That is an error that can probably be fixed by changing some settings. You can refer to this answer in our Support FAQ for procedures that should help you. It's for VV2 (since I don't have all of the VV3 support stuff in yet), but the answer is the same for both games.

anything new on the problem i had yesterday of how it is coming along

Nothing yet. Arthur will contact you when he has something for you to try.

I also got the same or a similar error message: "Error: Access violation at 0x004A8930 (tried to read from 0x00000004) program terminated" with a black screen and the music playing. Also got a partially black screen with music playing and then nothing. I also have Vista. I turned off the laptop and rebooted it and then was able to open VV3.

When did it crash? During loading? Or in the game? What was the last thing you saw?

Let us know if, after the crash, it continues to work ok for you or if it crashes again.

I have gotten no error messages but my fullscreen mode isnt working right. All it does is keep the island window small and put black around it. HELP... this is annoying. FYI, I am running windows Vista.

Different video adapters will handle full screen mode differently. Some adapters will stretch the game display to fully fit the screen, and others will display the game in its "native" size (800x600 pixels) with a black area surrounding the game display. The game cannot change the video adapter settings and how it handles full screen mode. It would probably be best to consult the user's manual for your computer or display adapter for assistance.

Off-topic post removed.

I love this game. The only problem I had was while the builders are still working on fixing the bath one villager jumped off the rock into it and it said "enjoying the bath" not really a huge problem, I found it funny. Can't wait till that bath is done!!

That's a small issue that will be fixed in the final release of the game.