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Animal Crossing New Horizons > Animal Crossing New Horizons Getting the Island Designer App - ACNH Landscaping
Animal Crossing Unlocking Island Designer
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the island's terrain, and geography are modifiable by the player after unlocking the Island Designer Nookphone app. The Island Designer app also has a number of add-ons to make changing the landscape easier and more versatile. Below, we will go through every step necessary for unlocking the Island Designer app in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
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Opening the Resident Services Building
To start the sequence that leads to the app, players must have the Resident Services Building open somewhere in their town. To do this, three qualifications must be met: Blathers must be invited to the island, Nook's Cranny must be built, and the Able Sisters shop must be built.
Once all three of these qualifications are met, and the construction of Resident Services is complete, the player must invite 3 more villagers, as well as build a campsite to begin the next stage of getting the Island Designer App.
Getting a 3 Star Island
Speaking to Isabelle after 3 plots and the campsite are built will open up the option to discuss the rating of the town. She rates the town on a 5-star scale, and in order to begin the next stage, a 3-star rating is required.
Players must have 7 villagers or more to qualify for 3 stars, which can be done through Amiibo integration, making more plots by speaking to Tom Nook, or by inviting villagers from mystery islands or the campground. In addition, a certain amount of flowers, bridges, exterior furniture, fences, and a lack of weeds are perfect for increasing the score. Regardless, the best way to measure this is to ask Isabelle how to improve it, and she always has excellent advice for specific issues weighing down the rating.
After acquiring the 3-star rating, speak to Isabelle again and the sequence for the K.K. Slider concert will begin the next day. During this sequence, Tom Nook will give you the Island Designer app.
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Island Designer Upgrades
The Island Designer comes with some basic functionality, but there's also a number of upgrades available for the app that make it a more versatile tool. You can buy these Island Designer Upgrades from the Nook Stop terminal in the Resident Services Building.
- Waterscaping permit - allows you to change the river layout, available for 6,000 Nook Miles
- Cliff construction permit - allows you to change the height and cliff layout, available for 6,000 Nook Miles
- Dark dirt path permit - allows a new path design in the app, available for 2,000 Nook Miles
- Sand path permit - allows a new path design in the app, available for 2,000 Nook Miles
- Stone path permit - allows a new path design in the app, available for 2,000 Nook Miles
- Terracotta path permit - allows a new path design in the app, available for 2,000 Nook Miles
- Wooden path permit - allows a new path design in the app, available for 2,000 Nook Miles
- Custom design path permit - allows custom path designs in the app, available for 2,300 Nook Miles
While many aspects of full customizability are a pain, an upgraded Island Designer app is a must-have for any aspiring Animal Crossing terraformers!
Thank you for using our Animal Crossing New Horizons Island Designer Guide
