Weeding Day is one of the most frustrating events in New Leaf. It occurs on different days in different lands but, in North America, it is the first Friday in April. On that day, Leif will shut his little stall or shop, depending on how many upgrades your village has had in that department, and will stand in the middle of your square below the Tree. When you speak to him, he will tell you to pull weeds and will give you, when asked, the total number of Weeds in your village. When all the Weeds have been pulled, he will give you a special prize in the form of one item from his furniture series.
Here is the difficulty, however: In New Leaf, you can enact a Town Ordinance to make your village 'beautiful'. A Beautiful Village is one where few weeds grow, no flowers wither and no cockroaches invade your homes, however many days or weeks or even months you have been absent from said home. It is my favourite ordinance and most players probably agree.
Even with the Beautiful Ordinance, a few weeds will sprout. From experience in other Animal Crossing games, I instinctively would pull a weed whenever i encountered one. Only for the sake of having weeds on the ground for Weeding Day did I desist... but lo and behold, after counting at least a dozen weeds the night before Weeding Day, when the day actually dawned, not a single Weed could be found!
If there are NO Weeds, Leif will unlock three new topiaries for your list of Projects. This is nice, but not as valuable as his furniture.
Enormously frustated by the fact that, after saving my Weeds, they had disappeared, I was thrilled to discover that, even if your primary Character as Mayor is told that the topiaries have been unlocked instead of receiving a furniture gift, ALL OTHER CHARACTERS WILL BE GIVEN FURNITURE!!!
I did not realise this in my first village, alas, so lost the opportunity to gain three pieces of furniture.
In my first town, unfortunately, I went the traditional route initially, cancelling the beautiful Ordinance and thereby allowing weeds to proliferate while all my hybrid flowers withered or vanished and ultimately, cockroaches appeared in every home. Not worth the effort!!!
Now I simply will count on the three subsidiary characters to obtain furniture from the series.
There is another problem, however, and this one has to do with AC Luck. As with Saharah, the Golden Furniture, Redd's Gallery and every other situation where you can obtain items that cannot be bought in any shop, there are certain items that are 'common' and others that are 'rare'.
In Leif's series, the common items include: Cosmos Fan, Violet Screen, Rose Sofa and Lily Record Player. No matter how many times I reloaded, I kept receiving the same items. If you have Katrina ensconced in her own place on Main Street, you can improve your luck somewhat but I keep missing her and she therefore only comes to the Square on occasion still. Meanwhile, I have more than one of each of the 'common' items and do not have the others.
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Some Surprising Custom Furniture Options from Cyrus
Having played all the Animal Crossing games so far, I probably tend to assume certain facts. This can be helpful but it can lead to some holes in my knowledge... It is only by taking furniture into the Re-Tail Shop that you sometimes find new options. For example, I only recently discovered that furniture that is given by Leif on Weeding Day can be customised. Here are some of those options:
Rose Sofa:
Change colour to White or Yellow
Violet Screen:
Change colour to White or Blue
Lily Record Player:
Change colour of flower to Yellow or Red.
Furniture purchased in the Museum Shop obviously can be customised but I did not know that the Museum Chair could be changed. It is not very interesting but the following can be done:
Museum Chair:
Change colour to Black
More surprising was the discovery that some of Gracie Grace's special furniture can be customised. Where the Card Series is concerned, you can change the back of the Card that forms the basis of each piece as follows:
Card Furniture:
Change colour of the back of the card from Red to Black. N.B. Not very attractive! I had thought it would be the white background that would change which would have offered a nice contrast.
No surprise to veteran players but still one of my favourite options is the colour change that is available for the gorgeous Rococo Furniture. (sic: game spelling) You can change the trim as follows:
Rococo (sic) Furniture:
Change trim to Gothic White, Gothic Yellow or Gothic Black
Note that these colours are far more lovely than they appear to be. Gothic White actually is Pink. Gothic Black actually is Lavender. Yellow is gold.
Ranch Furniture:
Surprisingly, a change of colour in the wood makes an entirely different type of furniture. The wood colour can be changed to:
Beige or White
When pieces like the Table are changed to white, they match perfectly with the Regal Series, incidentally.
Alpine Furniture:
This was a surprise to me as although I liked some of the pieces, I never filled any room with this series. I discovered, however, that it is one of the MOST versatile of the furniture series in terms of refurbishment.
