Virtual Villagers 3:
The Secret City
Platform: Download (Mac, Windows)
Virtual Villagers is back, and we're so excited we couldn't wait until the weekend to tell you! With Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City, the surprisingly addictive real-time simulation game sticks with its proven formula and makes a few minor tweaks to freshen up gameplay. With new secrets to uncover, new technologies, real-time weather effects and a whole new island to explore, Virtual Villagers 3 has all the ingredients that made the first games so compelling, plus more.
The people of Isola have prospered over the years, but they're quickly outgrowing their villages. A small group sets out over the sea to find a new part of the island to inhabit. A mighty storm hits and blows the raft off course, setting your people in the ruins of a once-great city. Explore the new corner of Isola, rebuild the structures rotting on the land, and unravel the mysteries within.
If you're unfamiliar with the Virtual Villagers series, here's the scoop. Your goal is to help the village thrive by keeping its occupants fed, healthy, happy, and busy. Train villagers to perform tasks by dragging and dropping them onto different areas on the map. Placing a character over berries, for example, sets him or her to harvest food, while dropping someone on an unfinished structure puts them to work building. As each villager performs a task, his or her skill in that area increases, creating a faster, more efficient worker than before. Technologies can also be researched to give your villagers more powerful skills that make your job easier to accomplish. They're also the key to uncovering over a dozen hidden secrets of the ancient ruins...
Virtual Villagers takes place in real-time, meaning even when you aren't playing the game your villagers are eating, drinking, gathering food and carrying out other assigned tasks. If you leave them alone for too long, you'll return to find starving villagers or worse, a town full of skeletons. This creates a wonderful virtual pet kind of feeling and makes you want to hop on and check your villagers' progress several times a day. It's great for short spurts of gaming and has loads of replay value.
The third game in the series doesn't mess with the established formula, keeping the drag and drop interface and basic tasks unchanged. The technologies are tweaked slightly, and new Nature and Magic factions allow you to increase food production or scientific research, altering the flow of the game. One fun new feature in Virtual Villagers 3 is real-time weather effects such as rain, clouds, fog, thunder and sunshine. These play a role in uncovering the game's secrets and can cause your villagers to change their behavior, such as scampering for cover when it begins to rain. There's even an in-game achievement system that rewards you for hitting certain milestones.
Analysis: It's no secret that Virtual Villagers is one of the most entertaining and loved casual game series around. The combination of simple but rewarding village management tasks, real-time gameplay and long-term mysteries to be solved creates a strong bond between player, game, and villagers. The result is something you can't wait to check up on a dozen or more times throughout the day and keep playing week after week. The down side to this consistent gameplay is that many times you'll run out of things to do. Often you'll set a few villagers to work and run out of tasks, forcing you to take a break even though you just got started.
Be sure to also read our reviews of the first two games in the series: Looking for some hints and tips or a walkthrough for getting the most out of Virtual Villagers 3?
Virtual Villagers 3 shows some improvements over previous games in the series, but I feel it's evolving a bit too slowly. Some crucial villager management tools — like the ability to zoom or group multiple people to assign tasks — are still missing, and when compared to the first two games the engine is practically identical. The series could use a little stirring up at this point, though the third installment doesn't show any signs of going stale. Graphical refinement is by far the most needed upgrade, as the tired visuals and jerky animations are showing their age the third time around.
Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City is more of the same casual strategy from previous games, which is definitely a good thing. Whether you're a Virtual Villagers veteran or a new player looking for something unique, engaging and fun, this game is sure to captivate you for weeks on end.
Windows:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Virtual Villagers 3 is available to download from these affiliates:
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May 28, 2008 8:53 PM
Walkthrough Guide
We've completed a Virtual Villagers 3 walkthrough hint guide to help you through...
http://jayisgames.com/archives/2008/05/virtual_villagers_3_hint_through.php
Posted by: Jay
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May 29, 2008 4:40 AM
Virtual Villagers 3 Strategy Guide and Walkthroughs
Getting Started
Fire
Drop a villager on the dry wood in the pile by the beach (FYI, this wood is always "dry" even if it's raining). He will carry it to the fire pit automatically. Drop a villager on the pile of dry grass near the waterfall. When grass and wood are in place, drop a villager on the fire pit again. To replenish the fire, occasionally drop a villager on the wood pile again and he will just add dry wood. You can monitor how much fire time remains by clicking on the fire pit.
