Virtual Family Kingdom Thread

[PrincessDonnaT]

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.

The main draw that brought me to VMK in the first place was my love for Disney..."The Magic" is what brought all of us together and was the basis for our friendships. VMK was a nice "escape" and brought the Disney magic right into my home...the perk was making so many incredible on-line friends, some I have even met in person like Decoy, Tiggerholic and Cowboysgirl. When I go on VFK i'm sorry to say, a wave of depression just falls over me. No fault of VFK... going from an incredible game like VMK just a week ago to a new Beta game is frustrating. Right now I am undecided as to what the future holds with me and VFK. I am just hoping Disney comes out with something where I can reconnect with VMK buddies. I know no one is forcing me to play VFK and I am sure someday it will be a great game but right now I feel a lot of us are grasping for a VMK replacement and I am not sure VFK is it.

 

[TinkPinkPoem]

Pleaes help I cant find anyone..I log on walk all around and there is nobody around. I cant get in to Merlins shop or anyplace else for that matter. All I can do Is go to the roundtable and stonehedge but nobody is there...I AM SO LONLEYY!!!! Where is everyone at?

The game is on a single server mode-that means, you are playing alone, so you can't see or talk to anyone.

That is due to some updates they are making.

Hope this helps!

 

[TinkPinkPoem]

The main draw that brought me to VMK in the first place was my love for Disney..."The Magic" is what brought all of us together and was the basis for our friendships. VMK was a nice "escape" and brought the Disney magic right into my home...the perk was making so many incredible on-line friends, some I have even met in person like Decoy, Tiggerholic and Cowboysgirl. When I go on VFK i'm sorry to say, a wave of depression just falls over me. No fault of VFK... going from an incredible game like VMK just a week ago to a new Beta game is frustrating. Right now I am undecided as to what the future holds with me and VFK. I am just hoping Disney comes out with something where I can reconnect with VMK buddies. I know no one is forcing me to play VFK and I am sure someday it will be a great game but right now I feel a lot of us are grasping for a VMK replacement and I am not sure VFK is it.

I only decided to join because of my friends from vmk. Sadly I had realised even before registering that I should not anticipate anything that will outdo vmk when it comes to the magic.

Disney is developing D-Gamer I think, but it is only for little kids. Not a family game in my opinion.

 

[SharkMeal]

Disney is developing D-Gamer I think, but it is only for little kids. Not a family game in my opinion.

Not to mention D-Gamer is basically a "promotion" to the Nintendo DS game that it comes with.

 

[Bugdozer]

Another Update:

Another update from the developers:

We now have our servers working in New Mexico, New York and backup servers in Dallas. This gives us both the bandwidth we need, and serious redundancy.

We will be doing live tests throughout the night, so if you happen to get into the virtual world, keep in mind it will only be up for a few minutes for any one test.

 

[lillorna11]

Another Update:

Another update for our developers:

We have not quite completed final configurations, but hope to have this done shortly.

We have a couple more tests to run, and everything should be ready to go a bit later today.

Your development team.

 

[SharkMeal]

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

Tomorrow Morning

Another Update:

Another update for our developers:

We have not quite completed final configurations, but hope to have this done shortly.

We have a couple more tests to run, and everything should be ready to go a bit later today.

Your development team.

At this rate, we're going to be eating some moldy pancakes lol.

 

[lillorna11]

At this rate, we're going to be eating some moldy pancakes lol.

 

[Sweetrene]

Pleaes help I cant find anyone..I log on walk all around and there is nobody around. I cant get in to Merlins shop or anyplace else for that matter. All I can do Is go to the roundtable and stonehedge but nobody is there...I AM SO LONLEYY!!!! Where is everyone at?

crabbykar, if you go to the homepage, you will see that the site has not been available except in single player mode (just you) for awhile now. They had to do that in order to be able to upgrade the site to handle the huge amount of players that have registered. As for Merlin's shop, the developers have not open any shops yet. This game is still in it's infancy; that's what beta testing is all about. A feature is added and we get to test (experiment with) how it works. If problems or a bug occur, the developers work on it to improve or fix it, and sometimes that means pulling the game offline to do just that. We just have to be patient with each new step in its growth.

 

[tofubeast]

At this rate, we're going to be eating some moldy pancakes lol.

True true.... not that I won't be able to check in till after work anyway. But I give them credit for keeping us in the loop throughout their updates.

 

[Dreamytime]

But I give them credit for keeping us in the loop throughout their updates.

True That means a lot to me. We all know that VMK didn't like to give information, so this is very hopeful to me.

 

[SharkMeal]

True true.... not that I won't be able to check in till after work anyway. But I give them credit for keeping us in the loop throughout their updates.

Yes I really like how they check their web page and give us updates on how
their doing. I really hated it when VMK would not let us know what is going
on, such the REAL reason VMK closed. Disney simply would not let us know
why they couldn't turn it into a pay to play game, or leave it up with
no updates so it wouldn't be a money problem.

 

[ecsarabians]

I can't get the play button on the front page. Thx PrincessAveri

 

[MPhins13]

That's great that they're keeping everyone informed on what's happening with the game. But they should answer their e-mails also. There has to be someone there who can answer them

 

[HeDiedxILive]

True true.... not that I won't be able to check in till after work anyway. But I give them credit for keeping us in the loop throughout their updates.

Although it would be nice to be given a time and date for the updates.
I've been confused a few times as to what "today" and "tomorrow" has meant.

 

[lizbeth374]

Although it would be nice to be given a time and date for the updates.
I've been confused a few times as to what "today" and "tomorrow" has meant.

i agree, at least a date when the update was posted would be great.

 

[cyre]

Although it would be nice to be given a time and date for the updates.
I've been confused a few times as to what "today" and "tomorrow" has meant.

... particpant? participation??

I do agree. I do very much like the communication they're giving us. Definitely something vmk didn't do. At all. Hopefully it will all be up tonight!

 

[Horse]

But I give them credit for keeping us in the loop throughout their updates.

I feel the same. Nice to go to the game and have some idea of what's going on. We were completely out of the loop in VMK. In the mean time, getting my laundry done and catching up on some much needed rest.

 

[Mnementh]

If problems or a bug occur, the developers work on it to improve or fix it, and sometimes that means pulling the game offline to do just that. We just have to be patient with each new step in its growth.

I'd like to add to that point and mention that unlike VMK, it seems that they have been able to make several additions to the game WITHOUT having to shut it down entirely to do so. The past couple of days prior to them shutting the game down for the server upgrade, they added a few things in the middle of the day and, to my knowledge, the game was up and running the entire time.

 

[ecsarabians]

I haven't been able to sign in to vfk for two days.The play button is not showing up on the front page. Is it just me or can other people sign in? Thx PrincessAveri