Walkthrough Guide of Virtual Families

Walkthrough Guide Virtual Families - General Information Here is some general information for Virtual Families. More will be added as needed! Spoiler Gathering Collectibles Spoiler 

Collectibles can now be gathered by either children or adults.

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When you pick up a duplicate collectible, your person will sell it online for extra money.

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At the start of the game, only coins and leaves/twigs will show up. Later in the game, bugs start showing up. Finally, late in the game, the pieces of paper show up.

Ongoing Household Chores (done by both adults and children) Spoiler 

Pick up wrappers.

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Pick up socks.

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Clean away cobwebs.

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Take out the garbage.

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Pull weeds.

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Clean dirt smudges.

Having Babies Spoiler 

Unlike in the Virtual Villagers games, it won't do any good to drop the adults onto each other over and over to produce a baby.

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When the adults try to make a baby, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

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After having a baby, the game will tell you if it's too soon to have another.

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The youngest child has to be 2 to 4 years old before another baby will come.

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Twins start coming in the second generation.

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Purchase the Baby Boost medicine to increase the chances of having babies, but use only once as multiple uses will decrease its effectiveness.

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A couple can have a maximum of six children.

Extra Activities Spoiler 

Drop an adult on the kitchen table to prepare a meal.

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Sitting down to a meal adds to the "fed" bar on the details screen, especially for children.

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Drop an adult in the laundry room to do laundry.

Varied Items in the Store Spoiler Note that varied items restock and refresh every four hours. 

Delicious candy - $7

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Various candy - $7

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DVDs - $15

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Energy Drink - $15

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Pet (dog, cat, or turtle) - $500

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Mega chamomile extract - $15

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Encyclopedia - $75

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Sunscreen - $12

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Profession magazines - $25

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Fragrance - $25

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Wall repair compound - $40

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Perfect bananas - $10

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Bottled tropical rain and sunshine - $18

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Anti-spam software - $125

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Fruit - $7 to $10

Salaries and Earning Money Spoiler Say, for example, your person has a salary of $60 per day. When you watch them work and hear the *ching* sound when they earn money, they are actually receiving 1/100 of their salary at that moment. The game doles out the salary over a period of time. You don't get it all at once when a work cycle completes. It accumulates constantly as the game is running as long as your people work on their careers steadily. When first starting your family, you won't have a lot of money to splurge. But you will have plenty to buy groceries and start on the inexpensive upgrades (gradually). This is a long term game and it can take a couple of generations or more before you can purchase things like the treadmill and pinball machine. Your people will get raises and promotions which will make it easier to buy more things. Some careers pay more than others, so those little people will naturally have more money to spend. Please understand that it's not a problem when you see only 60 cents added to your bank balance. Be a little patient and enjoy the game. It's all part of virtual life. :) Starting the New Generation

Spoiler When a parent dies, you get a blue screen with instructions on how to start the new generation. The kids don't just come home from college on their own. If you missed the instructions, just go to the family page and click the "New Generation" button at the top of the page. You'll be able to scroll through all the children and choose the one who will continue the family. Careers and Salaries We now have an online list of the careers and their ending salaries. More will be added as we gather the information. Careers and Max Salaries A special thank you to Pineapple for contributing to this guide! Posted by: Pam

| April 26, 2009 11:51 PM

Virtual Families - Repairs and Household Items Spoiler Many of the challenges in the game involve repairs and upgrades to the house. The following is a list of the repairs needed and how to do them. Some are recurring and others are one time only. We'll add to the list as needed. Spoiler Leaky Sink Spoiler Drop an adult on the bathroom sink and then drop him/her on the workshop. He/she will get a wrench and fix the sink. Leaky Water Hose in Back Yard Spoiler 1. Purchase the waterproof tape in the store. 2. Click it on the hose. 3. Drop an adult on the kitchen sink to get a drink (this will reduce the water pressure). 4. Drop the adult on the hose to repair it. Bird Bath in Front Yard Spoiler 1. Purchase the fountain pump kit in the store. 2. Click it on the bird bath. 3. Drop two adults on the bird bath to install the pump (it's too heavy for just one adult alone). Holes in the Floor Spoiler 1. Purchase floor repair kit in the store (good for only one repair each).