Get Honey (Puzzle #2):
Drop a villager in front of the beehive, on the torches, until the status bar reads "Trying an Idea". To harvest the honey, you will have to drop a villager in front of the hive repeatedly; it helps if it's a farmer. Monitor the honey's output by clicking on the hive.
Identify the Chief (Puzzle #1):
Drag villagers one by one to the red and yellow robe that is hanging at the amphitheater. Have each one try it on till the chief is identified. If you've tried all your villagers and none are the chief, it's probably the baby of a nursing mom. Wait and try it again. Later in the game, you'll need to repeat this process if your chief dies. At Level 1 of Leadership, your chief can grant magic food: drop her on the food bin in case of emergency. The Chief can only do this once every 24 hours, so use it wisely.
Plant the Seed:
Something fruit-shaped will appear on the ground in the soil area (keypad section 6). Drop a villager on it. He will plant it and it will become a fruit tree.
Get a Scientist, a Farmer and a Builder Going:
You need a villager to continually harvest honey. Then, you need one to begin researching, at the table in the messy lab (keypad section 4). At this point, if you have a third free adult villager, start him or her clearing the leaves (in keypad section 3).
Rebuild the Lab (Puzzle #3):
When you have an Adept Scientist, drop him or her on the items that are strewn around the village in random places. There are five items total. You'll have to drop a villager on each one separately; he won't go back and forth. The items are: a plain brown pot, a yellow and white pot, a red and white pot, a gray bowl with spoons, and a multi-colored stick-shaped item. The items are in a different place in each game.
Collect Herbs:
Any villager can collect the herbs that are located around the village. The five herbs available to you at this time are (starting at top of map and working counter-clockwise):
Tiger Lily: Orange flower at the top of the path (keypad section 8)
Rose: red and pink bush at the base of the rock wall in the orchard (keypad section 6)
Black Orchid: dark purple flower in the grassy area under the orchard (keypad section 3)
Lotus: small pink flower just to the right of the bath (keypad section 1)
Cactus: a prickly-pear plant just to the right of the lab, on the dirt path (keypad section 4)
6th herb:
Another herb will become available to you when you buy Level 2 Faction with tech points. It is a pitcher plant or a berry bush. It will appear to the left of the lab, near the community toilet area. (Nice!)
A villager will bring an herb to the lab and put it on the table. Only three herbs can be collected and stored at any time.
Make Potions:
A potion requires three herbs, in any combination of the five or six available. See the Potion Recipes section for specific potion walkthroughs. When the lab table is holding three herbs, drop an Adept or Master Scientist onto the table and he or she will begin preparing the potion. You can have the scientist or any other villager test a potion—but if it is harmful, the villager's health will be compromised.
Any time you have free people that aren't researching or nursing or collecting food, keep them working on Clearing Leaves:
Sending lots of untrained villagers to clear leaves at the grassy area to the far right of the village will help you complete Puzzle #4, and is also an easy build project that will give builders experience. People tend to wander off from this project so use the chief to help direct work. You might consider setting your villagers to this before you turn the game off for the night, and coming back to the completed results in the morning (a burial area).
Once Your Village is Running
Buy Some Technology:
At this point, if you are going to keep playing for a while and want the instant gratification, purchase Level 2 Alchemy so that your scientist can make more potions without blowing himself up. But, if you can take a break and let the clock run for awhile to accrue more tech points, wait to buy... then when you return, buy Level 2 Restoration first. Save for Level 2 Alchemy when your points are back up.
So, if you buy Level 2 Alchemy at this point, I would keep your scientist on potions, your farmer harvesting honey and fruit (when the tree is mature), and your builder on clearing leaves.
