Virtual Villagers 4:
The Tree of Life Walkthrough
We have just finished a massive walkthrough guide for
Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life. This guide will provide all you need to help you get the most from your experience with the latest Virtual Villagers game. Be warned: This guide does contain spoilers, so proceed with caution and as a last resort!
This walkthrough for Virtual Villagers 4 is broken up into four sections:
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A step-by-step strategy guide through the game, from beginning to end
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A technical section devoted strictly to things like the stew recipes, collectibles, etc.
Actual solutions will be hidden by spoilers.
1. General Information
If you've played any of the Virtual Villagers games before, some things are the same and some have changed.
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Learn the controls! There are some changes and new editions to the control structure, so familiarize yourself with them. The most useful control to learn is the new detail "camera" located at the bottom right of the screen. You can use this to quickly locate any individual on the island. Click on the right arrow (when the screen is blank) and it goes to the youngest tribe member. Continue to click the right arrow and you will scroll through your villagers from youngest to oldest. As each one comes up in the "camera", the game will zoom to that person. This is especially helpful when trying to find children quickly. Click on the left arrow (when the screen is blank) and you will go to the oldest person in the tribe. Continue to click and you will cycle from oldest to youngest. You will notice that all controls have migrated to the bottom of the screen, allowing for wider vistas of the lovely Island of Isola.
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Watch your levels closely! At the top of the screen are the totals of your population, your food supply, and your current tech points. Screenshot of overview of controls
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Plan carefully! Choose your beginning villagers wisely, the success of your tribe depends on it.
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Learn the double collect trick! To double collect an item with children do as follows: once you spot a collectible or mushroom, find the nearest child. Pick the child up and pause the game (with the space bar). Drop the child on the collectible and go find a second child. Pick up the second child and go back to the object. Once you are hovering over the object (and the first dropped child) hit the space bar to unpause and quickly drop the second child right next to the first. If done properly and the timing is right, both children will run away with the same object. This is invaluable in bolstering food supplies when collecting mushrooms, and in gaining tech points when collecting other collectibles. WARNING: do not drop a child directly onto the other, this will cause them to drop the item and go off for a jumping contest. Make sure that the children are side-by-side.
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Collect Ruthlessly! Mushrooms can mean the difference between life and death to your tribe in the early stages, and the boost in tech points from collectibles allows you to purchase necessary second stage technology quickly. Children are also handy to collect the herbs for stews as they will bring them to the lab quickly.
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Watch for sparkles! Mushrooms and collectibles produce faint white sparkles, which enable them to be spotted more easily.
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Cross Train Ruthlessly! Some tasks will require villagers with more than one skill, and it is helpful to be able to quickly shift your workforce from one task to another if necessary.
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Learn to Navigate! You can move around the area in several different ways. (1) Left click on the ground and drag, this will move the visible area around. (2) Use the number keypad: the area is broken into roughly 9 grids, corresponding to the numbers on the keypad of your keyboard. The bottom row of numbers (1, 2, and 3) cover the "south" area, the middle row of numbers (4, 5, and 6) cover the "middle" area, and the top row of numbers (7, 8, 9) cover the "north" area. The number keypad is an easy way to quickly look for collectibles. (3) Use the detail "camera". Use the right and left arrows of the camera to select a villager and the screen will zoom to where they are. The detail "camera" will not work if the game is paused. (4) Use the overall map. Use the map button on the controls to get a bird's eye overall view of the area. From the map click on the area you wish to go and it will zoom to that area.
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Don't pick up a villager that is busy unless it is absolutely necessary! If you pick up a villager that is in the process of a task or is carrying something, they will drop the item and it will be lost. They will also "forget" what it is they were doing.
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Children under the age of 14 will not work, except for picking up mushrooms and collectibles! Once they reach age 14 you can put them to work, but they won't be fully "adult" until age 18. That means if a story time for the children is going on, the 14-17 year olds will drop work and attend. Villagers cannot have children until fully "adult", i.e. the age of 18.
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Based on their parentage, some children will be born with a little bit of skill in some areas. Children can also be "trained" somewhat by using the nursery school.
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Nursing mothers will not work until the baby is 2 years old! So be careful about getting the women pregnant. With no one farming a tribe can easily starve.
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Don't forget to take off the parenting preference if you are going to leave the game! If you forget and leave a male villager on parenting, you may wake up to a tribe that has doubled or more in size, or one that has starved from too many people and not enough food.
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The game continues even when it is turned off! Virtual Villagers 4 plays in "real time", which means things will still happen even when the game is closed. Remember this if you're going to be away for a while.
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Choose your time settings wisely! Playing in "fast" mode live is fun, but if you're going to be gone for a while consider switching to "Normal", "Slow", or even "Pause". If something goes wrong, you can come back to a dead village and have to start over again.