2. Click it beside one of the holes in the floor. 3. Drop an adult on the hole to begin repairs. 4. Note: This is a long-term project and takes awhile to complete. Workshop Wall Spoiler 1. Once you have repaired the hose in the back, purchase the wall compound from the store. 2. Drop it near the bucket by the sandbox. 3. Drop an adult on the wall compound. 4. He/she will mix the compound with water and carry it to the workshop wall. 5. Be sure to stay on top of the person because if they stop, the compound will dry up and you'll have to start over again. 6. It also helps to put more than one person on the wall. Blocked Toilet Spoiler Drop an adult on the toilet and he/she will fix it right away. No Internet Spoiler Drop an adult on the computer to fix the router. Repair Door to Shed Spoiler 1. Drop an adult on the gold doorknob in the sandbox. He/she will put it on the shed door. 2. Drop adult on the welcome mat to retrieve the key. He/she will unlock the shed door. Dryer Lint is on Fire Spoiler After getting the shed open, you'll find fire extinguishers inside. Use them on the dryer. Oven is on Fire Spoiler After getting the shed open, you'll find fire extinguishers inside. Use them on the oven. Water the Flowers Spoiler You have to have already repaired the hose and opened the shed for this one. Spoiler Cleaning Cobwebs

Spoiler If you drop an adult on the right side of the bathroom sink 2 or 3 times, eventually he/she will jump around and clean cobwebs. Clogged Shower Spoiler Drop an adult on the shower, then drop him/her in the laundry room on top of the bucket that contains the plunger. Illnesses and the Cures Spoiler Your family will get sick from time to time and need to be given medicine. This is only for when they are sick, which will show up in the status box at the bottom of the screen, not for when they are weak or tired. You'll need to figure out what kind of illness they have by picking them up and seeing what is says in the activity box. You'll also hear a sound (coughing, sneezing, hiccupping, groaning) to help identify the illness. You may have to pick them up several times before you see the activity. Here are the illnesses and the cures: Hiccups Spoiler Get a drink of water either from the kitchen or bathroom sink. Coughing Spoiler Purchase antitussive syrup in the store. Sore throat Spoiler Purchase throat lozenges in the store. Sneezing Spoiler Purchase antihistamine in the store. Headache Spoiler Purchase anti-inflammatory pill in the store. Stomachache Spoiler Purchase peptic syrup in the store. Itchy

Spoiler Purchase cortisone cream in the store. For persistent illnesses or infection Spoiler Purchase penicillin in the store. For serious illnesses or infections that won't go away Spoiler Purchase a doctor consultation in the store. You'll receive an email immediately telling you what the problem is. You may need to purchase Vancomycin in the store for very serious illnesses or infections. Use this only when recommended by the doctor. Posted by: Pam

| April 26, 2009 11:55 PM

Here are some screenshots of Virtual Families that may help everyone locate various things in and around the house. Look for the red circles in the screenshots. Kitchen Work Area Office Work Area Workshop Work Area Location of Doorknob Cleaning Cobwebs Red Ball Location Posted by: Pam

| May 9, 2009 1:13 AM

Virtual Families FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Below is a list of some of the questions that get asked often. If you have a question about something, chances are someone else has had the same question. Please check this list before posting a comment. If you don't find an answer here, ask us in the comment thread and we'll do our best to help! Spoiler 1. What can I do to get my people's energy up? Spoiler 

There is an energy drink you can buy in the store, but it's random and is only one dose.

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Also note that the problems with low energy have been corrected in an updated version of the game (1.00.05). If you have a previous version, go back to the site where you originally purchased the game and download it again.

