Stuck in a Reset Loop

[Bluenymph]

My SO got me a Switch last week as an early bday present with Animal Crossing New Horizons.

I have never played these games and thought I had a plan in place for my airport, fruit, name etc before the switch arrived. Problem is, I don't have a theme in mind, so I try out an island name, think it'll stick, then wonder if later on I want to do theme X which doesn't fit the name at all. So then I reset, use a more generic island name, then find I lack interest in it and the villagers.

I'm starting to wonder if starting with New Leaf might be best? Shake out the new player jitters, you know?

How do you stick with an island without overthinking how permanent the name is? I get so overwhelmed. I have yet to get past day 2 in the game because I keep rethinking everything.

I also want to make more progress but feel guilty when using time travel. Do you start in present time, then jump back and forward again? not sure which TT direction is best that won't mess up the game (going one day at a time).

Any tips?

 

[JKDOS]

I've never really had the name problem in the game. I usually pick a name that means something to me.
Examples

• Wild World = Metroid. (Metroid is my most favorite Nintendo franchise along with Animal Crossing,)
• New Leaf = Google (Google is my favorite company)
• New Horizons = Starset (My favorite band, and it also makes a great island name anyways)

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Villagers aren't permanent. I would not reset because of them. You can get new ones every couple weeks.

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I try not to TT. I like the aspect of the game syncing to real life time and date. It also keeps you on your toes because you know you need to complete your Critterpedia before it's too late.

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The important part is finding the stuff you can change . Good town hall placement, good airport color and location, good peninsula and dock, good fruit, etc.

 

[Bluenymph]

When you say finishing the critterpedia before it's too late, why is that? If it's a spoiler, than no worries. Just curious.

 

[JKDOS]

When you say finishing the critterpedia before it's too late, why is that? If it's a spoiler, than no worries. Just curious.

Meaning you'll have to wait until next year. Bugs and fish are seasonal

 

[Bluenymph]

Ahh, ok. I did know that. No big deal Thanks for the tips.

 

[crossinganimal]

I understand your problem!
When I reset my town last week I fell into a resetting loop as well and had this reaaally specific map that I wanted.
I reset for way too many hours ( I don't even want to think about it haha) and got a few good maps. When I selected them, each of them had the fruit that I hated and/or villagers that I didn't care for so I resetted again and again until I made myself loose the fun from the game itself. I slept over it and tried again the next day and finally found a map that I wanted, but only after letting go of some requirements that I had, because if not, I would have lost interest in playing all together.
You should try to just take a step back and think about what kind of island you want to have. The name is the smallest problem, you won't even notice it after a while. Maybe pick a name of a dear pet or of your favourite flower? It doesn't need to be strictly related to your island theme at all. I saw some island tours on YouTube and they all had amazing themed islands and half of them had a name that didn't match with the theme and it didn't matter at all! So just go for it and concentrate on the little joys in the game and not let small things like the name or color of your airport ruin the fun for you! The fruits you can change, villagers too. So just have fun

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I think @JKDOS has a really good idea for avoiding the name regrets/ anxiety. If you choose a name that is meaningful for you but not necessarily tied to one and only one theme then you should have both a sense of attachment and some flexibility.

For the critterpedia question I just saw appear - if you don’t time travel there are certain bugs, fish, and sea creatures that can only be caught in certain months, and if you don’t catch them while they are in season you have to wait until next year!

I started my island with no experience in the franchise and no idea what I am doing so I would say just generally, don’t sweat the small stuff, just let yourself get intothe game and have fun! Once you are days and weeks and months in, I bet it will not seem as big of a deal! Good luck!

 

[Bluenymph]

Thank you all so much. This really helps.

 

[tiffanistarr]

I remember in New Leaf one of the biggest concerns people had were the shape of grass you would get, which in a way i totally understood because I loved the circle grass, but ended up with triangle grass... However, I think with New Horizons it really isn't that big of a deal for me anymore to get fruit trees I'm not particularly fond of or a native flower, just because it's so easy to get different ones.

I didn't know that airports had different colors until like just the other day and i've been playing since release, it just never clicked in my mind. I think if you pick a name that can stand the length of time for you perhaps make it something memorable or close to your heart or something that way you're less likely to get tired of it.

Like in NL I chose the name Hogwarts because I love Harry Potter but I definitely did not have a HP themed island. It was just something was close to my heart and I love it so much, so I knew I wouldn't get annoyed with it over a short period of time.

Also, nothing in NH is ever all that permanent, outside of your island name and airport color the rest can literally be changed. You can flatten your island out and do a new theme or you can move villagers out and pick ones that fit better with a theme you're looking for. You can look for amiibos for villagers that fit perfect and have them replace a current villager and then work on builds.

New Leaf is a great game to play to get ready for NH, but I think where a lot of issues with staying focused and happy in NH comes from constantly comparing our islands and builds to other peoples. I know I've felt that PLENTY of times. I think I'm going to do that and it will be great and then it never happens or I think I'll never be able to complete something as beautiful as some of these other players.