First, you can change the colour of the wood either to Beige or Dark Brown. Then you can change the pattern either by choosing one of Cyrus' options, or using a piece of clothing or a custom design. Really an amazing number of options. I experimented with some of Cyrus' suggestions but they all were very modern. I found ultimately that the use of the Noodle Tee with beige wood was quite attractive. When you use clothing, however, you must have an item of clothing for every piece of furniture you refurbish. This is a little annoying as it involves a great deal of ordering and receiving in your post box.
Cyrus' suggestions for patterns are: Square, Rain, Wave, Leaf, Mechanical, Modern, Tree. The tree is one of the worst, as it is nothing more than a single shape that resembles a candle flame in the centre of the fabric. Some players may like his suggestions but I did not care for them.
In using clothing, I thought the tie-dye might be pretty but did not care much for the result. The Noodle Tee really is lovely. I think the lace tank might be pretty as well.
Another favourite of mine is the ability to make tiny models of all the Dinosaurs. This is not financially profitable to the player but it is not only a way to place favourite Dinosaurs on tables in your house without using tremendous amounts of space but a way to use the fossils once you have completed the Museum collection. Note, however, that a Dinosaur such as the Diplo, with five parts, costs almost 10,000 Bells to reduce to a Model.
Ordinary Furniture:
Chaise Lounge:
Pink, Brown
Golf Clubs:
Green, Red or Black for the colour of the Bag
Cushion:
An amazing array of possibiilities. One can use Cyrus' list, use any Custom design or use any item of clothing. A friend of mine created a Japanese teashop with cushions that all used different Asian designs from clothing items
Claw-foot Tub:
Pink, Blue, Beige, Marble
Ores:
xxxxx
Note that many pieces can be customised using Ores, including the items received from the Post Office as Rewards, such as the Piggy Bank.
Rose Sofa:
Change colour to White or Yellow
Violet Screen:
Change colour to White or Blue
Lily Record Player:
Change colour of flower to Yellow or Red.
Furniture purchased in the Museum Shop obviously can be customised but I did not know that the Museum Chair could be changed. It is not very interesting but the following can be done:
Museum Chair:
Change colour to Black
More surprising was the discovery that some of Gracie Grace's special furniture can be customised. Where the Card Series is concerned, you can change the back of the Card that forms the basis of each piece as follows:
Card Furniture:
Change colour of the back of the card from Red to Black. N.B. Not very attractive! I had thought it would be the white background that would change which would have offered a nice contrast.
No surprise to veteran players but still one of my favourite options is the colour change that is available for the gorgeous Rococo Furniture. (sic: game spelling) You can change the trim as follows:
Rococo (sic) Furniture:
Change trim to Gothic White, Gothic Yellow or Gothic Black
Note that these colours are far more lovely than they appear to be. Gothic White actually is Pink. Gothic Black actually is Lavender. Yellow is gold.
Ranch Furniture:
Surprisingly, a change of colour in the wood makes an entirely different type of furniture. The wood colour can be changed to:
Beige or White
When pieces like the Table are changed to white, they match perfectly with the Regal Series, incidentally.
Alpine Furniture:
This was a surprise to me as although I liked some of the pieces, I never filled any room with this series. I discovered, however, that it is one of the MOST versatile of the furniture series in terms of refurbishment.
First, you can change the colour of the wood either to Beige or Dark Brown. Then you can change the pattern either by choosing one of Cyrus' options, or using a piece of clothing or a custom design. Really an amazing number of options. I experimented with some of Cyrus' suggestions but they all were very modern. I found ultimately that the use of the Noodle Tee with beige wood was quite attractive. When you use clothing, however, you must have an item of clothing for every piece of furniture you refurbish. This is a little annoying as it involves a great deal of ordering and receiving in your post box.
Cyrus' suggestions for patterns are: Square, Rain, Wave, Leaf, Mechanical, Modern, Tree. The tree is one of the worst, as it is nothing more than a single shape that resembles a candle flame in the centre of the fabric. Some players may like his suggestions but I did not care for them.
In using clothing, I thought the tie-dye might be pretty but did not care much for the result. The Noodle Tee really is lovely. I think the lace tank might be pretty as well.
Another favourite of mine is the ability to make tiny models of all the Dinosaurs. This is not financially profitable to the player but it is not only a way to place favourite Dinosaurs on tables in your house without using tremendous amounts of space but a way to use the fossils once you have completed the Museum collection. Note, however, that a Dinosaur such as the Diplo, with five parts, costs almost 10,000 Bells to reduce to a Model.
