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Did the change from flat to spherical perspective ruin Animal Crossing for anyone else?

falcondoc

falcondoc

Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,213
Somewhat random thought, but I was thinking about a future AC for Switch today.

The original AC for Gamecube was a revelation for me - I had never played anything like it. I probably poured over 100 hours into it as a young teen. I was SO excited for Wild World on DS. Somehow I wasn't aware going into it how the perspective was changed from a normal top-down/flat perspective with individual screens to a more contiguous town, but now seemingly placed on a globe that rotated as you walked around.

This was instantly disorientating and I hated it immediately. But I figured I would get used to it. Well after five or so hours, I never did. Not only did I feel like it made the world feel especially unnatural, it also kind of gave me motion sickness. I put the game down and never touched it again.

Didn't try City Folk, but decided to give the series another shot with New Leaf. Again, couldn't get used to it and put it down after a few hours.

So basically I was wondering if I am the only weird person who hated this change or if there is anyone else? Probably not as I never see anyone complain about it. But I never understood the reason for the change - it was perfectly fine as it was on GC. I suppose the Switch version will be the same way, but I am holding out hope. In fact, I think it would be cool if the series evolved and changed to a 3rd person behind the back perspective (unrealistic I know).

Any thoughts?
 

feroca

Banned
May 12, 2018
823
I liked it. Heck, been wishing for it to be taken further and go all Mario Galaxy with planetoids and visual quality.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,615
It didn't ruin it for me but there is a kind of charm the original has that the others don't that's probably there because of the non-spherical world (though New Leaf is still probably my favorite in the series regardless). I also think it's weird that it was a change that stuck since it seemed like something that would have been Wild World only.
 

Deleted member 42484

Banned
Apr 21, 2018
6,969
Hmmm, I never got into AC but I thought that camera aesthetic change was neat, especially for a handheld. I can see how it would feel a bit annoying and make the little world feel more artificial.

I hope the next AC has more camera options too. A full 3D camera might be asking too much but zooming in and out for wider angles/close-up angles should be doable?
 
DNAbro

DNAbro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,875
I like it over segmented world of the GC version. Also not expecting a huge change in formula for the Switch AC. I just want the various improvements and ideas from the spin offs to be in the Switch one.
 
Sybil

Sybil

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
1,642
Didn't ruin it for me, I might actually like it more since most other sims don't do it.
I dunno, I like how going through long distances north to south (and vice versa) felt like more of a trek when on a sphere.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,915
There was something nice about the segmented acre system which made it easy to navigate your town, but I think the rolling log is pretty great too. Pocket Camp seems to be the best implementation, because the log appears to have a larger radius than New Leaf and hopefully that's continued in the next title
 
TheCongressman

TheCongressman

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,064
It didn't, but I prefer the older style. I also didn't like that they did away with multi tier towns.

I hope in the next game they will give us camera control. Being able to see the world from any angle would be so much more immersive. And could make hunting bugs more invoving if you have to look around sides of trees and buildings.
 
Apollo

Apollo

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,090
It didn't ruin it, but I've definitely had enough of that style since as early as Wild World. I wish they would change it up.
 
G_Shumi

G_Shumi

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,139
Cleveland, OH
I thought it was much better since it was very frustrating moving your character from grid to grid to see if there was something that needed digging up in a corner behind a tree. The spherical perspective was a really nice step up since it eliminated that problem.
 
Marvie

Marvie

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,711
It was fine at the time but it needs to go. Just give me a flat layout like the original AC and make it seamless.
 
ChrisD

ChrisD

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,606
I liked it because it meant no short pauses every few seconds while running from Nook's back to the ocean.

E: even if it was seamless, I don't feel like it needs to go back. The rolling world feels seamless because you can see things moving in/out of the horizon. Top-down wouldn't have the same effect.
 
OP
OP
falcondoc

falcondoc

Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,213
Glad to see some who agree with me. The tech has obviously gotten to the point where they can make it seemless and flat. Full camera control is a good idea as well.

I understand while people like it too - it was interesting visual change. It's not inherently bad, just REALLY not for me.
 
