I know almost everything there is to know about this game, AMA.
Here's some tips for the beginning game I think will help everyone:
- You can terraform almost everything eventually, but not where the rivers meet the ocean, so keep those in mind when selecting a starting island. Same for the position of the dock and the secret beach.
- You start the game in "tutorial mode," which will always be during the day. You pick where you and the other two villagers live, and then go to "sleep," "wake up," and the game will then be in real-time (at which point you will receive your NookPhone.)
- You can not go online for the entire first day you play the game. (I believe, regardless of whether the online is active or not.)
- Along with your island's natural fruit, the color of Dodo Airlines is unique and locked-in once you begin your game.
- Until you get the Resident Services building upgrade (~one week), you won't have any hourly music.
Here's some negative "spoilers" for long-term fans:
spoiler (click to show/hide)
- No Joan, Chip, or Nat -- they're fully replaced by their younger versions.
- No Kapp'n or his family
- No Rover
- No Crazy Redd, sculptures or paintings
- No wetsuits, swimming, diving, or Deep-Sea Creatures
- No Reese, Cyrus, or ReTail
- No Resetti (well, his model) or Don
- No Brewster or The Roost
- No Pete, Pelly, or Pyllis
- No Gyroids except for Lloyd on in-development projects
- 10 villager limit
This game will probably have a Splatoon 2-like update schedule though, so who knows. 🤷🏻♂️