Welcome to I Live At Santa's House, a unique "activity center" for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. In this game, the player takes on the role of an elf living and working in Santa's house at the North Pole.
I Live At Santa's House is shareware. The evaluation version does not give you full access to all the features of the registered version, but it does introduce you to them, and it does have significant play value in its own right.
If you wish to redistribute the evaluation version of I Live At Santa's House, you may do so without restriction except:
ò No files in the distribution may be altered.
ò I Live At Santa's House may not be included in program collections and compilations on magnetic disk or CD-ROM without permission of AHA! Software Inc.
I Live At Santa's House is a copyrighted product of:
AHA! Software Inc.
1915 Casa Marcia Cr.
Victoria, BC V8N 2X4
Canada
Limited technical support for I Live At Santa's House is available by email to: ssv@islandnet.com
Guide for parents
Preview recommended: Detailed tutorials and hints for all the activities in I Live At Santa's House are provided within the game. To access them, just click the question mark button in the top left corner. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the game before giving it to a child, referring to the tutorial pages as you go. You will then be able to serve as a resource and guide for the child if required.
Giving I Live At Santa's House as a gift: Using the supplied Configuration Utility, you can set up the game so that it appears on the screen as a Christmas present with your child's name on it. This feature is meant for those who wish to give the game as a gift - a virtual gift that the recipient finds waiting on the computer screen, rather than a physical parcel with real paper and ribbons. (NB: Configurations are only active in the registered version of the game. The evaluation version does not support the configurations you create with the Configuration Utility.)
Differences between the evaluation and registered versions: The evaluation version of the game lets you sample all the major activities in the game, but in most cases there are significant limitations that can only be removed by registering. The tutorial screens explain the differences between the two versions in detail, so that you will know in advance exactly what benefits are offered by registering, and so be in a position to decide whether it's worth it for you. Full registration information is available each time you start up the program. The cost of registration is $20 Canadian (less than $16 US at current rates of exchange).
Special set-up for multiple children: In the registered version of the game, many of the activities in I Live At Santa's House - the model railroad, the photo album, and the Christmas tree, for example - are saved from one session of the game to the next. When more than one child is regularly using the game, it is probably a good idea for each to have his or her own separately saved games. This can be done with a small amount of set-up by an adult, as follows:
For each child, create an individual configuration file named for that child (e.g. david.shc, melanie.shc), using the Save As button on the Configuration Utility. See the Multi-user page on the Configuration Utility window for more information about how to do this. Now create a separate I Live At Santa's House program shortcut (Windows 95) or icon (Windows 3.1) for each child, and give the child's name (david, melanie) as a command-line argument. The configuration named for that child will then be loaded when the program runs, and the saved game file will also be based on the same name (david.shg, melanie.shg). Here, in detail, are the steps involved for each version of the operating system:
Windows 95: In Windows Explorer, locate the drawer containing the game's Start menu shortcut. By default, that drawer is Windows/Start Menu/Programs/I Live At Santa's House, and the shortcut itself is a file, also named I Live At Santa's House, in that drawer. Click the file name to select it, then choose first Copy then Paste from Explorer's Edit menu. This will create a short-cut named Copy of I Live At Santa's House. Click to select the shortcut, choose Rename from Explorer's File menu, enter the desired name (e.g. Melanie) and press Return. Now choose Properties from Explorer's File menu, and click the tab to select the Shortcut page in the Properties dialog. To the end of the Target: line on this page, add a space and the same name used above. The Target: line will now read something like: "C:\Program Files\ILASH\Sh.exe" Melanie. Click the OK button to exit the dialog. Now repeat all the above steps for each additional child. The end result will be a separate Start menu shortcut for each child, and separate saved games.
Windows 3.1: In Program Manager, find the program group in which you installed the game, and locate the I Live At Santa's House icon in that group. Select the icon, then choose Copy from Program Manager's File menu. In the Copy dialog, choose the same program group as the target for the copy operation and click OK. Now select the copied icon you have just made, and choose Properties from Program Manager's File menu. In the Properties dialog, change the Description line to the desired name (e.g. Melanie), and to the Command Line: line add a space and the same name. The Command Line: line will now read something like: C:\ILASH\sh.exe Melanie. Click the OK button to exit the dialog. Now repeat all the above steps for each additional child. Now repeat all the above steps for each additional child. The end result will be a separate icon for each child, and separate saved games.
New in Version 1.1 (19-Dec-97)
Printing bug fixed: A bug that caused graphics printing to fail with certain printers has been corrected. Improved graphics printing may also be observed with other printers as well.
Temporarily stop sound effects and music: Pressing the CAPS LOCK key while the game is running will cause any currently-playing sound effects or music to end. Sound will be suppressed as long as the key is down. Release CAPS LOCK when you are ready for sound to be enabled again.
Command-line switches control sound: It is now possible to disable sound effects, music or both by using the command-line switches NOWAVE (disables sound effects), NOMIDI (disables music) and NOSOUND (disables both sound effects and music). This feature is mainly intended for situations where problems with sound card configuration is interfering with the normal operation of the program.
How to edit the command line
In Windows 3.1: In Program Manager, select the "I Live at Santa's House" icon, then choose the Properties item on the File menu. In the Properties dialog, the Command Line edit box will show the file name of the program, normally c:\ilash\sh.exe. Click in the edit box, and type a space and the word NOSOUND (or another switch) at the end. Click OK to finish.
In Windows 95: Right-click on the Start button and choose Explore from here. Enter the Programs\I Live at Santa's House folder and locate the shortcut to "I Live at Santa's House". Right-click the shortcut and select Properties from the context menu, then choose the Shortcut tab in the Properties dialog. The Target edit box will show the file name of the program. Click in the edit box, and type a space and the word NOSOUND (or another switch) at the end. Click OK to finish.
AHA!'s Family Games Web Center
http://www.familygames.com/
We hope you and your family enjoy I Live At Santa's House. We would also to like to suggest that you visit our Family Games Web Center to sample its various amusements and entertainments, and to check out our other shareware games, which include:
Santa's Secret Valley
A light-hearted graphical adventure with a Christmas theme. Can you rescue Santa's magic items? Entertaining puzzles, a Christmas trivia quiz, delightful music and artwork make SSV a treat for just about anyone. Ideal for kids and grown-ups to work on together!
Uncle Julius and the Anywhere Machine
Another non-violent graphical adventure for all ages. This one takes you into the wild world of that noted scientist and adventurer, Uncle Julius. Uncle Julius has invited you to visit, but you arrive to find that he has vanished, leaving an enigmatic note as your only clue. You'll have to attempt a rescue, but there are one or two complications. For starters, he's in another dimension...
Twisted Tails
Old-time fairy tales are given a hilarious new twist by inserting random words, phrases and names into the traditional story framework. Fun for the whole family; great language work-out for younger players. Illustrated! Animated! Educational fun! Exercise your creativity, or just sit back and laugh! For children and adults.
