Virtual Family Kingdom Thread

[SharkMeal]

WOOT! I'm rejoicing here! :D

I can TALK and SEE people! First time I've ever talked in the Wild West
rooms, and the first time I've had a good conversation without having our
chat shut off since beta day 1!

There are still some issues with invisible people but most people I see are
visible, and I can talk!

[CutieEm]

WOOT! I'm rejoicing here! :D

I can TALK and SEE people! First time I've ever talked in the Wild West
rooms, and the first time I've had a good conversation without having our
chat shut off since beta day 1!

There are still some issues with invisible people but most people I see are
visible, and I can talk!

I'm with ya! I just logged on and I can talk and see everyone! Yaay!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[mickeyminnie123]

WOOT! I'm rejoicing here! :D

I can TALK and SEE people! First time I've ever talked in the Wild West
rooms, and the first time I've had a good conversation without having our
chat shut off since beta day 1!

There are still some issues with invisible people but most people I see are
visible, and I can talk!

Yay! congrats! :cheer2:

[SharkMeal]

Oh no they screwed up again.. We were in the area by Merlin's in the Medieval
Land and we were all talking about how much progress was made and how glad
we were that we could see and talk LOL and then the talking was shut off. I
re-entered the room and I could not see anybody. -_-

Back to another yesterday :(

EDIT: I refreshed and I can talk and see people in any room except the room by merlin's. If I go
there then I have to refresh again because bugs start appearing.

[WWEDUDE]

http://gizmodo.com/images/improveverywherebestbuy.jpg
I think they must have based our outfit on the guy on the right.

[Rare_Star]

My friend finally got her title I have not got it yet! :confused3

[SharkMeal]

http://gizmodo.com/images/improveverywherebestbuy.jpg
I think they must have based on otufit on the guy on the right.

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[IliketheTitanic]

Phinny is short for Phineas. It's her cat's name. And these are clearly people who are not concerned with trademark issues. Making a tiny change to one name is not enough to get around the fact that they are duplicating 90% of the staff's names to give the appearance that this game is the successor to VMK. There were young players right up to the last day VMK was open who genuinely believed that the same people who designed VMK were working on this game. Trademark rights are designed to prevent companies from creating confusion their product and another one, to gain that product's customers. The kind of confusion you create when you name nearly all your staff members after ones from a game whose players you are trying to attract.

And as for not having the right avatars for male staff, if Lion can be a boy, why can't Hurricane?http://i44.servimg.com/u/f44/12/44/71/09/lionan10.jpg

What exactly about your encounter with Tiger made you believe that she was the same Tiger from VMK?

Maybe those are topics that you could probably get a answer better from the Narasopa Media staff themselves, not me :). I was just stating my theories. If you would like to know I would probably ask one of the staff members or ask them from contact us. My encounter with Tiger was just as the same in VMK, she did not wave around that she was tiger and show it off, she talked the same way as she did, which isn't alot of talking at all, then she had to go and do something, idk what it was, but these are my opinions, I dont work at Narasopa Media, and I feel that you would get a better response from them :)

-Ace

ETA: Also to complete my theories on Phinny, If Phinny is named after her cat, Phineas, then it is still a made up name none the less. However, the other staff have names that are made up of real words in a dictionary, you also did not consider my fact of maybe phinny wanted a name change in your post.

[snshine123]

is there a place where we can post our titles if we have them or should we just post them here? Congrats to all who are off the lonely list-I will update that later today as soon as I know who's not loney any more!

[WWEDUDE]

is there a place where we can post our titles if we have them or should we just post them here? Congrats to all who are off the lonely list-I will update that later today as soon as I know who's not loney any more!

Great minds think alike, I just made a thread for it :)

[VMK_Mouse]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wasnt the original poster of that thread. Read below.... for the original. Just wanted to clear that up.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Hi Rob, I know you weren't. I quoted you to back what your comments were saying, I apologize for not making that clear.

[thesupersmartguy]

http://gizmodo.com/images/improveverywherebestbuy.jpg
I think they must have based our outfit on the guy on the right.

Looks like the backyard yesterday:lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :lmao:

[TikiIslander]

I stayed quiet about this game for the first few days, but since it was brought up...

I would have loved for this game to be a complete success. In looking at their not-so-well-hidden files, they're building this game from the top down, and not only making it harder for them to continue development, it's leading to unnecessary problems and frustration for users. Didn't they say that they had the engine complete from a previous venture? I'm not seeing any evidence of this. Really, if they spent another week making the game functional, I might have been more optimistic about it's future. They have a long way to go with the game's development and I just feel so bad for the kids who were convinced this was a Disney game, never saying real goodbyes to their pals, thinking this would be the next VMK. I still think they played a dirty trick on vulnerable people.

Right from the start, this game has been sort of sketchy. Is the game actually developed by Narasopa Media, or did that company just do their web design? Has anyone else seen their (Narasposa's) "office" on google streetview? :scared1: It's all just a little odd- why would Fin change her name to something similar to her original name, when she got the name from a pet? If it is actually fin and she did want her name change, why not something completely different? There's too many weird things about the situation that make me upset.

They've certainly created enough hype about their game- now it's time to live up to it.

[aengus]

As much as has been done in 7 weeks, isnt this game supposed to go live in June?!?!?!

[SharkMeal]

As much as has been done in 7 weeks, isnt this game supposed to go live in June?!?!?!

June 26th 2008 is what they said on the home page.

[vmkfan13]

Things confirmed by VMK_Wolf:

1. VFK closes at 1 a.m.
2. The merlin shop will sell charms (magic)
3. Host events
4. No robot dancing
5. The ability to ride horses
6. Cowboy clothing
7. Princess and prince clothing
8. Space pirate game
9. VFK plans on opening forever and remaining free
10. Quest
11. Lag is caused by shadows (walk away from everyone to remove slow walk)
12. Everything we liked about VMK will move to VFK and more
13. We MAY even own animals in VFK
14. Cameras will also be available in VFK
15. Clothing will be available after all bugs are fixed.
16. Taken is allowed :(

[aengus]

Things confirmed by VMK_Wolf:

1. VFK closes at 1 a.m.
2. The merlin shop will sell charms (magic)
3. Host events
4. No robot dancing
5. The ability to ride horses
6. Cowboy clothing
7. Princess and prince clothing
8. Space pirate game
9. VFK plans on opening forever and remaining free
10. Quest
11. Lag is caused by shadows (walk away from everyone to remove slow walk)
12. Everything we liked about VMK will move to VFK and more
13. We MAY even own animals in VFK
14. Cameras will also be available in VFK
15. Clothing will be available after all bugs are fixed.

why wont they update their terms and conditons page then? thats been pointed out several times and they dont change it @_@

[NedsTJ]

FYI - Narasopa Media has the following addy:

Narasopa Media
769 Waldo Canyon Road
PO Box 614
Cerrillos, NM 87010

While VirtualFamilyKingdom returns the following from a simple whois query:

VirtualFamilyKingdom.com

Registrant:
Family Kingdom
500 N. Solano Dr.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: VIRTUALFAMILYKINGDOM.COM
Created on: 07-Apr-08
Expires on: 08-Apr-09
Last Updated on: 08-Apr-08

Administrative Contact:
Kingdom, Family fmw3@bellatlantic.net
500 N. Solano Dr.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
United States
6099547339 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Kingdom, Family fmw3@bellatlantic.net
500 N. Solano Dr.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
United States
6099547339 Fax --

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.OPENHERE.COM
MAIL.VIRTUALDESK.COM


That said, they are both in NM, but I think Narasopa just did the web site design for them. But VFK is a little lacking in their contact info on the official vfk site.

I also think VFK did not do a good job in stating "WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH DISNEY". That should have been made very clear from the start.

[Ms.Squeakers]

I hate to say this, but send a message to the site and have them check into it. I would hope they are doing a validation of the pre-registration email to the secondary registration email to confirm that person is who they state they are. But do to the volumes of people, a confirmation like that maybe time consuming.

Still Guest2667, so if there is a Disvaclub title out there, it is not me.

Hugs Mouse, keep us posted.

Thanks!
Will do.
I was freaking out for a moment with "NAME..TAKEN!?"
Then it took me some time before I came to the conclusion of "Wait, I signed up for Beta, and they said they would email me, but they never did, maybe they think that someone else already signed up for that name".

Ill try again, but if it doesnt work, then I will be sure to email someone.

[Rare_Star]

Things confirmed by VMK_Wolf:

1. VFK closes at 1 a.m.
2. The merlin shop will sell charms (magic)
3. Host events
4. No robot dancing
5. The ability to ride horses
6. Cowboy clothing
7. Princess and prince clothing
8. Space pirate game
9. VFK plans on opening forever and remaining free
10. Quest
11. Lag is caused by shadows (walk away from everyone to remove slow walk)
12. Everything we liked about VMK will move to VFK and more
13. We MAY even own animals in VFK
14. Cameras will also be available in VFK
15. Clothing will be available after all bugs are fixed.

Awesome!! I can not wait for all that stuff! Thanks! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[cteddiesgirl]

Things confirmed by VMK_Wolf:

1. VFK closes at 1 a.m.
2. The merlin shop will sell charms (magic)
3. Host events
4. No robot dancing
5. The ability to ride horses
6. Cowboy clothing
7. Princess and prince clothing
8. Space pirate game
9. VFK plans on opening forever and remaining free
10. Quest
11. Lag is caused by shadows (walk away from everyone to remove slow walk)
12. Everything we liked about VMK will move to VFK and more
13. We MAY even own animals in VFK
14. Cameras will also be available in VFK
15. Clothing will be available after all bugs are fixed.
16. Taken is allowed :(

Well, everything I liked about VMK can't be moved over to VFK unless it's approved by Disney. I don't think they will be adding anything about Disney to the game. ;)

[WDWLIGHTNINGZ]

Woot! I am Lightningz and can speak however I can't see everyone.

[Disney Dreams]

Yay Light! I am still a guest, but having fun wandering around and making me a map. It seems you can see everyone who enters a room AFTER you at the moment. VFK_Harmony said they are working on it.

[vmkfan13]

17. We can also search for friends by entering their title.

[Amber_Kait]

ehm.. haven't been until today.
ehm, was camping since thursday. and thursday i could barely get on because it froze, but yea, i have my little person here..
this game is scaring me -.-
ehm, anything special or anything i should know about.

[Bugdozer]

REFRESH!!

Friends List is working!!!


YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dreamytime]

woot! tool bar is blue and you can have friends
yay!!

[redshoe]

popcorn::

Honestly? I think everyone's reading way too much into the whole staff transfer thing and Fin's name change. As for me, I've seen nothing but a massive effort to give us back what Disney took away, and whether they're going about it right or coding it correctly or whatever, I have no idea. I do know that I see vast improvements by the day, and sometimes by the hour. I certainly know that I couldn't do a better job with it than they are.

When VFK was first announced, it was "a scam." I was never clear on what exactly they were supposed to be scamming, and the naysayers seemed to be equally fuzzy on that point, but I've never seen so many people screaming "scam" in my life. Now that it's obvious that it's a legitimate venture, people are still every bit as suspicious. It's just that now the suspicions have subsets. Staff suspicions, coding suspicions, contact info suspicions.

Will VFK last? Who knows? I'm in no position to tell. I hope so. But not everything is a conspiracy.

I wonder if everyone checks out their family doctors as thoroughly as they seem to be "investigating" VFK.

[snowgracefulstone]

popcorn::

Honestly? I think everyone's reading way too much into the whole staff transfer thing and Fin's name change. As for me, I've seen nothing but a massive effort to give us back what Disney took away, and whether they're going about it right or coding it correctly or whatever, I have no idea. I do know that I see vast improvements by the day, and sometimes by the hour. I certainly know that I couldn't do a better job with it than they are.

When VFK was first announced, it was "a scam." I was never clear on what exactly they were supposed to be scamming, and the naysayers seemed to be equally fuzzy on that point, but I've never seen so many people screaming "scam" in my life. Now that it's obvious that it's a legitimate venture, people are still every bit as suspicious. It's just that now the suspicions have subsets. Staff suspicions, coding suspicions, contact info suspicions.

Will VFK last? Who knows? I'm in no position to tell. I hope so. But not everything is a conspiracy.

I wonder if everyone checks out their family doctors as thoroughly as they seem to be "investigating" VFK.

well said redshoe, lol, my feelings exactly, my thoughts on the whole thing are if it makes you so nervous and you are so convinced it is some kind of "scam" then dont play, its simple. Noone is forcing you to sign on and maybe if all the naysayers dont sign on, it will make it that much easier for vfk to get up to speed for the rest of us. Give it a rest guys and just enjoy it for what it is....a brand new game that is in its testing stage. After all what are they going to be able to scam us out of, a bunch of virtual items that we left in vmk? ehh..they can have them :thumbsup2

[swimmingneno]

yay!! time to find people to add!!

[thesupersmartguy]

Woot!! Time to add friends, I hope we can all find each other.

[swimmingneno]

umm.. why are all of the rooms that i go to empty? lol just my luck

[Aunt Cawa]

People who are having problem with name taken. Try changing your user name. That solved problem for me.

[MomsGoneGoofy]

REFRESH!!

Friends List is working!!!


YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry Bug - I refreshed and you are no longer on my friend list :(

[NedsTJ]

popcorn::
Will VFK last? Who knows? I'm in no position to tell. I hope so. But not everything is a conspiracy.

I wonder if everyone checks out their family doctors as thoroughly as they seem to be "investigating" VFK.

But...everything is a conspiracy...and if you havn't figured that out by now then...you're one of (-looks around-whispers-) them...Shhhh

[disvaclub92]

Hi Cawa:wave2: Sent you a request, but since I dont have a title yet, I am Guest2667.

