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[Adventuredaz]

I suspected this was possibly coming. I detected a bit of sarcasm in the Gadget fader.  Gadget stopped working today for me, so I sought out a reason and found a post elsewhere from BlueHairedMonkey. I felt it pertinant to repost this as he wrote it.

Users and Friends of VFK Gadget,

Today I regretfully had to make the decision to shut off the VFKGadget.com web server for reasons I will explain in a bit. Unfortunately, VFK Gadget will not run anymore on my computer or on yours. All of your pictures are still on your computer and I'll let you know how to access those in just a bit.

I decided to cut off this project for the following reasons:

1) I can no longer afford the bandwidth it takes to run the server. It costs over $250 per month on average to operate it. I can barely afford to rent the home I live in, let alone watch that amount of money go out of my pocket every month.

2) VFK has been completely unresponsive over the last few months. Only one of my family members (one of my daughters) still plays VFK. She asked me if she could be the main account holder so she could use my character's horse (which I've never logged in to see.) I told her that it would be no problem and that I'd call VFK and get things switched for her. Well over the course of 2 months, I have emailed them about 10 times, I've used their contact form 3 times and have called them well over 30 times -- and I've never had anyone answer my emails or pick up the phone.

3) VFK lied to me and my family. There are lots of rumors going around as to why I left and this is one of the biggest reasons. So here is the real story:

The day before VFK decided to release their first founders package, I got an email from Fred (the head honcho at VFK) and he asked if he could call me. I responded absolutely, and he called me within a few minutes. We talked on the phone for about an hour. He discussed with me all of the plans that VFK had and told me many fantastic things. But the real reason he called was because he wanted to thank me for creating VFK Gadget. He also related how important it was that I continue working on it. And then he said "VFK would like to give you 5% of the membership income for every paying member that uses Gadget." I obviously was pleased. The money that would come in would help me offset the costs of the web server and if enough members joined, it may have been able to get me a few tanks of gas a month. We discussed this at length and at the end of the conversation Fred thanked me, I thanked him and everthing seemed great.

So, founders day comes. I'm logging into VFK and I'm everywhere. I'm answering questions about the founders package. I'm defending VFK from the naysayers. I'm even on these forums spouting off the virtues of why it is an excellent deal and that we are helping to keep this company alive. And when I say that I'm helping them, I mean by being on VFK for hundreds and hundreds of hours defending my decision to pay (yep, I didn't get anything for free), and I'm continuing to develop exciting features for Gadget. It is a stressful time for me and definitely for VFK. Everything is going smoothly, but I haven't heard anything from Fred or VFK as to how I proceed with monitoring subscriptions from people that use Gadget.

The days of hearing nothing (even though I email and call) turn to weeks and eventually to months. It was obvious to me that by the time VFK announced the second founder's package that they had no plans of fulfilling their agreement with me. And please remember, this agreement was NEVER my idea. This agreement (5% of membership income) came out of the blue from Fred. I've NEVER asked for anything.

A company that deliberately uses me to market their product, promises me compensation, and then never ever contacts me again deserves no respect from me. How do I look to my family? How do I look to my girls? I was so excited that VFK had called. I told my daughters that their Dad was going to be able to work with VFK and make some exciting things. But then I figured out that VFK had no intention of ever fulfilling their promise. Now I look like a quitter to my family, to my girls and to the 10,000+ users of VFK Gadget.

But this is something I have to do. I'm sorry and I hope you read this message thoroughly and understand that I really do care, but I don't think it is fair what they did to me and I really can't afford to keep this application going.

Kurt Boyer

Anyway, we had suspected and heard rumors of some back room deals. I guess this is one and they did not come through on their end.  We thought you would at least get the membership free.   I am sorry that Gadget is gone because it made it easy to do the quests for the whole family. The paaing of Gadget coincided with my decision to only complete each quest one time and not for family members unless it is an item they might really want even as infrequently as they play. 

[Happy]

Thanks for posting this Adventure.  I have not been in VFK much latety.  Sad to hear this happened to Kurt. 

[littlebelle]

awe and I do not know all my passwords . I wish he would have given us a heads ups and said gadget will be closing in so many days well I only have 5 characters so just missing 2 . But I had stopped playing 3 of them months ago. No point I thought because I was really not enjoying this game. The lag to me is the big issue. I do enjoy what they have made with mermaids, halloween, fairy but it the lag makes playing a problem does not matter how much neat things they have it still comes down no fun with the bad lag. So fix the lag and many will have so much more fun.

Heck when they tick off Monkey like that they have serious issues because he supported them from day one.

[Panda Pandora]

Monkey, you did the right thing. You are not a quitter; you did what had to be done and I have great respect for your decision.
Thanks Ad for the post.