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Do not mess with your computer clock to "fast forward" the game! Not only can this mess up other things on your computer, it can create havoc within the game. Trying this can result in a dead tribe, or problems with regenerating crops like the blackberries.
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The weather is your friend! Yes, rain and fog are annoying and tend to hide things, but they are extremely useful. When it rains, mushrooms pop out at a much faster rate, allowing more food collection. When the wind blows off of the ocean, it brings the fog. It also causes the wind flutes to blow, and they cause collectibles to show up more frequently.
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Fire is your friend! A fire not only keeps your villagers warm and cuts down on illness, it is necessary for several tasks, such as tool-making.
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I ain't afraid of no ghost! Yes, you will see ghosts. Never fear, they are there to help. For more on ghosts see the section on collectibles for the Mausoleum.
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Don't forget to set work preferences for your villagers! For instance, if you want someone farming, make sure to check the farming preference. Villagers without preferences set will often wander around and do their own thing.
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You can choose the hut locations! When the foundation for a hut shows up, you can pick it up and move it to a place of your choosing (within reason). Look closely at the outline of the foundation, green means an area that the hut can be built in, red means you can't build there. Choose locations wisely: try not to impede frequently used paths, such as those from the blackberries or fruit trees to the food hut.
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Use children as temporary healers! If a villager becomes sick before you have a hospital to train doctors, find the nearest child, set their preference to healing, and drop them on the ill individual. Keep doing this until they heal the villager.
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Watch where people go! Children (and adults) will often wander off to look at "interesting" areas of the island. These areas are usually important.
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Fly around the island! Pick up a child and hover him/her over various interesting areas and watch the text that shows up in the control screen. Do this with adults as well, to identify certain items and hotspots that are important to the game.
2. Strategy Guide
Getting Started (basic food and shelter)
Choose Your Team
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You will pick the five members of your new village from a large pool of hopefuls.
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A good basic strategy is to pick a balance of men and women, with at least one child.
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If you are going to be playing with the tutorial on, it's better to not choose a nursing mother, as the tutorial has you produce a baby. Nursing mothers do not work, so be careful about breeding early on.
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Try for a mix of talents. It's good to have one person with building skills, one with farming skills, and one with research skills.
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This strategy guide is based on four adults (one a nursing mother) and one child.
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Don't pick all of one gender. With no way to produce children, your village will die of old age.
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Experienced players might like to go with something more challenging, like all children.
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Younger is better. Until you can afford third level medicine, your villagers will start becoming elderly in their 50's or early 60's and die earlier.
On the Island
Start a Fire
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Your villagers will appear on an area covered by large, flat gray rocks. There's the food bin at the bottom of the gray rock area. Just above (or north) of the food bin is a black circle, this is where your fire will go.
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North of the black circle is a pile of wood. Drop an adult on the wood pile.
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Also north and a bit east of the black circle (just to the left of the wooden staircase going up the cliff) is a small patch of dry grass. Drop an adult on the patch of grass.
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Once both grass and wood have been placed in the black circle drop an adult on them to make a fire.
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Screenshot of location of firewood, grass, food bin, and fire area
Puzzle 1: "Cutting Tool"
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South and slightly to the east of the food bin (on the beach) is a large fish skeleton. Drop an adult on the skeleton and they will use the bones to make three cutting tools. Once the tools are made they will deposit them in the science lab.
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You can store up to six sharp tools in the lab.
Food
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Find the blackberry bush on the south west part of the island, below the science lab, to the left of the wooden bridge that leads to the lab. Set your designated villager's settings to farmer and drop them on the bush to collect blackberries while you are waiting for the sharp tools to be made.
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Once the sharp tools are made, pick up the farmer and drop him/her on the sharp tools in the lab. They will use one of the tools to collect a large amount of blackberries at once.
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Use the other two tools in the science lab to collect more blackberries.
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At the same time, search for mushrooms with the child.
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Continue making tools and using them to collect blackberries until you have at least 250 in the food bin. At this point the other villagers will stop worrying about food and stick to their tasks.
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Once you have at least 250 in the food bin, drop your farmer on the berry bush and let them harvest in the usual manner.
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If you have a fourth adult who is not a nursing mother, put them on the bush as well until the food count reaches 400.
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Continue to look for mushrooms with the child.
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Once you reach 3000 tech points buy second level food production to maximize the food from the berry bush and the mushrooms.
Getting Started in the Lab
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Find your designated researcher, set their preferences, then drop them on the larger of the two tables in the lab (west side of the island).
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If you have a fourth adult that you've been using to get food, switch them over to research and get them started in the lab.
Construction
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While your farmer is getting berries, find your designated builder.
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There will be two "foundations" on the ground, one a regular hut, one the "honeymoon" hut (for villagers to discuss having children).
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Place the foundations where you would like them to be built, then place your builder on the "honeymoon" hut foundation. That's the one with the flowers.
