There are no official LDW "rules" like the one you mention, Austin, and we would really appreciate it if you don't quote unofficial forum comments anywhere else. We have always provided support for our games, regardless of where they were purchased.

That being said, unfortunately, many of the websites that sell our games decide not to offer our updates once we release them. When we update our Windows/Mac games, those websites receive the update as well. However, we cannot force them to offer the update to their customers. The best thing to do in that situation is to request the update directly from them, in the hope that they will receive enough requests to offer it.

Other game distributors use game managers or other forms of DRM (Digital Rights Management) software that we do not use. It would be impossible for us to know how another company's DRM software interacts with our game. We do help players when they contact us about issues with one of our games, but sometimes, if the issue is related to another company's software, we do send players to that company for a resolution.

It is also important to note that there are many places to purchase games and each customer must decide for themselves where they wish to take their business. That is, of course, the right of every customer. However, because we are a very tiny, family-owned game studio, we are unable to simply replace games that were purchased elsewhere. We do offer discounts for customers who contact us when they are having difficulties with one of our games that they have purchased elsewhere.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

Hi, everyone! I want to comment here, too, to give you a little bit more insight into how (and why) updates work the way they do in the casual gaming industry.

When we update one of our games, it's very easy for us to provide that update to customers who have purchased the game from us. When we finish testing and preparing it, it's immediately ready to be made available to our customers.

In order to provide that update to other game distributors, we have to do additional work to prepare it for each major game company. Once we send an update to them, they need to repackage the game with their DRM software and run the game through their own QA process. All of this takes time (and money).

What we've seen is that most game distributors are unwilling to spend the time and money to prepare a game update for distribution on their site. The sad fact is that, once a game has been available for awhile, it costs the game distributor more to prepare the update than they'll make from sales of that game after the update. As Heather said, we can't make them offer those updates.

I'd also like everyone to understand why we can't just replace someone's game with our own version. The best explanation we have is what Arthur said here when VV4 came out. Our games cost $19.95 back then, and prices are much lower now (all of our games cost $9.95 or less when you buy them from us). I'll quote the most relevant part of his post here:


As Heather said, everyone has a choice of where to buy anything, including our games. However, it's important to know how things work before you make your buying decision.

Xay and LadyCFII your comments are greatly appreciated. However, I fully expected to see your exact replies to FadedLily's original message. My original question regarding bleed through and red lines was asked and answered months ago back in August; so I was quite done with the topic. But, when FadedLily also replied to me saying...


I was sure the Admins and Moderators would jump right in with a correction. When there was none, I knew the fastest way to get the Admins to join this conversation would be for me to post a reply as the Admins tend to reply to almost everything I post.

And one thing, just for your peace of mind... I never said I was going to repost the message, I asked if it was ok to do it.


Thanks again for jumping in here... I knew I could count on you to do it.

I'm very sorry, I simply didn't see FadedLily's post about this situation. You'll have to forgive me I am human!

I (try) to read every post on the forums, but we don't tend to answer posts right away about gameplay, as we like to let other players help each other. However, if it is about a technical issue, or something substantial like this, we reply as soon as possible.

Perhaps you simply like to post about substantial items and our replies coincide!

Xay no apology is needed but it is graciously accepted. If you would like to continue the conversation I will be happy to do it in PM or even over the phone. That way we can leave the open forum for discussions about game play and tech issues.

I have been waiting for this game to come out on pc for ages as I love the 1st family. I downloaded from BF & cursor dosen't work, I sent report to them only to get a free coupon, wished I'd downloaded direct.
I have also been playing my family 2 on android tablet, with no technical problems, but have to ask why don't the family ever use dining tables or yoga equipment? And how do you get rid of ants for good? Any suggestions would be welcome.

The bug with the cursor not working properly in full screen was fixed in an update shortly after the game was released. Although LDW have sent the update to other games portals, it's up to them if they decide to include it on their site. BF obviously didn't bother.

I can't say why the peeps don't interact with the dining tables or yoga equipment; there's other stuff you can buy which they also don't seem to use on their own, like the carousel.

Getting rid of the ants is a puzzle. If you want to see a spoiler, check this page, section 8.

Thanks Arnie, yes I have the carousel & clock as well, was happy to see family use the cocktail bar. Thanks also for spoiler re ants. Do you know why all family members keep smelling the room? I have had at least 6 generations doing this even though the room has been fixed. I also had fines for room being toxic??

I don't think anyone knows why the family members keep smelling the room. I'm in my 26th generation, and have long since remodeled my entire house. Yet, my family members will still smell the room. I think it's a mystery that just won't be solved.

thx candypanda, I'll just keep diverting peeps when they go to smell the room, just hope the fines stop coming from I think the epa. It could just be another mystery like all the notes they find behind bookcases, in walls & the email they send us about how strange the house was just sitting vacant.