[Purpleduck]

Monkey, you did the right thing. You are not a quitter; you did what had to be done and I have great respect for your decision.
Thanks Ad for the post.

Well said Panda, I feel the same.

[AmberDaze]

Monkey, you did the right thing. You are not a quitter; you did what had to be done and I have great respect for your decision.
Thanks Ad for the post.

What she said. 

[littlebelle]

I also wanted to say that the way BlueMonkey was treated is digusting. Makes you wonder about their moral and ethical standards.

Maybe they did not get the number they needed or wanted but common courtesy dictates a phone call at the very least. Even some compensation to cover his costs. But what they did was just plain rude. I had no idea it cost that much and you have been carying it all along that is just aweful.

By the way I did really enjoyed gadget. So sad all your hard work got the big delete button. You should still be very proud of the excellent application you created.

[PrincessWendyBird]

I have told Kurt this already, but will say it again here. Life brings us all to certain places and situations where we have to do the right thing for ourselves and our families. King and I have always been concerned at the expense Kurt was shouldering to host Gadget for so many. It is sad the circumstances came to this, but King and I do not see you as a quitter in any way. Thanks again, Kurt, for the use of Gadget while we had it - King sure loved editing those afk phrases. 

[Krazy_Kim]

The lag to me is the big issue. I do enjoy what they have made with mermaids, halloween, fairy but it the lag makes playing a problem does not matter how much neat things they have it still comes down no fun with the bad lag. So fix the lag and many will have so much more fun.

I TOTALLY agree with this.  I have bad lag just walking into rooms like the new Halloween room.  I tried playing a host game one time and didn't know I was up to play the game because my chat was so far behind that I got the boot. 

Plus, I have been waiting and waiting for the Pirates game to come out so I can get credits.  I stink at the Birds game and Fireworks are to small to see so when I thought Pirates would be out months ago I would be able to have enough credits for the holidays, but alas no Pirates.  There is a lot the VFK team promises like new faces for people, buyable horses and Pirates game, but instead they bring other things out.  I wish they would stick to what they say and not get our hopes up.  I am so worried about Xmas time that I won't have anything nice to decorate with. 

Also, since there is no Pirates, I mostly just come on to see friends or for quests.  I think they hooked a lot of people in by making them think it was going to be like VMK, but its not.  I know its still in Beta, but I have sent HELP messages and got no reply back so how can we fix problems if no one will help us?

Krazy_Kim

[Astro]

Thank-you very much for posting this here at NoBS, Add.  I had no idea this was going on with Kurt.  After reading, I also feel he did the right thing.  I applaude him for his dedication to Gadget, and VFK.  It's a shame that he had to be treated this way.

But, it does need to be said again, and by others that have also repeated the same thing.  We cannot get a hold of VFK.  It does make us wonder.. what is going on at VFK?  I've beyond tried myself, with emails and calls ~ to no avail.  I mean my issue with their "change password link" not working, certainly seems so minuscule to what Kurt was going through with them.  It's very sad that VFK has choosen to not respond to anyone these days.   

[1]

Monkey, you did the right thing. You are not a quitter; you did what had to be done and I have great respect for your decision.
Thanks Ad for the post.

I agree. He was the person who convinced me to sign up for the game before it opened when I had my doubts about them.

[disvaclub]

If I am reading this correctly, this was just a verbal agreement.  Just another life lesson that verbal agreements never really account for anything, virtual or in real world.

[NotAZoo]

Well I don't think the virtual contract or agreement is so much the issue other than the fact the time was spent on this and "Fred" set false expectations, used Gadget as free marketing and didn't have the courtesy to respond or show any respect for what was done on their behalf.

Kind of like how they told me I was getting a tshirt, dvd, etc....and still don't have it.

I am almost at the point of just saying VFK S _ _ _ _ ......four letters to go.

[disvaclub]

Well I don't think the virtual contract or agreement is so much the issue other than the fact the time was spent on this and "Fred" set false expectations, used Gadget as free marketing and didn't have the courtesy to respond or show any respect for what was done on their behalf.

Kind of like how they told me I was getting a tshirt, dvd, etc....and still don't have it.

I am almost at the point of just saying VFK S _ _ _ _ ......four letters to go.

Wow Zoo, I did not know you did not receive the real stuff yet.  So has anyone received it or all of you in the same boat?  Did you at least receive the virtual items you were expected to?   (sorry to go off topic)

[FilamentTheBright]

Well I don't think the virtual contract or agreement is so much the issue other than the fact the time was spent on this and "Fred" set false expectations, used Gadget as free marketing and didn't have the courtesy to respond or show any respect for what was done on their behalf.