Ordinary Furniture:
Chaise Lounge:
Pink, Brown
Golf Clubs:
Green, Red or Black for the colour of the Bag
Cushion:
An amazing array of possibiilities. One can use Cyrus' list, use any Custom design or use any item of clothing. A friend of mine created a Japanese teashop with cushions that all used different Asian designs from clothing items
Claw-foot Tub:
Pink, Blue, Beige, Marble
Ores:
xxxxx
Note that many pieces can be customised using Ores, including the items received from the Post Office as Rewards, such as the Piggy Bank.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
April Fool's Day
Once upon a time, I believe that I wrote the longest, most definitive guide for Animal Crossing. It was more than 250 pages and contained every bit of information I could cram into it. Now there are many excellent sites on the internet with information about every aspect of the game. I therefore only will give a few tips to the game on my site, trusting that players will be able to find the details they seek about most aspects of the game elsewhere.
It is fitting to post about April Fool's Day on April Fool's Day. I have experienced this event a few times now. It is primarily an opportunity to obtain the picture or 'pic' of every Villager without too much trouble. You can begin the game early in the morning by finding Blanca in the Square. Speak to her and she will declare her intention of performing pranks of professional quality. Remember Blanca? She is the cat with the blank face who once wandered from village to village asking players to draw a face for her. It makes sense that she would be able to impersonate any villager.
To play the game, you need to enter a Villager's house. A Villager is at home if you can see smoke emanating from the chimney. I found it very entertaining to discover that Kyle, a Wolf 'rock star' had star-shaped smoke coming from his chimney when he was at home.
Enter and if you have chosen the right house, you will see double in effect, two of the same Animal puffing and huffing, facing one another. You then have to choose which is the imposter by handing that individual a washcloth to wipe off the disguise. If you have chosen correctly, Blanca will appear, perform a little twirl and disapppear in a puff of smoke, indicating her intention of playing the same prank with another villager.
The genuine Neighbour then will give you a picture or 'pic' of himself/herself.
Tabby: Now I know you actually listen to me when I talk! I'll give you this picture of me as a special thanks!
You will have to judge based on the Villager's family tree, birthday, motto or ambition in life. Easiest is the birthday or motto. I do not quite understand how players could remember the family tree of any Animal, even if that Animal ever divulged it!
Tabby: third of five children, born on 13 August
It is fitting to post about April Fool's Day on April Fool's Day. I have experienced this event a few times now. It is primarily an opportunity to obtain the picture or 'pic' of every Villager without too much trouble. You can begin the game early in the morning by finding Blanca in the Square. Speak to her and she will declare her intention of performing pranks of professional quality. Remember Blanca? She is the cat with the blank face who once wandered from village to village asking players to draw a face for her. It makes sense that she would be able to impersonate any villager.
To play the game, you need to enter a Villager's house. A Villager is at home if you can see smoke emanating from the chimney. I found it very entertaining to discover that Kyle, a Wolf 'rock star' had star-shaped smoke coming from his chimney when he was at home.
Enter and if you have chosen the right house, you will see double in effect, two of the same Animal puffing and huffing, facing one another. You then have to choose which is the imposter by handing that individual a washcloth to wipe off the disguise. If you have chosen correctly, Blanca will appear, perform a little twirl and disapppear in a puff of smoke, indicating her intention of playing the same prank with another villager.
The genuine Neighbour then will give you a picture or 'pic' of himself/herself.
Tabby: Now I know you actually listen to me when I talk! I'll give you this picture of me as a special thanks!
You will have to judge based on the Villager's family tree, birthday, motto or ambition in life. Easiest is the birthday or motto. I do not quite understand how players could remember the family tree of any Animal, even if that Animal ever divulged it!
Tabby: third of five children, born on 13 August
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Luck in New Leaf
Luck is always an interesting aspect of any Animal Crossing game. Good Feng Shui contributes to good luck but there are many different types of luck and a visit to the fortuneteller Katrina can let your character know what really is going on in your life. She will offer a partial solution in the form of an accessory or item of apparel that either will increase your good luck or partially negate bad luck.
There are five types of luck: Money Luck, Friendship Luck, Love Luck, Item Luck and Physical Luck.
Money Luck operates as follows:
Good Money Luck: Money Rocks drop more Bells and Villagers give you more Bells as well.
Bad Money Luck: Money Rocks drop fewer Bells and Villagers give you fewer Bells as well.
Friendship Luck:
Good Friendship Luck: It is easier to increase your friendship level with Villagers of your gender and you will experience more special dialogues with them.
Bad Friendship Luck: It is more difficult to increase your friendship Level with Villagers of your gender and you will be able to initiate fewer special dialogues.
