Kudos and Criticism
by Ambrosia Software Users



This section features reader responses to Ambrosia's software & service. We will include the
good with the bad, and address any problems brought to our attention. These are real people
writing real letters about real issues. Feel free to drop us a line.

Snapz Pro Surprises

I just got your news release about the latest version of Snapz Pro. I just had to write you
and tell you how pleased I am about Snapz Pro.

When I am in the middle of a software installation, sometimes the installation program
will put up some very useful or important information on the screen. Of course, in the
middle of an installation, Mac drag and drop won't work so my only alternative was to
drop everything, pick up a pencil, find some paper and copy the information by hand. How
backwards! With Snapz Pro, I just take a snapshot of the desired info and I've got it and
can go on with the installation.

As I am writing this, several more examples come to mind but I won't bore you with them.
Suffice it to say that I find Snapz Pro really terrific.

-- Name withheld

Yes! Just what Snapz Pro should be used for! Down with pencils!

Well done! I was on the road and didn't have my copy of Captivate Select with me. I
remembered Bob Livitus mentioned your product in his review of Captivate in MacAddict.
So I downloaded Snapz Pro from AOL and installed it. Not only did you save me on the
road, but you have a better product than Mainstay. (And for less money.) I will be doing
many more of my books and articles with Snapz Pro.

-- Sandee Cohen, Author.

Writers of manuals, reviews, and even books can all use Snapz Pro for capturing screens needed for illustration. We use it as well for our documentation. Thanks Sandee!

I just wanted to drop you a line and say "Thanks" for Snapz Pro. I figure it has saved me
about 20 hours on a project that I am currently working on. I captured about 250 screen
shots, and if I was using my old stand-by method (which shall remain nameless) I would
have had to bring every one them into Photoshop to trim the edges off before I could use
them. Yawn.

Functionality, ease of use, stability and attention to small aesthetic details are all there - but
then I've come to expect such things from an Ambrosia package.

-- Dave George

Why thanks! We hope that Snapz Pro helps you speed up your day, well, unless you get paid by the hour ;)

Parental Guidance

I was very disappointed to hear phrases like "You Idiot!" and "You Disgust Me!" as well
as laughing when I did not make the top ten list. What are you teaching our kids? Instead
of letting them know that they did their best and can try harder next time, they learn that if
they don't reach the "top ten" then they are "Idiots" and "Disgusting." There have been
several other games I have played from your company which has also put me or my kids down.

This is such a shame because you really do have cool games. But I would rather pay twenty
bucks for a semi-cool game that does not hurt my or my kids self-esteem.

-- Paula Gipson

I can totally agree with what Paula is saying, however there is a point where we adults can get a little carried away. Can you blame us? We're not kids anymore, and things do take on a different light as we get older. These sounds are meant as a joke and are intended to add to the fun of the game. They are not meant to be degrading or to demean the player in any way.

We don't care much for the Ambrosia logo (my little daughter says, "Yuck" every time she
sees it, and I tend to agree). The initial impression we thus gained from the logo and
Apeiron (our first exposure to Ambrosia) did not leave us favorably inclined toward your
company; however, we have not found your other games to be as objectionable, and some
(like Bubble Trouble) are outstanding.

Regardless of considerations noted above, we greatly appreciate the high standard of sound,
graphics, and game play your company is obviously committed to.

-- Sarah Samuelson

I can appreciate this. Zeus does look threatening. I do want to send a special "Thank You" to this person who gave us the benefit of the doubt and looked at our other products. Many people would have just though of us as "Yucky" and would have been done with it.

A Great Gag

I just used Ambrosia's free extension, Belch!, in a great gag. I owed a co-worker in my
office a good one. A couple weeks ago, I let the victim overhear a conversation about the
rare but dreaded belch virus. Today, after he brought in a file from home, I slipped the
Belch Extension in to his system folder. He later restarted his computer and the belching
began. He soon believed our entire network was infected because he didn't screen his disk
with a virus detection program. Much thanks to the fine Ambrosia crew for the great laughs!!!!!

-- Jim Babb

Your welcome, and thank you for giving us a good laugh -- now BACK TO WORK!!!! :)

For those of you who have to...

This is more or less the process I used, just in case someone else decides to ask you this
same question. On the IBM side I use WinZip 6.2 and a plug in called WinZip Disk
Spanning Add-On. I downloaded the whole Escape Velocity file and it was a .bin which
I zipped and spanned using the previosly mentioned program. On the Mac side...... well
anyone who's anybody will know how to do the rest..... (Zipit, Unity, Compact Pro,
Stuffit Expander utility work).

-- Quinn Mitchell

Did everyone get that? I don't retain DOS information ;)

Bubble Blasting

I totally enjoy Bubble Trouble, but I would like to make a couple of suggestions. How
about giving us something to shoot back at those damn sharks, some type of float-up
bonus like the letters or bouncing bubbles? You may be concerned, but I'm trying to
figure out how to import one or more of the weapons from Marathon into Bubble
Trouble. Don't you think a missile launcher would make it more interesting? A napalm
unit would be overdoing it, but even the simplest handgun would help. Something
especially cruel for those stinking starfish would make my day. Thanks for the program.

-- Dan Ihrke

You're right, I'm concerned. Like the flame thrower would work under water. Please!

Will it ever end?

From the Concise Oxford Dictionary ...

barrack 2 v. Brit.
1 tr. shout or jeer at (players in a game, a performer, speaker, etc.).
2 intr. (of spectators at games etc.) shout or jeer.

Etymology app. f. borak

Actually, I'm not really anal retentive or anything. The concise dictionary doesn't
hold the whole story (try the OED for that), actually "to barrack" originated in Australia
from last century when a group of construction workers (building the Victoria barracks)
would come to watch games of cricket or Australian Rules football (or something) and
were VERY ROWDY. Thus, the verb:

I barrack
You barrack
She barracks
etc.

So we all barrack in Australia, and I believe the word has been adopted in Britain as well.
Or it could have been the other way around.

But don't feel bad. Ever played Myst? The mystic land at the end of Myst is called "Dunny".
"Dunny" is actually Australian vernacular for toilet.