 

[Etown20]

The thing that has helped me anytime I have thought about resetting is realizing that no layout/name/etc is ever going to be perfect. Even if it seems perfect now, your ideas may change later and you may prefer something else, so I just try to make the best out of the island I have.

I know one way the game is presented on social media is carefully planning everything until it's perfect to screenshot and post. It's fine for people to play that way if that's what they truly enjoy, but there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the game without becoming caught up in creating the perfect island.

 

[Bluebellie]

I would take some time just to think about a theme or name. In new leaf I sort of rushed things and I didn’t really like my name.
Once I knew that new horizons was coming out, I stared a spread sheet and started coming up with options until one of them stuck. I also planned out possible themes and villagers, as well as character names, and what their houses would be like.


Also, the layout is always fixable. I’ve had urges to reset because of the layout, but I tear down the area and start over...so far I like my layout, even though in the past some areas have been trouble.

 

[Bluenymph]

I actually had a name in mind when I started yesterday. It was Juniper Bay, but putting a space in meant the name didn't fit and I didn't like it without the space. So, instead I went with Arden Bay, which is okay, but not what I wanted.

Other names I've used and scrapped were:

Riverwood (great for most every theme but weird sounding if I decide to make a city/elven town kind of deal)
Riverdell (sounds too much like Rivendell)

I have another name that I love the sound of but it leans toward more of a spooky/gothcore theme which I'm not really going for right now.

Themes I see myself doing are light pastels, wooded areas, or a nice town with orchards and cobblestone streets. I've looked at kidcore but I don't think it's for me.

Guess I just need to plan a little more.

Thank you all again for the tips. I'm still waffling around, but it does help.

 

[azurill]

I thought a lot before making my decision on my island names. I didn’t have a theme in mind when starting either island so picked names that has meaning and would work with any theme. I have two islands I named Serenity and Jurai. As far as time traveling for my first island I did not time travel for a long time and when I did it was never to far ahead usually a day or two. The beginning may seem slow but I loved the beginning and got second island so I could play it again without having to reset. I wasn’t as picky with my second island and only looked for 3 things. Airport color and where the pier and peninsula were.

 

[Flicky]

I had my heart set on a medieval theme for my island, but having looked through the items list, I don't think I can make a truly spectacular medieval island (at least compared to the one I have on DQB2, which is better themed for that sort of thing I suppose), so now I'm just setting the island up however I feel like it as opposed to limiting my island to a single theme. Plus, updates are still coming along, so who knows? I may end up changing it completely! You might find yourself in the same boat at some point

I agree with the comments about picking out a name that means something to you. Sometimes I make up my own, others I use from popular media.

When it comes to TT, I always start off by avoiding it entirely. Once I've paid off the full house loan though, I tend to TT a little here and there (although I didn't really resort to TT in NL until a lot later - I joined this game late, so I just want to catch up with other players a bit).

 

[bam94-]

I’d say maybe don’t name your island with a particular theme in mind in case you want to completely change the theme of your island later!

I agree with other posters about naming it after something that means a lot to you, that you know you won’t get tired of. It took me a while to think of my island name, but I never sat down and forced myself to think of it, I just let it came to me one day! If I’d forced it, I knew I’d have ended up on a name I didn’t 100% love, but just chose for the sake of choosing one and getting on with the game.

 

[Yorli]

I chose the island name Andromeda and decided to do a space/ zodiac theme but I have the urge to restart and make a buffy themed island now that I have collected all my villagers.

 

[Bluenymph]

Ooo, a butterfly themed island sounds really nice.

I think the only name I'd use that has meaning to me is Pepper our Boston Terrier. I have other town names I've used in stories I've written, but then they'd have a predetermined theme.

 

[Yorli]

Ooo, a butterfly themed island sounds really nice.

I think the only name I'd use that has meaning to me is Pepper our Boston Terrier. I have other town names I've used in stories I've written, but then they'd have a predetermined theme.

Oh Sorry! I meant Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but maybe if you have a favourite tv show you could theme it around that? I feel like cartoons work really well as themes

 

[Bluenymph]

Oh, wow, I read that way wrong. Sorry about that!

I don't really have a fav. show as I don't watch much TV. I'm sure I'll think of something. Thank you all again for the help.

 

[arikins]

i understand !!! ive reset twice now. i cant remember the reason for the first time i did it, but the second time it was because i didnt like my river mouths, and my name didnt fit with my theme anymore. at first i was going to do a cottagecore/witchy vibe, but the more i got into the acnh community i found i loved the japanese cities so much and decided i wanted that. now my name didnt fit anymore, so i reset.

heres my one piece of advice. DO NOT TT. do not TT for just no reason. you can in the beginning when you are going through all those tasks for nook for until you get the terraforming tools. the only other time i TT is if someone on here has a villager in boxes and i have to move someone out. i have a whole rant on TT somewhere, its just not for me. it dis-attaches me from the game and everything about it

its been about a month since i last reset and im already thinking of doing it again, sadly. my taste in theme just seems to change so frequently so i cant stick with one thing for long. hopefully this lasts but we will see !