Hello,
This is my first post on the forum so I want to cover a couple of issues .


First thanks to all of you that have posted spoilers and suggestions they have been very helpful.

Secondly , I have seen several posts here about having multiple families running at the same time . How do I do that?
I am on 3rd generation of first family.

Also is there a way to make loads of money I cannot seem to reach any reasonable amount to buy the upgrades. I have a few odds and ends but anything major seems to be out of my reach.

U can create multiple profiles.

On the main screen, just click your name, and then new profile.

U can play upto 5 families this way

Also, if you have more than one User account set up on your computer, you can put the installer for the game (the one you downloaded in the first place) into a shared account and then set it up on another user account too. I have 5 daytime families and 5 nighttime families. (Just in case you didn't notice, there is a day/night toggle in the Options menu.)

Also, there are two things to keep in mind regarding money. Their "bank" pays them 10% interest on it everyday. The more money they have, the more they are paid in interest. Very quickly, they are making way more in interest then they do from their salaries. Even if you have Masters that earn a lot. So, try not to buy very much until you have quite a bit in the bank. The only "special" thing I will buy mine in the beginning is the radio. Then, of course food and medicine if needed, but nothing else. I have been given a hammock by a neighbor in almost all of my families, so most will have the radio and the hammock and that's it until the 3rd generation or so.

Could you please clarify for those of us who don't understand how to do this? : )

I'll try to clarify that a little bit.

IF you are running a windows system, you can add windows users and run the game on each windows user you create. Each additional windows user is allowed to create 5 additional families on "their" VF game.

The procedure for adding a windows user will vary, depending on which version of windows you are running, so if these instructions don't exactly match your version, just search windows help for "add user."

Under the windows control panel you should see "User Accounts." Double Click that, choose "Create a New User" and the procedure should be fairly self explanatory from there. I suggest that you do NOT add a password to the additional account and do not give it administrative options.

Once the account is created, click on start, then log off and select change user. From the windows log in screen, choose the new user name to log in to the user you just created. Right click on an empty spot on the desktop and choose "Create New... Shortcut." Navigate to the Virtual Families program application. It will wherever you installed it, most likely on your C: drive in Program Files under the Virtual Families folder. When done, you should have a new shortcut to launch the game from your new windows user.

Edit: To clarify the other a bit and add a little of my own tips to the original question:

First, I agree completely with Simsane that the best way to earn money is bank interest. The hard thing is getting it there to begin with, especially in the first generation, and especially when you have no clue what is a waste of money and what is actually helpful.

First things first. Choose a good career. Good careers are not those that start with a high beginning salary. Good careers are those that END with a high MASTER salary. See this thread for more information, especially this post and this post.

Second, train your little people well. Teach them to work and to do things that increase their health. Ignore the other, nonproductive things that are cute, but don't really mean anything. Remember that working too much is actually bad for their health and happiness. Working out, quick work outs, stretching, exercising outdoors are all health improving behaviors and are a good break from work. They will live longer, which means they will draw that high master salary longer and draw bank interest longer, and make more money longer.

Upgrades: The first and cheapest is the bathroom. Use it for the scales. Train them to check their weight. It's healthy. The heater might be, but they'll fool with it enough on their own so don't bother praising for it.

Sheets, hammock and paintings can all be obtained through events, so don't bother wasting money on them. You'll get them eventually, even if it's 5th generation before you do.

Other than the bathroom, the first thing you should spend money on is the workroom upgrade that will help them get promotions and raises faster, thereby helping them to earn money faster. It's ok if you don't do this until second generation. They are expensive. That's why it's nice to have hubby and wife work in the same room, if possible.

Watch the variable section of the store and buy repair items and fruits and candies when available and you can afford them. Fruits you will need to restore health quickly should your little people get sick, especially the adults (kids have a long time to get well on their own.) Repair items don't come available too often, so you'll want to grab them when you see them. Candies are optional, but are wonderful for quickly training them to exercise or work.

Food: Make sure they eat MEALS, not snacks. They do not need to be completely full - if the fed bar is full it means they are OVER stuffed. I've never noticed any real health benefit from organics, though they seem a bit happier and might live about two years longer. There isn't much difference in their health if you just buy only grains until you can afford all food groups. You will get emails asking for different kinds of groceries though.

The more children you have, the more careers you have to choose from for your next generation, but the more mouths you have to feed for this one.

One last thing, in the very beginning, don't worry so much about cleaning right away, but DO worry about collectibles! Grab every collectibles you see! They are a fast source of cash for someone just starting out. Every duplicate collectible you get is sold online for cash. You do not need to go to the computer or the even the house to get credit for them. As soon as your little person stand up with them, they are counted. In fact, if you need to go through the tutorial to learn the basics, do so, then delete that family and start over without the tutorial; because you probably just missed a half dozen collectibles while completing it.

That should get you started nicely.

There is a way to have multiple games on the same user account, too. I hate switching user accounts, so I do it this way instead.

What you do is you install the game twice (or more), but choose different names during the installations. For example, you might have:

C:\Program Files\Virtual Families\
C:\Program Files\VF\
C:\Program Files\LDW - Virtual Families\
C:\Program Files\Another Virtual Families Copy\

Here's what I have right now:



Once you have installed them, open the folders and change the name of the *.exe files so that they are all different. For example, the one in the folder Virtual Families might be called VirtualFamilies.exe while the one in the VF folder is called VF.exe and the one in the LDW - Virtual Families folder is called LDWVirtualFamilies.exe

Here's what mine look like (but I don't recommend using 1.0 in the name, that was a mistake I made... just notice that they are named differently):



If you got your game from another site, like Reflexive, you might have to rename other files so they match. I don't know if other sites do this, but I know for Reflexive there's a file called *.rwg, and it needs to match the *.exe file identically.

This is what a Reflexive game looks like:



The last step is to create shortcuts to each of your *.exe files and put the shortcuts on your desktop or wherever you want them.

Ta da! Each game will run completely separately from one another. They can each have their own mods, too. You can have as many families as you want this way, and never have to switch user accounts.

This is what my My Documents\LDW\ folder looks like (this is where the saved games are, of course):

Thanks to everyone , you have made some very good suggestions.

I've found another way to do it. First, open a window, such as "my computer" and click on "tools", "folder options" then "view". Un-check "hide extensions for known file types" and apply.

Find your VF folder and the .exe file. Right click and copy. Paste it in the same folder, then rename it. Right click again and click on "create shortcut". Put the shortcut on your desktop, or where ever you have your games. Have fun!

Can we have different mods in the two games this way also ajuma like you can in the way Tuna Puzzler described???? I don't want to play two games but my sister is interested in doing it while she's recooperating from surgery, so I'd really like to know.

I was just posting about this earlier today. I think it would work, because the applications are installed separately and using separate folders. But Barbara would be the one to know for sure. Or, you/she could just try it and see - just back-up the images you are using now, just in case (game files too.) Tuna has used it that way, so if you have the same system I'm guessing you could too.

Hope your sis is doing well.