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Once the "honeymoon" hut is built take your builder to the top of the cliff on the north east side of the island.
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You will notice a cascading waterfall coming down the rocks, then taking a sharp turn and falling over the cliff.
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Where the water takes a sharp turn is an obstruction. Place your builder there to start clearing the obstruction.
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Once both your scientist and builder have reached adept status, switch their jobs, moving the builder to research and the researcher to building.
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When the blockage is cleared and the water surrounds the tree, move the builder to the regular hut and have them start building.
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When the hut is done, and you still haven't gotten construction level 2, drop your builder onto the piers and have him/her repair them.
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Once your berries are gone, move your farmer over to research.
Solving Early Puzzles
Puzzle 2: "Stream"
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At this point you should have one builder, one farmer, and one (or two) researchers working.
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Hopefully you have at least one villager who is both an adept scientist and an adept builder.
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Take a look at the water flowing around the tree. Notice that it is falling down a hole rather than flowing through the rest of the scene.
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At the base of the cliff, where the waterfall used to be, is a chevron shaped stone that looks like it would plug the hole.
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Find your villager who is both an adept builder and an adept scientist, and drop him/her on the stone.
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Your villager will plug the hole, and the water will now flow through the pool beside the lab and down towards the blackberry bush.
Puzzles 3: "Boiling Water" and Puzzle 4: "Soap"
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Puzzle 3 is boiling water, puzzle 4 is making soap. You can kill two birds with one stone by boiling water to make soap.
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To boil water: you first need to bring water to the kettle in the lab. At the cliff are two sets of bowls, one set at the top of the cliff is for fresh water, one set at the bottom of the cliff is for salt water.
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At the bottom of the bridge to the lab, just to the left of the bridge, is a pile of stones. If you hover an adult over these stones they see "blackened" stones.
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Drop an adult on these stones and they will carry one to the fire.
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Wait a while and the stone will glow red, indicating that it is ready.
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Drop an adult on the red hot stone in the fire and they will carry it back to the lab, but only if there is water in the pot.
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To make soap: at the base of the bridge to the lab (to the left of the "blackened" stones) is a white flower. Hover a child over it and they will call it a "soapy smelling" plant.
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Use a child to collect three of the white flowers and bring them to the lab. The child will place the flowers on the smaller lab table.
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Once the flowers are collected have an adult get salt water using the lower set of bowls.
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Once the pot has water, have an adult bring a stone to the fire.
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Drop an adult on the red hot stone in the fire and they will bring it to the lab.
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Once the water is boiling you will get puzzle 3. Immediately drop an adult on the small lab table where the white flowers are.
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The adult will add the flowers one at a time and make soap.
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When the water disappears from the pot, drop an adult on it and they will stack the soap on a nearby rack.
Puzzle 6: "Frogs"
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Requires Puzzle 2 (the stream) to be complete.
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Below and to the right of the stairs going up the cliff is a large palm tree.
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Notice that when it rains this area fills with water, and frogs start jumping around.
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Once puzzle 2 is complete, wait for it to rain.
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When it rains and the puddles appear, drop adults in it to catch frogs and move them up to the stream.
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Repeat until about 6 frogs have been rescued.
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The frogs will now live in the stream underneath the tree.
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Solving this puzzle will also make the tree slightly healthier.
Keeping Your Tribe Alive
Puzzle 7: "The Pit"
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To get the next food source you need level 2 construction.
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Once you get level 2 construction your builder (or builders) can unearth the fire pit (puzzle 7).
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At the bottom of the screen there are two palm trees with large yellow fruit.
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Near them is an area that is covered in rocks.
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Drop your builder (or builders) on the area to remove the rocks.
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Once the rocks are removed, it is a multi-step process to activate the pit.
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First use a nearby adult to move a stone to the fire.
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Once the stone is hot drop an adult on it to move it to the pit.
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Immediately get another stone on the fire.
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You need to get 4 red hot stones into the fire pit.
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Between the blackberry bush and the bridge to the lab is a banana tree.
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As soon as all 4 stones are in the pit immediately drop an adult on the banana tree to put leaves on the pit.
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Once the pit is activated you can move your farmers to the fruit trees.
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Warning: although this is an unlimited food source (the trees never run out), it is labor intensive (the fruit needs to be picked, then cooked, then transported). Also, only a limited number of farmers can work the trees at the same time. Therefore, this food source can only sustain a tribe so far.
Growing Your Tribe
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After you've secured the second food source you can slowly grow your tribe. Try not to go above 15 members.
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Don't keep too many women nursing at once or you risk the food supply.
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Have your builders finish the second hut and repair the piers (if not already done).
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If you have level 2 science build the clothing hut. It is necessary for several puzzles.
Middle Puzzles
Puzzle 5: "Butterflies"
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At the bottom of the stream, just below the blackberry bush, is a dry plant.
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Once you solve puzzle 2 (the stream), the plant will begin to recover.
