Yes, you can change the layout of your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
As an avid Animal Crossing player since the GameCube days, I was thrilled to learn New Horizons would let us reshape entire island layouts. In past games, the geography and building placement was permanently fixed. But ACNH gives unprecedented freedom to redesign your personal island paradise however you envision it!
In this detailed guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about changing up your island‘s layout, from terraforming land features to moving structures to decorating outdoors with furniture. Let‘s dive in!
Overview of Island Customization and Rearrangement Features
New Horizons contains several core features that let you customize your island layout:
Terraforming & Landscaping
- Unlock permit to reshape cliffs, rivers, ponds and waterfalls
- Sculpt hills, valleys, plateaus using cliff construction tool
- Lay custom paths and floors like brick, wood, stone, sand, dirt
- Integrates with moving buildings & crossing rivers
Moving Buildings & Homes
- Relocate villager houses, museum, shops, campsite and more
- Initiate through Resident Services with Tom Nook
- Costs 50,000 Bells per structure
- Can completely redo original layout
Placing Outdoor Furniture
- Creative gardens, parks, neighborhoods, amusement areas
- Tables, chairs, lamps, toys, jungle gyms & 1000s of items
- Customize signposts, dirt paths, flower beds, ponds
- Brings island ideas to life without actual buildings
By leveraging these tools in New Horizons, you can cultivate the island you‘ve always dreamed of, whether that‘s a lush forest village or futuristic sci-fi city!
Step-by-Step Guide to Unlocking Terraforming
Reshaping your entire island to create cliffs, rivers, and waterfalls requires the Island Designer app, unlocked by completing these steps:
Step 1) Build the campsite structure and set up the initial tent site
Step 2) Invite the first visiting camper villager to move onto your island
Step 3) Craft and place housing plots for 3 new villagers to move in
Step 4) Wait 1 day each for the 3 villagers‘ homes to be fully constructed
Step 5) Achieve a 3-star island rating to trigger K.K. Slider‘s visit
He‘ll then perform and gift you the crucial Island Designer app. This lets you access terraforming and waterscaping by obtaining construction permits from the Nook Stop terminal.
With the power to reshape cliffs, rivers, and oceans, you can recreate areas however you want! Just be warned – it takes significant time, effort and bells to terraform heavily. But the payoff of your dream island is priceless!
How to Pick a Brand New Island Layout
If you decide to completely restart your island from scratch, choosing a wise layout from the beginning will save headaches down the road. Here are my top tips:
– Airport & Plaza Alignment
Pick a layout where the airport lines up cleanly with the Plaza and Resident Services building. This makes early-game navigation easier before you build infrastructure like bridges and inclines.
– River Shape & Beach Access
Seeking abundant river fish? Make sure there‘s substantial waterways on the map. Hoping for a boardwalk along the ocean? Prioritize a layout with beach segments adjacent to open grassland areas.
– Peninsula Size & Shape
Bigger peninsulas that jut out into the ocean provide awesome location opportunities for lighthouses, resorts, neighborhoods and sightseeing!
– Rock & Pond Placement
Scout the permanent landscape elements like rocks and ponds ahead of time. Clustered together or along key spots like the Plaza? Could limit build options.
While no layout will be perfect, observing these aspects carefully helps pick an island map you can mold nicely through terraforming and construction down the road!
Popular Island Layout Themes and Examples
Once you unlock terraforming, the only limit is your imagination! Here are some of the most popular themed layouts players have created:
Forest/Jungle Island
Packed with trees, waterfalls, natural paths and villagers living among the woodlands!
[Example island terrain mapping]Futuristic Tech/Sci-Fi City
Urban metropolis with neon-lit skyscrapers and high-tech infrastructure like colorful pipes.
[Example island terrain mapping]Storybook Whimsical Fantasy Land
Castles, magic portals, quaint cobblestone paths, and fantastical creatures everywhere!
[Example island terrain mapping]Coastal Town with Custom Boardwalk
Lighthouse by the sea, boardwalk paths lined with tiki bars, surf shops and sailors!
[Example island terrain mapping]The only limit is your creativity – use your NEW permit power wisely! But please, don‘t ruin your island with dreaded holes. We don‘t talk about Bruno (and by Bruno I mean holes)!
Creative Uses of Outdoor Furniture Decoration
Aside from rearranging actual structured buildings, think outside the box by decorating with outdoor furniture!
You can craft and place 1000s of furniture items on grass, dirt, beaches, and more. This opens unlimited possibilities:
- Scenic parks with brick/stone pathways and benches
- Playgrounds and amusement parks with jungle gyms
- Gardens and botanical areas with flower beds, street lamps, fountains
- Display outdoor hobby items like surfboards, bikes, easels
- Design custom dirt roads, signs, and neighborhood divisions
Outdoor furniture unlocks so many micro-detail opportunities beyond moving buildings. And it‘s easier since you bypass the hefty 50k bell cost of relocation through Tom Nook!
My Best Tips for Planning Island Layout Changes
Through helping friends completely transform their original islands after 200+ hours invested, I‘ve gathered wise advice to make the overhaul smoother:
– Take Inspiration Photos
Bookmark island designs you love, capturing elements you want to recreate. Could be a small courtyard or massive Star Wars spaceship wreck as reference!
– Map Out Sections Beforehand
Sketch ideas for distinct areas on paper or digital planners so you know how to allocate space before moving everything. Less rework!
– Expect Full Transformation to Take Weeks or Months
Completely redoing an established island with residents, infrastructure, etc takes enormous patience across many real-life days and weeks. Pace yourself through gradual daily progress.
– Backup Precious Items Off-Island First
To avoid losing cherished items and outfits during the volatile construction process, transfer them to a friend‘s island temporarily before you begin.
I hope these tips help you thoughtfully reshape your island layout into a living paradise! Please reach out if you have any other questions – I could talk Animal Crossing all day. Happy crossing!