When you buy Level 2 Restoration, Rebuild the Lift (Puzzle #6):
You'll need a couple of Adept Builders for this; the Chief will be of assistance too.
Drop at least two builders on the broken machine in the orchard. When they have repaired it, it can be used to harvest seeds from the tree above the orchard. Two more seeds can be planted in total.
The lift only works in the rain, so you'll have to either wait for rain to come, or create rain by performing a weather dance (Puzzle #5). When it starts to rain, drop a villager on the platform of the lift while it is still on the ground (a villager cannot board the lift once the platform has begun to raise). The rain will fill the bucket which will raise the villager up to get a seed. Plant the seed right away. After the third tree has sprouted, the seeds that drop from the tree will go into the food bin. Once all three trees are mature and producing fruit, you will have completed Puzzle #10 (The Orchard).
If you can support them with food, don't forget to make babies if you haven't already... and don't forget that nursing moms are out of commission for two game years (or, approximately 240 minutes on "normal" speed). Try to always have a baby in the village, as long as your population will support it.
If you have a Master Builder at this point, then A:
Draw the Bath Plans. Drop the Master Builder onto the blank drawing board in the alchemy lab. He will make plans for repairing the bath (Puzzle #8), and you can start putting builders on this. This project takes a long time; a Chief directing work will help.
If you don't have a Master Builder at this point, then B:
either leave your villagers clearing leaves—or if that's finished, drop them onto another project: rebuilding the hut nearest the food bin, or clearing the rubble to the right of the bath.
At this point, the game can go many different directions, based on your play variables. Here are the specific solutions for the remaining Puzzles:
Puzzle #5
The Weather Dance:
Prerequisites: Level 2 Leadership, at least 2 Adept Farmers, and a completed Puzzle #1. Drop your chief on the fire and he will start to do a rain dance. Drop at least two other farmers on the fire as well, and rain will happen. If you did not get a "puzzle completed" pop-up window, you might need to add another farmer, so repeat the process of dropping the Chief and then three farmers onto the fire.
Puzzle #9
Repairing the Statue:
Prerequisites: Level 3 Restoration, Level 3 Leadership, completed Puzzle #8, a Chief, lots of trained builders.
Make sure the bath is totally completed, at which point the plans will disappear from the lab chalkboard. Drop a Master Builder on the chalkboard again to draw plan for repairing the statue.
Then, fly a Master Builder over the stone path to the key door. At some point, the builder will "see a good place to anchor the statue." Drop him on that spot and he or she will build the scaffolding. Then, drop your chief onto the statue to direct work. Put as many builders as you have free onto this project, which takes a really long time. They will slooooooowly inch the statue up the hill and back into position.
Puzzle #11
Getting Rid of the Sharks.
Prerequisites: Level 2 Faction, a working alchemy lab and Adept Scientist.
Once you have the sixth herb from leveling up in your faction, you can get rid of the sharks with a potion. The potion recipe is Orchid + Orchid + 6th herb (for Nature Faction), or Rose + Rose + 6th herb (for Magic Faction).
Have a scientist make the potion, then use it. She will then fill a vial with the potion, carry it to the ocean and dump it in. The sharks will disappear and your villagers can fish in peace. From here on out, you don't have to worry about food any longer.
Puzzle #12
Aromatherapy
Prerequisites: Level 3 Medicine, a completed Puzzle #8, and a Master Doctor.
Put a Master Doctor near or in the bath; he will begin collecting lotus flowers and placing them in the bath bowls. Once all six bowls are filled, drop the doctor on the fire. He will light a torch and then light the flower bowls to create aromatherapy.
Puzzle #13
The White Gem Key
Prerequisites:(None, but you have to wait for the fire to burn a certain amount of time. You will know it's ready when it is giving off sparkles. If you can't see sparkles but think it might have been long enough, you can check by dropping a villager on the waterfall on the right. If he or she collects water in a bowl and dumps it on the fire pit, you can solve this puzzle. If she just gets a drink, you'll have to wait longer.)