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Several hours after puzzle 2 is solved, the plant will fully recover and turn green.
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Drop an adult on the plant to cut the leaves.
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The adult will get covered in sap (you will see green smoke rising from the villager).
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Once this happens butterflies will appear.
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Slowly move the villager to the Tree (the big tree), making sure that the butterflies are following.
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Once you reach the tree, drop the villager on the tree.
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The villager will wipe the sap on the tree and the butterflies will stay.
Puzzle 8: "Cloth"
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This requires the clothing hut be built and sharp tools in the lab.
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On the cliff wall to the left of the staircase is a pulpy vine growing up the cliff.
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Once the clothing hut is built, drop an adult on the pulpy vines.
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The adult will go to the lab, get a tool, cut the vine, and bring three samples back to the lab.
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Cooking time!
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Have an adult fetch salt water for the pot.
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Once the pot has salt water have an adult heat a stone and bring it to the lab.
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When the salt water is boiling drop an adult on the table with the vine samples.
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Once the cooking is done drop an adult on the pot. The adult will take the pot out to a flat rock by the ocean and pour out the pulp.
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When the pulp is poured, keep dropping adults on it to make the cloth (10 times).
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When the cloth is done the adult will take it to the clothing hut for storage (3 bolts of cloth).
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You can store up to six bolts of cloth at the hut.
Puzzle 13: "Prune the Tree"
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Requires level 2 dendrology, cloth, soap, and sharp tools.
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When you have all the requirements, drop an adult on the diseased branch of the tree.
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The villager will go and get cloth to bind the branch.
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Once the branch is bound and braced, drop the adult on the sharp tools in the lab.
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The villager will go and get a sharp tool to remove the branch.
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Once the branch is removed the stump will have black spots.
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Drop the adult on the soap in the lab to clean the black spots.
Puzzle 14: "Honor the Tree"
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Requires at least 20 villagers.
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You need to brew a special stew to have the villagers honor the tree.
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The recipe for the stew is: fresh water, sweet plant + sweet plant + sweet plant.
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Once the stew is brewed you have to move fast. Drop every single villager (adult and child) on the stew to eat it.
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Once they do, they'll take stew to the tree and honor the tree.
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To get the credit you need to have 20 villagers kneeling at the tree at the same time.
Later Puzzles
Puzzle 9: "Nursery School"
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Purchase level 3 Learning.
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The foundation for the nursery will appear after you purchase level 3 learning. Move the foundation where you wish to place it and drop your builders on it to start construction.
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Once constructed you can drop an adult onto the nursery and they will teach the children.
Puzzle 12: "Fishing Nets"
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Requires level 2 construction, cloth.
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If you haven't already, drop builders on the piers to repair them.
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Once repaired, drop a builder on the piers again. The builder will get cloth to string line between the piers and the rocks.
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Keep dropping a builder on the piers until the nets are repaired (make more cloth if necessary).
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Once the nets are repaired, drop farmers onto the piers to retrieve the fish.
Puzzle 10: "Five Stones"
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Clearing the moss off of the five stones below the pool.
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Requires fishing nets repaired, fish caught, two children, one adult.
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Once the fishing nets are repaired, watch as the farmers bring back the fish.
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When that happens crabs will appear on the beach to the right of the cliff staircase.
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However, the crabs move really fast.
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Pick up a child and hover over the beach area until a crab appears.
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Drop the child on the crab. The caption will read "distracting the crab".
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Quickly find another child and drop it on the crab. Now both children are dancing around the crab and the crab slows down.
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Grab an adult and drop it on the crab. The adult will pick up the crab and take it to the mossy stones beneath the pool.
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One crab will clear one stone, so this must be repeated 4 more times.
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Once all the stones are clear, drop an adult on one of the stones to hear the story of the tree.
Puzzle 11: "Grand Feast"
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This puzzle requires a tricky bit of timing, the ability to heat rocks, some children, several adults, and a lot of luck.
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Time to make another stew.
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Have the children collect the herbs for the stew: soapy + spicy + sweet.
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Have an adult bring fresh water to the pot.
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Start heating a stone.
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Move the stone to the pot to boil the water.
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Immediately drop an adult on the table to make the stew.
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Once the herbs are in you must do several things at once: drop an adult on the food bin to bring food to the stew, drop an adult on the fruit trees to bring fruit, drop an adult on the blackberry bush, drop an adult on the pier to bring a fish, and drop a child on a mushroom (this is where luck comes in).
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If you can get all the ingredients (herbs, food, fruit, berries, fish, mushroom) into the pot before it stops boiling, then drop an adult on the pot to taste the stew. This triggers the grand feast.
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If you can't get all the ingredients in before it stops boiling, you'll have to empty the pot and start again.
Puzzle 15: "Purify the Tree"
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Requires: level 3 dendrology, soap, the nursery or an adept parent.
