye letters.

Yay! Someone agrees! I understand that point of view too! We all do not have the time to play NON STOP EVERYDAY sometimes! Sometimes we dont even want to! Buuut when you think of it from the villagers perspective then its more clear. How would you like it if you "saw a flyer to try new foods in a new town" and you wanted too. Then you haven't seen your friends in FOREVER so it kinda makes since why you would leave? I dunno maybe I have to much of a heart even for fictional characters

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

I love not having to worry about my villagers randomly moving out. I hope it stays this way in future mainline games. I think it’s less stressful this way, too. I enjoyed getting the goodbye letters, but sometimes have to replace a good thing for a better thing.

Thanks for sharing your opinion

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

I feel conflicted. On one hand, I love that I don't have to worry about my favorites leaving if I don't have time to play for a while. On the other hand, I get too attached to everyone and don't ever want to let anyone leave and then end up with the same villagers for, like, an entire year, and I wish there was a way to spice things up without me having to tell them to leave. I've compromised by only picking two villagers I plan to keep forever (Whitney and Dobie). The others, once I get their picture I let them leave when they ask.

Goodbye letters were great. I miss them. I actually keep one letter from every villager I've ever had to remember them by when they're gone.

I agree 100%!!! I am happy about them staying but have had the exact villager line-up since AUGUST OF 2020. I am indecisive

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

I never played the old AC games but hearing how they randomly moved out makes me glad that's not part of ACNH no matter how much I may or may not like some of my villagers. To me it's quite cold and calculating to leave the game one day and return the next to find a villager has decided to move out and has only left a letter behind, especially if you had a strong friendship with that villager. It's why I'm glad that ACNH has the option of a villager pondering whether to leave or not and you're the deciding factor in their decision alongside the other option to move a villager on if you invite your dream villager to the campsite via amiibo or if they appear at random.

Fair enough Good points! Thanks for sharing

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

@TalviSyreni It was very unforgiving in the early games because they never even told you they were doing so. Nothing. They would just vanish one day. NL did it better where a villager would be planning to leave in a week and you could talk to them and stop the move. Some villagers would mention who was thinking of leaving and you could then stop them. The villager would also ping you and bring up the subject of them moving.

Some people like having a bit of uncertainty and not that everything is under their control and I can get that. Personally not my thing in this instance. It's not like villagers moving out this time would really mess things up because the plot stays where it was and doesn't go away when the villager leaves. They're not going to do this, but they could had made an old-school ordinance or gave an option on the phone to toggle it on or off.


New Horizion has a lot of the more technical issues that are an improvement, but I'm not going to lie, the villagers were kind of stripped down in the process. Yeah NL's villagers weren't that amazing either, but the thing is that it wasn't as obvious in NL as it was in NH (pre-update launch) because there was so much content ready at the go. So I didn't have the time to realize it early on, but with NH launch and there not being a lot of content for the 1st year+, villagers were what I fell back on.

But with villagers being a little more stripped down than NL it was a lot more obvious. Neither game was carried by them, but with bare-bone updates and lack of villager interactions it was super obvious and while NL had the same problem their were other fun distractions that weren't grindy and pulled my attention away from it.

Something as simple as good-bye letters was taken out due to oversight. A little charm is lost with decisions like this. NL had April Fools where your villager would get copied by Blanca (cat with no face) and you had to figure out who the dopple-ganger is. It was a cute event. Leading up to the events villager's would talk about how excited they are for them and what they plan to do, but now we have to wait for the crew to get around to actually updating the existing holiday back in to get that dialogue which was often a week or a few days before said event.

I do like NH, but I feel like they could had done better.

THANK YOU THANK YOU I LOVE THIS. NH and NL are BOTH AMAZING but NH has things that take away from the charm and overall experience. I just cannot thank you enough for saying that

 

[JellyBeans]

i didn't mind the mechanism in NL where they had the potential to just disappear one day because a lot of the time i managed to find out in time to either stop them or encourage them, but yeah it definitely sucked a lot when it was your faves moving out after you hadn't had time to play for a while. i much prefer the mechanism of NH where we have more control, but i do agree it's sometimes *so* hard to say goodbye to them!! and yes above all i miss the goodbye letters, they were always so sweet

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

i didn't mind the mechanism in NL where they had the potential to just disappear one day because a lot of the time i managed to find out in time to either stop them or encourage them, but yeah it definitely sucked a lot when it was your faves moving out after you hadn't had time to play for a while. i much prefer the mechanism of NH where we have more control, but i do agree it's sometimes *so* hard to say goodbye to them!! and yes above all i miss the goodbye letters, they were always so sweet

Thanks for your opinion! I think NL did it best since they would either tell you they are leaving soon or they were about to leave and the other villagers would tell you! Thanks for sharing

 

[Romaki]

I don't think the random leaving was good, but I feel like they could handle it differently. Like Isabelle saying a villager is moving out today, but you can convince them to stay via campsite games.

