Like the majority of you out there I started playing VV3 as soon as it came out and I LOVE IT. I think the map is great and I like some of the new things they do (still hate it when they go off to do laundry). My first complaint has to do with going from the 1 hour trial to the full version. I played VV3 on the free trial and loved it. My trial ended and I had to leave for Wednesday night church services. When I came home I bought the game and started playing. The game gave me back the people I had before (which I appreciated because I liked them - especially like having a kid for a chief-no lost adult worker). The problem is that the game continued playing as if I hadn't left so now it's about four hours later, they have practically no food, they're all weak; well you get the picture. I had to spend the next four hours taking kids around the city looking for mushrooms so my people would survive until the fruit on the tree was ripe. If I had known that I would get the same people back and if I had known that my time was almost up I could have paused the game.

I miss how I could put more than one kid on a mushroom and they'd all get a mushroom!!! I saw some posts about VV2 that said you could do this with 'shrooms and collectibles, but I never could. Would be nice!!!

I love the new, improved look of the villagers and the new names! Awesome job! I'm glad that the designers disregarded some of the suggestions. For example: I'm glad there's no night and they can work 24/7.
I do wish they had made it so the kids would be a little more proactive in getting mushrooms and collectibles. Also, it's frustrating to click on a kid and it says, "Looking for mushrooms", but they don't ever get any on their own.

Two last things (for now): I get really frustrated when I hear the chimes and spend the next 5 minutes or so scanning the map to try and find what should have appeared. Sometimes there's a 'shroom or two, sometimes there's a collectible or 2 (or even 3); but sometimes there is NOTHING! Lastly, I really miss being able to put all the adults on a fruit tree (i.e. coconut tree in VV2) when there is only enough left for one trip and they all get a piece of fruit to deposit in the food bin. This works for the bee hive, but NOT the trees.

Oh, forgot to mention that I love how both adults get parenting skill for having a child. Also, the women seem to get parenting skill during the time they are a "nursing mother". Wish the developers had followed the suggestion about letting mothers work while nursing. Oh well. At least they do get skill while nursing.

I think that could have been their compromise. I don't think they wanted to give us too much...but a mother getting parenting skills while nursing still helps us in the long run, without giving us another worker.

Another cool thing I discovered...One of the kids was bringing an item back when the villagers completed a puzzle and started celebrating. Remembering how it was on VV and VV2 I cringed thinking he was going to drop it and go celebrate, but he Didn't!! He held on to it, deposited it, and then went to celebrate. THANK YOU LDW for fixing that!!!!

Any hint on where to find a strategy book for VV3?
How do you get rid of the sharks in the ocean?

All of the puzzle solutions are in the VV3 Guides. Click Forum List and scroll to the bottom.

Look here , lakitten.

Barbara,

Thank you.

I love the sharks! I have one stupid one who keeps getting caught on the right side of the reef. I also love the weather on this one. Can't stand the squeal the kids do now though. So far, that's the only bad thing I've found.

xray.....Thank you....Lakitten

Anyone ever see the movie "Shark Tale"? When the female fish hits her fin with her other one (like someone punching their fist)..it's so funny the way she does that. Well, that's what I'd like to do to my adults when they say, "NO" or "Mm-mm" etc.!!

My name isn't Xray, but you are welcome

Compliments: I LOVE that the villagers are all cute. Sorry but I'm into aesthetics. I also just love the game in general. Also like that the villagers become Master faster.

Comments: I wish there was a special title for a villager who masters 2 skills and a different title for one who masters 4.

Complaints: I wish the rare collectibles showed up more often. I am frustrated searching for them over and over again. Then again, they wouldn't be called rare unless they were rare.

It would be awesome if there was a hint button on the Puzzle page so you could get hints about the puzzles if you wanted or needed them.

See, for the most part I like the game, but I wish they had made the mothers work. At least tie them down to the research table. Even the Chief does nothing if she's nursing. That's just silly.

I like how the cheif will work even if he/she is a child adds a worker

I also hate the new squeal the children make (and some adults)

****possible spoiler?****






I may just be making this up, but i like how each type of collectible turns up in the same area again and again, ie, coral near the ocean, tablet pieces near the cave

Except for the stupid feathers that can turn up ANYWHERE!!

By the way, why do they always have to wait for rain to get onto the lift? Don't you think that after a while they'd have the brains ("trying an idea") to see that a couple of them could lift another villager just as well as the rain???