So, you can either have the villagers put the fire out (with water in bowls), or you can just wait for the fire to burn out. When the fire is out, you will see a white diamond gem on the fire pit. Immediately afterward, it will be too hot for your villagers to pick up—but again, you can either have them pour bowls of water on it, or just wait for time to pass. When the gem is cool, drop a villager on it and he will take it to the door.
Puzzle #14
The Pink Gem Key
Prerequisites: completed Puzzle #3 (alchemy).
To reach the pink gem key on the cliff over the rose bush, a villager will need to jump up and grab it. Have a scientist make a "light and springy potion" (Rose + Cactus + Lotus). Drop a villager on the potion, wait till he drinks it, then drop him on the ground right under the gem. He will jump up and collect it, then take it to the door. Do not pick him up during the trip to the door, or he will drop the key and you will have to start again.
Puzzle #15
The Round Pearl Key
Prerequisites: A Chief, a Master Builder, a Master Scientist and a completed Puzzle #9.
After the statue is complete, a Master Builder can collect an odd-looking item from the base, near the amphitheater. It looks like a dark blue seashell. It will need to be rounded off in the waterfall, but only by a Master Builder. Then it will need to be polished, but only by a Master Scientist. Once the pearl is completed, the Scientist will leave it in the lab. Drop the Chief on the pearl, who will then take it over to the giant clam on the coral reef, and swap the light blue pearl for the dark one. This is the third key to the door at the top of the path.
Puzzle #16
Prerequisites: Completed Puzzles #13, 14, 15
[I am sorry to report that I played a test version of VV3, which had a bug that prevented one from reaching the final puzzle.
I got this puzzle tip from someone else but haven't played this piece myself. I am currently trying to re-play to the end in order to correct this. But, proceed at your own risk from here! ~ pineapple]
Once you have the three keys in the door, a special room will appear.
Put a villager on the farthest left position of the sun dial.
Wait for the sun.
Have a villager interact with the people that appear.
Posted by: pineapple
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May 30, 2008 9:27 PM
Virtual Villagers 3 – FAQ
We see a lot of the same questions on this game, so here is a FAQ from JIG. Please read through these questions and answers before posting your question on the thread.
Question #1 – I’ve bought level 2 Faction, but I can’t find the sixth herb. Where is it?
Nature Faction will give you the Pitcher Plant and Magic Faction will give you the Berry Bush. Both are located to the left of the Alchemy Lab. Here are screenshots to help you.
Pitcher Plant:
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_pitcherplant.jpg
Berry Bush:
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_berrybush.jpg
Question #2 – My villagers are starving. How can I get more food?
Plant all three fruit trees. You’ll need level 2 Restoration to repair the lift. It will take three Adept Builders at the same time. After repairing the lift, put a villager on it when it starts to rain. The villager will be lifted up to the tree and a seed will fall. Do this twice to plant the fruit trees. You can support 12 to 15 villagers with the fruit from these trees.
Make it a priority to get level 2 Faction so that you can get the sixth herb. You must have this herb to make the potion to get rid of the sharks. Check the list of potions in the walkthrough to find the one you need.
In the meantime, your chief can make magic food every 24 hours and have your children collect mushrooms to help with food points. You can use a trick to double your food points when a child picks up a mushroom. Pause the game by tapping the spacebar, drop the first child on the mushroom, unpause and re-pause quickly by tapping the spacebar twice quickly, drop the second child. Unpause and both children will pick up the mushroom if you are quick enough. You can try to get three children if you’re really quick.
Question #3 – I put two Adept Builders on the lift, but they won’t fix it. What am I doing wrong?
You need three Adept Builders to fix the lift. Put them on it at the same time.
Question #4 – How can I get more tech points?
One thing that will help is duplicate collectibles. After you already have an item, the duplicates of it will earn tech points for you. Common items earn 100 points, uncommon items earn 250 points, and rare items earn 1,500 points. You can also double that amount by dropping two children on the item: pause by tapping the space bar, drop the first child, unpause and re-pause by tapping the space bar twice quickly, drop the second child, unpause one last time. If you do it quick enough, both children will pick up the item (or mushroom) for double the points.
