Honestly, you should update your copyright, front page, & news. The impression you get is that the site has been abandoned for 2 years.

Designer Furniture Boutiques

Who makes it work:

1. VIP User Generated content as the mods are used today.

2. Available on Ipad/Iphone/Androids and PC and Mac if possible.

3. All can apply but not all contributors are chosen… only the best of the best.

4. Offer contributors the ability to name their own shop or have it named after them. Example:

a. MissKathy’s Marvelous Boutique
b. LadyCFII’s Luxury Lifestyle Shoppe
c. Aviatrix Amazing Home Decor

5. Give contributors free access to the game and all updated content.
6. Give contributors a “Special Thanks” credit under the game developers.
7. Have contributors either sign or submit content on a page that clearly states they will not be paid in money for the content they provide but rather will receive the acknowledgement as outlined above. They can use either their screen name or real name for the acknowledgement page. Most contributors will not mind since they already know the game is not making a gazillion dollars anyway. They just want to know they are appreciated for their work. Later you can always send them a real “thank you” check in the mail if you are financially able to do it.

How it works:

1. Sell access to these shops for real money or for coins. Real money = either .99 cents per boutique access or for $4.99 all access to all boutiques. Coins = $500K in world coins. Personally I feel you make more selling access for Real Money. I would not offer the in-world coin choice.

2. Charge a LOT more coins (at least 2 or 3 times more) for the Designer Boutique items even if they are simply different colors of the same items we already have such as the different textures offered for the couches in the mods.

3. Maybe make the Designer Boutiques only available to those with a million coins or more. This makes me feel special as a user and gives me something to strive towards. Real stores do this… they have VIP areas only available to their richer clients. Either send an invitation via email, or announcement, or offer in upgrades such as Maid service. Some users will keep working until they save a million coins while others will take the shortcut and purchase more coins.

4. It would be so cool if there was a VIP credit card we could use. It does not have to work just a visual image like a black and gold card we could purchase that gives us access to the VIP shops.

Why this works:

1. As a user I would not have to install Mods or be sad because Mods are not available on pocket devices such as tablets or phones.

2. Because these items are not Mods, I would not have to choose between the Beanbag chairs and the Papasan-style chairs. I could have them BOTH. The same with other items.

3. Developers are not stuck trying to create all the content and figure out what users like. They have help from the contributors.

4. Gives me the user a reason to purchase more coins.

5. People who have played for a long time have LOTS of coins and do not have anything to spend them on.

6. People who have not been playing for a long time may not have a lot of coins but really have no need for many once the house is fixed up and furnished.

7. Keeps the game interesting for a longer period of time.

8. Selling access to VIP shops gives LDW another way of making real money instead of only selling coins.

Of course, if I had my way users would also be able to purchase another house (A million coins or more for the house) … with a new floor design as well as keep this one. There would be a way of transporting from one house to the other via car… they just purchase the car and get the family in there and are transported to the new one where they can fix that one up too. The car would stay put until they get in and transport back and forth between the new and old houses. I will not go on about this anymore. But, I can totally see how it could work.

How about other lenguages?, I love your games & I'm from Spain, I'd love so much to play VF3 in spanish!

One of the things that needs fixing is the pets. All the pets I think should have health bars, so every time you feed them, take dogs for a walk, change the water or filters in a fish tank or clean bird cages it should help to keep the health bar full. There should be vaccinations and vet visits when pets get ill (or fleas which would irritate all the peeps) and you should have to purchase food, microchipping, collars and other accessories and eventually like the peeps they should die (oh and kittens and puppies should grow up). Also I would like the option to adopt a pet from the rescue centre (it could be like the flea market where the choice of pets would change all the time) instead of only buying from a pet store. I also think it would be interesting to have the option to de-sex cats and dogs. And if you choose not to then at some point they should have babies and then the family has to decide if they afford can keep them all or they have to give some or all away.

Another thing that I would like to see is family reunions. I think from time to time around the BBQ the family should have a get together with aunts, uncles and cousins and on the family tree the profiles of those famliy members should be updated with what careers they got, their age, if they are married and how many kids they got. While I'm onto family why do the grandparents have to move out or die for the next gen to start? They would make great babysitters for the kids, they could tell stories, play and interact with them. And if there are kids left when parents die why not have them raised with their aunt or uncle instead of straight to college? A nursing mother could give her kid to grandparents to babysit so she can do some work in that time. I think it would be nice to have the option to keep them around.

The last thing that I would like to see though I know it is probably unlikely is some special needs peeps. It would be really interesting to have a peep in a wheelchair and then you have to buy house upgrades like ramps and railings to look after the peep. You could also have a peep with learning difficulties so you have to pay for special tutoring and if they aren't tutored enough they can't get to college and end up with the next generation to be looked after while doing some low paid job. You could have a peep that gets constantly depressed and you have to buy them special meds (plus you already have that psychoanalysis thing, so therapy is sorted) to keep their happiness up (not to mention the yoga mat would finally have a use) and if you can't keep them happy maybe they have to go to an institution. I think it would add an interesting dynamic and challenge to the game to have peeps with unique issues to deal with.

The wheelchair thing really is an interesting idea; it would add a whole new dimension to the game. With the depression angle though, you're on very sensitive ground. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable if that actually was a feature in VF.

I also agree that pets should be more than just walking furniture. They should also have some kind of lifespan and have peeps upset when they die, or able to play with the dog or stroke the cat for a mood boost.

A family reunion would also be really good.

I agree with this as well. A not dissimilar app, The Sims Freeplay, has pets with happiness bars that go up if a sim plays with them. They can also discover 'treasure', which adds to the interest. That game has the same issue as VF with immortal pets, though; I've had several generations of sims all living with the same few cats or dogs.

Perhaps one or two events could be included in VF3. Something on the lines of "Your pet is ill. Do you want to pay for treatment by the vet?". If you agree, you'd lose a certain amount of coins. If you refuse there could be a (relatively low) chance that the pet will recover on its own, or the pet could die (and disappear from the house) and your peeps' happiness would be reduced.

TOTALLY 100% agree with the pets ideas. You guys did a huge leap forward with them in VF2, so that kind of progress shouldn't be set back. BUT like everyone is saying, having pets be more than walking furniture would be wonderful. If they could breed like peeps, that would be cool too.

I would also love to see family reunions of sorts. Or at least some way to keep your peeps after a new generation.

I like that idea, but I'd also like a bit of a failsafe, such as an option to buy insurance for the pet. I'd hate to lose the family dog and have my peeps plunge into depression because I'd just spent my money on a house upgrade

To stop it being overused, you could have it so that players need to purchase a new insurance policy every time the old one is used

Contrariwise, the peeps don't really seem to take much notice of the pets anyway. If you (usually accidentally in my experience) drop a peep on a pet they'll 'pet' it, but otherwise they ignore them. Perhaps there could be a one-off boost to the peeps' happiness when a pet is added to the house, and also a self-starting action added for the peeps to 'pet' or 'play with' a pet occasionally. Ideally, that would give a small rise in the peep's happiness as well.

I have a couple Of suggestions for Virtual Families 3. I think that the guys should be able to grow facial hair anytime not just when they get around 45.

Second it is kinda of creepy when the kids are playing or excited about a new baby, how they will spin their heads like they are possessed. I do use the red glove when they do that, it creeps me out. I was just wondering if the new game will not have them doing that.