I have only found one thing that I really don't care for, and it's very minor. One of my kids meows like a new baby kitten when you pick him up and it's rather annoying lol. Other than that that, the game is all I could ask for and then some!

I simply love it. I'm not so far into the game yet, so there's still a lot to look forward too.
The city-situation is completely different from VVI/II, and also the shore line is a surprise.
I cannot get enough of my chief: she is always directing work, and I admire her when in contemplation over the tribe, arms held high. But most of all I love the inspiring way in which she lectures the tribe: I let her do that over and over again: my new tribe can only benefit from that.
I notice that collectibles turn up more often than in VVVII and I like that. That way gathering tech points is less boring. And it looks to me that in VVVIII there's less chance the builders will be out of work for a length of time.
And the wheater, yes: great! Running to get out of the rain is funny, so are the children playing in the puddles (Ohhh I hope they still will play tag, though ..)

The new way of the food situation and all it brings about is a nice surprise.

I notice some new hairdo and cloths.
But most of all I like the art work. I just like to go over and over the island and look at the details of the beautiful drawings. When looking at the overview map, I can see the beautiful use of colours. And the map situation is great: the way is is done now, gives the opportunity to use much more locations.
I thought that the artwork in VVII was much more beautiful in VVII than in VVI, and now in VVIII it is even better.
Only one thing about this game makes me sad: a VV-IV will never come, 'cause you can't do better than VVIII.

It seems like there really isn't anything new in this one that stands out. It is still incredibly unbalanced. The only skill that is easy to get early on is the builder skill, the rest take forever.

I also don't like how long it takes to do a task. I have 4 Master Builders on the bath and after 1 hour, 11%. Absurd.

It seems like none of the goos suggestions that were in the suggestion thread really made it in this game. It is more of a rehash of 1 and 2 then anything new. I'll play it for something to do, but unless the 4th one actually makes some strides, [censored] it.

I absolutely LOVE the rays of sunshine I dont particularly like the clouds on the map though they make it hard to look for stray workers when you have too many to count lol

Firstly, thank you for the game. I was going to wait for it to get on Big Fish when I found out my mother has 2 weeks to 6 months to live. So I bought it anyway, and it has helped with the emotional standpoint. Yes, I know, off-topic. Point? Point is, the collectables and mushrooms are frequent enough that sitting around waiting is not NEAR as boring, I can actually play now instead of walking by periodically in the day to see how they are doing. If that's what I wanted, I'd download a free screensaver. Anywho, agree that the bath takes too long. Appreciate the city. Seems to be a different view of things, like you guys actually sat back to view the game/island from a different side with new ideas. Would appreciate a counter for # of mushrooms so I know how close to 100 I am. Would like an award to have a little screen that says "you got an award" or something so I'm not just guessing. Agree there is very little logic in many of the puzzles, but the number of logistical puzzle games I play, this is pretty easy to figure out-try some of those others out b4 you dis the vv games. Would like an in-game journal/note feature. And would like an in-game thingy for herbal mixtures. So I don't waste paper or get frustrated otherwise. Appreciate the

(spoilers)

dead roster, but would like to be able to makes notes about them as well. Enjoy the different tree varieties, the orchard is really neat. The two factions are a good idea, but need to actually be different. No offense, but considering the price of other games, this is a $10 game, not a $20 game. A few easy to add things would really increase the quality and replay value making it worth the $20.

Forgot to say:

Loooove that the kids can collect herbs, now maybe they could b4, but I didn't realize that. Also, that they can be educated prior to 14, and also that you can train healers without the sick and twisted (not to mention annoying) potion method. That rocks! Nursing mothers should at least be able to tell stories to children and heal the sick. That's a bare minimum really. Also, they go into the hut to get out of the rain, that's a definite improvement. If this were reality, the kids would be working long b4 the age of 14, and having kids long b4 18. But I completely understand (and agree since it's a family game and all) with the pregnancy at 18 or later thing. Shoot my oldest step-child is 12 and she splits logs for granny, does house work, and helps mow the lawn with her daddy. The 10 year old actually does more than she does in the house and garden, and my own 4 year old, and my husband's 8 year old have their own set of chores as well. Shoot my husband was in the tobacco fields at a very young age (too young really).
Ok I'm done now thank you.