[swimmingneno]

i am a guest and every single room that i go into is empty @_@

[aengus]

popcorn::

Honestly? I think everyone's reading way too much into the whole staff transfer thing and Fin's name change. As for me, I've seen nothing but a massive effort to give us back what Disney took away, and whether they're going about it right or coding it correctly or whatever, I have no idea. I do know that I see vast improvements by the day, and sometimes by the hour. I certainly know that I couldn't do a better job with it than they are.

When VFK was first announced, it was "a scam." I was never clear on what exactly they were supposed to be scamming, and the naysayers seemed to be equally fuzzy on that point, but I've never seen so many people screaming "scam" in my life. Now that it's obvious that it's a legitimate venture, people are still every bit as suspicious. It's just that now the suspicions have subsets. Staff suspicions, coding suspicions, contact info suspicions.

Will VFK last? Who knows? I'm in no position to tell. I hope so. But not everything is a conspiracy.

I wonder if everyone checks out their family doctors as thoroughly as they seem to be "investigating" VFK.

heh, to be honest, I am very concerned with the amount of time people are spending on a place that doesnt really do anything.

I think people are in denial or choosing not to deal with the fact that vmk closed

What we have here, lets face it, are people capitalizing on a community that feels abandoned. This game is being developed to make money not to help us, you do understand that right? I am not saying these are bad people by any means.

Having said that, I think everyone should enjoy it, but really pay attention to how much time your spending. I see people for hours doing this

I can talk
I cant talk
I cant see anyone
I can talk
I cant saw someone
I am on the roof
I cant talk

Just want everyone to do a self check is all :)

Very concerned with the kids more than anything.

This game is MONTHS if not a years from being developed

[redshoe]

But...everything is a conspiracy...and if you havn't figured that out by now then...you're one of (-looks around-whispers-) them...Shhhh

Hey! Stop outing me!! :lmao:

[disfanalicia]

Am i the only one who has a friends list but wehn i add people i CANT send them a message and i CANT go to them?

[Amber_Kait]

Am i the only one who has a friends list but wehn i add people i CANT send them a message and i CANT go to them?

lol it does this for me too

[thesupersmartguy]

Anyone want to try to meet up in the backyard?

[redshoe]

heh, to be honest, I am very concerned with the amount of time people are spending on a place that doesnt really do anything.

I think people are in denial or choosing not to deal with the fact that vmk closed

What we have here, lets face it, are people capitalizing on a community that feels abandoned. This game is being developed to make money not to help us, you do understand that right? I am not saying these are bad people by any means.

I do understand that. And I agree that it is far from being a full-fledged community. But I also think they're going way above and beyond what should be expected of them to get it into some semblance of working order, and I appreciate it greatly. I hope they do make money, because in the process they certainly are helping us, and the monetary success of VFK would enable it to stay open. It's a win-win. I also see them learning from the mistakes of VMK - most markedly in the area of communication. Sadly, with how they're getting pummeled for bringing things out later than they anticipated, I think that might go away, but they are trying.

I don't know about being in denial, really. I suppose there is some of that, but I think even you said that there's a certain fascination in watching something like this develop from the ground up. I have spent a lot of time on VFK in the last few days, mostly looking for the people that I know and then visiting with them when I find them...come to think of it, that's exactly how I spent my last weeks on VMK. But I wouldn't say I'm in denial about VMK closing. On the contrary, I'm trying to move on to something new and promising, which has the very compelling attraction of offering me what meant the most on VMK...a very large number of my friends.

I do see your points, and I think they are valid. But I think there are many sides to this. The definition of "controversy" is "topic with no pat and easy answers." :)

[thesupersmartguy]

Am i the only one who has a friends list but wehn i add people i CANT send them a message and i CANT go to them?

Same here, no messages, and no Go to.

[swimmingneno]

Anyone want to try to meet up in the backyard?

ill try to find you!

[aengus]

I do understand that. And I agree that it is far from being a full-fledged community. But I also think they're going way above and beyond what should be expected of them to get it into some semblance of working order, and I appreciate it greatly. I hope they do make money, because in the process they certainly are helping us, and the monetary success of VFK would enable it to stay open. It's a win-win. I also see them learning from the mistakes of VMK - most markedly in the area of communication. Sadly, with how they're getting pummeled for bringing things out later than they anticipated, I think that might go away, but they are trying.

I don't know about being in denial, really. I suppose there is some of that, but I think even you said that there's a certain fascination in watching something like this develop from the ground up. I have spent a lot of time on VFK in the last few days, mostly looking for the people that I know and then visiting with them when I find them. But I wouldn't say I'm in denial about VMK closing. On the contrary, I'm trying to move on to something new and promising, which has the very compelling attraction of offering me what meant the most on VMK...a very large number of my friends.

I do see your points, and I think they are valid. But I think there are many sides to this. The definition of "controversy" is "topic with no pat and easy answers." :)

alpha testers normally get paid :rotfl: but I will admit its fun to see it, who didnt want to be a QA_ or see behind the scenes right.

I didnt target you on the concern part really, more of a general statement as there are some I see posting all day / night.

as far as keeping in touch, the adults have options, I am in touch with almost all my peeps now :) I am being vague to not encourage the kids to break the vmk values or the vfk constitution but there are options available to get over missing our friends for those of us that dont need to ask our parents :rotfl:

[Amber_Kait]

ill try to find you!

i'll try as well.

[AmberDaze]

heh, to be honest, I am very concerned with the amount of time people are spending on a place that doesnt really do anything.

Well, since we're hanging around right now, I am finding it fun to IM with friends and my DD Monkey and I are amusing ourselves by trying to meet up with each other and our friends in various games, including VFK. Heh, but thanks so much -- love all the concern. :hug:

[aengus]

Well, since we're hanging around right now, I am finding it fun to IM with friends and my DD Monkey and I are amusing ourselves by trying to meet up with each other and our friends in various games, including VFK. Heh, but thanks so much -- love all the concern. :hug:

I am posting from my boat ROFL. Love my helio :)

[Vary]

Honestly? I think everyone's reading way too much into the whole staff transfer thing and Fin's name change. Reading too much how, exactly? Fin's name change is not by any means the biggest problem with the game's claims that most of the VMK staff is working at VSK now. It quite simply does not make sense. How exactly does a game that has no business model claim to be paying so many full time employees? And what's the point of having them all there when they have nothing to do, since this game that claims to be a safe place for young people to interact has no reporting system? And if this is 'above and beyond', what would be the bare minimum for a game that claims to be in beta? Because in this case, I would call ensuring a safe environment the bare minimum, and that is just not happening.

[redshoe]

alpha testers normally get paid :rotfl: but I will admit its fun to see it, who didnt want to be a QA_ or see behind the scenes right.

I didnt target you on the concern part really, more of a general statement as there are some I see posting all day / night.

as far as keeping in touch, the adults have options, I am in touch with almost all my peeps now :) I am being vague to not encourage the kids to break the vmk values or the vfk constitution but there are options available to get over missing our friends for those of us that dont need to ask our parents :rotfl:

Do alpha testers normally get paid? I mean, in something other than pink couches?

It is true, the adults have options. But I also like the online community venue. I want to be able to see what kind of outlandish rooms people are building, and what bizarre hats they're wearing today. princess:

As for the children, yes...I agree that's a concern. I will say that I very carefully weaned my son off of VMK, and while there were tears, he mostly dealt far better with its demise than I did. I'm now directing his attention toward other stuff, because while I believe VFK is a legitimate effort, it isn't yet ready for him, and he isn't ready for it. His patience and attention span are nowhere near the capacity they need to be for beta *coughcoughalphacough* testing. So far, he has logged on one time for five minutes or so, on the first day, and currently he's about 10 feet away from me reading a book. Which is exactly where I want him to be at the moment. :)

[Bugdozer]

Hi,

OK I finally found ink. I asked him he got a box pop saying bugdozer is asking to be come your friend. He accepted. It showed pending for a few minutes then it showed us online to each other. We did some testing. We were able to follow each other. it is not always working. I followed him into a public room then I was able to follow him into his house. I think it is slowly getting features to work.

Bug

http://xs127.xs.to/xs127/08210/bugfriend162.png

[Dreamytime]

Hi,

OK I finally found ink. I asked him he got a box pop saying bugdozer is asking to be come your friend. He accepted. It showed pending for a few minutes then it showed us online to each other. We did some testing. We were able to follow each other. it is not always working. I followed him into a public room then I was able to follow him into his house. I think it is slowly getting features to work.

Bug

http://xs127.xs.to/xs127/08210/bugfriend162.png

Woot :) yay...
So promising.

[Panda]

Ok I just asked someone to be a friend and on my list next to their name it says pending what does that mean?

[SharkMeal]

Ok I just asked someone to be a friend and on my list next to their name it says pending what does that mean?

It either means it's loading the person to your list or he/she hasn't accepted
nor denied yet.

[WDWTigger72]

Do alpha testers normally get paid? I mean, in something other than pink couches?


Sorry folks, I haven't followed the entire thread around this discussion but thought I could provide some insight to this question. To a certain extent alpha testers are paid, and it really depends on how you look at alpha testers, typically alpha testers actually work for the company that is developing the product. I have never seen someone open alpha testing to the general public which doesn't mean it has never happened but its not a typical approach within the development lifecycle. So, If your job is to support a certain environment for Company A then this same company may send around a message internally to see if people want to join up with their alpha testing. They also usually have some guidelines for alpha testing and a way you could provide feedback for bugs, features, etc. Its pretty in-depth testing that usually occurs at this level so its not the every day casual computer user. I use to receive requests all the time for testing alpha products within the financial services company I worked for, and enjoyed doing quality assurance testing on their alpha products.

I worked within the technology field for 10 years, so it was fairly easy to become an alpha tester for new products rolling out. Also, One other thing I wanted to mention is that it really depends on the size of the company on how they handle Alpha/Beta testing. For example, The company I worked for had over 45,000 employees and typically only technical users (developers, engineers and support professionals) would become alpha testers. After this alpha testing was completed then beta would move forward and it would open up to more individuals within our company only (non-technical users who are good testers but are not technical). Since it was a large company we had the flexibility to do alpha with technical employees, and beta with technical/non-technical employees. The company that we are dealing with around Virtual Family Kingdom probably isn't large enough to keep both alpha and beta testing internally, and it pretty much looks like they skipped alpha testing all together.

[Panda]

It either means it's loading the person to your list or he/she hasn't accepted
nor denied yet.

Thanks and hugs :)

[aliceblue]

heh, to be honest, I am very concerned with the amount of time people are spending on a place that doesnt really do anything.

I think people are in denial or choosing not to deal with the fact that vmk closed

What we have here, lets face it, are people capitalizing on a community that feels abandoned. This game is being developed to make money not to help us, you do understand that right? I am not saying these are bad people by any means.

Having said that, I think everyone should enjoy it, but really pay attention to how much time your spending. I see people for hours doing this

I can talk
I cant talk
I cant see anyone
I can talk
I cant saw someone
I am on the roof
I cant talk

Just want everyone to do a self check is all :)

Very concerned with the kids more than anything.

This game is MONTHS if not a years from being developedGood points, Aengus.

I joined out of curiosity and have been completely underwhelmed so far. This was definitely not ready to be released in beta yet.

Not that I've seen any of them, but the whole thing about VMK staff being there bothers me, as there's no way to really verify anyone's identity. I hope this is not simply a ruse to draw members.

If people were starting out fresh to choose a multiplayer game, I highly doubt this would be it.

How sad that there doesn't seem to be a safe, broad-spectrum-appeal game of good quality out there. Although everyone is certainly anxious to reconnect with their friends "virtually", it might be wise to wait it out and see what other games get developed in the coming months. Talented, experienced game designers would be crazy not to take advantage of the demand for a game with a similar model to VMK's.

[redshoe]

Sorry folks, I haven't followed the entire thread around this discussion but thought I could provide some insight to this question. To a certain extent alpha testers are paid, and it really depends on how you look at alpha testers, typically alpha testers actually work for the company that is developing the product. I have never seen someone open alpha testing to the general public which doesn't mean it has never happened but its not a typical approach within the development lifecycle. So, If your job is to support a certain environment for Company A then this same company may send around a message internally to see if people want to join up with their alpha testing. They also usually have some guidelines for alpha testing and a way you could provide feedback for bugs, features, etc. Its pretty in-depth testing that usually occurs at this level so its not the every day casual computer user. I use to receive requests all the time for testing alpha products within the financial services company I worked for, and enjoyed doing quality assurance testing on their alpha products.

I worked within the technology field for 10 years, so it was fairly easy to become an alpha tester for new products rolling out. Also, One other thing I wanted to mention is that it really depends on the size of the company on how they handle Alpha/Beta testing. For example, The company I worked for had over 45,000 employees and typically only technical users (developers, engineers and support professionals) would become alpha testers. After this alpha testing was completed then beta would move forward and it would open up to more individuals within our company only (non-technical users who are good testers but are not technical). Since it was a large company we had the flexibility to do alpha with technical employees, and beta with technical/non-technical employees. The company that we are dealing with around Virtual Family Kingdom probably isn't large enough to keep both alpha and beta testing internally, and it pretty much looks like they skipped alpha testing all together.

Interesting! I'll be curious to see how it pans out. I am rooting for them, though!

[JulyGirl]

I'm pretty sure word would get around to Phinny that she was being impersonated on VFK. If it wasn't truly her, she would surely find a way to let us know.

[PirateBell]

popcorn::

Honestly? I think everyone's reading way too much into the whole staff transfer thing and Fin's name change. As for me, I've seen nothing but a massive effort to give us back what Disney took away, and whether they're going about it right or coding it correctly or whatever, I have no idea. I do know that I see vast improvements by the day, and sometimes by the hour. I certainly know that I couldn't do a better job with it than they are.