Question #5 – My statue is stuck at the top of the path. My chief won’t direct work. What do I do?
This is probably a bug that has been fixed in Version 1.00.04. Check the lower left corner of your details screen for your version. If you have the older version, go back to the site where you originally purchased the game and download it again. Save it on top of your existing game and you shouldn’t lose your progress.
Question #6 – My chief died and I can’t find a new one. What do I do?
One of your villagers is definitely your chief. You can use the details screen to make sure you test every villager or you can pause the game and drop everyone on the robe at the same time. Keep in mind that nursing mothers cannot try on the robe. If none of your villagers is the chief, have the mothers and babies try on the robe when she’s through nursing.
Question #7 - How do I get my villagers to have babies? How do they have twins and triplets?
It's somewhat difficult to have babies at the beginning of the game. It gets easier as you buy Medicine technology and villagers gain parenting experience. However, until then, you need to be persistent. Also, you don't have to wait for them to actually go indoors. When you hear the kissing sound after dropping them, that's when it happens. You can immediately pick the villager up and drop him/her again. Do it over and over until you see the population counter go up or the female is carrying a baby. Don't give up and it will happen eventually, even if you have to drop them 15 times in a row!
Twins and triplets occur randomly. They come late in the game after you've purchased medical technology and your villagers are in overall good health. Fertility potions don't help with twins and triplets..
Question #8 - I don't have any more building projects. How can I train more builders?
Your villagers can still gain building experience after all the projects are finished. Drop a villager onto a completed hut for repairs. There is also an energy potion that will sometimes (not every time) increase building skill. The potion is:
Cactus+Tiger Lily+Black Orchid
Question #9 - How do I get a villager past the age of 90?
There’s not really anything specific to get a villager over the age of 90. It will come late in the game when you have most, if not all, of the puzzles solved. They help with the overall health of villagers. Also, maintain good conditions for the villagers. Keep the fire burning. Train lots of doctors. And keep in mind that the aromatherapy puzzle, for example, may not immediately produce longer life for the existing adults. However, children born after the aromatherapy puzzle will be healthier and will live longer. Also, having Nature Faction increases longevity. You’ll get 90+ villagers eventually. I have a few who lived past 100.
Question #10 - How do I train doctors?
Once you purchase level 2 Medicine, you can train doctors at the hospital to the right of the science lab. It works just like training scientists. Drop a villager on the table area where the beds are and he/she will gain experience as a doctor.
Question #11 - Where are all of the herbs?
Here is a list of all the herbs, plus screenshots of each.
All the herbs:
Tiger lily - At the top of the path.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_tigerlily.jpg
Rose - At the base of the cliff, where the children play in the dirt.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_rose.jpg
Cactus - To the right of the science lab.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_cactus.jpg
Lotus Plant - To the right of the bath.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_lotusplant.jpg
Black Orchid - Below where the children play in the dirt, against the wall.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_blackorchid.jpg
Pitcher Plant (Nature Faction 6th herb) - To the left of the alchemy lab.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_pitcherplant.jpg
Berry Bush (Magic Faction 6th herb) - To the left of the alchemy lab.
http://jayisgames.com/images/hs_pam_virtualvillagers3_berrybush.jpg
Question #12 - Will I be able to collect all of the tablet pieces after the rubble is cleared?
Yes. The tablet pieces will continue to appear in the same area even after the rubble is cleared.
Quesion #13 - I've finished the bath, but the plans won't clear from the chalkboard so I can draw the ones for the statue. What should I do?
This is a known bug in the game. According to the game's developers, you can still write the plans for the statue on top of the bath plans by dropping a Master Builder on the chalkboard once the bath is completed. It will look messy with both drawings on top of each other, but you will still be able to do the statue puzzle.
Posted by: Pam
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September 2, 2008 4:05 PM