I love this game the reef is beautiful that said i just wanted to know what the max population for this game is and how come my mothers are nursing for 123 minutes instead of 120 is it a glitch

Wanted to add that I've thought since VV1 that it would cool for the elderly villagers to have the option of retirement. A box that you can check that says "Retired" if you want them to stop working so they can relax and enjoy the island.

You know, I really don't like the tablet collection. Once you get all of the pieces they never appear again (unless I'm totally wrong). In VV 2 we had four collections and all four would keep reappearing. I also totally miss how in VV 1 we could pause the game, put every single kid we had on a mushroom, and each one would pick it up! Maybe VV 4 will put both of these "pluses" back into the game.

I sort of like the tablet collection--each time I saw a new piece I knew for sure it was a brand new piece and they all appeared in one area. Maybe after the tablet collection is finished, then the pieces could start randomly appearing again for people who want the tech points?

Love:

- scenery is beautiful
- new actions of the villagers
- abilities of the chief
- two areas of research table
- one area for doctors to study medicine (thank you so much!!)
- children can get herbs: GREAT addition!!


Dislike:

- tribal chief under 18 cannot teach the children: VERY annoying as I end up with a bunch of untrained idiots who are unsure what to do

- Time it takes to train a villager. It has inexplicably been increased and requires much more effort to get someone to the level of trainee.

- Trees of orchard and berry tree blocks the view of villagers and collectibles that might be behind them.

- Lift is completely without purpose after you get the two seeds. The seeds don't even add to the food count

- Does the bath really do anything?

- Slurping sound when the villagers drink. I realize it is for effect, but it gets really annoying

- Would like a page of stats, even if there are no scores kept by the site. The awards are nice, but I like to see raw data

- Special room has no apparent purpose after you finish the puzzles. I just really hate when areas of the game are only useful for a one-time thing and then become wasted space.


I love these games and they keep getting better and better. I hope the series never ends! Thank you!

Compliments: I love the ppl, they are much cuter, and handsomer. And also i like the way the map is.

Comments: The map should be a little bigger, just so then the ppl when they have 100 or so, wont look so crowded, and not be able to be seen, or heard.

Complaints: I hate the way that Mothers cant work. I think maybe the mothers could give the baby to a little day care center, where a teacher/day carwe worker (new skill ) could teach it some, and they would master and get Jack of all Trades award a little easier. And the cheif shud work too, in many villages on earth, the cheif would help with some things

Edit: I didnt want the complaints to be that big, im not saying its a bad game, i just explained my self ALOT

I know for a fact that the game records how many TIMES a collectible has been collected; it would be nice if oft-collected items had a lower probability of appearing. You might still have a run of uber-bad luck, but nothing like these stories of months-old tribes that can't finish a collection.

Things I love:
Footprints in the sand
Running to get out of the rain
Building sand castles
The Roster of the Dead
Having a 3 year old chief
No bald headed kids wearing war paint
The coral reef
The medical research area/hospital
Villagers putting their hands on their hips - cute
Playing in the puddles
Thunder and lightening
Sunshine
Cleaning up after the rain
Children gathering herbs

Things I'm not thrilled with:
Villagers with ADD - always wandering off
Looking for those feathers that are hiding behind the trees
Sounds the children make when picked up
The "No's" and "Uh-Huh's"

I got the biggest kick out of how they jump off the side of the cliff edge to get into the bathtub. That was one of the things I thought was cool in VV2, the cliff jumpers......Here they are only edge jumpers but maybe thats how they became cliff jumpers....lol

VV3 was a great jump from VV2. I liked the VV2 huts better, and I miss the waterfall. My only problem is with pregnant females who will not stay in their huts while it rains!!

I must admit that there are some sounds the villagers make I don't like. Especially when it's kind of an obnoxious "NO". But I have two new kids and one says, "Whoa!" when I pick him up (his name is Gavi) and the little girl on my other tribe says, "Whee-ee-ee". I've played all three VV and never heard that particular "Whee" before. They're hilarious.

[Villagers putting their hands on their hips - cute]


Especially when they strike the Capt. Morgan pose. I think that is so cool. Anyone else notice it?

Maybe I'm just a little slow, but I discovered, quite by accident, that I can change the clothes for nursing mothers and children in VV3. I don't think that was available in the other games. I like it because I like to color coordinate villagers based on the jobs they are performing. It makes it easier to put them back where they belong when they are wandering around. I dress the mothers in red.