When VFK was first announced, it was "a scam." I was never clear on what exactly they were supposed to be scamming, and the naysayers seemed to be equally fuzzy on that point, but I've never seen so many people screaming "scam" in my life. Now that it's obvious that it's a legitimate venture, people are still every bit as suspicious. It's just that now the suspicions have subsets. Staff suspicions, coding suspicions, contact info suspicions.

Will VFK last? Who knows? I'm in no position to tell. I hope so. But not everything is a conspiracy.

I wonder if everyone checks out their family doctors as thoroughly as they seem to be "investigating" VFK.



I totally agree with you Redshoe.. I think this palce is fantastic and am just so glad to be a part of it! I just don't stand like you why so many want to bring them down from the start? I also didn't understand why they said it was a scam and why we couldn't talk about it here? Made no sense to me at all. I am glad to be here! :yay:

[redshoe]

Reading too much how, exactly? Fin's name change is not by any means the biggest problem with the game's claims that most of the VMK staff is working at VSK now. It quite simply does not make sense. How exactly does a game that has no business model claim to be paying so many full time employees? And what's the point of having them all there when they have nothing to do, since this game that claims to be a safe place for young people to interact has no reporting system? And if this is 'above and beyond', what would be the bare minimum for a game that claims to be in beta? Because in this case, I would call ensuring a safe environment the bare minimum, and that is just not happening.


I have no idea what their business model is, or how they're paying their employees. I don't recall anyone saying the in-game staff were full-time, though...on the contrary, I get the impression that they are not, they probably weren't before either, and VFK/VMK have most likely not been their only incomes. I could be wrong about that, but to be honest, it doesn't matter much to me whether or not they're full-time. I'm not losing sleep over how VFK plans on making money. If they think they can clear a profit, good on them...it's their time, their investment, and their employees' decision to come on board. I'm just glad they're giving it a shot, and I hope they do succeed.

As far as a reporting system goes...since barely 24 hours ago no one could see or talk to each other at all, I would say that it hasn't really been a pressing need until now. :) I'm willing to bet that it's on its way, along with everything else that they're overloaded with at the moment. And I don't know what the staff are up to while they have "nothing to do," but who is to say they aren't weeding through chat logs and tweaking the dictionary when they're not standing around patiently answering tiresome repetitive questions from players? The point is, we simply don't know enough to make any judgments at all. I don't, you don't, no one does. I tend to be an optimist, though, and from what I observe, they're trying hard to balance giving the players the features they want most with rolling out the truly important ones, and those are not always the same thing. Are they handling everything exactly the way I think it should be handled? Of course not. Could I do any better? Exceedingly doubtful.

Since I have never been a Beta tester, I have no idea what the bare minimum would be before it's ready. I am fully aware that what they have is probably far less prepared than a typical Beta release would be, but I understand their reasons for rolling it out when they did. What I meant by "above and beyond" was that they're working on getting things together over a holiday weekend and a Sunday, and from what I've seen, I absolutely believe it when I'm told that they're going without sleep. That's pretty above and beyond, if you ask me.

[Mamacita]

When this site first popped up with very badly edited vmk art on the front page that spoke volumes to me about the integrity of the company. I'm a long way from trusting anything I see on there now.
I am signed up and I'm signing in for a couple minutes here and there to see what's up, but it's quickly losing my interest.
Vary, you took the words out of my mouth a few pages ago.
:hippie: Mamacita

[Belle1997]

Well I am just taking each day as is. All this suspiousness to me is a waste of good air. Do we no really if this will work. NO. But if it does we are on the first rung that many do not get to go.

Just enjoy the adventure. I just hate negativity.Takes the fun out my alpha testing.

Just remember people Club penguin that disney just bought was start with two Dads ( could me mistaken on numbers) so I say give them a chance what are we really loosing?

Oh yeah wasn't microsoft started in a garage. Some of the greatest things invented or created were from people who others never thought they had any talents or could do anything.

I am sure the Wright brothers were the laughing stock of their community.

Why are we so quick to judge. Yes be cautious do not get your hopes up to high. And enjoy the ride. But the real negative out cries I do not understand the game is not even working enough to judge how or what is going to happen

Look I know there was favoritism in VMK even if they did not bring many hosts over it would still happen in VFK. It is just natural. It was over two years before I thought staff knew my title. If it happens again in VFK I will still have a great time with my friends.

To me that is what it is about. Not the rare, or the hosts ( thought I do like the hugs I get)

It is our community having fun together.

Gee.

I do not spend all my time on there. Check in every few hours.

And this was my last adventures pics. Found KahneFan again but both of us could not see each other go figure.

Then she magically appeared on the roof.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_in_ghost_town.JPG


But she was able to send me a friends request. I stop talking so hit F5 this is where Ifound her next.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_floating_in_my_room.JPG

Also her friends list is not working right that might be the bug issue

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_big_chat.JPG

I can accept friends but can not send messages or go to where they are :(

So if you find me come ot me instead. Hugs

And I thought we were fans of Walt " If your can dream it yes you can"

Wonder how many thought Walt was crazy first for making a full length movie cartoon (snow white) to building buy land in swamp area.

Pleae enjoy the adventure we are on :hug:

[BlueSneakerGal]

I'm with Redshoe and LittleBelle on this one. And I'm enjoying the adventure and watching the daily improvements.

[Stephieann]

Look...my home away from home!! LOL

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/home.jpg

[Stephieann]

Is this a bug or can we do this now?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/ontheporch.jpg

[BlueSneakerGal]

Is this a bug or can we do this now?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/ontheporch.jpg


Don't know! I will come and try!

[redshoe]

Look...my home away from home!! LOL

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/home.jpg

:lmao: :rotfl: :rotfl2:

That pink couch is EVERYWHERE!!

[BlueSneakerGal]

Is this a bug or can we do this now?



I think you are just buggy. :rotfl: I can't get up there.

[Mnementh]

I threw this together this afternoon. Reminded me of my Zork mapping days...

http://www.nedsplace.com/images/VFK_Map.jpg

Nice work! I was trying to make something like that, myself, but I couldn't position the pictures well enough for it to work.

[SharkMeal]

Well I am just taking each day as is. All this suspiousness to me is a waste of good air. Do we no really if this will work. NO. But if it does we are on the first rung that many do not get to go.

Just enjoy the adventure. I just hate negativity.Takes the fun out my alpha testing.

Just remember people Club penguin that disney just bought was start with two Dads ( could me mistaken on numbers) so I say give them a chance what are we really loosing?

Oh yeah wasn't microsoft started in a garage. Some of the greatest things invented or created were from people who others never thought they had any talents or could do anything.

I am sure the Wright brothers were the laughing stock of their community.

Why are we so quick to judge. Yes be cautious do not get your hopes up to high. And enjoy the ride. But the real negative out cries I do not understand the game is not even working enough to judge how or what is going to happen

Look I know there was favoritism in VMK even if they did not bring many hosts over it would still happen in VFK. It is just natural. It was over two years before I thought staff knew my title. If it happens again in VFK I will still have a great time with my friends.

To me that is what it is about. Not the rare, or the hosts ( thought I do like the hugs I get)

It is our community having fun together.

Gee.

I do not spend all my time on there. Check in every few hours.

And this was my last adventures pics. Found KahneFan again but both of us could not see each other go figure.

Then she magically appeared on the roof.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_in_ghost_town.JPG


But she was able to send me a friends request. I stop talking so hit F5 this is where Ifound her next.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_floating_in_my_room.JPG

Also her friends list is not working right that might be the bug issue

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/63674fan_big_chat.JPG

I can accept friends but can not send messages or go to where they are :(

So if you find me come ot me instead. Hugs

And I thought we were fans of Walt " If your can dream it yes you can"

Wonder how many thought Walt was crazy first for making a full length movie cartoon (snow white) to building buy land in swamp area.

Pleae enjoy the adventure we are on :hug:

THANK YOU. :worship:

[SharkMeal]

Thanks and hugs :)

I'm not completely sure I'm right but that's my best guest.. Hehe. :)

Kairi-Angel(iEyeliner) I found you in VFK and sent you a friend request :)

[Dreamytime]

Have you noticed that if you move your furnish around and then go out...come back into YOUR room by hitting the Home button beside of the chat that your pink couch is exactly where you left it?

I have decorated my first VFK room.
Hehe

[SharkMeal]

I found a cool glitch. If you go to the crossroads or stonehenge and stay
at the bottom and click the house button, then you'll be down in a secret
area of your house and you'll have to click the floor to go back up. You can make it look like you're a talking ghost!

[SharkMeal]

:O
This sucks! I lost my chat so I refreshed and lost both my chat and my sight,
and my friends on my friends list are gone!

Lol the fun days of beta aye? :)

[snshine123]

we've been going through the same thing! But soon we will all have great stories to tell of surviving the early days! Has anyone found a way to meet up with someone to add them to your friend's list? I mean you would think I could find zsmile as he is playing on the computer right next to me but we tried for two hours with no luck! I guess that's what it all is now-luck! We felt so much better meeting up with foreverwdw and slinky-familiar faces-even when they were invisible!

[SharkMeal]

Yep I like that our shirt will have "I survived Day 1 Beta" LOL.

By the way, does anyone have any contact info for a vmk staff or host that apparently migrated
to vfk? It would be nice to confirm whether they're fakes or not

I think they're the real ones, maybe Phinny thought Finley sounded better to her.

[Stephieann]

needs to be i survived beta week 1. lol

[SharkMeal]

needs to be i survived beta week 1. lol

Or just "I survived beta"

[Sir_Quikslvr]

Hey, just I just got on lol. Im searching around for friends to add to my list now.

[disfanalicia]

I just want to change my clothes so badly!!!!! I hope we can soon.

[Stephieann]

Hey, just I just got on lol. Im searching around for friends to add to my list now.
what is your name on there?
i am guest 4311 right now!

[Mnementh]

Administrative Contact:
Kingdom, Family fmw3@bellatlantic.net
500 N. Solano Dr.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
United States
6099547339 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Kingdom, Family fmw3@bellatlantic.net
500 N. Solano Dr.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
United States
6099547339 Fax --



For those of you who know this kind of thing, is it typical for a company to do something like this and not actually use a name? If not, why do they feel the need to hide their name?

[Sir_Quikslvr]

im guest136

[Stephieann]

For those of you who know this kind of thing, is it typical for a company to do something like this and not actually use a name? If not, why do they feel the need to hide their name?
maybe it is just not one person that does this and they did not want to list all the names?

[redshoe]

maybe it is just not one person that does this and they did not want to list all the names?

My "other half" owns a business, and NOTHING of it is in his name. He has it set up under a corporation, which is not his name and not the name of the business, either. It provides protection in case the business does not succeed...if it were to go bankrupt, our personal assets (house, cars, etc.) could not be seized, because the business and everything it entails legally belongs to the corporation, not to him personally. That's an over-simplified explanation, but it works along those lines. It's very common to set up businesses this way, and actually very wise.

If he did have a domain name linked to his business, I'm certain it would be listed under the corporation name rather than his own.

ETA: sorry, this would have made more sense if I had quoted Mnementh's question! :)

[Kairi-Angel]

i'm iEyeliner. [:

[Mnementh]

My "other half" owns a business, and NOTHING of it is in his name. He has it set up under a corporation, which is not his name and not the name of the business, either. It provides protection in case the business does not succeed...if it were to go bankrupt, our personal assets (house, cars, etc.) could not be seized, because the business and everything it entails legally belongs to the corporation, not to him personally. That's an over-simplified explanation, but it works along those lines. It's very common to set up businesses this way, and actually very wise.

If he did have a domain name linked to his business, I'm certain it would be listed under the corporation name rather than his own.

ETA: sorry, this would have made more sense if I had quoted Mnementh's question! :)

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.

I haven't said this sooner, because I figured it would be obvious, but considering a lot of people are saying their names are already taken, I've gotten my name and I'm Mnementh on VFK.

[aengus]

I would like to clear up 2 misconceptions i noticed, both a positive and a negative

1. the hosts/vmks that are there claiming to be ex vmk employees are indeed them. Sorry I can't offer proof, I can only give you my word.

2. several VMK boards handled this game in the same manner, and by several I mean most. People really need to get over the fact they were not permitted to discuss the website prior to its release. This website and other websites were targetted for the solicitation of its members, which is clearly a violation of forum rules.

[Leila33]

I would like to clear up 2 misconceptions i noticed, both a positive and a negative

1. the hosts/vmks that are there claiming to be ex vmk employees are indeed them. Sorry I can't offer proof, I can only give you my word.

2. several VMK boards handled this game in the same manner, and by several I mean most. People really need to get over the fact they were not permitted to discuss the website prior to its release. This website and other websites were targetted for the solicitation of its members, which is clearly a violation of forum rules.

Thanks for #1 aengus :) gives my heart a warm hug about something fin said this morning :-)

and as for #2, totally understand! I just wish we had a sub-cat to be able to expand this LONG post. :)

[aengus]

We are indeed working on a game plan that will allow everyone alot more freedom for the topic. Sorry bear with us, we are trying to think long term for our goals, that can take a little time is all ;)

[icantpickaname13]

I have a few questions about this game that I am wondering if anyone can help answer..

On their site under about us i saw this quote:

" The game will be free, just as you have experienced. We will not be accepting advertising, as we believe this is inappropriate when children are involved. We have put together a solid business model for this effort and you can rest assured that the Virtual Family Kingdom will not disappear in three years. "

my question is:

Does anyone have any idea how this game will be supported as a free game with no advertizing?

Does this mean that their will be out of game opportunities for us to "support the game" financially?