Kind of like how they told me I was getting a tshirt, dvd, etc....and still don't have it.

I am almost at the point of just saying VFK S _ _ _ _ ......four letters to go.

Pat, I'd like to buy a vowel.

[Astro]

Well I don't think the virtual contract or agreement is so much the issue other than the fact the time was spent on this and "Fred" set false expectations, used Gadget as free marketing and didn't have the courtesy to respond or show any respect for what was done on their behalf.

Kind of like how they told me I was getting a tshirt, dvd, etc....and still don't have it.

I am almost at the point of just saying VFK S _ _ _ _ ......four letters to go.

Pat, I'd like to buy a vowel.

LMAO, Bright!      

On a serious note though, I am sorry that nobody has received any of their real items from VFK yet.   

[littlebelle]

Well I decided not to get the real stuff cause it was going to cost me shipping cost like 17.00 or somerthing but I am glad I decided agaist it since no one has got anything yet.

[NotAZoo]

Yeah no real stuff yet, but I did get my virtual item.     I mean at this point just give me another damn horse or two and we'll call it even.

[Adventuredaz]

Yeah no real stuff yet, but I did get my virtual item.     I mean at this point just give me another damn horse or two and we'll call it even.

Actualy Zoo, don't forgget the membership was supposed to include a "Free code for a piece of furniture every month"  and first opportunity at new items (verbage that was removed after only certain people got this opportunity)  So while we did get some of our virtual items we did not get all as promised.  I like kurt also was under the impression I could share the horse with my daughter, which is not doable.  At this time, none of that is really even the point.  I know several of us decided as a group that the benefits they listed would be worth the price if the game worked out and our loss would be nominal if it didn't. 

It is true that Kurt had little more then an implied verbal agreement - probably not enforceable and we are only hearing his side but I felt posting it was valid and informative about the situation.  It does not change my opinion on VFK, nor of Kurt.  As it turns out the game has not been as exciting as many would have hoped but it still has potential in the future if it reaches full development.  Their main issue continues to be over promising and delivery of promises.  I can't begin to make a list of all the unfinished work they have and promises they have failed to deliver on. After 6 months of being open (4 months after paying) The fact they opened early can no longer be used as an excuse, nor can they hide behind good intentions any longer.  They need to get focused and deliver what they said and get a regular event calander to stick to. If they deliver a few more of the games they have promised (where is the market game due out a month ago?) a few of them are bound to have some entertainment value.  I really do look forward to see what they have to offer for Christmas, but I felt by this time the game would have taken hold and be on the right path.  The demise of gadget waqs not movement in a positive direction for the game itself. 

[littlebelle]

The biggest issue for me not withstanding the lack of promised virtual goods and abilities is the lag. This game eats up my memory so I have to log off every 20 minutes.

So it makes doing anything of fun rough on VFK. I do like the items and the variety. But again still having problems using them to build is another downfall for me.

So I think until they fix the lag issue this game will never take off. I thought the maze was a great idea to get people to get back to VFK at least every hours rofl.

But I am so unimpressed with their lack of follow through. Guess they better get their act together because when new fees come up there will be a lot of abstainers this time.

It must be coming soon because for the first time we have a members only cloth tab. Makes you think.

[KingQuackATac]

Talking with a VFK developer last night, Flash 10 should solve the memory issue (it has a built in memory dump feature) and also make the game run faster for players. But Flash 10 is only two weeks old, and VFK is working on the bugs that have come along with it (screen freeze) and not seeing the video feed on the larger of the TVs.

I think they've come a long way since Day 1. I'm hoping the promises will come to fruition, but I'm sure glad VFK is here and playable. I love what they've done this month with the Halloween feel (items & decor).

[NotAZoo]

I agree they definitely stepped it up this month.    And like Adventure said there are a lot of unfulfilled promises still lingering.    I would just hope they almost just say forget everything we told you, we learned from our Beta and Gamma and Delta days and have a new direction.   Don't make promises or give sneak peaks....just continue releasing nice new features and people will be happy.    I think people would be happy with the game anyway, however the powers that be just did a bad thing by setting false expectations along the way which only could lead to one thing....dissapointment.   If you eliminated that factor of false promises, I can guarentee the praises of VFK as a new home for our VMK refugees would have been much higher.

Just my humble opinion of course....and HAPPY HALLOWEEN Everyone!

[Ultracoolmouse]

Can I ask a question, the gadget software why does it need its own server to work?

Is it another layer between the user the VFK?

Cause if its not and the issue is just a domain name and space and bandwidth to host the file I know where it can be had for less than 100 a year let alone a month. So if that was the issue maybe it could be revived?