-shadow-

-shadow-

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,110
I actually never noticed it after a few minutes. I quite like it though, it does give it a unique flair.
 
aerie

aerie

wonky
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
8,033
No, it didn't ruin it, but I do prefer the flat look. Its a shame you couldn't get used to it OP, but at least you gave it a good try. I wonder if they'll go for something a bit different with the Switch entry, i'm not sure how well that style would translate to a large modern TV in higher resolution than City Folk.
 
delete12345

delete12345

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
19,673
Boston, MA
I'm just interested in the shader effects of the rolling log effect on the world terrain. If you keep moving up, the Z axis being north and Y axis being up, I wanted to know how they calculate the offset positioning of the terrain mesh's vertices as the camera pans along.
 
Fuchsia

Fuchsia

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,641
It didn't ruin it for me. But I would really like the Switch version to either do away with the 'rolling log' feel or reduce the effect significantly. It made sense for the DS and 3DS but now I feel there's less need to have it so exagerated.
 
Lost

Lost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,108
Definitely not.

It added a lot of atmosphere to the game.

You can actually see the sky, weather, stars, fireworks, and many other things.
 
MaitreWakou

MaitreWakou

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
May 15, 2018
13,180
Toulouse, France
It didn't ruin AC for me. But I prefered without.
But I do think this perspective is better even if I'm not a fan. It adds a lot of charm and is a good design choice, cohesive with what the game is all about. People loves it.
But I understand why you don't like it.
 
Lindsay

Lindsay

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,131
I stuck with Wild World far less than I did the original an the perspective was part of the reason why. Having that camera made it way to easy to not see whats coming ahead of you while running south and killing flowers by accident. I thought the rolling world was made with the DS's 2nd screen in mind since you could do constellations, and shoot things with the slingshot but then they retained it for City Folk for some reason and then for New Leaf in which the upper screen is the game screen entriely and the bottoms just a map. Would really rather they go back, or go full 3rd person with rotatable camera and all that.
 
Watershed

Watershed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,811
I am completely fine with the rolling log effect and prefer it to the original which kind of moved like the screen transition in 2d Zelda games.

If the next game had 1 giant map with no screen shifts and a flat plane with no rolling log effect, I would prefer that.
 
Venat Fan

Venat Fan

Member
Oct 29, 2017
247
New Leaf was my first game, but I like it quite a lot. I wouldn't want them to do away with it entirely, but making it less extreme would be fine and might even improve it a bit.
 
Yasumi

Yasumi

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,570
Vastly preferred the GC camera. The log feels weirdly constrictive, and just unnatural.
 
PetrCobra

PetrCobra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
954
Didn't really ruin it but I've always preferred the GC version's camera style. Maybe when Wild World came out I thought that it's an interesting change or whatever, but in New Leaf I actually wished they came back to the old style. Pocket Camp has no planetoid perspective going on and it's a nice reminder how it's the better approach for AC.
 
SuperFakerBros

SuperFakerBros

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,827
Nah, I never liked the more flat almost 2D Zelda-esque perspective of the original, despite liking the game itself overall. The spherical look works better, imo
 
Rabbit Clock

Rabbit Clock

Member
Oct 25, 2017
580
I prefer the acre based system. When they introduced the sphere thing, they did away with the treasure posts on the bulletin board. I always looked forward to those.
 
Petruccis Biceps

Petruccis Biceps

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,533
It didn't ruin it for me, but I don't like the change at all. I liked the more top down/segmented land view, it felt more intimate? Not sure but it feels a bit more cozy. Only downside is you can't see the sky, but whatever.
 
wildbite

wildbite

Member
Oct 26, 2017
241
I really like how the map in New Leaf works and hope they keep it with the top down view. My hope would be for zero loading screens inside houses and main street, if there is one.

Petruccis Biceps said:
It didn't ruin it for me, but I don't like the change at all. I liked the more top down/segmented land view, it felt more intimate? Not sure but it feels a bit more cozy. Only downside is you can't see the sky, but whatever.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I agree with the top down view feeling more intimate. It feels like my tiny little town that I get to look over. If the game gave us free control over the camera, I imagine they would have to make the scale of everything much larger and it would take a lot more time to run to things.
 
60fps

60fps

Banned
Dec 18, 2017
3,492
Never played the old ones, but I don't like it either and think I would like the classic style much much better.
 
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