[Help_me_know]

i signed u beat 1 and it won't let me sign in? is it email than pass or username in the game than pass?

[Leila33]

We are indeed working on a game plan that will allow everyone alot more freedom for the topic. Sorry bear with us, we are trying to think long term for our goals, that can take a little time is all ;)

I kinda thought so, but just needed to hear it :)

[NedsTJ]

Nice work! I was trying to make something like that, myself, but I couldn't position the pictures well enough for it to work.

Thanks. It did take a bit of finegaling(sp?) to get them laid out right...it'll be moot once they develop their own map (which I'm sure is on the punch list! LOL!)


For those of you who know this kind of thing, is it typical for a company to do something like this and not actually use a name? If not, why do they feel the need to hide their name?
Someone had asked if Narasopa Media was designing VFK, I was just putting up info showing they are probably not, that they just did the website design itself. But I don't know all the details either nor, to be blunt, am I sure I care, LOL.

But to answer your question, yes this is very typical for them to use a corporate name as the registrant (or however they did it). I do however, like the fact that Family Kingdom got treated as "Kingdom, Family"...Mr. Kingdom, I presume? LOL

That said, my only true concern about VFK was addressed by Mr. A man, which was regarding whether the "new"/"old" staff were "real" or Parkay. I think it would have been very bad if it turned out they were just using the names. I'll trust Aegnus, as he's got more contacts than Heidi-....well, lets just leave it at that. :lmao: After that, I'm hoping VFK does take off and it will be fun watching it grow and being a part of it.

Now let me post this so I keep up with the last 2 pages that appeared while I wrote it...

[Kairi-Angel]

i'm currently chatting with VFK_Panda, a staff. [:
he/she's pretty nice, i can't tell what they look like because the image wont show for me, just the text.

[redshoe]

I'll trust Aegnus, as he's got more contacts than Heidi-....well, lets just leave it at that. :lmao:

:rotfl:

I'm having a very hard time trying to explain to my son what I'm laughing at right now. :laughing:

[Belle1997]

Ok this is what I have noticed. I can only talk out side my first room if someone comes in after me as soon as they do my chat works.

I met VFK_Ivy she is new. Does not say much. Does not have dogs but would like on some day.

[charmarie]

I just met VFK_Toni, but she wasn't there long. She was in Western town or whatever. And...Shalonie found me, but we couldn't see each other. Shalonie - if you see this - keep looking for me - I went to Blacksmith and waited but never saw you. Can't wait to find my friends!

Hugs,

[Candyman9585]

I just met VFK_Toni, but she wasn't there long. She was in Western town or whatever. And...Shalonie found me, but we couldn't see each other. Shalonie - if you see this - keep looking for me - I went to Blacksmith and waited but never saw you. Can't wait to find my friends!

Hugs,

VFK_Toni.... AS IN.....


http://i28.tinypic.com/24f0jtd.png


??????????????? lol

[Diva of Dragons]

Liked the girls's new look today! Also, had a second to chat with VFK_Cricket!:thumbsup2

[PizzaCaptain]

Whoah lots of VMK Staff on VFK! Cant wait for VFK to open!

[VMK_KrazyLuke]

I met VFK_Ivy she is new. Does not say much. Does not have dogs but would like on some day.

I also met VFK_Ivy last night in one of the Western themed rooms right before closing. She was very nice and greeted everyone. We ended up chatting for a bit of time; said our goodbyes and goodnights; then was silenced and everyone just seperated.

VFK_Ivy is from VMK, but was under a different name. She was hestitant about saying her old gaming title at first, because she did the same thing I am. She wanted to start out fresh and become a new 'alias' for a new gaming community- This is exactly what I am doing as well.

[Tink Mick Koda Miles]

so does the friend list work now? we can accept friends?

[Stephieann]

Liked the girls's new look today! Also, had a second to chat with VFK_Cricket!:thumbsup2
?? did we change again?

[Stephieann]

i was on the site now it will not load, anyone else feel my pain?

[tofubeast]

try deleting cookies and try again. i am in. Girl's look is the same so far. It seems like any big changes for the day are happening early in the afternoon or so. EST Loading screen still says day "4a" so I bet we will see some updates when it says "5a"

[IrishTinkerbell]

I am on right now everything looks the same...but I did see Skippypaul..yay!!! its nice to see someone from the boards, I asked you if you wanted to be friends Skippypaul..its pending...all though I'm not sure what that means..LOL but just in case you didn't know who DreamDazzle is it me...:wave:

[redshoe]

i was on the site now it will not load, anyone else feel my pain?

Sort of. It loaded fine for me, but I'm back to not being able to see or talk to anyone. I'm sure it will get fixed again soon though.

I did notice that my avatar appeared by the far right window in the room rather than where it usually does...guess they're still tinkering!

[IrishTinkerbell]

Sorry Redshoe didn't mean to leave without saying bye, but I was stuck, so I logged off...hope to see you later :goodvibes

[redshoe]

Sorry Redshoe didn't mean to leave without saying bye, but I was stuck, so I logged off...hope to see you later :goodvibes

Aww, no worries! I figured it was something like that. :)

[WebmasterKelsie]

Aengus seems to be taking a lot of heat for the decision to hold off on allowing VFK posts on the DIS. Please be very clear he did NOT make this decision alone.

We still have some major concerns about VFK and are discussing how we will move forward.

For now, we are limiting the discussion to one thread. If this doesn't work we will remove the discussion all together until these concerns are addressed.

Everyone just needs to take a deep breath, stop pointing fingers and be patient.

Thanks!

[redshoe]

Aengus seems to be taking a lot of heat for the decision to hold off on allowing VFK posts on the DIS. Please be very clear he did NOT make this decision alone.


I can't speak for everyone else, but I do understand that, and I do not envy the difficult position the moderators are in.

[tofubeast]

For now, we are limiting the discussion to one thread. If this doesn't work we will remove the discussion all together until these concerns are addressed.


I have no problem with what the Dis' decided to do before the game opened. No heat coming from me. Just please do not delete our thread here. :worship:

[redshoe]

Hey, TofuBeast! Am I on your friends list twice, by chance?

[TikiIslander]

WOW. Well, that's the last time I'm entering this game until they make some serious changes. Someone- still with the guest title- was digging for information from a young person. Unfortunately, I couldn't see either person, but I'm guessing the recipient of this act was a girl. You know, I asked a moderator yesterday what the deal was with the help feature, but she said just to come and find a staff member for now. This is sick.

There is a lot of information flying around this game right now- for some reason we're allowed to talk about VMK and fansites, where is that line exactly? And rules don't really matter if there's no way to enforce them. I really doubt there are any chat logs, and since it's nearly impossible to enter the same room again after leaving, I'm scared for what could happen. Sure, the game is new and they're still working out some bugs, but how can they explain starting a family game without this ability??? If you can't do the coding necessary in flash, set up a chat box on the side window that puts you in contact with a moderator. Trickery is one thing, but the having moderators who really can't do much to stop behaviors? That's another.

Anyway, I told them about the situation in the 'contact us' link, but we'll see- sounds like not many people have gotten responses lately. I just hope that this is the next thing on the list for them. This is a critical time for building a positive community, and if people realize they can get away with anything here, it's over.

[BlueSneakerGal]

Tiki I share your concern. I have been nothing but supportive of this new site and very excited to be a part of all of it and watching it grow.... but yesterday I saw some very foul language and, with no way to report it, am concerned that they *must* nip it in the bud before it grows out of control.

[Kasiks]

Aengus seems to be taking a lot of heat for the decision to hold off on allowing VFK posts on the DIS. Please be very clear he did NOT make this decision alone.

I am not really posting on the dis since VMK is closed, and VFK is out just because I dont want to hear about that game and when I open the VMK section of the dis it is the first thing i see >_< but thanks for posting that

[TinkPinkPoem]

I am still on the waiting list.

I am amazed by some of the things I read here..they should really enforce the safety of the game. It's a family kingdom after all, why don't they do something to protect it!

[redshoe]

I spoke to Hurricane about this issue yesterday. He said that they are working on getting it resolved. In the meantime, my son isn't logging on...he will be able to as soon as it's fixed.

[rickyratsmom]

WOW. Well, that's the last time I'm entering this game until they make some serious changes. Someone- still with the guest title- was digging for information from a young person. Unfortunately, I couldn't see either person, but I'm guessing the recipient of this act was a girl. You know, I asked a moderator yesterday what the deal was with the help feature, but she said just to come and find a staff member for now. This is sick.

There is a lot of information flying around this game right now- for some reason we're allowed to talk about VMK and fansites, where is that line exactly? And rules don't really matter if there's no way to enforce them. I really doubt there are any chat logs, and since it's nearly impossible to enter the same room again after leaving, I'm scared for what could happen. Sure, the game is new and they're still working out some bugs, but how can they explain starting a family game without this ability??? If you can't do the coding necessary in flash, set up a chat box on the side window that puts you in contact with a moderator. Trickery is one thing, but the having moderators who really can't do much to stop behaviors? That's another.

Anyway, I told them about the situation in the 'contact us' link, but we'll see- sounds like not many people have gotten responses lately. I just hope that this is the next thing on the list for them. This is a critical time for building a positive community, and if people realize they can get away with anything here, it's over.

I asked VFK_Groovy about talking about VMK and was told that it is ok to Talk about it because it is closed. They are even going to add "VMK" to the dictionary. The reason?? To help us all get re-aquainted with our VMK friends and to let us talk about our feeling about the game closing...it seems they are just trying to help us out, which is admirable if you ask me. I too have to agree though that we need a report button ASAP!:rolleyes1

[jack_spar_rock]

how do i enter merlin's shop

[See.low]

This "family" game shouldn't even be open without a proper way to moderate it. "We are working on it" isn't enough in my opinion.
I find it very disturbing that they are risking the safety of our children just to ride on the coattails of VMK closing. :worried:

[CelebrationNM]

This "family" game shouldn't even be open without a proper way to moderate it. "We are working on it" isn't enough in my opinion.
I find it very disturbing that they are risking the safety of our children just to ride on the coattails of VMK closing. :worried:

I completely agree.

[redshoe]

This "family" game shouldn't even be open without a proper way to moderate it. "We are working on it" isn't enough in my opinion.
I find it very disturbing that they are risking the safety of our children just to ride on the coattails of VMK closing. :worried:

I can understand that point of view, certainly. But as a parent, it's no one's job to protect my son but my own. I was aware when I signed up to be a tester that things would be imperfect at this stage in the game, including safety features, and I realized that with my child fully in mind.

Still, again, it has been less than a week. Even after 3 years, VMK didn't come CLOSE to having that wrapped up. Sure, they had a report button, but what did it really do besides send a canned "ignore them and they will go away" kind of response? I never saw it do anything meaningful whatsoever. People were even afraid to report things for fear of getting banned themselves, and for good reason. What kind of safety system is that? There are so many things my son was not allowed to do in VMK, entirely because of these issues, that it wasn't even funny. So where is the difference, really, and why was no one up in arms over it then?

Chat just started working a day or two ago. I don't see how they could possibly have had a fully operational report/safety system in place without it, and I'm watching to see how fast they rectify this and how well it works after they do. In the meantime, my son is not logging on. This is the kind of issue parents need to think about when they allow their child to be part of an online community that is still in the very early testing phases.

Now, if they open VFK to the public without a working report and safety system in place, then yes...that's an entirely different thing. But right now, I see both sides of the coin, I am willing to reserve judgment, and I am doing my job and protecting my child.

[cyre]

I can understand that point of view, certainly. But as a parent, it's no one's job to protect my son but my own. I was aware when I signed up to be a tester that things would be imperfect at this stage in the game, including safety features, and I realized that with my child fully in mind.

Still, again, it has been less than a week. Even after 3 years, VMK didn't come CLOSE to having that wrapped up. Sure, they had a report button, but what did it really do besides send a canned "ignore them and they will go away" kind of response? I never saw it do anything meaningful whatsoever. People were even afraid to report things for fear of getting banned themselves, and for good reason. What kind of safety system is that? There are so many things my son was not allowed to do in VMK, entirely because of these issues, that it wasn't even funny. So where is the difference, really, and why was no one up in arms over it then?

Chat just started working a day or two ago. I don't see how they could possibly have had a fully operational report/safety system in place without it, and I'm watching to see how fast they rectify this and how well it works after they do. In the meantime, my son is not logging on. This is the kind of issue parents need to think about when they allow their child to be part of an online community that is still in the very early testing phases.

Now, if they open VFK to the public without a working report and safety system in place, then yes...that's an entirely different thing. But right now, I see both sides of the coin, I am willing to reserve judgment, and I am doing my job and protecting my child.

Very well said. I totally agree!

[Mamacita]

But as a parent, it's no one's job to protect my son but my own.
But many parents see the claim on the site that this is a moderated safe site and they trust it, who is watching those kids?


Sure, they had a report button, but what did it really do besides send a canned "ignore them and they will go away" kind of response? I never saw it do anything meaningful whatsoever.
The 'ignore' reply was to let you know that your report was received and a suggestion of what you could do to avoid the offending person while it was being taken care of. We didn't see it happen, but things were handled correctly behind the scenes.


Chat just started working a day or two ago. I don't see how they could possibly have had a fully operational report/safety system in place without it

Exactly, and children should not be allowed on this site in this stage of development. Safety has to be first when children are involved.

:hippie: Mamacita

[See.low]

Chat just started working a day or two ago. I don't see how they could possibly have had a fully operational report/safety system in place without it,

Exactly my point. Why not wait to release it..even its beta form, until that is at least in place? I'll give you one guess...

[redshoe]

But many parents see the claim on the site that this is a moderated safe site and they trust it, who is watching those kids?

Seriously? Because I wouldn't. I would check it out for myself.

