Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

[DC Lemon]

23 minutes ago, moosegrinder said:

 

Absolutely. Here's a question; if you shake a tree and a branch falls out immediately does that mean it doesn't contain furniture?

 

 

Really struggle for normal wood. Much more hard and soft (lol) than regular.

 

Just did some chopping. Sorry, my trees are mocking you now.

 

I can leave three bundles of 30 out front later for anyone who can’t get wood. Take them all or share one each, it doesn’t matter, I’m just flexing.

[Marlew]

11 minutes ago, dizogg said:

Controversial opinion, but isn’t this game sort of shit? The writing and lots of elements of it are lovely. It feels like it’s been made with a lot of love and if you’re willing to put the time in you can do a lot of stuff.

 

BUT... is there any gameplay elements you could say are genuinely exciting or enjoyable? Chop tree, shake tree, fish, hit rock. It often feels like a grind in some ways.

 

I know this is Animal Crossing, this is what it is. But yeah. 

 

 

Reminds me of when I was playing Sekiro and I was like 'you can't hang polka dot wallpaper in the Dilapidated Temple?!' Total bullshit. 

[dizogg]

2 minutes ago, Stanshall said:

 

 

Reminds me of when I was playing Sekiro and I was like 'you can't hang polka dot wallpaper in the Dilapidated Temple?!' Total bullshit. 

This analogy doesn’t work for me as I don’t see what is inherently enjoyable about hanging up wallpaper in a digital house! Different strokes for different folks though, maybe it is the joy of a digital dolls house that other people are loving that I’m missing out on.

[Rsdio]

24 minutes ago, dizogg said:

Controversial opinion, but isn’t this game sort of shit? The writing and lots of elements of it are lovely. It feels like it’s been made with a lot of love and if you’re willing to put the time in you can do a lot of stuff.

 

BUT... is there any gameplay elements you could say are genuinely exciting or enjoyable? Chop tree, shake tree, fish, hit rock. It often feels like a grind in some ways.

 

I know this is Animal Crossing, this is what it is. But yeah. 

 

No, you're not wrong really. Judged purely on 'gameplay' it's hard to argue that it has much going for it and in theory it's not the sort of game I'd usually like.

 

Played in very short bursts daily though, none of that really matters and you start to value your regular little hit of the charm. I turn it off once I start to feel like I'm doing stuff purely for the sake of doing stuff and that works for me. I got this on release day and I still don't even have any pears! Fair play to anyone who can really hammer it and not get burned out, I'm amazed at some of the towns people have already, but if I tried to mainline it for hours every day it'd kill the game very quickly.

 

Some games are more about the gameplay, others are more about other stuff. This is pretty much all about other stuff. But it's really lovely other stuff.

[Hexx]

Was someone’s kid after Vacuum Cleaners?

[StumpyJohn]

27 minutes ago, BabelRich said:

I seriously can’t believe you can’t split stacks beyond ‘Grab 1’. 

I also really wish you could eat whole stacks of fruit

[Jamie John]

15 minutes ago, dizogg said:

Different strokes for different folks though, maybe it is the joy of a digital dolls house that other people are loving that I’m missing out on.

 

I think this is the 'game', in essence - it's a virtual dolls' house-cum-village builder-cum-Lego set. It doesn't really have any traditional gaming mechanics whatsoever. After playing Stardew Valley I thought it would be similar to that but it's not, really - it isn't even a farming game in that sort of way.

 

Personally, though, I am entirely addicted to this and have been 100% hooked since launch. No other game has got a look in. I keep thinking I'll get to the point where I only need to 'check in' for half an hour or so each day while I play other games, but so far not a day has gone by where I haven't put at least three hours into it.

[Marlew]

@dizogg Just a gentle joke rather than a rebuffal. 

 

To give a more serious response, I think you're quite right. It's not exciting (although I find catching a new bug pretty tense!), and I'm not a massive fan, nor especially interested in the creative side yet but I do find the loop can be very satisfying depending on my mood and it tickles my brain in a very particular way.

 

I'd put a large part of that down to the sound effects, animations and simple skill-based mechanics. Even chopping a few bits of wood out of the tree have a lovely rhythm and sound to them, and the HD rumble gives it a gorgeous little 'chuk chuk chuk' sensation. It's that care that's obviously gone into the very basic elements and which permeates every aspect of the game. Everything just feels fundamentally, mechanically good in a Nintendo way.

