LadyCFII please sticky this if you feel its useful

If something happens to your game, mysterious mass suicide, homicide or whatever you think might have happened. Close the game down and BEFORE you restart the game:

1. Immediately go into your My Documents Folder.
2. Then open the LDW folder.
3. Then open Virtual Villagers - The Lost Children folder (BigFish version).
4. In that folder is your game log file. It is called ldwLog.txt. Move this log file to your desktop or somewhere to preserve it. This log can 9 times out of 10 explain what happened.
5. Create a thread in the support forum and attach your log file and LadyCFII or Arthur can analyze your log file as soon as then can to help you determine what happened to your game, whether it was a bug, an accident, or something else altogether.
6. When you post your log, describe the circumstances that lead up to the alleged village wipe in as much detail as you can think to give. This will help out the LDW staff greatly

haha i juz checked myne out and this was the action preformed

Mon Feb 19 14:59:59 2007: Tuna collected some fish.

Lol

A few comments:

The file is still open until the game is closed, so they should exit the game and THEN preserve the log file.

The folder that the log is in could have a different name. For the Big Fish Games version, it's Virtual Villagers - The Lost Children.

Finally, we can and will look at the logs as time permits, but we don't promise an answer for every situation. We will most likely only analyze logs that look suspiciously like a bug, so please provide some information about what you saw in your game that prompted you to post the log in the first place.

Changed my post

I blame the GC! He cursed the village and made them all die!

This is the only thing remaining of my log, but the game was started a week or so earlier than this log indicates. I have no idea why my villagers were unable to keep ahead of things and get things done in order to survive, but they did not. They could not keep ahead of the birds, and the builders did not progress much. Most of the time, everyone was lazy. Finally, they all died except to a child who subsists on mushrooms and finding treasure for the researchers that no longer exist.
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> SPLASH_BG.JPG
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> SPLASH2_BG.JPG
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> BambooMeterFrame1.png
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> LoadColor.png
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> loading.jpg
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> logo1.png
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> ldwLogo.png
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: Loading Graphic -> bfg_Logo.png
Fri Feb 23 12:47:52 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> waves_proto.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> yellow_sparkle.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> dust2.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> carrying.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> collectables_images.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> blink.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> sparklestrip2.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> sparklestrip.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> bubble.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> rainbow.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> firestrip.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> waterfallanimA.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> waterfallanimb.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> foam.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> spray.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> sharp_sparkle.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> blurry_sparkle.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> algae.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> petalstrip.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> candlestrip.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> scaffolding.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> carrying.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> stoolfood.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: Loading Graphic -> graves.png
Fri Feb 23 12:48:00 2007: - Success!

The log is erased and rewritten every time you start the game, so there really isn't any information in there that would help. From your description, though, it sounded like you needed to solve a critical puzzle that would have helped your villagers. A very good method of play is to occasionally drag different villagers around the island to see if they see anything new. Different villagers (builders, scientists, farmers) see different things, and more skilled villagers notice things that less skilled villagers will miss. I'm sorry that there isn't more information in the log that would help.

Is there any way to have the log in a different location other than My Documents? I have this on my computer at work and would prefer to not have the LDW file showing up in My Documents (kind of a tip off that I'm not really doing what I should be )!!

The savegame files must be there, or the game won't find them. They have been put there for very compelling technical reasons.

In addition to preserving the log to figure out what happened to the village, I would like to add that in that same folder is a backup copy of your village. If you are playing in the first slot of the game, your save game will be called Isola21.ldw and your backup file will be called Isola221.ldw.

If some tragedy befell your village, you may be able to salvage the situation by preserving the original and backup copy of the save files to the desktop and then copy over the save file with the backup save file in the save file folder. (ie get rid of Isola21.ldw and replace it with Isola221.ldw but rename the Isola221.ldw to Isola21.ldw).