[Mamacita]

Seriously? Because I wouldn't. I would check it out for myself.

Me too and as a result of checking it out my children are not on it. But many many wouldn't check it out.

[TinkPinkPoem]

It appears to me, from reading throughout this thread, that there are a few if none moderators yet. All I have read about is the mention of in-game hosts.

I haven't seen anyone write about getting a response from contact us (correct me if I am wrong on this one) and the absence of the report button might as well have to do with the absence of people dealing with the safety issues that may come up!

Yes, one could argue that the game is still in beta testing but in my opinion safety is of vital importance in a family game, a game which many kids will play. So the report button should have been top priority, even if the beta testers were just parents/adults. After all, the testers check for flaws. They should have it up from the moment the chat was allowed to see how it works and whether there are any problems with its function and in that way to fix them as soon as possible.

Just my two cents.

[Goofy05]

WOW. Well, that's the last time I'm entering this game until they make some serious changes. Someone- still with the guest title- was digging for information from a young person. Unfortunately, I couldn't see either person, but I'm guessing the recipient of this act was a girl. You know, I asked a moderator yesterday what the deal was with the help feature, but she said just to come and find a staff member for now. This is sick.

There is a lot of information flying around this game right now- for some reason we're allowed to talk about VMK and fansites, where is that line exactly? And rules don't really matter if there's no way to enforce them. I really doubt there are any chat logs, and since it's nearly impossible to enter the same room again after leaving, I'm scared for what could happen. Sure, the game is new and they're still working out some bugs, but how can they explain starting a family game without this ability??? If you can't do the coding necessary in flash, set up a chat box on the side window that puts you in contact with a moderator. Trickery is one thing, but the having moderators who really can't do much to stop behaviors? That's another.

Anyway, I told them about the situation in the 'contact us' link, but we'll see- sounds like not many people have gotten responses lately. I just hope that this is the next thing on the list for them. This is a critical time for building a positive community, and if people realize they can get away with anything here, it's over.

Tiki I share your concern. I have been nothing but supportive of this new site and very excited to be a part of all of it and watching it grow.... but yesterday I saw some very foul language and, with no way to report it, am concerned that they *must* nip it in the bud before it grows out of control.

I spoke to Hurricane about this issue yesterday. He said that they are working on getting it resolved. In the meantime, my son isn't logging on...he will be able to as soon as it's fixed.

This "family" game shouldn't even be open without a proper way to moderate it. "We are working on it" isn't enough in my opinion.
I find it very disturbing that they are risking the safety of our children just to ride on the coattails of VMK closing. :worried:

I can understand that point of view, certainly. But as a parent, it's no one's job to protect my son but my own. I was aware when I signed up to be a tester that things would be imperfect at this stage in the game, including safety features, and I realized that with my child fully in mind.

Still, again, it has been less than a week. Even after 3 years, VMK didn't come CLOSE to having that wrapped up. Sure, they had a report button, but what did it really do besides send a canned "ignore them and they will go away" kind of response? I never saw it do anything meaningful whatsoever. People were even afraid to report things for fear of getting banned themselves, and for good reason. What kind of safety system is that? There are so many things my son was not allowed to do in VMK, entirely because of these issues, that it wasn't even funny. So where is the difference, really, and why was no one up in arms over it then?

Chat just started working a day or two ago. I don't see how they could possibly have had a fully operational report/safety system in place without it, and I'm watching to see how fast they rectify this and how well it works after they do. In the meantime, my son is not logging on. This is the kind of issue parents need to think about when they allow their child to be part of an online community that is still in the very early testing phases.

Now, if they open VFK to the public without a working report and safety system in place, then yes...that's an entirely different thing. But right now, I see both sides of the coin, I am willing to reserve judgment, and I am doing my job and protecting my child.

They have yet to hold to any of their stated policies. They PROMISED a safe environment for families. It's written in their "Constitution". We don't know anything about this company. Nothing at all. WHY are people so trusting about this lame Alpha phase not-even-chat website? I simply don't understand.

Redshoe? As a parent, you are keeping ONE child safe. Do you know how many children are trusting COMPLETE strangers on VFK? Guest# blah, blah, blah means nothing. Anyone can be anyone they wish. The filtering is mediocre, at best. No way to report anyone in-game or without, it seems. Yet you are their biggest advocate for giving them a chance.

As an adult, I have always reported anyone giving out personal info on vmk. Always, if it continued after I warned them first. I have never feared being banned for that. The canned responses meant nothing, true, but the report was made and filed. If anything bad were to occur, that report would be there so the chat logs could be pulled. What system does vfk have in place? I think as adults and parents, we need to contact the developers and request closing vfk until they have a monitoring system in place. Of course, I doubt most people here would agree with me.

[SharkMeal]

I'm getting worried this is too similar to VMK, I hope disney doesn't shut it down.

Fourth of July Game - May be like Fireworks
Space Pirates - May be like Pirates
Wild West Ghost Town - May be like Haunted Mansion
Checkers - May be like VMK checkers.
Charms - May be like VMK Magic
Toolbar - Similar to VMK toolbar
Staff - Similar similar way they are named, some staff are the same
Adventures - May be similar to VMK Quests
Theme months - may be similar to VMK's theme months
(I got the mini game info off of the features section of the homepage)
So I hope they make these features different from VMK and not too similar.

And I REALLY want that help button to come out today or tomorrow as well.
I see spammers, door blockers, people talking other people into personal
info, stuff like that.

[TinkPinkPoem]

They have yet to hold to any of their stated policies. They PROMISED a safe environment for families. It's written in their "Constitution". We don't know anything about this company. Nothing at all. WHY are people so trusting about this lame Alpha phase not-even-chat website? I simply don't understand.

Redshoe? As a parent, you are keeping ONE child safe. Do you know how many children are trusting COMPLETE strangers on VFK? Guest# blah, blah, blah means nothing. Anyone can be anyone they wish. The filtering is mediocre, at best. No way to report anyone in-game or without, it seems. Yet you are their biggest advocate for giving them a chance.

As an adult, I have always reported anyone giving out personal info on vmk. Always, if it continued after I warned them first. I have never feared being banned for that. The canned responses meant nothing, true, but the report was made and filed. If anything bad were to occur, that report would be there so the chat logs could be pulled. What system does vfk have in place? I think as adults and parents, we need to contact the developers and request closing vfk until they have a monitoring system in place. Of course, I doubt most people here would agree with me.

I agree. Instead of closing altogether, they could just take out the chat option until they properly filter it and create a dictionary of allowed words, just like vmk.

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

Are the staff the same on VFK as VMK?

[SharkMeal]

Are the staff the same on VFK as VMK?

Wolf, Lion, Hurricane, Phinny(name changed to Finley), Toni, Cricket, and more
are staff on VFK.

Lily and Hula are unfortunately not there.

[Mamacita]

I think as adults and parents, we need to contact the developers and request closing vfk until they have a monitoring system in place. Of course, I doubt most people here would agree with me.


I completely agree and will be writing to them today.

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc279/psu52545/VFK/Staff.jpg
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc279/psu52545/VFK/map.jpg

[TinkPinkPoem]

Wolf, Lion, Hurricane, Phinny(name changed to Finley), Toni, Cricket, and more
are staff on VFK.

Is it verified it is them indeed?:confused3

[disvaclub92]

In my role as a parent, I control my kids usage of the internet and we do activities together on the net. But in some instance, we know that not every child has a parent watching over them on the net.

As far as VMK is concerned, "Beta" and probably a good year and a half or so into the reporting system worked as it should. The system worked as a result of having the original baseline of Community Leaders were there (the ones that actually served the role not abuse the title just to become popular) they were in contact with Staff to mitigate these problems. So don't say the 3 years were bad, they were not. As scamming grew, the false alarm reports grew, some individuals abusing the role of Community Leaders that is what lead the reporting to not work as originally intended.

This should have never been opened to such a high volume of traffic until this was under control. Very scary, I feel for so many kids who don't have the parental guidance while surfing the net. A host stating they are working on it, does not hold any weight, imo. Should have been the first thing created as well as a secure logon.

[SharkMeal]

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc279/psu52545/VFK/Staff.jpg

Aloha is here, but that's not Hula. Hula is not on VFK.

Is it verified it is them indeed?:confused3

We were questioning that earlier and Aengus said that it was indeed them,
he had no proof but we'd have to take his word for it. ;)

[Goofy05]

I agree. Instead of closing altogether, they could just take out the chat option until they properly filter it and create a dictionary of allowed words, just like vmk.

Yes, even that is better than allowing this to continue. Please message them.

I completely agree and will be writing to them today.

Awesome! I already have.

In my role as a parent, I control my kids usage of the internet and we do activities together on the net. But in some instance, we know that not every child has a parent watching over them on the net.

As far as VMK is concerned, "Beta" and probably a good year and a half or so into the reporting system worked as it should. The system worked as a result of having the original baseline of Community Leaders were there (the ones that actually served the role not abuse the title just to become popular) they were in contact with Staff to mitigate these problems. So don't say the 3 years were bad, they were not. As scamming grew, the false alarm reports grew, some individuals abusing the role of Community Leaders that is what lead the reporting to not work as originally intended.

This should have never been opened to such a high volume of traffic until this was under control. Very scary, I feel for so many kids who don't have the parental guidance while surfing the net. A host stating they are working on it, does not hold any weight, imo. Should have been the first thing created as well as a secure logon.

Glad you brought that up, Dis. The unsecured registration/logon is a concern, as well.

[cyre]

Anyone i've been talking to today from here, I'm sorry if i just leave you, i either get stuck or can't talk. And my friend list keeps getting dumped every time i restart :(

[poohluv2u]

I would like to clear up 2 misconceptions i noticed, both a positive and a negative

1. the hosts/vmks that are there claiming to be ex vmk employees are indeed them. Sorry I can't offer proof, I can only give you my word ...

How do we know this is the real Aengus ... maybe it's just some guy pretending to be a Dis Moderator ... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[Dashzap]

Perhaps they have already disabled chat. It was working for me this morning, but now I'm alone again. My friends list is also wiped.

[sm4987]

Anyone i've been talking to today from here, I'm sorry if i just leave you, i either get stuck or can't talk. And my friend list keeps getting dumped every time i restart :(

Cyre, you're still showing up on my list, however everyone that I met and added yesterday are gone. I'm holding onto my list so far today

[IliketheTitanic]

Well heres a positive thing about VFK. I was in a room with VFK_Harmony and she was actually taking down our ideas for lands, items and guest rooms, she actually started asking us what we wanted to see and she took down notes on what everyones ideas where. I aprreciate this alot, thanks VFK :thumbsup2

[redshoe]

Redshoe? As a parent, you are keeping ONE child safe. Do you know how many children are trusting COMPLETE strangers on VFK? Guest# blah, blah, blah means nothing. Anyone can be anyone they wish. The filtering is mediocre, at best. No way to report anyone in-game or without, it seems. Yet you are their biggest advocate for giving them a chance.

That's true. I am keeping one child safe. The vast majority of other children have parents whose responsibility it is to keep them safe, and yes, I do know how many children are trusting complete strangers. It's sad, but I can't realistically do every other parents' job for them. I can only do my own. And while I'm advocating giving them a chance, I'm also advocating the vigilance of individual parents. If every parent WAS that vigilant, it's very possible that a moderation system would be far less necessary. Dateline stories about internet predators aside, most of the problem immediately at hand (the dictionary-dance cursing, etc.) is actually being caused by kids whose parents aren't watching them.

The 'ignore' reply was to let you know that your report was received and a suggestion of what you could do to avoid the offending person while it was being taken care of. We didn't see it happen, but things were handled correctly behind the scenes.

So we're supposed to give VMK the benefit of the doubt that things were going on behind the scenes even though we didn't see any outward sign of it, but not VFK? I'm sorry, but I think that's a double standard. We don't fully know what either of them has done or is doing right now. I know that I didn't like what I saw in VMK, and I know that VFK is far from being a place where I want my son to be at the moment. I am willing to give them a chance to make it work, and in the meantime, the only way my son will be on is if I am looking RIGHT over his shoulder at the monitor.

Everyone is talking about VFK claiming to be a "family site," like that abdicates the responsibility of parents for the safety of children and places it entirely on VFK. It doesn't. On the contrary, it encourages parents to participate WITH children, as a family. I'm not going to let my son run loose somewhere just because some place claims to be "family-oriented." Parks are family sites, but do I let my son play in them unsupervised? Nope. Public pools are family sites with "moderators," a.k.a. lifeguards. Do I let my child go to a public pool unattended, expecting that the lifeguards will take on the sole responsibility of keeping him safe? Absolutely not. But do I scream about the fact that the city I live in, who owns the parks and the pools, are failing in their duty because I can't turn my son entirely over to them expecting his complete safety and well-being? I do not. His safety is my job, and rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I make sure that *I* keep him safe when participating in these venues, limiting what he is allowed to do if necessary.

I still have to wonder if everyone who is so critical about VFK this thoroughly questions and checks out things like the doctor who is prescribing medications to their children, or the pharmacist who ispreparing said medications, or the teacher who is with their child all day long for nine months out of the year. I seriously doubt it, and I'm getting a little bit tired of all of the alarmism and suspicion, so having said my piece I don't think I'm going to be checking this particular thread anymore. It's starting to annoy me more than I should let it.