My most favorite thing about VV3 is that nothing interrupts the kids carrying collectibles. I also love the new activities.

It'd be cool is you could buy a level (even a super expensive one) that would make the collectibles automatically picked up or even just buy the finished collection, for those who have been waiting forever.
After seeing the intro I kind of expected to see Fish from FT as well as the PT plants. I really like seeing things from the other games in the new ones.


Marcey

I have a villager that secretly goes to the far side of the orchard and practices a dance....

I love most things about the game. I don't think I have any complaints at all. The game is better than I expected!

Things I love:
Footprints in the sand
Running to get out of the rain
Building sand castles
The Roster of the Dead
Having a 3 year old chief
No bald headed kids wearing war paint
The coral reef
The medical research area/hospital
Villagers putting their hands on their hips - cute
Playing in the puddles
Thunder and lightening
Sunshine
Cleaning up after the rain
Children gathering herbs

Things I Dislike:
No work for builders ( when all is done )
Tag for the children ( or another game )
The collectables are to scarce
No benches for the nursing mums to sit on
The villagers won't allow the fruit and honey to stock up

Get rid of the villagers who dislike running!
Just kidding.
:P
Okay get rid of the villagers who dislike running AND learning AND working all at the same time.
And yeah the secret dances they practice crack me up. It's too cute!

My only complaint is that Building Skill is really short-changed and that leads to many annoyances.

If they fix this one thing, I won't have a single complaint!

My only real complaint is that the statue takes too long to raise. And that my villagers won't raise the statue unless I'm constantly watching them. I've been babysitting my villagers for 10 hours while they raise the statue, and I'm getting really bored of the game now.

likes:
fruit trees
the cannonball in the bath (edge jump)
crazy potion
events
ROTD(Roster Of The Dead)
voices (ending chief and ruins)
awards
etc.

dislikes:
statue
collectibles

Well I love this game as much as (if not more than) the first two. My likes: I love the weather effects. I like that the kids can now collect herbs and even become chiefs! I also love the new collectibles and think they look really cool.
I love the running potion!
I also love that the person who likes learning trains twice as fast.
I like the hand movements, they add personality.
They discarded the ugly characters.

Dislikes:
Only one kid can pick up a collectible! So it takes way longer to earn points/food(Am I the only one who noticed this? Sure seems that way)
When we're short on food, it's so hard to keep the villagers on task. I keep telling the screen, "Worrying's not gonna do any good. Leave it to the farmer!"
As in the other games, I wish the nursing mother wouldn't just walk around doing nothing.
When the Chief points out a rare collectible, sometimes it's one I've already got, or even worse, I can't find it!
The voices are rather annoying for the most part.
I hate how long it takes for the fruit trees to bloom. WHY must it take 4 hours?
They discarded the old characters that I like.

Ok is it long enough for you? lol

I think um . . . two kids picking up collectibles is, ah . . . not something I liked much. It means the game is broken, basically. It's an exploit. Rather than that, I would prefer that children are only able to pick up one collectible, and you just get a bit more tech or food for them.

Not to say that 20-year fires and panmictic populations are realistic . . . but you know what I mean.

There are a lot of things I like about the game, a few things I dislike. I really wish kids picked up mushrooms and collectibles on their own. I don't like a lot of the No's and uh-uh's they have a.. quality about them I find annoying, then again, I don't like some of the voices so that could be the reason. I love the graphics, they really have become quite pretty. I miss some of the old villagers outfits and heads, but only some. I love the hidden room, wish it had greater purpose.

I love that the chief can teach, but only once every 24 hours means I have to keep the game on pause in order to give them a decent education. Game time wise that means YEARS are passing between classes. Maybe base that on game years rather then actual hours. Maybe once ever two game years, which on fast is about 2 hours. I don't play the game for two hours straight, but it would be nice that when I pop in, I could educate. Part of my frustration with this is that the villagers can be so hard to train and it is boring and annoying to have to babysit until someone who has a tiny bit of skill becomes a trainee so they don't walk off the job the first sign of not improving. Which is more frustrating when I just peeked in before having to leave to find ten people not working and I don't have the time to babysit. Another solution could be that masters can also lecture. Say you need more farmers, take a master farmer and have him give some lectures. Maybe chief can lecture once a day, but any master can lecture twice a day, though I'd prefer Chief twice, master three times.

