Monday, July 18, 2011

Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life















Tips: The Tree of Life

If you want time to go faster, quit the game and increase the time on your computer by 2 hours. Start the game again and 2 years have gone by. Don't jump more than 2 hours into the future at a time as your villagers may run out of food and starve. You can then buy technology or get a new project underway and jump 2 years into the future again and again and.... If you adjust the time on your computer past midnight be sure to increase the date by 1 as well. Otherwise you will accidentally jump into the past, which often has grave side effects for the villagers. You can push the space bar to pause the game before you reset the computer's time back to the correct time and that will save your villagers.

When you want a baby don't let them walk back to the hut. Keep an eye on the population count and keep trying until you see the population size increase.

Always use a child to heal anyone who is sick. That is the only skill a child can be taught and when they reach 14 years old they will heal the sick on their own even if you are not around.

To get to a different part of the map quickly, push the number keys. You can also pick up a villager then press a number key to transport the villager to another part of the map.
1 = bottom left, 2 = bottom middle, 3 = bottom right
4 = middle left, 5 = middle middle, 6 = middle right
7 = top left, 8 = top middle, 9 = top right


Drag both huts close to the wood pile before starting construction.

Drop a villager on the wood pile and one on the dry grass near the stairs. When they are done drop a villager on the fire pit to start the fire.

Don't put villagers on the blackberry bush for food. Instead drop them on the cutting tools in the lab (see Puzzle #1 below). This way they will get 30 points for food instead of just 5 points.

Herbs: White herb near bridge, yellow above the lab, and orange near the top left of the map.

After boiling water (see Puzzle #3 below) drop villager on the table after three herbs have been collected. Then drop any villager, even children and nursing mothers, on the food bin to add food to the pot.

Low tide is every 2 hours.

After earthen oven is complete, make the stew and drop villager on the fruit tree.





















Strategies: The Tree of Life

At the beginning of the game be sure to select one young female child, two males and two females 14 years old or slightly older.

Make one villager a farmer and the rest researchers.

Start the fire and make cutting tools (See Puzzle #1 below).

As soon as you have 5000 points buy level 2 construction and start on the earthen oven (See Puzzle #6 below).

You will need to build the Love Shack before you can have children.













Puzzle 1: The Cutting Tool
Requirements: Start Fire. (See Tips Above)
Action: Drop one or two villagers on the big fish bones on the beach. Each villager will make three cutting tools and put them in the lab. You need to do this each time you run out of cutting tools.
Description: "Your villagers have discovered a method for the manufacture of cutting tools."










Puzzle 2: The Stream
Requirements: Adept or Master Builder.
Action: Start villager cleaning debris near upper waterfall to make the river flow. The debris will accumulate over time so this needs to be maintained. Once river is flowing, drop an adept or master builder on the keystone on the bottom right of the map and wait for him to fix the leak.
Description: "Your villagers have restored the normal life-giving flow of the stream."











Puzzle 3: Boiling Water
Requirements: None
Action: Drop villager on bowls at the top of the stairs to add fresh water to the pot and on the bowls at the bottom of the waterfall for salt water and he will carry the bowl of water to the pot. Drop a villager on the small rock pile on the lower left of the bridge. Villager will carry the rock to the fire. When the rock is red hot then drop villager on the rock to boil the water in the pot.
Description: "Your villagers figured out how to boil water. Good for them!"











Puzzle 4: Soap Invented
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #7
Action: Make a stew with 3 white herbs and salt water. Drop a villager on the pot once the stew is done.
Description: "Your villagers have invented soap! Now they can wash behind their ears."











Puzzle 5: The Butterflies
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #2
Action: Drop a villager on the healthy green stalks near the lower left of the stream. He will go get a cutting tool and return to the stalks. When he is covered in the green cloud slowly carry him to the tree. Make sure the butterflies are following. If you go too fast then the butterflies will return to the stalks. If that happens then just bring your villager back to the stalks and wait for the butterflies to follow.
Description: "Your villagers have made the Tree of Life attractive to butterflies again."










Puzzle 6: The Frog Rescue
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #2
Action: When it rains a puddle will form to the right of the stairs. Drop 10 villagers in the puddle and they will carry frogs up the stairs to the stream. You can make it rain by dropping a villager on the healthy stalks in the stream to the left. He will go get a cutting tool and return to the stalks. Once he is covered in sticky glue put him in the flute area to meditate. Keep everyone else away for a few minutes and it will rain. You have to keep an eye on the children because they like to disturb people when they are meditating.
Description: "Your villagers have rescued some frogs. Good for them."