[TinkPinkPoem]

Everyone is talking about VFK claiming to be a "family site," like that abdicates the responsibility of parents for the safety of children and places it entirely on VFK. It doesn't. On the contrary, it encourages parents to participate WITH children, as a family. I'm not going to let my son run loose somewhere just because some place claims to be "family-oriented." Parks are family sites, but do I let my son play in them unsupervised? Nope. Public pools are family sites with "moderators," a.k.a. lifeguards. Do I let my child go to a public pool unattended, expecting that the lifeguards will take on the sole responsibility of keeping him safe? Absolutely not. But do I scream about the fact that the city I live in, who owns the parks and the pools, are failing in their duty because I can't turn my son entirely over to them expecting his complete safety and well-being? I do not. His safety is my job, and rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I make sure that *I* keep him safe when participating in these venues, limiting what he is allowed to do if necessary.


That is absolutely true, but they ought to keep their word and make sure that the game is a safe place. A parent can't be ever-present in such situation as an online game, but the developers are obliged to have alert moderators around the clock in the game.

[Mamacita]

I have concerns and I'm voicing them. Not sure why differing opinions are annoying. Done posting here though, it seems I'm in the minority and I can live with that. Doesn't change how I feel.
:hippie: Mamacita

[Eeyore's Pal]

Just popping in to say "Hi" and to reiterate my intention of waiting before I make a decision for DD and me about joining VFK.

The lack of moderation and apparently open dictionary are really disturbing. I hope this will be remedied soon -- for everyone's benefit.

I also know that I relied on VMK to provide a way for me to wind-down from my stressful job and real life. At this time, I don't think the problems of this alpha test period would be conducive to reducing my stress level! :lmao:

I'm reading this thread each day, enjoying the tales of funny experiences in between the concerns. :surfweb:

Continued good luck to those of you who are in the trenches, fighting your way through the growing pains of this new game! popcorn::

To other concerned parents and players -- please remember that you and your child will survive another month or two if you wait until this game has matured enough to be safe. ::yes::

[Belle1997]

This "family" game shouldn't even be open without a proper way to moderate it. "We are working on it" isn't enough in my opinion.
I find it very disturbing that they are risking the safety of our children just to ride on the coattails of VMK closing. :worried:

I agree too. By now that should be their number one concern not friends list or titles making sure the site is safe. When you really could not talk it was not a great issue but now that chat is working better.

I am really behind this site but for safety reason shut it down for now. Until you have worked out this issue. We have seen they really want to to this site. The safety of the kids comes first to me.

[MPhins13]

I was reading the Terms of Use and Conditions because someone said we have to pay for this game. I was wondering if we will :confused3 Because I thought it was going to be free

REGISTRATION AND SUBSCRIPTION: Registration as a Member of the Service for free. This service includes the chat and instant messaging features in the VitualFamilyKingdom.com environment. There are enhanced Services which are available which require confirmation of age and identity and this requires that you become a subscriber and pay any related fees. This price list is part of this Agreement And We reserve the right, at any time, to change any fees or charges for using the Service. To become a Member, You must register for the Service. When and if You register to become a Member, You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information about Yourself as prompted by Our registration form ("Registration Data"), and to maintain and update Your information to keep it accurate, current and complete. You agree that We may rely on Your Registration Data as accurate, current and complete. You acknowledge that if Your Registration Data is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete in any respect, We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement and Your use of the Service and, in such event, You shall not be entitled to a refund of any unused subscription fees

[aengus]

I want to just make another host vmk statement, as I saw some confusion in goofywatercoaster's post.

Hula and Lily are not there, there was some confusion that Aloha was Hula, it is not.

Any VFK you have seen with the same title as in VMK is really them, Phinley being the exception, is indeed also Host Fin.

[wenyeva]

I was reading the Terms of Use and Conditions because someone said we have to pay for this game. I was wondering if we will :confused3 Because I thought it was going to be free

My guess is that the basic game will be free but there will be higher levels of service that one can pay for. This is just a guess, though. I don't have any inside knowledge.

But, theoretically, they could have certain rooms be purchasable, or some spells or items. I am all for this as long as the game is still enjoyable and playable for those who do not pay. Any income stream is good to keep the thing running. If VMK had an income stream we might still be enjoying it today.

I would have gladly paid for a Quest Kiosk, after I lost my first character and all of my stuff, including the Kiosk... and I would have paid extra for after hours access to VMK. :)

Anyway, they do promise the game will be free, but I don't think that requires them to never charge for anything. And they say they have a solid business model, so...

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

I want to just make another host vmk statement, as I saw some confusion in goofywatercoaster's post.

Hula and Lily are not there, there was some confusion that Aloha was Hula, it is not.

Any VFK you have seen with the same title as in VMK is really them, Phinley being the exception, is indeed also Host Fin.
I am sorry, I will edit my picture

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

My whole friends list just went away!

[disfanalicia]

We have a help button!

[GoofyWaterCoaster]

We have a help button!

Woot!

I'm alone again...

[BriarRosie]

With all the logistics and problems I've been reading about, I'm glad I haven't signed up for this game, beta or otherwise. I wanted to give online gaming a break, at least for a while.

And if a lot of the security issues are ironed out, I might register.

[disvaclub92]

We have a help button!

Please note you may have a help button, but that is what it is just a button. As a tester, I tested the button and the response time. Nothing. In addition, the text does not even wrap as you type it. So it appears just recently created and possibly never used before.

If you open up a button, you would expect functionality to be there. :confused3

Added: Ran into a girl talking about AIM, reported her as you can see by my picture. Still no response. heh. (Really hate that the text does not wrap.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/disvaclub/aim.jpg

[goldengourd]

I've read a lot on this site about the safety of young kids playing on VFK. Uh, I don't recommend allowing a child who is not yet mature enough to have unsupervised internet access sing up to be a TESTER to ANY random open chat site, game or not, from a random company! Shoot, I didn't even let my daughter join VMK without me joining too, and that was an established game with Disney, for goodness sake. If a child is allowed to have unsupervised internet time, then VFK is the least of your worries, there is a lot more interesting and unsafe sites that they will find. If they are not mature enough to be safe with a myspace/aim/facebook account, then don't let them on the computer without you looking at all they do. If they aren't mature enough to be on myspace/facebook, don't let them join a BETA testing game.
I'm so sorry my friends, but VMK is gone. Virtual Family Kingdom is NOT the same thing. It isn't going to be. I personally think it will be a fun site, I personally am getting a kick out of being there for beta, but I will not treat it as a equal to a Disney family site.

[SharkMeal]

I agree with goldengourd.

I am a pre-teen who is unsupervised I don't really find this site dangerous
compared to tons of others. @_@

Also it's a good thing that you wrote to them that something should be done,
and they did it! That's a very good thing.

While it may not be fully functional neither was the friends list when it came
out, heck the whole virtual family kingdom isn't fully functional right now.

It'll be fixed, like everything else will be and some stuff has been. ;)

[Goofy05]

I have concerns and I'm voicing them. Not sure why differing opinions are annoying. Done posting here though, it seems I'm in the minority and I can live with that. Doesn't change how I feel.
Mamacita
I felt the same way, but I'm still posting away and emailing vfk. I hope you'll come back, I think we feel like a minority because so many who feel the same just don't want the argument that most always comes with a differing opinion.
~hugs~
Please note you may have a help button, but that is what it is just a button. As a tester, I tested the button and the response time. Nothing. In addition, the text does not even wrap as you type it. So it appears just recently created and possibly never used before.

If you open up a button, you would expect functionality to be there. :confused3

Added: Ran into a girl talking about AIM, reported her as you can see by my picture. Still no response. heh. (Really hate that the text does not wrap.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/disvaclub/aim.jpg

I hope the addition of a lighted help button wasn't just put there to shut us up.

I've read a lot on this site about the safety of young kids playing on VFK. Uh, I don't recommend allowing a child who is not yet mature enough to have unsupervised internet access sing up to be a TESTER to ANY random open chat site, game or not, from a random company! Shoot, I didn't even let my daughter join VMK without me joining too, and that was an established game with Disney, for goodness sake. If a child is allowed to have unsupervised internet time, then VFK is the least of your worries, there is a lot more interesting and unsafe sites that they will find. If they are not mature enough to be safe with a myspace/aim/facebook account, then don't let them on the computer without you looking at all they do. If they aren't mature enough to be on myspace/facebook, don't let them join a BETA testing game.
I'm so sorry my friends, but VMK is gone. Virtual Family Kingdom is NOT the same thing. It isn't going to be. I personally think it will be a fun site, I personally am getting a kick out of being there for beta, but I will not treat it as a equal to a Disney family site.

Although I agree the internet should NEVER be any child's babysitter, not every child has good parents and some good parents do get called away for whatever reason. Vfk promised a safe place for children to play with live moderation. All I'm asking for is that to be true and they keep their word.

[disfanalicia]

I agree with goldengourd.

I am a pre-teen who is unsupervised I don't really find this site dangerous
compared to tons of others. @_@

Also it's a good thing that you wrote to them that something should be done,
and they did it! That's a very good thing.

While it may not be fully functional neither was the friends list when it came
out, heck the whole virtual family kingdom isn't fully functional right now.

It'll be fixed, like everything else will be and some stuff has been. ;)

mee to and i find the site very safe.

[Kasiks]

Please note you may have a help button, but that is what it is just a button. As a tester, I tested the button and the response time. Nothing. In addition, the text does not even wrap as you type it. So it appears just recently created and possibly never used before.

If you open up a button, you would expect functionality to be there. :confused3

Added: Ran into a girl talking about AIM, reported her as you can see by my picture. Still no response. heh. (Really hate that the text does not wrap.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/disvaclub/aim.jpg

I tested and I managed to make the send report button disappear just by typing too much in the report window -_-

[disvaclub92]

Well, I reported and waited, waited, and waited. No response. Honestly, not surprised.

[wdmountie]

So far I think VFK is off to a good start. My main complaint is that I am still a guest. I have been regristered since day 1 and been on 4 out of the 5 days and am still listed as a guest. I figured the time line would be off for the events though. It makes sense that VFK would be overwhelmed with the amount of people logging onto their servers lol. So far I think VFK is making good progress! Congrats! :)

[SkippyPaul]

Idk, first Im tired of looking like Richie Cunningham from Happy Days and I can never find Sweet I figured I'd get on the VFK paint crew. So here I am at work.

First i painted the high to reach areas:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG-1.jpg

Then I got to work on the doors:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG4.jpg

Someone (me) has to do the windows right?
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG2.jpg

Oh and heres the foreman doing the outside trim:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG3notme.jpg

Ok so if you need any painting done you can reach me at:
Richie Rob Cunningham 1-800-Red-VFKDUDE

[Bugdozer]

A note from the developers:

Our beta test is going better than we hoped, and we want to thank everyone yet again for all your help.

This afternoon we exceeded 8,000 online again, and this is very exciting!

To support all of our beta testers, we are doing a server upgrade. We will be offline while we do this, however, as soon as we are back up we should be able to support many more than 8,000 at one time.

In addition, this will allow us to load the rest of the character names which have been approved, so everyone will know each other! Also, you will be able to finally change your clothes and get a new hair style, so that you can meet your friends in a fresh outfit!

Cross your fingers that the upgrade goes smoothly, and wish us good luck.

If all things go smoothly we will be back up in a couple of hours. If not, it may take us the rest of the evening. In any case, we will all be here until the system is back up.

Your development team

[VMK_KrazyLuke]

Well, I reported and waited, waited, and waited. No response. Honestly, not surprised.

The text will wrap, but you need to do it manually by pressing enter, which then moves you to type on the line below. Hopefully they will find a way to make it automatic, so we dont need to do it ourselves.

[Rare_Star]

Idk, first Im tired of looking like Richie Cunningham from Happy Days and I can never find Sweet I figured I'd get on the VFK paint crew. So here I am at work.

First i painted the high to reach areas:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG-1.jpg

Then I got to work on the doors:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG4.jpg

Someone (me) has to do the windows right?
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG2.jpg

Oh and heres the foreman doing the outside trim:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG3notme.jpg

Ok so if you need any painting done you can reach me at:
Richie Rob Cunningham 1-800-Red-VFKDUDE




Rofl that is what happend to me earlyer i was standing on a rail lol :rotfl:

[kcork1026]

LOL:rotfl: :rotfl:

[NedsTJ]

Does it seem odd that there are far less rooms than VMK had, yet they don't seem nearly as crowded? With 8,000 people online? I do understand there are instances of the rooms, (north, south, east, etc, etc) but that doesn't explain how easy it's been (or seemed to be) for people to run into staff, see friends they do know, etc. IDK, maybe my experience is different, or maybe I'm just missing something...

[disfanalicia]

Does it seem odd that there are far less rooms than VMK had, yet they don't seem nearly as crowded? With 8,000 people online? I do understand there are instances of the rooms, (north, south, east, etc, etc) but that doesn't explain how easy it's been (or seemed to be) for people to run into staff, see friends they do know, etc. IDK, maybe my experience is different, or maybe I'm just missing something...

i was wondering the same thing because i keep seeing the same people around the kingdom. i thought i was the only one.

[thesupersmartguy]

A note from the developers:

Our beta test is going better than we hoped, and we want to thank everyone yet again for all your help.

This afternoon we exceeded 8,000 online again, and this is very exciting!

To support all of our beta testers, we are doing a server upgrade. We will be offline while we do this, however, as soon as we are back up we should be able to support many more than 8,000 at one time.

In addition, this will allow us to load the rest of the character names which have been approved, so everyone will know each other! Also, you will be able to finally change your clothes and get a new hair style, so that you can meet your friends in a fresh outfit!

Cross your fingers that the upgrade goes smoothly, and wish us good luck.

If all things go smoothly we will be back up in a couple of hours. If not, it may take us the rest of the evening. In any case, we will all be here until the system is back up.

Your development team


Woot!! I can finally say, Best Buy I quit!!

[Tinkbell]

Idk, first Im tired of looking like Richie Cunningham from Happy Days and I can never find Sweet I figured I'd get on the VFK paint crew. So here I am at work.