I loved the statue! I love the bath, I love the roster for the dead, though I wish I could add notes. Again I thought that visually a much prettier game. While I like the orchard cause it looks good, I dislike the orchard because it blocks collectibles. Course, if the kids would pick them up on their own {hint hint for next game} that would be no problem.

Loved the puzzles, wished there was more.

Wish there was either no child chief, or the child chief could educate the others. I wish the chief did not teach parenting. A skill that will be useless for 4 years. Not bad if they have other skills, but some kids only learn that.

I wish Esteemed Elders had... something. I liked the totems myself.

I wish the JoATs had something to acknowledge them too.

I do love this game and am totally addicted to it. There are things I like that I can't even think of at the moment. But, I thought I'd just offer my two cents on what I think would make the game so much better. IMHO, at least!

I love most things about this game - it's kept me engaged longer than the other two and I have been motivated to start new tribes from scratch which I've never bothered with before.

I like:

The fact that you can finish the game with a modest population - I don't like it so much when I don't 'know' each of the villagers
The foot prints in the sand.

I like the fact that sounds change as you move across the map.
I like all the tasks - I just wish there were more. However, the extra 'awards' section keeps the game moving along with a sense of purpose after you have 'finished' it.
I have just noticed this but I like the fact that children's heads sparkle when they have been taught by the chief - I like to think of it as the gift of knowledge!


I LOVE the sun coming through the clouds and the shadow cast on children playing in the dirt.
I LOVE the rain - seriously, the weather and the atmospheric tinklings really make me happy.


I miss the drum for school and the gong for events.
Like most others, I feel that gaining building skill after all tasks are done is a bit frustrating

I really, really don't think that children should pick up collectibles on their own. This is one part of the game that can keep you playing for hours. Without it the game would become a little like Plant Tycoon where you go on, do one or two things then quit as nothing then happens for a long time. Don't get me wrong - I love PT but if I fancy a real 'play', I play VV not PT.

I would like to see the children interact with each other and the adults more. When you put two adults on each other it says they are embracing - why can't adults and children embrace? Also, when a child says they are lonely, putting another child on them has no effect. It would be lovely if they could run off and play.

While I have no intention of joining the debate about what mothers in real tribes do, it does appear as if having good parents has no discernible impact on the tribe's success other than breeding. It would be nice if they could have an effect - good parents encourage learning and a work ethic??

Anyway, this was supposed to be short!

P

I would like to see a couple of different time counters. One on the detail of the characters that counts down to their next birthday. It would be awesome if it could be in real time (hours and minutes) as well as Isolan time (6 months and 5 days for example). I would also like to see a time counter on the main island portion letting you know how much time has passed. It could be fairly simple such as: Day 1 or 2rd Month 5th Day or Year 1 Month 2 Day 14, etc. That would really help fiction writers who write about their actual tribes as well as those of us who like to keep track of those things.

I think it would be neat to have an option where you take one of the adults, it could be that it has to be an esteemed elder (or the chief - but should have option to have both and not just one or the other), and you put that adult in a certain spot (say the amphitheater or by the fire) and you have different options. The adult could make a proclamation, such as Blessings Day or Harvest Festival; or announce a wedding or birthday for a villager (or couple); etc. Don't know if this is too "Sims"-like because I've never played Sims. Just thought it would be cool.

I actually posted this in VV4 Suggestions, but thought I'd post here too so people could comment on it. It kind of bugs me when people use the Suggestions forum to comment on other people's suggestions. That forum is just supposed to be for suggestions NOT comments about what other people think would be great for the game or would like to change. Sorry...this turned into a bit of a rant.

Question, and yes, i finally found where i should ask questions... legally blonde here...

Do the villagers, especially the children, learn anything from the lectures? I have not seen any increase in their learning bars, so i ask, why is the chief only allowed to lecture the childre only once every 24 hours if there is no benefit... Is there one that i cannot find???

Okay, being a newbie to this forum thing, i THINK i am learning the way to go about finding answers... am still wondering if maybe my chief was too young to teach my children new things, or maybe i am just not paying close attention to the meters in the children's skill bars.

AND learned i need to turn the sound on to hear when a collectible shows up. i play late at night and do not like keeping my roommate up with sounds. Guess it is time to pull out the earphones to listen in on what happens. BUT, i DO agree, the children's voices are annoying.