 

[moonphyx]

I agree with OP, I feel like it gives a sense of free will for villagers. I understand why others may not agree but I personally like having consequences like villagers randomly moving out if you're not being attentive enough. I do miss the goodbye letters, it definitely allowed players to get a sense of closure through it.

 

[Vintage Viola]

I was practically forced to play every single day just to make sure nobody left, and that wasn’t enjoyable for me at all. I understand giving them free will to do what they want, and I would want that for them in theory, but not at the expense of me having to turn the game on when I don’t feel like it. You know? Now I can forget about the game for however long I want and it feels great lol. I think a good way to appease everybody would be to make permanent residency optional.

I do miss the goodbye letters, those use to be the ones that I saved to remember past villagers by. Well, those and the mom letters. They were always so sweet, and made me miss them when they left!

 

[Spooky.]

Personally I don't miss it. If I ever wanted to take a break in NL for a while to prevent burnout, I'd have to still either get on daily to make sure my favorite villagers didn't move, or spend hours time traveling to turn down a move-out request just so I could safely take a break for a week or two.

Maybe a nice compromise would be them not moving, but when you start up your game getting a letter saying "I'm thinking about moving, come talk to me" and then deciding or something.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I don't think the random leaving was good, but I feel like they could handle it differently. Like Isabelle saying a villager is moving out today, but you can convince them to stay via campsite games.

Thats an amazing idea!! Thanks for sharing your opinion!

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

I agree with OP, I feel like it gives a sense of free will for villagers. I understand why others may not agree but I personally like having consequences like villagers randomly moving out if you're not being attentive enough. I do miss the goodbye letters, it definitely allowed players to get a sense of closure through it.

Thanks for agreeing!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

I was practically forced to play every single day just to make sure nobody left, and that wasn’t enjoyable for me at all. I understand giving them free will to do what they want, and I would want that for them in theory, but not at the expense of me having to turn the game on when I don’t feel like it. You know? Now I can forget about the game for however long I want and it feels great lol. I think a good way to appease everybody would be to make permanent residency optional.

I do miss the goodbye letters, those use to be the ones that I saved to remember past villagers by. Well, those and the mom letters. They were always so sweet, and made me miss them when they left!

I think everyone agres about good bye letters! Thanks for sharing! I know it can be hard when you dont play alot or dont feel like it

Post automatically merged: Dec 31, 2021

Personally I don't miss it. If I ever wanted to take a break in NL for a while to prevent burnout, I'd have to still either get on daily to make sure my favorite villagers didn't move, or spend hours time traveling to turn down a move-out request just so I could safely take a break for a week or two.

Maybe a nice compromise would be them not moving, but when you start up your game getting a letter saying "I'm thinking about moving, come talk to me" and then deciding or something.

The villagers in NL would say something about rumours of certain villagers moving away and that helped alot! If you discarded it or forgot about it then it was fine but if you wanted them to stay you could chat to them and be like PLEASE STAY if they bring up the moving thing!

 

[RollingAntony]

One of the things that kept me away from the series prior to NH was the fact that I was forced to play every single day if I wanted to keep seeing my imaginary virtual friends around. I'm so glad it's gone, residents on NH already ooze charm through so many other interactions/activities.

I don't think they randomly moving out is a statement of free will or charm, it's just unneeded punishment. If I'm worried about this fake free will, I could always just let them go. I can't 100% control who asks to leave and I also can't 100% control who is chosen by the campsite so that's enough. The only way to have complete control is if I choose to have it (by always saying "no, don't leave" or restarting the game) and that's the fun thing, it's already a choice that everyone can make depending on their taste.

However, while I understand that good-bye letters are "not needed" thanks to the way the mechanic works now (as you now get the "letter" through the direct ask and the certainty of when they are in boxes) I do think they could have kept them around as an extra.