Ok so if you need any painting done you can reach me at:
Richie Rob Cunningham 1-800-Red-VFKDUDE


:rotfl2: Glad you are making yourself useful. Oh, I was thinking you were more of a Ralph Malph than a Richie Cunningham.:laughing:

[thesupersmartguy]

Is anyone else just walking around in the game while they are making the improvements?

[SharkMeal]

Is anyone else just walking around in the game while they are making the improvements?

You can still log in with the log in page link, but I'm going to leave it alone
this time, I don't want to be on bothering them while they're trying to
upgrade the servers.

[Panda]

Just wanted to say SkippyPaul your pictures are priceless ( I have been in a few of those places!) and your captions are wondeful.
Love your sence of humor; well done! :rotfl2:

panda

[VMK_Mouse]

Does it seem odd that there are far less rooms than VMK had, yet they don't seem nearly as crowded? With 8,000 people online? I do understand there are instances of the rooms, (north, south, east, etc, etc) but that doesn't explain how easy it's been (or seemed to be) for people to run into staff, see friends they do know, etc. IDK, maybe my experience is different, or maybe I'm just missing something...


I would venture to guess that it is because so many people are still invisble and cannot chat.

[VMK_Mouse]

Love the pictures, Rob. When you are done, can you come do my windows.

[doodlebugprincess]

Want more Hosts?
Phin, Zoo, Wolf and Lion are all hosts in VFK
I have this on a VERY reliable source....not rumor.



What really Zoo is a host! She was my favorite on vmk :)

[MPhins13]

VFK Needs to improve their replying to emails. I sent an email on May 18th and never received a reply. Now for whatever reason DH can't log into his account. He could log in the first 2 days and since then can't. He sent them an email on Saturday and haven't heard back so sent another one today and still nothing. Idk

[Belle1997]

it is case sensitive. I thought I had written my hubby's down right nope I should have capitalize his name and not capitalized the first letter of the password. Try that.

[MPhins13]

it is case sensitive. I thought I had written my hubby's down right nope I should have capitalize his name and not capitalized the first letter of the password. Try that.

No, we've tried it all ways. There's a certain way he does log in data so we know that's not the problem. He's putting the information in correctly but just can't log in. So, that can't be the problem. I just think VFK needs to have someone answer their emails. My email hasn't received a response and it's been 8 days. Hopefully this will change though

[Horse]

So is Rob now going by the title SkippyRichie?

LittleBelle it was fun playing move the furniture with you and Dis last night. We were talking together and dying with laughter when you came in and started.

So happy to see you every day Bug!

redshoe, I'm with you on your opinions. Even with the chat not being moderated as well as we want it, I have not seen chat any worse than what I saw in VMK. In fact, I have seen much worse in VMK. Many of the offenders in VMK had nothing happen to them either. How do I know? Because I was smart enough to send a friend request so I could check on them and saw them in the game day after day. I got tired of the "ignore the other player" messages in game and the "if it's not acceptable in the classroom" messages to my email with nothing done. It was especially frustrating when I would hear about innocent players like Ant getting banned for an invalid reason.

I am having fun with VFK. Yes, it was opened prematurely, but I would rather have what we have now than nothing. If VFK did not open, I would not be playing any online game and not be able to meet up with many VMK friends.

I know Aengus has assured us about the staff being who they claim to be. I saw Fin the first night and when I told her my VMK title, she said hello the way she did in VMK and it's in a way that nobody else does. I am happy she joined VFK staff and she seems so happy many of us made it there. I'm glad Aengus was able to verify the rest of the staff for us.

Dreamytime, I read your post way back and it was well said. You have no idea how many emails I have gotten in the past about those things from other players expressing the same sentiments.

[lizbeth374]

I have always wondered if the hosts played VMK or VFK as another person for fun and Fin pretty much confirmed it for me.

http://i27.tinypic.com/2ns70yc.jpg

[thesupersmartguy]

Update to the home page.


An update from the developers:

We want to keep you up to date on our upgrade, as when we are done it will mean we will have 100 times more capacity at any moment to support our new virtual world.

One of the routers which we are installing this evening is not working correctly, and we are going to have to wait till tomorrow morning to get a replacement. We will keep you updated on the progress of the upgrade.

Your development team

P.S. We have left the game up for you in single user mode on one of our servers, in case you would like to walk around and check out any of the details in the game while we are upgrading the rest of the servers and setting up the new network.

[lizbeth374]

Update to the home page.


An update from the developers:

We want to keep you up to date on our upgrade, as when we are done it will mean we will have 100 times more capacity at any moment to support our new virtual world.

One of the routers which we are installing this evening is not working correctly, and we are going to have to wait till tomorrow morning to get a replacement. We will keep you updated on the progress of the upgrade.

Your development team

P.S. We have left the game up for you in single user mode on one of our servers, in case you would like to walk around and check out any of the details in the game while we are upgrading the rest of the servers and setting up the new network.


What is single user mode?

[thesupersmartguy]

What is single user mode?

Much like the first days, you are the only person in the game.

[lizbeth374]

Much like the first days, you are the only person in the game.

oh, thanks

[JulyGirl]

VFK Needs to improve their replying to emails. I sent an email on May 18th and never received a reply. Now for whatever reason DH can't log into his account. He could log in the first 2 days and since then can't. He sent them an email on Saturday and haven't heard back so sent another one today and still nothing. Idk

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)

[aengus]

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)

:rotfl2:

[SnowyJingleBells]

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)
:rotfl:

[SharkMeal]

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)

:rotfl:


On the staff page of vmk wiki, I found some hosts that could be the ones
in VFK.

VFK_Willa-VMK_Willa
VFK_Cat-VMK_KittyCat
VFK_Aloha-VMK_Aloha
VFK_Tink-VMK_Tink

I think VFK_Willa and VMK_Willa are the same but the last 3 VMK staff
are retired so I don't think they're the same. (note the wiki says
aloha isn't retired and is a current staff but I don't think it's been
updated. I've never heard of him/her until now)

[aengus]

Cat is not from VMK I do not believe.

Aloha and Willa I believe are,

tink is a question mark, have heard nothing on tink.

[SkippyPaul]

So is Rob now going by the title SkippyRichie?
Thats Skippy_Cunninham lol

LittleBelle it was fun playing move the furniture with you and Dis last night. We were talking together and dying with laughter when you came in and started.

So happy to see you every day Bug!

redshoe, I'm with you on your opinions. Even with the chat not being moderated as well as we want it, I have not seen chat any worse than what I saw in VMK. In fact, I have seen much worse in VMK. Many of the offenders in VMK had nothing happen to them either. How do I know? Because I was smart enough to send a friend request so I could check on them and saw them in the game day after day. I got tired of the "ignore the other player" messages in game and the "if it's not acceptable in the classroom" messages to my email with nothing done. It was especially frustrating when I would hear about innocent players like Ant getting banned for an invalid reason.

I am having fun with VFK. Yes, it was opened prematurely, but I would rather have what we have now than nothing. If VFK did not open, I would not be playing any online game and not be able to meet up with many VMK friends.

I know Aengus has assured us about the staff being who they claim to be. I saw Fin the first night and when I told her my VMK title, she said hello the way she did in VMK and it's in a way that nobody else does. I am happy she joined VFK staff and she seems so happy many of us made it there. I'm glad Aengus was able to verify the rest of the staff for us.

Dreamytime, I read your post way back and it was well said. You have no idea how many emails I have gotten in the past about those things from other players expressing the same sentiments.

Love the pictures, Rob. When you are done, can you come do my windows.
Well, I dont really like doing windows, their such a PANE haha (sorry its early)


Just wanted to say SkippyPaul your pictures are priceless ( I have been in a few of those places!) and your captions are wondeful.
Love your sence of humor; well done! :rotfl2:

panda

Thanks Panda :)

[tofubeast]

Cat is not from VMK I do not believe.

Aloha and Willa I believe are,

tink is a question mark, have heard nothing on tink.


Aloha told me she was a former VMK staffer.

[cyre]

Aloha told me she was a former VMK staffer.

I seem to remember a vmk aloha some time ago. she could have been a behind the scenes person.

[osmello]

The servers were down for most of the day trying to get them all to work together properly. Depending on what server you are logged in on, you may not see the other people in the room. You only see the ones on servers that are properly linked. That is why most of yesterday you could not see your friend list or find anyone else. We were pretty much alone in the environment. As for the current/former staff thing, who really cares anyway?
It is not like they are an influential part of the game, they are just helpful when you need something since you cannot reach the company any other way. And to all the people stuck on the building in Merlin world, or in the crate of apples, I am sorry I could not help you. I could not get my arms up to give you a hand. I was on the apple crate so I used it for a new speech, since it was as close to a soap box as I could find.

[cteddiesgirl]

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)

:lmao: :rotfl2:

[aengus]

The servers were down for most of the day trying to get them all to work together properly. Depending on what server you are logged in on, you may not see the other people in the room. You only see the ones on servers that are properly linked. That is why most of yesterday you could not see your friend list or find anyone else. We were pretty much alone in the environment. As for the current/former staff thing, who really cares anyway?
It is not like they are an influential part of the game, they are just helpful when you need something since you cannot reach the company any other way. And to all the people stuck on the building in Merlin world, or in the crate of apples, I am sorry I could not help you. I could not get my arms up to give you a hand. I was on the apple crate so I used it for a new speech, since it was as close to a soap box as I could find.


I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.

[lillorna11]

I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.

You said it :goodvibes

[VMK_Mouse]

I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.

You said it, aengus!!! :thumbsup2

[IrishTinkerbell]

I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.

::yes:: :thumbsup2

[kryptos]

Did everyone realize that this site is going to become a "pay to play" eventually? Go read the "Terms of Service" and check out the paragraph with the title "Registration and Subscription".

It appears that you will always be able to gain access to the site for free to chat and walk around, but in the near future in order to use the game in an unlimited way, you will have to pay.

[thesupersmartguy]

I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.

Agreed.

[MissVMK678:0)]

Did everyone realize that this site is going to become a "pay to play" eventually? Go read the "Terms of Service" and check out the paragraph with the title "Registration and Subscription".

It appears that you will always be able to gain access to the site for free to chat and walk around, but in the near future in order to use the game in an unlimited way, you will have to pay.

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not going to pay! I Would Pay For VMK This no way sorry!

[See.low]

I seem to remember a vmk aloha some time ago. she could have been a behind the scenes person.
Aloha was in my "Aloha" room the closing night of VMK. I had never heard of her before that.

[cyre]

Aloha was in my "Aloha" room the closing night of VMK. I had never heard of her before that.

I think some of the 'hidden' staff came out of hiding the last few days, which explains why Shorty all of a sudden came out of his cage rofl. I had seen vmk willa a few weeks ago as well, when was the last time she had been seen on vmk??

[funfly]

Idk, first Im tired of looking like Richie Cunningham from Happy Days and I can never find Sweet I figured I'd get on the VFK paint crew. So here I am at work.

Then I got to work on the doors:
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o174/SkippyPaul/BUG4.jpg

Ok so if you need any painting done you can reach me at:
Richie Rob Cunningham 1-800-Red-VFKDUDE

I am guest4807; you were definitely doing a good job when I saw you "Richie" :artist:


:rotfl2: Glad you are making yourself useful. Oh, I was thinking you were more of a Ralph Malph than a Richie Cunningham.:laughing: :lmao:

I think your underestimating how influentual the staffing choice was. VFK could have hired anyone, they chose to pursue the VMK staff because it gave everyone a feeling of comfort off the start.
Well said!:thumbsup2

[TinkPinkPoem]

Did everyone realize that this site is going to become a "pay to play" eventually? Go read the "Terms of Service" and check out the paragraph with the title "Registration and Subscription".

It appears that you will always be able to gain access to the site for free to chat and walk around, but in the near future in order to use the game in an unlimited way, you will have to pay.


And I was wondering how they are going to fund it and keep it running forever as they state.:rolleyes1 ;)

[PrincessDonnaT]

And I was wondering how they are going to fund it and keep it running forever as they state.:rolleyes1 ;)
I was wondering the same thing. At least with Disney and VMK they were making money from us visiting the parks and buying the pirate VMK pins. With this new VFK site it has made me wonder with all of the work going into it and having old VMK hosts...that I am sure are getting paid somehow, how VFK plans to make any money in this venture. :confused:

[Dreamytime]

Well at least we have the option, if this is in fact the idea, to pay to play. WDIG/Disney wouldn't even court that idea - even with the loyal fan-base crying out for it.

But, as this is truly not even 1% functional, I think the pay-to-play aspect is well down the road.

[TinkPinkPoem]

But, as this is truly not even 1% functional, I think the pay-to-play aspect is well down the road.

At this point, as far as game development is concerned, I don't think they could demand players to pay. It would be crazy since the game is in the making process and not all its aspects have been unveiled to the players. What will happen after its launching date is not known..

There are people putting effort into developing the game, hosts and probably many more people/things I am missing that need to be paid. They said they will not use advertising, so I am curious to see where the funds will come from for the investment to pay off (at least) or even make profit.

Simple economics.;)

As far as vmk is concerned, it was funded by a huge company (hello, Disney?) and the park visits, purchase of items for codes etc. alone in my opinion provided good funds. Of course, it had good pay to play potentials, which we discussed to death on this board, but sadly the closing decision was final.

[Dreamytime]

Simple economics.;)


But, my point still stands.
It is FARRRRRRRRRRRRR from being marketable for a pay-to-play game. So lets just sit back, enjoy the development, remember that many of our VMK Refugees are there for us to see each day, and be happy.

I am not being an ostrich and putting my head in the sand, I'm just saying it is going to be a long time before this can be even considered pay-to-play, so lets just enjoy - economics or not.

