Thankyou very much for downloading (or using) Virtual Fireplace v2.0. It means a to the people who made it. This program is a handy dandy little number that allows you to sit in front of your computer while a cozy fire burns on the screen. You also have the new ability to throw in celebrities and other baddies into the inferno!
New in this version:
• Chuck Stuff in the fire
• Window Mode (explained later)
• Better themes
• New fire, more realistic
• Cooler icons!
• Screams
• Many more!
Getting Started
When you first open the program, you will be presented with a daunting dialog box full of commands and checkboxes. (Well it's not quite that scary.) All you have to do to find out what a checkbox does or will do is move the mouse so that it is over the box, and a text item will appear near the bottom of the dialog box. This will explain what the button or checkbox does. The first time you start the program, the themes and music will not be loaded, and you need to load them before you begin. All standard themes and music files can be found in the theme and music folders in the Virtual Fireplace v2.0 folder, respectively. I recommend starting with the settings that are presented, and selected the appropriate theme and music for the season. :)
Troubleshooting
You will probably at one time or another experience some sort of trouble with VFP 2. Most of the time, it will be easily fixed with the explanation in the dialog box that presents the error, other times, the problem is more serious.
I just launch the program, click ok on the dialog, and it crashes.
This might be caused by a corrupt preferences file. Open the preferences folder located in the System Folder and locate the VFP 2 Prefs. Delete them and the problem will go away. Another possibility is that the theme or music file has become corrupt, reinstall them, or select new ones, and the problem will most likely go away.
I want to change my settings, but whenever I load VFP, it just goes with my last selection.
This is because you deselected the "Show Dialog on Startup" checkbox. To bring it back, hold the 'D' key when starting Virtual Fireplace.
It looks like VFP should have icons, but it doesn't.
Try rebuilding your desktop. You need to do it every so often anyway, and I don't want you to miss my styling icons! :)
Virtual Fireplace complains about not being able to find the fire sounds, what gives?
You have moved the Fire Sounds music file, or renamed it. VFP looks for this file to play the fire sound in Virtual Fireplace. Reinstall VFP or rename the file. If that doesn't work, the music has become corrupt, and you will have to reinstall.
I want to edit those themes, and the flammables file! How?
You can find a full explanation of how to edit all of the files in VFP over at http://www.macrage.com/. I really encourage editing, and I will post any themes you send me within reason. Also, theme prop files wouldn't be minded!
How can I contact the author? or get more info and themes?
You can reach me at MacGnome@aol.com. But since e-mails change so often, you should head over to www.macrage.com for info and any recent changes or updates to the program. That is also where you will find new themes or music, etc.
*note* There are probably more problems that are possible, but I believe they are adequately covered in the error messages and are not needed to be explained here.
About MacRage
Macrage is actually just a group of kids who like to seem big! We dabble in the art of programming and graphics, making irrelevant programs like the one you have. We are trying to make something real, but, come on now! We love macs and we program them, if you want to join our ranks, ask!
*disclaimer* - Hey, this program could do many things to your computer. I take no responsibility for what my program does to anything, it probably won't, seeing as I've tested it, but better safe than sorry.
*Other legal stuff* - Don't edit this program in any way that would make it appear that you made it. Do not attempt to reverse engineer it, copy it, or do anything else that in any way. It's mine! It's not shareware, but it's not public domain either! You can edit the themes, music, and flammables, but stay away from the other stuff! Also, it might look like some of the things in this program are trademarks of other people, if they are, they are copyrighted by those companies, so don't use them in any way that violates their legal mumbo jumbo.