BUT, guys? The music for ALL of VV games is excellent. The compositions are soothing, even when repeated, one rarely notices such. VERY well done. And yes, though i preferred VVI's graphics over VVII's VERY poorly designed interlacing, i have to say, VVIII rules way above and beyond! Kudos to the Creator(s)!!

Overall, i will always say "LDW, please, gimme more!!!"

And as i start my third tribe, i realized more things that i am curious about.... Like what are those three symbols above the rose bush for? ANd why did 1 of my previous games "decompose" though the people all were there yet the second tribe i started 2 days later still has all buildings intact and all puzzles solved, though it has been running almost 2 weeks longer???

Those three symbols above the rose bush are [spoiler]the recipe for the 'light and springy' potion.[/spoiler]

EDIT: Chief's lectures do help kids learn - just not right away. Watch the children closely - sparkles indicate when a child has successfully learned something.

I can try and answer some of OptiTron's questions:
The children do learn from the chief's lectures. The chief in question must be over 18 years old, and have a certain level of leadership. Then, once every 24 hours, drop the chief on a child and he will lecture, and all the kids will come running. When the chief is done, a little light will come over each kid's head, then the kid will run off. Check the skills bars, the kid will have a little skill in something.
There is no sound signal when collectibles appear, except when the chief points out a rare collectible, there is a noise then.
Lastly, the symbols above the rose bush are a recipe for an important potion. I can't guess what went wrong with your game. maybe some more expert player than myself knows that?
My comments about the game:

love these things:
Footprints in the sand
Running to get out of the rain
Building sand castles
The Roster of the Dead
The coral reef - gorgeous!
hand gestures
Playing in the puddles
Thunder and lightning
Children gathering herbs
comments like "Tofu sees Ariki"
seeing the doctor run to help a sick villager
kids gaining skill by listening to chief
coconut-head is gone!
lots of mushrooms and collectibles to gather, in dozens of places around the village

things I wish were different:
everytime I turn on an old game I haven't seen in a day or two, there are bodies laying around
still don't have an ancient elder
miss playing tag
would like to spend my zillion tech points on buying that last elusive collectible

overall, great job LDW. Love it.

Okay, first off, thank you both VERY much. Secondly, are those symbols designating the herbs? i have created all the various potions, retrieved the one that makes the tribespeople jump to the gem. Is that the <spoiler> of which you wrote? Or out of the potions, did i miss one?

And again, thanks, especially for the speedy reply. Oh and Fabala? You only have 1!!!! collectible to find? On both of mine, the awards are all done except the 90 year thing and all puzzles complete but on the magic one i still have 1 of all the collectible categories to find and on the magic, i on all but the seashells which i need 2 more. i am getting bored staring at the game waiting for the bells and finding that it is only a mushroom or an already found collectible. Kudos to you!!!

_________________
OptiTron, formerly lilwoofer

Nope. When that potion is consumed, the villager "Feels light and springy." That's why I called it that.

The shark potion recipe - both of them - also can be found somewhere on the island.

Well, um, yes, my oldest game lacks an ancient elder and one collectible to be finished. Problem is, the collectible is an uncommon feather, so the chief will not point it out for me, and it could be anywhere on the map. And according to advice here on the forums, the best way to get an ancient elder is to leave your game running for several days. So I am going for AA and may never find that last feather.

Really? Clues for both shark repellant potions? Where?

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but maybe in VV4 they could use more tech points for each extra collectible. Say 100 for regular collectibles, 150 for uncommon and 200 for rare. Has anyone got all the tablet collectibles yet? I have 4 games going and none of them have finished the tablet.

Yes, leadership 3 helps with rares, but my sticking points are always uncommons, as well. Which is why I beat my game with the sledgehammer of Lurkily until I solved the collectible problem entirely. Yes, there are clues for the shark repellent, and the potion required for one of the key puzzles, in the game. [spoiler] The recipe for the 'light and springy' potion, to get the pink diamond-shaped key, is on the wall by the rose bush. The shark potion recipes (both of them) are on the wall in the image presented when a villager enters the cave that's hidden under the rubble. [/spoiler]

You already get tech points for excess collectibles, both in VV2 and VV3. In fact, in the early game I get more tech from collectibles than from research.

As for VV4 suggestions, there is a thread for this here: http://www.ldwforums.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=141152.