What are your thoughts on the new rise of modding in ACNH?

[CuriousCharli]

I am not new to modding, I still get a little confused if we can talk about it or not, some places are really adamant that you do not. Let's just say, my 3DS was helpful. Modding and hacking isn't always bad and people forget that. I personally spent most of my time helping people out in both the Animal Crossing community and the Pokemon community as well as helping myself when I needed it. The scary parts for me is bricking and being banned from online play. However I find myself in a situation in NH where I accidently sold a Nintendo item that I can never get back and I thought to myself "oh well I can just spawn it--... oh wait, I can't." but gosh would it be helpful if I could just magic that item back to my inventory and that's only a chip off the iceberg of what people who mod can do.

I feel a bit conflicted with my emotions but not really because of the modding. A part of me feels ACNH has now become the new Sims 4 (or so I hear) where it's up to community, the people who mod, to make things happen. At the same time I am proud and at awe at what people can do. I have noticed just how much the game is half baked, and although I hate admiting it because I do so love the game, it shows at times and I can't help but be disappointed that Nintendo bailed so soon and would rather work on a new game than perfect the one they have but that's another gripe that we're probably all sick of hearing lol

All in all, I'm for the people. People can really show how creative they can be when we all come together and just DO. Some stuff I have seen, you wouldn't even know was unofficial, I can't help but be proud of those people.

 

[zarf]

I think it's super cool. My favorite kind are the ones where people mod in new animals. I've always thought it'd be cool to create your own villager and it makes me super happy seeing people fulfill that dream. I wouldn't want it as an actual official feature tho cus I feel like that might be too much power... we're already kind of like a god being able to create land and water from thin air LOL. I'm content with just seeing others mod new villagers in.

The ones that make me a little sad are people modding in the tropical fruits, older furniture items and stuff that Nintendo should've just given us in the first place. And I know I'd never be able get them, since I'll never mod my own switch. I wish they were more accessible. But at the end of the day I respect all the effort & creativity that goes into modding!

 

[kappnfangirl]

I’m intrigued by modding and I want to do it, just have no idea where to begin lol

 

[LiquidRat]

Modding is super cool and I wish I could do it without the fear of losing my game or switch online :C

 

[Belle T]

I know it's slightly antithetical to Animal Crossing's core gameplay design, but I really like the mods that let you play as Isabelle (and other NPC's)

I'm not sure how to explain it, but somehow seeing Isabelle in a player character role feels slightly more appropriate than the random human character? Maybe a spin-off game could introduce that if Nintendo weren't cowards?

Anyway, my opinion is that modding for any game (provided they're not used to cheat or otherwise harm people or their consoles) is always a good thing. That doesn't necessarily mean every mod is in itself good, but that the ability to introduce aesthetic, slice of life, or other things to make the game more fun or to increase the lifespan of the game can only be a net positive overall.

I'm not going to risk bricking my Switch for them, but I think their existence is good for those that do.

 

[Pokeking]

I wonder if anyone has tried modding to get the Able Sisters type mannequins to display clothing that the player wants to show off.

 

[CuriousCharli]

I just wanted to post this since I came across it. There are a few examples of what is going on in the community!

 

[RemMomori]

I'm not able to mod the switch I use for animal crossing right now for many reasons but I like the idea of using mods to add more content to the game. Since nintendo won't update the game, using mods would be a good way to keep the game alive for longer at least until the next animal crossing game comes out?! ovo

 

[Bilaz]

I think it’s really cool what people can do and I think everyone should be able to do what they want with their game ^^

For me though I usually watch animal crossing content for inspo, so it’s a bit of a shame that inspo is getting harder to find cuz a lot is impossible stuff lol

 

[floatingzoo]

I have been so out of the Animal Crossing loop lately! After seeing this thread I watched a video on the possibilities of modding in the game and oh my goodness. Simply being able to change the hourly music to the new leaf music tempts me to do it. I hacked my 2DS for Animal Crossing New Leaf, which was a lot of fun! However, hacking a switch seems a lot riskier and more difficult.