 

Beyond that, as you say, the writing is lovely and often quite funny. The music is constantly surprising and evolving and...I think bounteous is the word. Is there any one element here that absolutely blows me away? I guess not, but it's very generous and coherent and it's a space to dip in and out as you feel inclined. There are shorter and longer term goals which you always take another step towards. You can't really make mistakes. There's only opportunity and little surprises, and you can't really burn through it. I think the museum is an exquisite game location in every way, though. 

 

I've bounced off AC several times and have only played 25-30 hours of this one but it pushes a number of my buttons right now. Not least, I'm doing an hour every morning on the exercise bike and enjoying the time to make my way round the island chopping and digging and weeding and fishing and catching. If I feel like doing more later on, I can, but it's a lovely way to spend that hour. That's my take, anyway. 

 

[Weavus]

1 hour ago, Lyrical Donut said:

Same here!

 

Until you get the golden tools I'd buy any tools that does not require sticks to craft and save all the other wood for furniture etc. I don't have any issues with running out of wood anymore since starting to do this...

[DC Lemon]

30 x 3 (mostly) freshly chopped wood now up for grabs. I’ll either be AFK or eating turnips in front of the Nooks for the next half an hour.

 

9DJF1

[Kryptonian]

Why is there no nip talk in here?

 

88 on my island, the pricks.

 

Got this text from my wife “46 bells per nip. Fucking thieving shits. ”

[drewthmsn]

 

3 minutes ago, Kryptonian said:

Why is there no nip talk in here?

 

88 on my island, the pricks.

 

Got this text from my wife “46 bells per nip. Fucking thieving shits. ”

 

Me and my gf both sub 70. Prices usually rise through the week don't they? 

[Kryptonian]

1 minute ago, drewthmsn said:

Me and my gf both sub 70. Prices usually rise through the week don't they? 

Hopefully!

[moosegrinder]

Prices are random as shit and don't really follow a pattern but people don't really start caring until like Thursday. Both mine today we're in the 80s.

[GC Zombie]

My AM and PM nip prices were both sub 100. If I get a good price in the week I'll open up.

[cowfields]

Do turnip prices change at 12 noon only? As in, right now they're 66 or something shitty like that. Are they going to stay 66 until noon tomorrow, or will they get two price changes tomorrow?

 

 

[Uncle Mike]

I had 80 something in the morning, and 70 something now. Not looking good for 'nips here.

 

Over the weekend we had a campsite visitor at our (full to capacity) island. My wife took a shine to him, so I talked to him until he decided he wanted to move in. It turns out in that situation,

Spoiler

the camper phones Tom Nook and the game picks someone who'd be willing to move.

 

It was one of our preferred islanders, so we weren't going to make the trade. But, in button mashing some of the chat, I accidentally pressed the wrong button and the next thing I know, Rex is packing his bags! I felt terrible. Then this morning, Alice is also thinking about moving on. Fuck you Animal Crossing, this is supposed to be a nice time!

[gooner4life]

How accessible is this for an 11 year old who's relatively new to games? my daughter has just asked me to buy it for her Switch, £40 on CD keys so i took a punt.

 

Is she likely to get on just fine with it? I know nothing about the game at all.

[cowfields]

Yeah I'm worried about that. Some guy was camping who had a cup of coffee and business attire. He looked like a city boy. Instantly I took a dislike to him, I spoke to him thinking I might have two options, like "Move in!" or "GTFO you are not gentrifying our little village you tory prick".

 

But the two options were "Move In!" or "You should move in!"

 

Harumpf. Though I am guessing I need to speak to Tom Nook to take the next step. He might actually be okay but certainly don't want to trade him for someone else!

[drewthmsn]

1 minute ago, cowfields said:

Yeah I'm worried about that. Some guy was camping who had a cup of coffee and business attire. He looked like a city boy. Instantly I took a dislike to him, I spoke to him thinking I might have two options, like "Move in!" or "GTFO you are not gentrifying our little village you tory prick".

 

But the two options were "Move In!" or "You should move in!"

 

Harumpf. Though I am guessing I need to speak to Tom Nook to take the next step. He might actually be okay but certainly don't want to trade him for someone else!

 

I think the first visitor to your campsite you have to let move in don't you? I don't know if this is your first.

 

Is it 10 villagers max? 

[Rex Grossman]

4 minutes ago, gooner4life said:

How accessible is this for an 11 year old who's relatively new to games? my daughter has just asked me to buy it for her Switch, £40 on CD keys so i took a punt.

 

Is she likely to get on just fine with it? I know nothing about the game at all.