[Belle1997]

The problem with a thread so long it is hard to find the info that was already discussed.

Here are some thoughts how they could keep the game free but still generate revenue.

A special item that you can purchase for a few dollars a month that can be traded to anyone. A special room you can purchase. Or special clothing, magic etc.

Is this really any different than the people who could get to the Disney Parks and get the quest items. Or the people who bought pirate pins?

Or special quests to do with entry fee. There are many ways to get revenue that can still keep a game free. Like Webkinz. The have a feature pet of the month. With the purchase you get some exclusive items and extra games you can do for the month. It does not effect the overall game playing. The ability to gift or trade.

It is way to early I think to panic about this now. But there are many ways to keep a game free. We have no idea what they have planned. So as many have said proceed with caution enjoy the alpha/beta bugs.

The hosts have told us it will be a free game. I am sure they know more because the company would have had to tell them all they had planned "the business plan". The hosts must think it is going to work or they would not have come over to give it a try.

So I am going to take the wait ans see approach.

[TinkPinkPoem]

But, my point still stands.
It is FARRRRRRRRRRRRR from being marketable for a pay-to-play game.

I did not argue your point. The game is not even in its final form yet and it is indeed very far from being marketable.


So they are in no position right now to demand pay to play.


But eventually, I am curious to see where the funding issue (if there is one to begin with, for all we know the game could be ran by a bored billionare) will lead to. Hopefully, some of LittleBelle's suggestions will be used.

I didn't imply that anyone shouldn't enjoy the game now or that people need to worry for their vfk future...just sharing thoughts!

[ttacandtad]

hey all does anyone have a link for the login page for vfk, if i just go the virtualfamilykingdom.com there isn't anywhere for me to login. anyone know why??
thanks
staces

[Belle1997]

hey all does anyone have a link for the login page for vfk, if i just go the virtualfamilykingdom.com there isn't anywhere for me to login. anyone know why??
thanks
staces

They are changing the servers and router. So the game is only in single person mode.

With beta make sure to read any news. If they say for the morning chance s are it could take all day. So just keep checking back at the site looking for the play button. When they are done it will show up. :)

Happy alpha/beta testing.

[MPhins13]

Maybe they also employed VMk_Shorty to answer emails.:confused3 ;)

Oh no not that please :lmao:

[ttacandtad]

They are changing the servers and router. So the game is only in single person mode.

With beta make sure to read any news. If they say for the morning chance s are it could take all day. So just keep checking back at the site looking for the play button. When they are done it will show up. :)

Happy alpha/beta testing.


thanks for the info!!

[Narnian_Princess]

Oh no not that please :lmao:
He was really nice in the game, but from his email answers you'd never have known it. :laughing:

[tofubeast]

The hosts have told us it will be a free game. I am sure they know more because the company would have had to tell them all they had planned "the business plan". The hosts must think it is going to work or they would not have come over to give it a try.


Yes, yes and YES! There sure is a lot of pessimism about this game that is starting to irk me. No one is forcing anyone to play it. I understand being cautious, trust me I get that, but don't understand the negativity. Well said, LittleBelle. I am trying to be a glass is half full kind of person and see what the future holds in terms of this game.

[thesupersmartguy]

He was really nice in the game, but from his email answers you'd never have known it. :laughing:

Agreed.

[Belle1997]

He was really nice in the game, but from his email answers you'd never have known it. :laughing:

I wanted to meet Shorty because I never did get my fire window. And I want to ask did he really read our emails. If so where is my fire window. Was not to be. Please please the communication has been very good. Please no VMK_Shorty unless he promises to read each email carefully and not stalling techniques.

[TinkPinkPoem]

Yes, yes and YES! There sure is a lot of pessimism about this game that is starting to irk me. No one is forcing anyone to play it. I understand being cautious, trust me I get that, but don't understand the negativity. Well said, LittleBelle. I am trying to be a glass is half full kind of person and see what the future holds in terms of this game.

There are a lot of questions surrounding the game and I can understand that they may come off as being negative. I am trying to be optimistic about the game and time will tell on how it evolves.

However, this is a discussion thread and I think that any thoughts, concerns or questions are part of the discussion, as long as they follow the boards rules as always.

:goodvibes

[kryptos]

Yes, yes and YES! There sure is a lot of pessimism about this game that is starting to irk me. No one is forcing anyone to play it. I understand being cautious, trust me I get that, but don't understand the negativity. Well said, LittleBelle. I am trying to be a glass is half full kind of person and see what the future holds in terms of this game.

I wasn't trying to raise any pessimism about the game. I was only trying to warn those that don't want to get involved in a game that will eventually become a pay to play to access all features. It will "always" be free in the sense that you can walk around and chat. However, they have made it very clear that you will have to "pay to play" at some point in the future to access the game and use all features.

I for one, do not wish to accumulate items for two months only to have them wisked away from me because I refuse to pay to play. I think they are trying to get us all hooked into the game and then those poor kids who will have to beg their parents to pay for them to continue will be very disappointed.

I am just saying they should have made it more clear in the beginning that it will be a pay to play game and not "hide" it in a bunch of little print in the Terms and Conditions.

Just my two cents.

[tofubeast]

However, this is a discussion thread and I think that any thoughts, concerns or questions are part of the discussion, as long as they follow the boards rules as always.

:goodvibes



I completely agree. I am not one to advocate censorship! :thumbsup2

[TinkPinkPoem]

I completely agree. I am not one to advocate censorship! :thumbsup2

:goodvibes


I understand and as I said before I can feel that the amount of concerns/questions posted may come off as negative.

[kryptos]

The hosts have told us it will be a free game. I am sure they know more because the company would have had to tell them all they had planned "the business plan".

Yes, and it will always be free to just walk around and chat, but to utilize any other features of the game, you will have to pay.

[PrincessDonnaT]

The problem with a thread so long it is hard to find the info that was already discussed.

Here are some thoughts how they could keep the game free but still generate revenue.

A special item that you can purchase for a few dollars a month that can be traded to anyone. A special room you can purchase. Or special clothing, magic etc.

Is this really any different than the people who could get to the Disney Parks and get the quest items. Or the people who bought pirate pins?

Or special quests to do with entry fee. There are many ways to get revenue that can still keep a game free. Like Webkinz. The have a feature pet of the month. With the purchase you get some exclusive items and extra games you can do for the month. It does not effect the overall game playing. The ability to gift or trade.

It is way to early I think to panic about this now. But there are many ways to keep a game free. We have no idea what they have planned. So as many have said proceed with caution enjoy the alpha/beta bugs.

The hosts have told us it will be a free game. I am sure they know more because the company would have had to tell them all they had planned "the business plan". The hosts must think it is going to work or they would not have come over to give it a try.

So I am going to take the wait ans see approach.

LOL...Webkinz is not free. You need a code that you get when you buy the stuffed animals (that run around $15.00 each) to get into the game. I have spent a FORTUNE on those darn stuffed animals for my kids. ;) Webkinz is making a fortune.. Whoever came up with it is a genius.

[lindseysmomma]

Just a question and I apologize ahead of time if this has been brought up already.

How come the other games people are getting into have a sticky but this one does not?

On another note and my real reason for posting...

I think we all need to remember that any new game you get into will change. If the unknown bothers you I suggest you play a game that is already fully developed. This way there will be no surprises if they start to charge you, etc.

This is probably a new thing for most of us so why not enjoy the process.

I know for me this whole process is making me enjoy other things as well. I dont rush home from work to get on VFK, I dont check it through out the day. I get on about once a day for 30 minutes or so to see if anything has changed. But since I am not on for more then 30 minutes I am getting a lot more house work done (my husband appreciates that), reading, going outside more, etc. Especially with Summer right around the corner, go enjoy other things you like to do while VFK is getting the bugs worked out.

[TinkRBel_In_Training]

Hmm...well I haven't had a chance to read through the entire thread, but I have caught wind of some things.

If this game becomes like Club Penguin or similar games where you can do basic things for free but the really fun/cool stuff you have to pay, I'm not so sure I'll be sticking around. I would have gladly paid to play VMK, without a doubt. I loved VMK and it was a well-established, fairly well-known game. I could do all of the "cool" stuff and I most definitely would have paid to continue that privilege. The special quest/in-park items did not affect my playing because no aspects of the game depended on these things. I was totally fine without that stuff, and if I wanted any of it I could have traded for it. This is different than if all I could do was walk around and talk unless I paid. I won't be doing that for VFK. Its way too new and the graphics are mediocre at best. We don't even know what types of features the game will have. If the game requires me to pay in order to do anything besides walk around and chat, I'm going to stop playing.

I also agree that their first priority should be safety, especially when advertising themselves as a "family" kingdom. They need a report feature and a more secure game overall. They need to turn off the chat feature until they get something established. I am an adult so it doesn't really affect me, but I imagine there are many many children playing this game, and they need to play in a safe, secure environment. I don't recommend any children playing this game until they develop a more secure environment.

[bevgray]

Regarding Pay-to-Play: Many onlline games have at least two tiers. Free which provides limited game access (Disney uses this in both ToonTown and POTC) and a second monthly tier that provides unlimited access. It may be that VFK will follow that model. It is far too soon to judge them on anything as we are in a pre-beta phase.

I call it pre-beta since the game system is non-existent at the moment. Nothing wrong with that provided everyone understands what beta or pre-beta actually means. When VMK opened to it's beta phase, it was actually a post-beta where the game was in place and they were doing final checks on software code and server capacity (hence some of the "events" that seemed designed more to test capacity). The beta we are seeing in VFK happened long before anyone but programmers had access to VMK. Consequently, things are going to be very rough for some weeks if not a couple of months in VFK.

I check in every day but am not spending a lot of time there yet. I'm not sure I'll like it, for one thing, although some of what has been described is promising. I have degrees in history so that angle has some appeal. However, I don't expect them to ever achieve VMK or a VMK-state. Without a direct reference to Disney theme parks, it can never achieve the same mix of magic. That's not to their discredit but to expect an apple to apple replacement sets the player up for severe disappointment.

I've gamed for many years and there were any number of computer games I enjoyed. It isn't a loyalty question but just a caution that to find what you loved in VMK may require playing more than one game - each for its own special qualities. Right now, for fun, I'm playing Toontown. For adventure and old-fashioned RPG, I'm playing POTC. For magic...well, I'm hoping the fairies site will fill some of the pixie dust need. For room building...maybe Lego will be the answer. I don't see anything on the horizon that fits all builds. Even when VMK was at it's height, I still played other games since even VMK didn't fit every mood every day.

As Disney gets a better feel for online gaming through their niche games, I'm still hopeful that they will recreate VMK. I must say, my experiences in Toontown and POTC have impressed me. From fairness and basic gameplay, both have a lot to recommend them.

[disvaclub92]

Just a question and I apologize ahead of time if this has been brought up already.

How the other games people are getting into have a sticky but this one does not?

This is a discussion thread, that is active. It does not require a sticky.

[mikeyandscoobyx2]

I hope some people that worked for VMK don't migrate to VFK. They always ignored us........

[OneLittleSpark]

Is the game open at the moment? I've tried looking around, but can't find the big friendly blue buttons!

TIA :thumbsup2

[wenyeva]

Looks like they are still doing a server upgrade. You can only log in to the single-player mode via the login page. But there's nothing new in that mode, and you can't see anyone there.

[PizzaCaptain]

Man, they still doing the upgrade. Something tells me it won't be up for 2 more days.

[aengus]

Just a question and I apologize ahead of time if this has been brought up already.

How the other games people are getting into have a sticky but this one does not?

On another note and my real reason for posting...

I think we all need to remember that any new game you get into will change. If the unknown bothers you I suggest you play a game that is already fully developed. This way there will be no surprises if they start to charge you, etc.

This is probably a new thing for most of us so why not enjoy the process.

I know for me this whole process is making me enjoy other things as well. I dont rush home from work to get on VFK, I dont check it through out the day. I get on about once a day for 30 minutes or so to see if anything has changed. But since I am not on for more then 30 minutes I am getting a lot more house work done (my husband appreciates that), reading, going outside more, etc. Especially with Summer right around the corner, go enjoy other things you like to do while VFK is getting the bugs worked out.

I saw that Dis also answered this also, but also see this post

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25325449&postcount=1613

BTW I think you have a very good view of the entire VFK experience.

[wenyeva]

Man, they still doing the upgrade. Something tells me it won't be up for 2 more days.

I know that feeling!

[thesupersmartguy]

This is the update from the homepage.


A new update from the developers:

Great news, we have just received the replacement router, and we are letting you know even before we have it completely out of the box.

We will keep you posted,

Your development team

[lindseysmomma]

I saw that Dis also answered this also, but also see this post

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25325449&postcount=1613

BTW I think you have a very good view of the entire VFK experience.

I just want to be sure you know I wasn't blaming you for it not being a sticky. I was just wondering. :)

[SharkMeal]

This is the update from the homepage.

Time to get some waffles to kick off the new morning LOL.

If you don't know what I'm talking about I'm talking about when they said they'd have
the game up and running by this morning. :upsidedow

[aengus]

I just want to be sure you know I wasn't blaming you for it not being a sticky. I was just wondering. :)

I know you weren't ;)

[thesupersmartguy]

Time to get some waffles to kick off the new morning LOL.

If you don't know what I'm talking about I'm talking about when they said they'd have
the game up and running by this morning. :upsidedow

Agreed, we might still be able to kick it off in the morning though.

Tomorrow Morning:rotfl2:

[FlyingPegasus]

Would it be possible for you to post the link to the log in screen and the link to the homepage on the first post in this thread?

I have the link for the homepage, but I don't see a "Play" button.

I know it is only in single user mode right now, but I have been gone for a few days and would like to look around.

Thanks!

Fly