Love Luck:
Good Love Luck: It is easier to win points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience more special dialogues with Villagers of the opposite gender.
Bad Love Luck: It is harder to increase points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience fewer special dialogues with them.
Items Luck:
To me, this is one of the most important forms of Luck as it deals with the special Items given out at Festivals or by special Visitors.
Good Items Luck: More likely to obtain exclusive items from Saharah or the rare items from Leif at the end of the Weed Day pulling. More new items given at any special Festival or Contest as well as from Fortune Cookies, Easter, Fireworks Festival and so on. More new seashells appear on the Beach.
Bad Items Luck: Far less likely to obtain exclusive Walls and Carpets from Saharah, the rare items from Leif and less likely to obtain new items at any Festival, Contest, in any Fortune Cookie and fewer new shells on the Beach.
So you see how important Items Luck can be as some of these Contests or games occur only once in a year.
Physical Luck:
Good Physical Luck Encounter fewer jellyfish when diving, fewer mosquitoes and bees will move more slowly when flushed out of a tree.
Bad Physical Luck: Encounter more jellyfish, more mosquitoes, bees move to strike more swiftly and your character will trip and fall frequently. Moreover, to his/her utter chagrin, a seat will make a squelching noise when he/she sits!
There are five types of luck: Money Luck, Friendship Luck, Love Luck, Item Luck and Physical Luck.
Money Luck operates as follows:
Good Money Luck: Money Rocks drop more Bells and Villagers give you more Bells as well.
Bad Money Luck: Money Rocks drop fewer Bells and Villagers give you fewer Bells as well.
Friendship Luck:
Good Friendship Luck: It is easier to increase your friendship level with Villagers of your gender and you will experience more special dialogues with them.
Bad Friendship Luck: It is more difficult to increase your friendship Level with Villagers of your gender and you will be able to initiate fewer special dialogues.
Love Luck:
Good Love Luck: It is easier to win points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience more special dialogues with Villagers of the opposite gender.
Bad Love Luck: It is harder to increase points with Villagers of the opposite gender and you will be able to experience fewer special dialogues with them.
Items Luck:
To me, this is one of the most important forms of Luck as it deals with the special Items given out at Festivals or by special Visitors.
Good Items Luck: More likely to obtain exclusive items from Saharah or the rare items from Leif at the end of the Weed Day pulling. More new items given at any special Festival or Contest as well as from Fortune Cookies, Easter, Fireworks Festival and so on. More new seashells appear on the Beach.
Bad Items Luck: Far less likely to obtain exclusive Walls and Carpets from Saharah, the rare items from Leif and less likely to obtain new items at any Festival, Contest, in any Fortune Cookie and fewer new shells on the Beach.
So you see how important Items Luck can be as some of these Contests or games occur only once in a year.
Physical Luck:
Good Physical Luck Encounter fewer jellyfish when diving, fewer mosquitoes and bees will move more slowly when flushed out of a tree.
Bad Physical Luck: Encounter more jellyfish, more mosquitoes, bees move to strike more swiftly and your character will trip and fall frequently. Moreover, to his/her utter chagrin, a seat will make a squelching noise when he/she sits!
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Toy Day In New Leaf
Jingles requires help now. Toy Day is Christmas Eve, from midnight to dawn. Your character must have all the elements of a full Santa outfit and be wearing them in order to trigger the event with Jingles. He will appoint you as his surrogate and give you a magic bag of toys to distribute to your fellow villagers.
To complete the event, you must distribute every item. Your neighbours will have confided their Toy Day or Christmas wishes throughout the month of December, provided always that you talked to them frequently. If you have made a note of each one, Toy Day toy distribution should be fairly simple. If you haven't a clue, simply hand out the gifts.
When all gifts have been distributed, return to Jingles and he will give you a Festive Wreath, even if you did not give the villagers the gifts they actually WANTED.
A portrait or 'pic' of Jingles is the reward for doing the job RIGHT.
From Asgard:
Cally: For this year's Toy Day, I'd really like something pink.
Tabby: You know, I've been really good this year, so I'm gonna ask Jingle for some new furniture.
Camofrog: You know, I just really want a yellow gift from Jingle this year. That simple!
Charlise: Anyway, I wonder what Jingle is gonna give me this year... I hope it's clothes! Softasilk!
Sylvia: By the way, I always eat something fluffy and sweet on Toy Day... Anyway, I wonder what Jingle is gonna give me this year... I hope it's furniture! Softassilk!