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Drop an adult on the hole in the base of the tree.
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It will say that it requires someone "clean of body" to heal the tree.
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Drop an adult on the soap rack in the lab.
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The adult will put soap into the pool and suds will appear.
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Drop an adult into the sudsy water and wait for them to emerge.
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Make sure that there are no children at the base of the tree.
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When the adult emerges he/she will have white sparkles.
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Drop the sparkling adult on the hole in the tree. It will say that it requires someone "clean of mind".
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At this point drop a random adult into the nursery to move all of the children there.
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Take your sparkling adult to the wind flutes and hover him over the area. When you see "an area to meditate" drop the villager there.
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Wait for the villager to finish meditating. Make sure that no child or adult disturbs the meditation.
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Now the adult will be sparkling white and gold.
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Make sure no one is at the base of the tree, and drop the sparkling adult onto the hole.
Puzzle 16: "Decorate the Tree"
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Requires: 3 bolts of cloth, hummingbirds, healthy tree, several children.
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In the lab, below the main table, are three boxes with old braids in them.
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Drop an adult onto one of the boxes. The adult will take the braid out to the stone where they manufacture cloth.
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Once the braid is laid out drop an adult on the braid. The adult will go get cloth to repair the braid.
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When the braid is repaired you need to wait for a hummingbird to show up (hummingbirds will appear when the tree is three steps above nearly dead).
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When a hummingbird appears, follow it and see which flower it sets down on.
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When the hummingbird flies away, find the nearest child and drop it on the flower.
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Keep dropping the child until it plucks the flower. Once it does, find more children and drop them on the flower (6 in all). You have to move fast, while the flower is still good.
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The children will carry the flowers to the braid and start making the lei. The sixth child will add a flower, then take the garland and decorate the tree.
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Repeat the entire process (braid, repair, hummingbird, flowers) two more times for a total of three garlands.
3. Recipes, Technologies, and More
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Stews
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There are three herbs to make stews with: the soapy plant (white flowers, below the lab by the bridge), the sweet plant (yellow flowers, just above the lab), and the spicy plant (orange flower, to the left of the tree of life). The only other item to use is the pulpy vine, and it makes cloth.
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As a general rule, stews to be eaten are made with fresh water, manufactured items (soap and cloth) are made with salt water.
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You must have three herbs to make a stew.
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The hot rocks don't stay hot for very long, so once the water is boiling make the stew immediately.
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Edible stews require three herbs, fresh boiling water, and food from the food bin. The only exception is the grand feast stew.
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This is a spreadsheet of all stew recipes and their effects.
Virtual Villagers 4 : Stews -
Collectibles
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The collectibles are not just a fun side quest, they are actually incorporated into the game.
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When the wind flutes blow (when mist comes in from the ocean) collectibles appear. A complete collection of wind flutes adds 5 to your max population and causes many collectibles, especially rare ones, to appear when the mist blows in.
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When the mausoleum collection is complete, your max population goes up by 5, and ghosts of dead villagers will appear to point out rare collectibles.
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When the lab collection is complete, max population goes up by 5 and researchers earn tech points more quickly.
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When the fish scale collection is complete, max population goes up again. Completion is also supposed to make the golden fish appear in the nets, but I had golden fish appearing before my collection was complete.
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Technologies
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You start with level 1 in all technologies.
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Science technology levels 2 and 3 increase the amount of tech points your researchers earn. Level 2 also makes the clothing hut foundation appear.
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Dendrology level 1 allows the frog rescue, level 2 allows the branch pruning, and level 3 allows the hole to be repaired.
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Medicine level 1 allows your villagers to live to their early 60s, level 2 to their late 60s, and level 3 to their 70s and beyond. Level 3 also allows the construction of the hospital, where you can train doctors.
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Learning technology increases the rate at which the villagers learn. Level 3 allows the building of the nursery school where you can train children.
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Construction technology level 1 allows you to build the honeymoon hut, the first hut, clear the debris at the waterfall, and repair the piers. Level 2 allows the second hut, the clearing of the fire pit, and the construction of the ropes from the piers to the rocks. Level 3 allows the third hut and repairing the nets.
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Food technology has nothing to do with the production of food (that is dependent on construction technology). Food technology increases the yield of food gathered. Level 2 adds 50% to the yield, level 3 doubles it.
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Gray mushrooms: level 1 = 6 food points, level 2 = 9 food points, level 3 = 12 food points.
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Red mushrooms: level 1 = 35 food points, level 2 = 52 food points, level 3 = 70 food points.
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Blackberries: Initially yield 9 or 10 food points, eventually settles down to 2 food points. Level 1 = 2 food points, level 2 = 3 food points, level 4 = 4 food points. Harvesting blackberries with the sharp tools = 40 food points.
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Tree fruit: level 1 = 3 food points, level 2 = 4 food points, level 3 = 6 food points.