Puzzle 7: The Cooking Pit
Requirements: Level 2 Construction
Action: Clear out the rocks in the square pit on the bottom left of the map near the strange fruit trees. When the fire is burning, drop villager on the rock pile to carry rock to the fire. Once the villager reaches the fire drop another villager on the rock pile for another rock. When the rock is red hot drop the villager on the rock to carry it to the cooking pit. You need 4 rocks in the pit at the same time. You need to be fast because if too much time passes the rocks in the pit disappear. You may wish to go to "MENU" then "OPTIONS" and change speed to "SLOW" to finish this puzzle. Once 4 rocks are in the pit at the same time then drop a villager on the banana tree and wait for him to cover the oven. Then when you drop a villager on the strange fruit tree he will take the fruit to pit and will automatically wait until it cooks and carries it to the food bin.
Description: "Your villagers have restored the fruit cooking pit to functional condition."











Puzzle 8: Cloth Invented
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, Sewing hut, Fix piers
Action: Drop one villager on the rock wall to the right of the wood pile and they will cut pulpy vines and place them on the stew table. Make the stew with salty water from the bowls to the lower right of the waterfall and boil the water. When stew is done drop villager on the pot and he will carry a bowl to the flat rocks on the beach. Then keep dropping villagers on the pulp on the rocks until finished.
Description: "Your villagers have discovered a method for the manufacture of cloth."













Puzzle 9: The Nursery School
Requirements: Level 3 learning.
Action: Build the 4th hut and put an adept or master of 3 categories at the lecture mat to teach the children.
Description: "Your villagers have built a nursery school. This will help them raise smarter children."











Puzzle 10: The Mossy Rocks
Requirements: double clicking power
Action: Drop 2 children on the beach crab to distract him. Then drop 5 adults on the crabs. They will carry the crabs to the mossy rocks. Once completed drop an adult on the mossy rocks for a story.
Description: "A story seems to be carved in the rocks!"










Puzzle 11: The Grand Feast
Requirements: Puzzle #3, #7, #12
Action: Make stew with one of each herb and fresh boiling water. Drop villagers on each, the blackberries, fruit tree, fishing pier, food bin, and a child on a mushroom. You can drop more than one villager on each food to make sure to get at least one of each into the pot. Have an extra hot rock ready if you have trouble finding the mushroom. If the pot stops boiling then you do not have to empty the water, just get the herbs and food again.
Description: "The villagers have put together a marvelous feast!"












Puzzle 12: Fishing Nets
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #8, Adept builder
Action: Drop 3 master builders, or one 3 times, on a pier. You may need to make more cloth (Puzzle #8) a few times if they are unsuccessful.
Description: "Your villagers have repaired the fishing traps. Now they can add fish to their diet."























Puzzle 13: Pruning The Tree
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #4, #8
Action: With extra cloth made, drop villager on sick tree limb. He will go get the cloth and return to bind the tree limb. Then drop him on the cutting tools and he will cut off the branch. Drop a villager on the soap. He will carry the soap to the damaged tree limb.
Description: "Your villagers have successfully treated the damaged limb."










Puzzle 14: Honoring The Tree
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #4, #7, #8, #13, Level 3 Dendrology
Action: Make a stew with 3 yellow herbs and fresh water. Drop all villagers, even children and nursing mothers, on the pot. They will carry a plate to the tree.
Description: "Your villagers have honored the tree."


















Puzzle 15: Purify Tree
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #4, #7, #8, #13, Level 3 Dendrology
Action: Go to "OPTIONS" and change the speed to "SLOW". Start a fire and make soap if you don't have any left. Drop an adept or master of 3 categories in the school to teach the children. Then drop another villager in the hole in the tree then on the bar of soap. He will carry the soap to the bath, then drop him in the bath and wait for him to get out of the water. Move everyone away from under the tree and drop the villager back on the hole in the tree. You should drop the teacher in the school a couple times to keep the children occupied. Then drop the villager in the flute area to meditate. When he stands up drop him back on the hole in the tree. He will go inside the tree and carry a bug to the fire. Then you can see the history of the tree.
Description: "Purify Tree! The tree has been purified."









Puzzle 16: Decorating The Tree
Requirements: Puzzle #1, #3, #8, (possibly #13), Extra cloth
Action: Drop a villager on a box of braids in the lab and they will carry it to the flat rock on the beach. Drop a villager on the braid and he will go get the cloth and return to fix the braid. Follow the hummingbird to show you witch flower is in bloom and wait there until the hummingbird leaves. Drop at least 7 villagers, even children, on the flower and the last villager will carry the lei to the tree. This needs to be done 3 times and the flower in bloom will change each time. Once the third lei gets to the tree you can see the story of the tree.
Description: "Your villagers have successfully decorated the tree."








The Tree of Life