Chops: You know what I really want from Jingle this year/ Something that's grey! That'd be so cool...
Cousteau: This year, I'm hoping my Toy Day present is pink!
Williow: Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! What I really want from Jingle this year is a carpet.
Alfonso: Anyway, I'm really hoping my present this year is yellow.
To complete the event, you must distribute every item. Your neighbours will have confided their Toy Day or Christmas wishes throughout the month of December, provided always that you talked to them frequently. If you have made a note of each one, Toy Day toy distribution should be fairly simple. If you haven't a clue, simply hand out the gifts.
When all gifts have been distributed, return to Jingles and he will give you a Festive Wreath, even if you did not give the villagers the gifts they actually WANTED.
A portrait or 'pic' of Jingles is the reward for doing the job RIGHT.
From Asgard:
Cally: For this year's Toy Day, I'd really like something pink.
Tabby: You know, I've been really good this year, so I'm gonna ask Jingle for some new furniture.
Camofrog: You know, I just really want a yellow gift from Jingle this year. That simple!
Charlise: Anyway, I wonder what Jingle is gonna give me this year... I hope it's clothes! Softasilk!
Sylvia: By the way, I always eat something fluffy and sweet on Toy Day... Anyway, I wonder what Jingle is gonna give me this year... I hope it's furniture! Softassilk!
Chops: You know what I really want from Jingle this year/ Something that's grey! That'd be so cool...
Cousteau: This year, I'm hoping my Toy Day present is pink!
Williow: Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! What I really want from Jingle this year is a carpet.
Alfonso: Anyway, I'm really hoping my present this year is yellow.
Thursday, 10 October 2013
Snowballs in New Leaf
In December, snow begins to appear in New Leaf. I first found that it would appear in scattered showers, with only a mild covering on the trees and bushes, and a small dusting on the ground. As the days passed, however, I began to discover Snowballs. Snowballs are part of every Animal Crossing game and are a means by which one can make the acquaintance of magical snow persons. In all previous games, there was only one such person in the form of the Snowman. Create the Snowman by rolling two snowballs together and he might bestow a special gift upon you. The gift was sent through the post the next day in those games.
Imagine my surprise then when my first such effort in New Leaf produced a Snow Mam rather than a Man and instead of promising a gift, she requested snowflakes. Snowflakes are another new option and I had caught snowflakes in my net prior to my meeting with the Snow Mam but after carrying them in my pockets for a few days, I finally sold them for 500 Bells each as they could not be placed nor stored.
In New Leaf, giving three snowflakes to the Snow Mam will result in a gift of an item from the exquisite Ice Series. The wall and floor are particularly lovely but the furniture is magical as well as each piece has a snowflake engraved upon it. Snowflake symbols actually WERE considered magical runes by the ancients, especially those who dealt with bindrunes. As I studied comparative mythology and specialised in the Northern traditions, I was especially thrilled by the new Ice Series.
There are two aspects to the Snow Mam mini-game that are very pleasing. First, you can collect Snowflakes and make the trade as many times as you wish, provided always that you can find the random snowflakes in your village. Second, she appears never to duplicate items but will give you the whole collection, one item at a time, in sequence. Finally, she did not melt in 24 hours in my village but survived into a second day, giving me more opportunities to complete the series.
Imagine my surprise then when my first such effort in New Leaf produced a Snow Mam rather than a Man and instead of promising a gift, she requested snowflakes. Snowflakes are another new option and I had caught snowflakes in my net prior to my meeting with the Snow Mam but after carrying them in my pockets for a few days, I finally sold them for 500 Bells each as they could not be placed nor stored.
In New Leaf, giving three snowflakes to the Snow Mam will result in a gift of an item from the exquisite Ice Series. The wall and floor are particularly lovely but the furniture is magical as well as each piece has a snowflake engraved upon it. Snowflake symbols actually WERE considered magical runes by the ancients, especially those who dealt with bindrunes. As I studied comparative mythology and specialised in the Northern traditions, I was especially thrilled by the new Ice Series.
There are two aspects to the Snow Mam mini-game that are very pleasing. First, you can collect Snowflakes and make the trade as many times as you wish, provided always that you can find the random snowflakes in your village. Second, she appears never to duplicate items but will give you the whole collection, one item at a time, in sequence. Finally, she did not melt in 24 hours in my village but survived into a second day, giving me more opportunities to complete the series.
Friday, 6 September 2013
Dream Codes for Friends
My friend Cherie would like to have other Players visit her Dream Village. Her code is:
4500 2726 2921
4500 2726 2921
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