2. How do I get rid of hiccups? Spoiler 3. How do I get my people to chase gophers? Spoiler

This is something they do on their own. To get the trophy for chasing gophers, praise someone while "playing on the lawn" when there are gopher holes present. 4. Why isn't the item I need for a repair in the store? Spoiler The varied items in the store appear randomly and refresh every four hours in the most current version of the game (1.00.05). If the item you need isn't there, keep checking. It will turn up eventually. 5. If one of my children goes with the talent scout, will he/she come back? Spoiler No, they won't come back until you start the next generation. They'll be available along with the other children to take over the house when the time comes. 6. Will the children come back after going to college? Spoiler No, they don't come back from college. Same as with the talent scout, they will only be available to take over the house after the parents die. 7. At what age do women stop having babies? Spoiler As in Virtual Villagers 2 and 3, females cannot have babies after age 50. Even in their 40s, it's difficult. 8. How do I pause the game? Spoiler Use the space bar. 9. How high do the career levels go? Spoiler Careers top out at level 8 (master). 10. How do I help my people who are depressed? Spoiler They will get better over time. Give them treats like candy and fruit. Make sure there's plenty of food and they are fed. Buy household upgrades. Have them work on their career. Don't use the red hand on them for awhile. Praise them a lot. All of these things will help bring up their mood. 11. How do I play multiple families? Spoiler Click the player name on the menu screen and you will be given the option to start other families. 12. What happens to the money in the bank when the parents die? Spoiler

The money will transfer to whichever child takes over for the new generation. 13. How can I make more money? Spoiler The best way is to gather duplicate collectibles. They are automatically sold online when one of your people picks them up. For extra, try dropping two people on the same collectible: pause using the space bar, drop first person, tap space bar twice to unpause and repause, drop second person. If your timing is good, both of them will pick up the collectible and you'll get double the money. Be careful, though, because children will often play train or have a giggle party when you drop them on top of each other! 14. How do I get my family to prepare a meal? Spoiler Drop an adult on the kitchen table. 15. Can children work once they reach age 14? Spoiler They can do adult chores and activities, but they can't work to earn money. Only the parents work on careers for money. 16. How do I get the next generation to take over? Spoiler When the parents die, a blue screen full of instructions will appear. Basically, it tells you that when you are ready for the next generation to take over, go to the family screen and click on the "New Generation" button at the top of the screen. You'll be able to scroll through all of the children of the current parents. Pick the one you want to carry on the family and click "adopt." Now the family will continue with that child. 17. What happens to the siblings of the child I chose to continue the family? Spoiler Nothing happens to them. They remain on the family tree, but they don't reappear in the game and you cannot play them after they have not been chose. 18. Why won't my store refresh? Spoiler There is a bug that prevents the store from refreshing. Press the R key while you are on the store screen to refresh the store and reset the schedule to where it will refresh every 4 hours. This is a one time only fix for the bug. You will not be able to refresh your store on demand. 19. How do I help my people who are very weak? Spoiler Being weak usually comes from being sick. Even after being cured, your people will be weak. Fruit and vitamins from the store helps a great deal. Also, make sure they have plenty of food and are fed. After that, it just takes time for them to get strong again. 20. How do I find the red ball and what is it for?

Spoiler The red ball is just something extra the developers threw in. It's not required to solve any of the puzzles, nor can your people interact with it. To find the red ball, move the map to where you can reach the absolute upper and left most corner. Using just the hand cursor, pinch into that upper left corner and pull the red ball out. Note: you can't actually see the ball until you pull it out. Here's a screenshot: Red Ball 21. Is there anything I can do to make my family have twins or triplets? Spoiler As best we can tell, twins and triplets are completely random. They can happen at any point in the game and are a bit rare, especially triplets. There's nothing that will make them happen or help it along. It's just luck of the draw. One thing to consider, though... Multiples will only happen early in a family because of the six child limit. If there have been no triplets by the time child number 3 is born, there won't be any triplets for that family at all because it would put it over the six child limit. The game doesn't let that happen.