 

Super accessible.

[NexivRed]

4 hours ago, polygon_monkey said:

I really wish they'd just take stuff out of your house storage when you're crafting in your house - that's the number 1 QOL update I'd like to see

This. It’s a fucking pain. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Yiggy said:

Went to a nook mikes island last night and without having to do anything it was swarming with taranshulas. 
 

I caught 20 of the hairy buggers and sold then for 120k this morning. Most profitable trip ever.

If you get bitten and faint, do you get transported back home?

 

 

1 hour ago, dizogg said:

Controversial opinion, but isn’t this game sort of shit? The writing and lots of elements of it are lovely. It feels like it’s been made with a lot of love and if you’re willing to put the time in you can do a lot of stuff.

 

BUT... is there any gameplay elements you could say are genuinely exciting or enjoyable? Chop tree, shake tree, fish, hit rock. It often feels like a grind in some ways.

 

I know this is Animal Crossing, this is what it is. But yeah. 

 

It’s good as a game for someone like me who likes to create stuff using only what you get (rather than sourcing everything and loads of terraforming etc). It’s very satisfying to me in that respect. Gives good feels. 

[Alan Stock]

1 hour ago, dizogg said:

Controversial opinion, but isn’t this game sort of shit? The writing and lots of elements of it are lovely. It feels like it’s been made with a lot of love and if you’re willing to put the time in you can do a lot of stuff.

 

BUT... is there any gameplay elements you could say are genuinely exciting or enjoyable? Chop tree, shake tree, fish, hit rock. It often feels like a grind in some ways.

 

I know this is Animal Crossing, this is what it is. But yeah. 

 

I totally get you, this is what stopped me buying the Gamecube version after I borrowed it off a friend for a while. The resource collection is grindy but in this one its broken up by the host of other things going on, villagers, balloons, events, vistors, rare items bugs and fish cropping up. Online is a big factor with that as well, if someone's visiting or I'm chatting in another persons island, I'll just do harvesting then. Even if I dedicate time to doing daily 'chores' like digging up fossils, hitting rocks or chopping wood, thats maybe only 20 minutes or half an hour plus distractions.

 

But for me the most engaging part is the creative side, which according to reviews is massively ramped up compared to previous AC games. Getting new furniture and objects means lots of ways to make interesting features around the island, not just inside. My days in the game are mostly spent (non terraforming) landscaping and decorating the island and my home. It's fun. The online is the other big draw, getting to visit others, see their islands, chat and trade is great, and of course it gives you a reason to come up with fun ideas for your own island so others can enjoy visiting it. I'm so glad the forum encouraged me to sign up to online, it would be a lonelier experience without it. 

 

Also aside from the progression being a bit of a drag, theres a big draw in the way you unlock things and every day there is new stuff to browse in the shops or cool stuff to buy with your Nook miles, not to mention being able to shop at other people's islands to get new things to play with.

[Rsdio]

80% of the time my turnip prices have been between 38 and 50. The fuckers gave me so little to work with that I snapped their hand off at 130 last week. They offered 200 the next day

 

I don't mind too much though really, I'm in for the long haul so I can happily wait to be drowning in cash.

[Ry]

My turnips were 90 to buy yesterday. Is this high?

 

I'm going to take a break for a couple of days as the game is just starting to annoy the hell out of me with the QoL issues. 

[MagicalDrop]

Gates are open, 9 fossils available and a few DIY cards & bits of household stuff. Anything not traded today will be sold. 

 

Jetman from Winslow. 

[moosegrinder]

2 minutes ago, RYAN WHITELAW said:

My turnips were 90 to buy yesterday. Is this high?

 

I'm going to take a break for a couple of days as the game is just starting to annoy the hell out of me with the QoL issues. 

 

No, 90s a good price. Keep checking here for nip prices of you're not playing.

[NexivRed]

@Tetmon my mouse told me you kayaked to my island today instead of flying. 
 

Does anyone have a spare wood egg recipe?

[thesnwmn]

32 minutes ago, NexivRed said:

If you get bitten and faint, do you get transported back home?

No. You wake up on the pier of the nook island ready to get bitten again,

[NexivRed]

Fucking hell. It’s total bollocks that it’s easy to move buildings around. 50K to move my shop a little bit to the right and further back so I can get Able in next to it?? And from what I understand, the old one stays until the new one is built. So I can’t even place Able yet. 
 

Fucks sake. Go fuck yourself Tom. Stripey trashy cunt.