As Arthur mentioned here, we are going to start showing you all little glimpses into VF3 as we work on finishing the game and getting it ready for beta test.

We don't have an exact timeline for release yet, since we need to evaluate the entire project plan and see which things are pretty much complete and determine how much is left to do. We will take time out from working on VF3 to post new tidbits every few weeks, though, so stay tuned. To keep it interesting, we'll post different kinds of things in no particular order.

To keep this topic tidy and focused on just the sneak peeks, we we've created a discussion topic here where you can talk about what we've posted (and this topic will not allow replies).

To start things off, here's a little video of a fun new thing we've added to VF3!

Check out the Lawn!

We're sorry that it's taken so long to update this post, but we've been hard at work adding new things to the game that you all have been requesting for a long time! These new things take time to implement, but we hope you'll think that they are worth the wait.

We hope you like this latest sneak peek at what's new!

Hi, everyone!

Here’s another sneak peek at a new feature for VF3. The family finally has a telephone, after all these years!

As always, you can discuss the new VF3 features here. That will keep this thread tidy and easier to view.

We finally have another update for you! We are sorry that this took so long, but we've been very busy adding new things to the game.

We will be also updating the Previews Page soon.

Here are some of the things we've been working on the last couple of months. As always, you can discuss the new VF3 features here.

We know that you all have been waiting a very long time, not only for updates on where we are with VF3, but also to be able to play the game. In all honesty, we expected to have the game released by now. Since that (quite obviously) didn't happen, we want to give you all an update on some hard decisions we needed to make, where we are now, and what to expect with VF3 development.

We did actually get to the beta testing stage for VF3 with a small group of carefully selected long-time testers, and, as the beta test progressed, it became obvious to us that the delays (discussed in other posts in these forums) and long development time had left us with a game that hadn't kept up with player expectations and advances in mobile gaming. We started developing VF3 in 2013, and (like VF1 and VF2), it used our proprietary game engine that dates back to the mid-2000s. In order to make VF3 the best it can be and incorporate a lot of the features that players expect in today's mobile games, we realized that we needed to essentially start from the ground up with a new game engine that would allow us to incorporate the new features that many of you have asked for in VF3.

We are already well underway with the "VF3 reboot" process, but there is a lot of work to do yet. We are still hoping for a 2019 release, but it's too early to set schedules. We will update the VF3 Previews Page once we have a good handle on the development schedule.

The team is working very hard on this effort, and we will keep all of the improvements we showed you earlier in this post (and more that you haven't seen yet!):

• The house is expandable and reconfigurable to meet the family's changing needs throughout the generations. Need another bedroom? A workshop? 5 bathrooms? No problem!
• Landscaping features include raised flower beds, cactus gardens, and lawns, complete with a riding lawn mower and sprinklers.
• New furniture and decor items, with many more to come.
• There's a mysterious new back story that will take many generations to unravel.
• Culturally diverse faces, hairstyles, and skin tones will make it much easier to adopt little people who look like you!
• Parents can share infant care: Each parent can take breaks from baby to work on their careers, pursue their hobbies, and manage their daily routines while their partner cares for the little one. You can even choose who will care for baby!
• Family resemblance is back! Children born into the family will tend to look like one of their parents or a blend of both! There is even a possibility of resembling a distant ancestor on the family tree.
• Same gender couples can marry and make their home together, adopt children and raise a family, and enjoy the country life throughout many generations.
• For those who have always wanted a large family, VF3 allows up to 12 children, and the adoption center now gives you the choice of adopting infants, as well as older children.
• Pets will be more interesting and interactive. They will more closely mimic real life pets, and they no longer live forever.
• Dozens of new careers and random events, new goals and collectibles.
• Your VF3 family has a telephone and can make and receive calls in a variety of situations.
• Zoom in and out with pinch/zoom gestures - first time in a VF game.
• The mandatory tutorial from VF2 has been replaced with a more extensive in-game help file and a link to our very detailed online knowledge base which has answers to over 100 questions and is growing as we continue with VF3 development.

That's just a sample of what we already have accomplished in VF3. Moving all of that to the new game engine will enable us to do many things that have never been possible in Virtual Families. Once we have the game released and in your hands to enjoy, we'll be looking at implementing new features that will be possible only because of VF3's reboot in the new game engine, such as visiting your friends' houses/families in some way, special social events and giveaways, etc.

We can't say for sure what features will be incorporated, and when, but VF3 will be a much better game than we could have produced without this reboot. If we had released the game using our "old" game engine, we would never have been able to make those advances in game play and features.

We hope this helps explain what's going on and why we're so late. Having made the decision to rework the game, we are going to continue to move forward, and we hope you'll all stay with us as we make VF3 all it can be. We'll also try to be better at keeping you all informed about our progress as we move toward beta and release!

Hi, everyone!

Although it has taken us much longer than we expected to get to this point, we are ready to beta test Virtual Families 3: Our Country Home!

There are a few things that you need to know before you decide to participate:

• This beta is only for Android devices (iOS and Amazon devices will come later)
• The beta test will be conducted on Google Play Beta, so you will need a Google Play account
• Once the number of beta testers reaches the limit, you will not be able to sign up
• We will be increasing the number of beta testers over time, so you'll have another chance
• The game is not completely finished and there are many bugs to be found and reported, so please only sign up if you plan to actively help us find and fix the bugs!

If you want to help us get VF3 ready for release, you can go here to begin the process.