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Regular (purple) fish: level 1 = 4 food points, level 2 = 6 food points, level 3 = 8 food points.
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Golden fish: level 1 = 8 food points, level 2 = 12 food points, level 3 = 16 food points.
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Crabs (after used to clear moss): level 1 = 35 food points, level 2 = 52 food points, level 3 = 70 food points.
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4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Why do I see more collectibles in the mist?
The wind flutes play when the mist rolls in, and they cause more collectibles to appear.
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Where do I find the collectibles?
The wind flutes, lab equipment, and mausoleum collectibles appear everywhere, from the cliffs to the southern edge of the screen. The fish scales only show up in the tidal pool.
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My tribe is starving! How do I get more food?
If you can't afford the technology for more food products, make sure you have at least 1 and preferably 2 children. Children can gather mushrooms for extra food points.
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I boiled the water and added the herbs, why is my stew unfinished?
The final ingredient to be added is food from the food bin.
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I added berries to the stew and it didn't work, what did I do wrong?
You shouldn't add food directly from the source, except for the grand feast stew. All other stews require food from the food bin only.
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Why are the ghosts appearing?
Those are the ghosts of dead villagers, and they are benign, helpful ghosts. They appear to point out rare collectibles.
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Where are the esteemed elders like in the previous games?
The only title a villager can earn besides master in a craft is scholar, which is mastery in all 5 vocations.
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Where did these hummingbirds come from?
Once the tree gets to a certain stage of health (3 levels above nearly dead), the hummingbirds appear to pollinate flowers needed for puzzle 16.
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What's with these orange birds?
Nothing, they're just pretty background decoration.
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Why do these frogs appear only when it rains?
They're in a bad place, and need to relocate. See puzzle #6 for details.
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Why can't I move this stone to plug the hole?
Moving the stone requires a villager who is both an adept builder and an adept scientist.
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Will any of my stews blow up?
No.
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They say this stew is too salty, what did I do wrong?
You used salt water instead of fresh. Edible stews should be made with fresh water only.
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I tried to make cloth/soap but it turned into a stew! What did I do wrong?
You used fresh water instead of salt. Manufactured items require salt water to make.
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What do I do now that I've solved all the puzzles?
There are nearly 80 trophies to earn as well.
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Can I catch the crabs for food?
After you've solved puzzle 10, yes.
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Do I need crabs for the grand feast?
No, you need blackberries, tree fruit, fish, mushrooms, and food from the bin.
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How do I train builders after all the construction projects are done?
There are two ways, (1) place them on the regular huts to repair them, or (2) use them to keep the blockage clear at the top of the cliff. Debris will still accumulate up there, and it can reblock the stream if the builders don't keep it clear.
Walkthrough Guide
Virtual Villagers 4 - All Puzzles
Puzzle 1 (knife)
Creating a cutting tool.
Requires: lit fire, adult villager.
South and slightly to the east of the food bin (on the beach) is a large fish skeleton. Drop an adult on the skeleton and they will use the bones to make three cutting tools. Once the tools are made they will deposit them in the science lab.
Puzzle 2 (stream)
Making the stream flow properly.
Requires: 1 adult villager who is both an adept builder and adept scientist.
Use the builder to remove the blockage at the upper part of the stream.
Take a look at the water flowing around the tree. Notice that it is falling down a hole rather than flowing through the rest of the scene.
At the base of the cliff, where the waterfall used to be, is a chevron shaped stone that looks like it would plug the hole.
Find your villager who is both an adept builder and an adept scientist, and drop him/her on the stone.
Your villager will plug the hole, and the water will now flow through the pool beside the lab and down towards the blackberry bush.
Puzzle 3 (pot)
Boiling water.
Requires: lit fire, adult villager.
To boil water: you first need to bring water to the kettle in the lab. At the cliff are two sets of bowls, one set at the top of the cliff is for fresh water, one set at the bottom of the cliff is for salt water.
Drop an adult on either set of bowls to bring water to the lab.
At the bottom of the bridge to the lab, just to the left of the bridge, is a pile of stones. If you hover an adult over these stones they see "blackened" stones.
Drop an adult on these stones and they will carry one to the fire.
Wait a while and the stone will glow red, indicating that it is ready.
Drop an adult on the red hot stone in the fire and they will carry it back to the lab, but only if there is water in the pot.
Puzzle 4 (soap)
Making Soap.
Requires: lit fire, salt water, soapy plant + soapy plant + soapy plant, adult villager, child villager (optional).
To make soap: at the base of the bridge to the lab (to the left of the "blackened" stones) is a white flower. Hover a child over it and they will call it a "soapy smelling" plant.
Use a child or an adult to collect three of the white flowers and bring them to the lab. The child will place the flowers on the smaller lab table.
Once the flowers are collected have an adult get salt water using the lower set of bowls.
Once the pot has water, have an adult bring a stone to the fire.
