Back when I started this series, I said that the campsite
was a specific area of interest, providing more villagers to be interacting
with on a temporary basis and the key behind the Public Works Projects of the
game. I also said that customisation has seen an increase, and I’m sure you’ll
agree that has been the case – whether something small such as different
coloured tools or a larger something such as the new way of expanding your
house.
Here, though, with the campsite, the largest of the
customisability options come. As stated previously, the Public Works Projects
have seen a major upgrade. More themes, with basic and special types. More
things to be adding around the town – including paths. And an easy way to place
it all accurately. Before we get to that, I’ll give an introduction to the
starting of the campsite.
Once ten villagers have moved in, Harvey will arrive on
the train. You and Isabelle will meet with him, and he’ll discuss his dream of
setting up a campsite within the town to pay respect to the land’s previous use
as a holiday resort. The two of you will agree to it, and you’ll find a spot to
place it. It will only be small at 16x16 spaces, but you’ll be recommended to
find somewhere at 32x32 spaces to fulfil its maximum upgrade potential.
With the site marked out, and an office for Harvey to
stay placed within, he’ll explain the details of attracting campers by making
the town be the best it can be. He’ll offer some basic PWPs to start attracting
some campers, which you’ll be able to place around the town using your own
money. You can mark out the spaces where the campers will pitch, and use the
rest of the space to decorate the campsite with the PWPs.
When campers arrive, you’ll be able to check in with
Harvey how long they are staying for. You’ll be able to visit the tent they’re
staying in [or RV with the medium and large campsites] and check in on them.
Whether inside or outside, they’ll sometimes want to play a game. After the
first day, they’ll also start talking about what they think of the town.
When they are out and about, they’ll be doing the same
things as regular villagers will do. You could find them chatting to villagers,
doing a spot of fishing, visiting a shop, or even joining in with events if
something is on. They’ll also be available for when you organise something
through Games Hire and can appear in the arcade games. They’ll act exactly as
villagers would, but housed in the campsite.
It will be very rare you’ll get the campsite filled to
capacity if there isn’t an event on. When those events do come near, you’ll see
an increase in the amount of campers. And speaking of events… The main events
found in all the games remain. You’ll have New Year’s, Toy Day, Halloween, and
Bug and Fishing Tourneys, the Fireworks show every Sunday night in August, and
Bunny Day.
There are also events that you can arrange through the Town
Hall to take place on a certain day. La-Di-Day returns as one of these events,
but held within set hours rather than taking over an entire day. As well as
those events within set times, you can also arrange for full day events such as
the Festivale to take place.
When a camper leaves, they will leave a report with
Harvey on what they thought of the town, with the points given being added to
an overall tally. The total amount of points you earn through the campsite will
unlock more Public Works Projects to use. The report will also give hints at
what needs to improve to get a greater score from future campers. The points
from the reports are also what you’ll need to upgrade the campsite to its
medium and large sizes.
These upgrades cannot happen while campers are still
around, so when an upgrade is waiting to be started on, no new campers will
appear and all those that are still around will stay until their stay is up.
Once the last camper has gone, the campsite will close and the upgrade will
happen. You’ll then once again choose the points where campers will pitch up
and redecorate the rest of the space.
Now, Public Works Projects will still take until the next
day to be placed within the town once paid off, but the cost of all items is
slightly reduced from New Leaf. Using the PWPs for the town will happen from
the Town Hall. Lloid the Gyroid will once again take donations from people,
with the other villagers and even campers being a bit more active in supporting
the projects this time. Lloid will be based where the project is to be constructed,
or by the Town Hall for paths.
And speaking of paths, you’ll have full editing power of
them. Speaking to Isabelle and saying you want to edit paths, you’ll head
outside with a menu specifically for placing paths. You’ll be placing them a
space at a time, and just like editing walls of your house will be charged a
small amount per space used. Paths cannot be placed on the beach or over water,
but otherwise you’re free to put them wherever.
More than one PWP can be placed at once, and celebrations
are no longer mandatory for every completed project. There is no longer a
restriction on how many can be placed within the town, and if you want to
change the colour of any basic themed project, you don’t need to demolish and
replace it. Just look up the list of all the projects placed in the town and
request for a respray.
I’m unsure whether I’ll be continuing the series, as it
seems I’ve covered the major areas I wanted to talk about. If anything, the
last in the series would be another general look at some things such as the
villagers themselves and a few events and features that could be added.
Crossing to the New Life Series