 

[Raven_]

I think it's pretty cool. I also did hack my 3DS back then to edit my New Leaf town that way and I remember all the amazing stuff people came up with.

However with the Switch it's way too risky for me and honestly I am pretty content with the game either way as the 2.0 update brought so many items that I love

 

[~Kilza~]

I have no problem with people modding NH, nor any game for that matter. As long as it doesn't negatively impact the experience of a user without any mods, it's cool. That said, personally I don't really care for trying to mod NH nor really want to see what the mods add, lol.

 

[Tiffany]

I don't have a problem with modding or hacking but i dont have the ability to do it myself. I tried once with nl but accidentally deleted the wrong file and lost my town, i didnt play for months after that. way later i realized there are programs to retrieve that data but by then it was too late cause i had already made a new game file. Live and learn. What I don't get is why nintendo is so quick to remove any glitches that people fine. I would understand if it was because using it can damage your game but just because they dont want us to exploit it is dumb. its our game let us do what we want.

 

[Iris_T]

I think modding can do many cool things, maybe if I knew how I would likely try myself...also reading about villager mods made me curious and decided to look around and some are awesome

Spoiler: Bow and Meow are back!!

Spoiler: A villager from Persona 5!

Spoiler: And reaction cat?!

 

[Dork]

I think modding can do many cool things, maybe if I knew how I would likely try myself...also reading about villager mods made me curious and decided to look around and some are awesome

Spoiler: Bow and Meow are back!!

Spoiler: A villager from Persona 5!

Spoiler: And reaction cat?!

oh my gosh these are SO CUTE

considering bow and mow's popularity i hope nintendo brings em back next game!

also that reaction cat has such a cool design i'd love to have them on my island aww

 

[MarkTheFreak]

It’s really cool to see what modders can add to games tbh, so I’m happy for anyone to mod their AC games to add new content, especially since Nintendo has stopped doing free content updates for NH.
Hopefully Nintendo doesn’t go too far and ban any innocent users who visit a hacked island / receive items from one…

 

[Xara]

i genuinely don’t care if someone mods their island/console — it’s theirs, so as long as it doesn’t negatively affect anyone else, i say go for it. what’s the harm? i’m not into doing it myself (mostly because i don’t know how and i’m too scared to try lol), but i’ve always thought hacked/modded towns were really cool, especially in new leaf. i haven’t seen many modded islands, but the star fragment trees back in 2020 were super pretty, and strawberries and lemon trees would be great to have!

i’ve also seen that someone created a mod where instead of receiving monthly letters/items from your in-game mom, you receive them from your dad instead. the letters and items all stay the same, it just says they’re from dad instead of mom.

the modder said they haven’t spoken to their mom in years, so they created it for others who might be in similar situations, which i think is kind of neat. the possibilities really are endless with modding... if only i wasn’t too chicken.

 

[saramew]

I would like to see people mod in their own pets into the game...

 

[Moritz]

I'm not a fan of it.

Of course I think people should be free to do as they want, so if they enjoy modding then more power to them.

But I don't like the prominence it's gained in the community.

Why?

1) youtube videos are now less about the game and more about things that ordinary people can't do with the game. Its just less relatable. Is it really animal crossing content at that point?

2) modding risks your switch, your save file, and your nintendo account. Its not something that should be encouraged. Especially in a community with so many young and impressionable people.

3) as an extension to number 2, the risks aren't made all that clear by many youtubers. In fact, some even give semi tutorials on how to do it. This is dangerous.

4) it's lead to a huge rise in click bait. "Animal crossing new horizons just got a ton of new items!" And then it's a mod.

 

[KittenNoir]

I knew there was a lot of modding happening in New Leaf but I was always to stressed out to try it. Even now with New Horizons although I could make a save file online I still would not try it as it might ruin my game or switch.