Drop an adult on the red hot stone in the fire and they will bring it to the lab.
Once the water is boiling immediately drop an adult on the small lab table where the white flowers are.
The adult will add the flowers one at a time and make soap.
When the water disappears from the pot, drop an adult on it and they will stack the soap on a nearby rack.
Puzzle 5 (butterfly)
Bringing butterflies back to the tree.
Requires: Puzzle 1, Puzzle 2 (cutting tools and stream).
At the bottom of the stream, just below the blackberry bush, is a dry plant.
Once you solve puzzle 2 (the stream), the plant will begin to recover.
Several hours after puzzle 2 is solved, the plant will fully recover and turn green.
Drop an adult on the plant to cut the leaves.
The adult will get covered in sap (you will see green smoke rising from the villager).
Once this happens butterflies will appear.
Slowly move the villager to the tree, making sure that the butterflies are following.
Once you reach the tree, drop the villager on the tree.
The villager will wipe the sap on the tree and the butterflies will stay.
Puzzle 6 (frog)
Frog rescue.
Requires: Puzzle 2 (the stream), adult villagers, rain.
Below and to the right of the stairs going up the cliff is a large palm tree.
Notice that when it rains this area fills with water, and frogs start jumping around.
Once puzzle 2 is complete, wait for it to rain.
When it rains and the puddles appear, drop adults in it to catch frogs and move them up to the stream.
Repeat until about 6 frogs have been rescued.
The frogs will now live in the stream underneath the tree.
Solving this puzzle will also make the tree slightly healthier.
Puzzle 7 (fire pit)
Activating fire pit.
Requires: level 2 construction, lit fire, builder, farmer.
At the bottom of the screen there are two palm trees with large yellow fruit.
Near them is an area that is covered in rocks.
Drop your builder (or builders) on the area to remove the rocks.
Once the rocks are removed, it is a multi-step process to activate the pit.
First use a nearby adult to move a stone to the fire.
Once the stone is hot drop an adult on it to move it to the pit.
Immediately get another stone on the fire.
You need to get 4 red hot stones into the fire pit.
Between the blackberry bush and the bridge to the lab is a banana tree.
As soon as all 4 stones are in the pit immediately drop an adult on the banana tree to put leaves on the pit.
Once the pit is activated you can move your farmers to the fruit trees.
Puzzle 8 (shirt)
Creating cloth.
Requires: Puzzle 1, level 2 science, clothing hut built, adult villager(s).
On the cliff wall to the left of the staircase is a pulpy vine growing up the cliff.
Once the clothing hut is built, drop an adult on the pulpy vines.
The adult will go to the lab, get a tool, cut the vine, and bring three samples back to the lab.
Cooking time!
Have an adult fetch salt water for the pot.
Once the pot has salt water have an adult heat a stone and bring it to the lab.
When the salt water is boiling drop an adult on the table with the vine samples.
Once the cooking is done drop an adult on the pot. The adult will take the pot out to a flat rock by the ocean and pour out the pulp.
When the pulp is poured, keep dropping adults on it to make the cloth (10 times).
When the cloth is done the adult will take it to the clothing hut for storage (3 bolts of cloth).
You can store up to six bolts of cloth at the hut.
Puzzle 9 (drum)
Building nursery.
Requires: Level 3 learning, builder(s).
The foundation for the nursery will appear after you purchase level 3 learning. Move the foundation where you wish to place it and drop your builders on it to start construction.
Once constructed you can drop an adult onto the nursery and they will teach the children.
Puzzle 10 (stones)
Clearing the moss off of the five stones below the pool.
Requires: Puzzle 12 (fishing nets repaired), fish in the nets, two children, one adult.
Once the fishing nets are repaired, watch as the farmers bring back the fish.
When that happens red crabs will appear on the beach to the right of the cliff staircase.
However, the crabs move really fast.
Pick up a child and hover over the beach area until a crab appears.
Drop the child on the crab. The caption will read "distracting the crab".
Quickly find another child and drop it on the crab. Now both children are dancing around the crab and the crab slows down.
Grab an adult and drop it on the crab. The adult will pick up the crab and take it to the mossy stones beneath the pool.
One crab will clear one stone, so this must be repeated 4 more times.
Once all the stones are clear, drop an adult on one of the stones to hear the story of the tree.
Puzzle 11 (platter)
The Grand Feast.
Requires: Puzzle 12 (fishing nets repaired), lit fire, one child, several adults, blackberries, tree fruit, fish, mushroom, food from food bin.
This puzzle requires a tricky bit of timing, the ability to heat rocks, some children, several adults, and a lot of luck.
Time to make another stew.
Have the children collect the herbs for the stew: soapy + spicy + sweet.
Have an adult bring fresh water to the pot.
Start heating a stone.
Move the stone to the pot to boil the water.
Immediately drop an adult on the table to make the stew.
