Resetting

[Paradise]

Guys... I need your advice

Before I begin, I never really liked my map to start. I just picked it because I thought it was the best one at the time. So yesterday I unlocked terraforming. After unlocking it was like YAS lets completely redo the island. I had some ideas and started going for it. After some time, I realized that I was so overwhelmed and so stressed about rivers, paths, cliffs, decorations. Then the fact that I needed to move certain houses and shops, terraform, then move them back was DAUNTING. 50k bells too?! Kinda crazy. After legit HOURS of sitting on my switch deciding what to do, I turned the game off and called it a night. I was over it lol.
Now flash forward to today, I'm wondering since it's so early in the game if it's worth it to reset, start fresh, get the best map for me. The plan from the beginning was always to have a natural, simple, minimalist island - then I ruined it by terraforming and I'm already in too deep. The only downside to this is: losing all that hard non-time travel work that I put into the game, all the DIYS that I've learned, my museum progress.. stuff like that. I'm, also a very nostalgic person when it comes to animal crossing, and nothing will ever give you that "first time" feel if I reset.
What do you guys think?

 

[moonolotl]

The only reason you should reset in my opinion is if you don't like the location of immovable objects, such as the town hall or your river exits, or you desperately want a different airport colour or native fruit. If you like those, I really don't see why you should reset that far into the game.
I can definitely relate to you. I get overwhelmed super easily if things aren't perfect or if there's too much work I want/have to do (especially due to some suspected mental illnesses that I have. I say suspected because I haven't been formally diagnosed but my therapist suspects it). What I would suggest is take it slow; spend a few days just collecting bells, materials, flowers, trees. By the time you're done your head will be cleared and you can focus on the big task. Move buildings out of the way first unless you're 100% certain you want them in a specific spot (50,000 bells looks like a lot now but if you're looking into trading on the forums you can get that back pretty easily by selling things to others!). Do small sections at a time. If something turns out really badly and you dont like it, dont fret! You have all the time in the world to move whatever you want wherever you want to your hearts content and bells will always be infinitely accessible. Just remember you're not under a time crunch in Animal Crossing and do everything at your own pace, otherwise you risk getting burned out.
You will never be completely happy with your island if you're anything like me. You'll always be moving things and switching things around, and that's ok! As long as you're happy doing it, that's all that matters, especially since it keeps you busy and entertained in the game.

I wish you the best with your Island! You can get through this

 

[chrisbeta03]

Don't do it!!! At least that's my two sense. It takes a while to regain progress even if you do TT. Everything is fixable, no matter how rough the going gets.

 

[meggiewes]

The main thing that would stop me from resetting if I ever got the urge would be the DIY recipes. There is no guarantee that you will get the same ones even if you do everything exactly the same. The only way I would reset would be if I was really unhappy with the placement of my town hall. I get super nostalgic over my games too and I still regret selling my town in New Leaf to get the "perfect town".

 

[O O M F W A Q U I]

I was in your same position, i really recommend going against it unless you don't like the location of immovable plots. It's gonna take some time to get your island JUST the way you like it, just let the process go through its course! ❤

 

[LilD]

I reset after my 1st island because I learned about certain things being permanent and unchangeable like waterfall exits and airport color/fruit. I think if you are happy with the permanent aspects about your island, like suggested earlier, I would keep it.
However, if its a constant, irksome feeling, reset sooner than later which is what I did. I told myself, if I was going to reset, I was going to hunker down and not settle for anything other than almost perfect island for me. I was fortunate enough to only have to reset for a couple hours. I was relieved grass shapes weren't a thing. It took me a few double days of tt to get current and hopefully stay that way. I was only a few days in my original. Honestly, if I was this far in, I would have hesitated much more
Good luck with the descion, I know the feeling all too well.

 

[beemayor]

i feel a little differently than the replies above me but it’s important to note that i have reset a total of three times and have been thinking about resetting again. the reasons i reset were as follows:

1) i time traveled too much in my first game and unlocked end game stuff way too early. i felt disconnected from my villagers due to all the time traveling and not forming bonds with them (which isn’t your problem it sounds like).

2) i didn’t like my map the first or second game i made, primarily the river exits and the airport colors. moving everything around would take too long without more time traveling (which i was trying not to do) and while 50,000 bells can be made from a night of bug hunting or fishing, it would take countless nights to make enough to move the entire town around.

3) i like completely fresh starts in games when i feel like my enjoyment has suffered. its easy for me to reset because i have my favorite villager as an amiibo and other favorites aren’t hard to come by. so resetting doesn’t feel so bad. i can always catch fish again. i can always buy items off the forum. nothing is ever gone.

so, i would say, if you really want to reset, do it. the game has only been out two weeks and this is a game meant to be played for a whole year. you have time to catch back up to everyone else! if you think resetting will be good for you i say you should do it.

 

[DrewAC]

My recommendation is you take a break and brainstorm with your map for a bit. There are plenty of sites you can use to draft ideas. After something comes to you, come back to the game, and take it slow.

I think having so much customization over the map can be overwhelming when we really didn’t have anything like it in this series in the past. There’s no shame in going slow and really thinking thoroughly of how you can be happy with your map.

 

[Mairen]

I wouldn't reset. I'm in the same spot as you. I just unlocked terraforming yesterday and started feeling pretty overwhelmed. I was rennovating my entire island. You may just have burnout from terraforming. Take a break, maybe brainstorm some ideas, then get back to work. Each new day is another building you can put in it's proper place. You'll get it done in time.

 

[GameFaceClive]

I had to restart after 10 days when my switch got busted falling out of my bag. After I bought a new switch and restarted, going through the first week was a real chore, partly because I was still feeling the loss of all the progress and time. However, I also gained a different perspective towards the first part of the game.

Like you, I have big plans for terraforming which slowly started developing from my first playthrough and watching others on youtube. On my new island, I have placed most buildings on the beach, or very close to it, so that I can experiment with terraforming without restriction (and added costs) when it unlocks for me. If you were to restart, I see this would be the primary benefit for you, but it admittedly comes at a high cost (your items, islanders, progress, nostalgia...etc).

Like others have said, the only non-negotiables here are the placement of RS, the two river mouths and the color of your airport. Everything else can be worked on over time - & AC is truly a game about time. Only you can decide if your current island is worth investing that future time into

 

[Paradise]

Thank you ALL for your advice. It helped me alot That's why I literally love this community

 

[Red Cat]

If you're really bothered by the permanent aspects of your island, I'd reset. It's better to lose 2 weeks of progress than wonder what could have been for the next 2 years. You can always TT to "catch up" to where you were at. If you don't reset and you really don't like your island, then you may be faced with the choice to either reset then and lose a lot of progress or buy another Switch for another island, and neither of those are very good options.