Once the herbs are in you must do several things at once: drop an adult on the food bin to bring food to the stew, drop an adult on the fruit trees to bring fruit, drop an adult on the blackberry bush, drop an adult on the pier to bring a fish, and drop a child on a mushroom (this is where luck comes in).
If you can get all the ingredients (herbs, food, fruit, berries, fish, mushroom) into the pot before it stops boiling, then drop an adult on the pot to taste the stew. This triggers the grand feast.
If you can't get all the ingredients in before it stops boiling, you'll have to empty the pot and start again.
Puzzle 12 (pier)
Repairing the fishing nets.
Requires: Puzzle 8, level 2 construction, cloth (6 - 8 bolts), builder(s).
If you haven't already, drop builders on the piers to repair them.
Once repaired, drop a builder on the piers again. The builder will get cloth to string line between the piers and the rocks.
Keep dropping a builder on the piers until the nets are repaired (make more cloth if necessary).
Once the nets are repaired, drop farmers onto the piers to retrieve the fish.
Puzzle 13 (branch)
Pruning the diseased branch.
Requires: Level 2 dendrology, Puzzle 8 (cloth), Puzzle 4 (soap), and Puzzle 1 (sharp tools).
When you have all the requirements, drop an adult on the diseased branch of the tree.
The villager will go and get cloth to bind the branch.
Once the branch is bound and braced, drop the adult on the sharp tools in the lab.
The villager will go and get a sharp tool to remove the branch.
Once the branch is removed the stump will have black spots.
Drop the adult on the soap in the lab to clean the black spots.
Puzzle 14 (worship)
Honoring the tree.
Requires: Lit fire, at least 20 villagers.
You need to brew a special stew to have the villagers honor the tree.
The recipe for the stew is: fresh water, sweet plant + sweet plant + sweet plant +food.
Once the stew is brewed you have to move fast. Drop every single villager (adult and child) on the stew to eat it.
Once they do, they'll take stew to the tree and honor the tree.
To get the credit you need to have 20 villagers kneeling at the tree at the same time.
Puzzle 15 (hole in the tree)
Removing the corruption from the hole in the tree.
Requires: level 3 dendrology, Puzzle 2 (the stream), Puzzle 4 (soap), the nursery or an adept parent.
Drop an adult on the hole in the base of the tree.
It will say that it requires someone "clean of body" to heal the tree.
Drop an adult on the soap rack in the lab.
The adult will put soap into the pool and suds will appear.
Drop an adult into the sudsy water and wait for them to emerge.
Make sure that there are no children at the base of the tree.
When the adult emerges he/she will have white sparkles.
Drop the sparkling adult on the hole in the tree. It will say that it requires someone "clean of mind".
At this point drop a random adult into the nursery to move all of the children there.
Take your sparkling adult to the wind flutes and hover him over the area. When you see "an area to meditate" drop the villager there.
Wait for the villager to finish meditating. Make sure that no child or adult disturbs the meditation.
Now the adult will be sparkling white and gold.
Make sure no one is at the base of the tree, and drop the sparkling adult onto the hole.
Puzzle 16 (flowering tree)
Decorating the tree.
Requires: Puzzle 8 (cloth), 3 bolts of cloth, hummingbirds (tree must be three levels above nearly dead for hummingbirds to appear), healthy tree, adult, several children.
In the lab, below the main table, are three boxes with old braids in them.
Drop an adult onto one of the boxes. The adult will take the braid out to the stone where they manufacture cloth.
Once the braid is laid out drop an adult on the braid. The adult will go get cloth to repair the braid.
When the braid is repaired you need to wait for a hummingbird to show up (hummingbirds will appear when the tree is three steps above nearly dead).
When a hummingbird appears, follow it and see which flower it sets down on.
When the hummingbird flies away, find the nearest child and drop it on the flower.
Keep dropping the child until it plucks the flower. Once it does, find more children and drop them on the flower (6 in all). You have to move fast, while the flower is still good.
The children will carry the flowers to the braid and start making the lei. The sixth child will add a flower, then take the garland and decorate the tree.
Repeat the entire process (braid, repair, hummingbird, flowers) two more times for a total of three garlands.
Posted by: grinnyp
|
February 27, 2010 1:16 AM
If you want to speed up the beginning of your game and do NOT want to mess with your computer clock, try this:
At the villager selection screen, only accept those villagers who have "Running" in their likes list. You need at least 1 female adult and at least 1 male adult. You should probably also get 1 child, as you won't be able to collect without one. You do NOT need a pregnant female, as 2 running villagers can complete the Love Hut in about 10 minutes.
It took me about 15 minutes to come up with 4 adult females under age 25, 1 adult male under age 25, and 1 child under age 7. I had to pass up 2 or 3 villagers who were too old for my preference, 40+.
Posted by: Amy | March 7, 2010 10:33 AM