| Witness the rock! | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do you need me to give my personal details before downloading? A: Addendum: as of version 1.1 we no longer ask for any information, as such the question is now obsolete and only included here for the sake of completeness. All personal information gathered before has been deleted from our systems. You don't have to give us your complete life's story. The e-mail adress field is completely optional. Please don't pretend you're Bill Gates (he already registered three times) or Steve Jobs (apparantly he also downloaded), just leave the e-mail field blank if you like. You could make up a name (apparantly Bob's quite popular, we have about twenty Bobs). We require this information to track how much downloads we have and to keep uploaded statistics apart. Please play nice and see it as a friendly request for information, not a compulsory Big Brother kind of thing. If you have any questions you can email us at registration@virtualpetrock.nl. Top. Q: Can my Virtual Pet Rock become ill? A: Just as with any pet you must take care of your rock. Neglecting a pet rock can lead to strange behaviour and a greenish algal growth. Healthy rocks never have algae. They may have lichen or moss growing on them though. Top. Q: Can I give my Virtual Pet Rock any name I like? A: Yes. Most people prefer to give their Virtual Pet Rock a short name though as this is easier to call when it has gone from it's usual place. We maintain a list of rocknames that are already registered with us, use this however you like. Please take care in naming your rock. As can be seen in the screenshot below giving your rock a name without knowing it's sex can lead to confusing situations.  Top. Q: Can I rename my Virtual Pet Rock? A: Yes, you can, if you edit the preferences file nl.virtualpetrock.plist. However, a little care should be exercised with this option to avoid unnecessary confusion of your pet rock. Virtual Pet Rocks are pretty hard to confuse but they are also very much set in their ways. Changing their names too often can lead to a distressed rock. Top. Q: What's the difference between the options glacial and geological in the Commands window? A: These are timescales. Glacial is much faster than geological. Top. Q: I think my Virtual Pet Rock is lonely/unhappy/sad, but it's hard to tell. Is there a simple way of determining the mental state of my rock? A: At the moment: no. Note that the info panel gives some indication about the physical wellbeing of your pet, though not it's mental state. Top. Q: How can I determine whether my Virtual Pet Rock is male or female? A: We have written a program that will determine the sex of your Virtual Pet Rock, it can be downloaded seperately from our utilities section. Please note that your rock's sex can only be determined after it is a week old. Top. Q: The rocksexer says my rock's sex can not be determined yet, what's up with that? A: Your rock's sex can only be determined after it is a week old. Rock sexing is a complicated process just like with chickens. We've made great strides in the techniques of rock sexing. After lots of research we have pushed the envelope to enable our program (with patent pending technology) to determine your pet's sex when it is only a week old. Top. Q: Will you ever offer rocks from another planet/outer space? A: At the moment we have some extra-terrestrial rocks in our labs where we are determining whether these kinds are suited to be adopted by humans. We only offer virtual pet rocks of types that are known to be fully compatible with human behaviour, the last thing we would want is cultural misunderstandings between you and your rock. As soon as we have determined Extra Terrestial rocks to be safe we will offer them. Top. Q: What celebrities have a Virtual Pet Rock? A: At the moment: none, however we feel sure that as soon as they find out about this they will all want one. Many celebrities use macs so there's simply no good reason they don't have one yet. We're sure that once the glossies pick up on this and people like Steve Jobs comment in public about their new-found friend a snowball effect will take place. Top. Q: Will my Virtual Pet Rock grow faster if I put in in a larger room like turtles grow much bigger in a large tank? A: No, the growth of a Virtual Pet Rock is not limited by the room it's in. Top. Q: I have two small children. Will my Virtual Pet Rock be nice to them? A: Yes, a Virtual Pet Rock is very sociable and should get along with just about anyone. Top. Q: I am expecting my first child. Will my Virtual Pet Rock become jealous? A: Though virtual pet rocks are highly social and intelligent they are also prone to jealousy. Just like with small children you should be aware that favouring one person in a household will lead to hard feelings. We find it is best to formally introduce the new child to your Virtual Pet Rock as soon as possible and give them some time to adjust to one another. Top. Q: Is Virtual Pet Rock multiple user aware? A: Yes. Top. Q: Do Virtual Pet Rocks ever become lonely? A: Seldom. Virtual Pet Rocks can be left alone for quite a while, as long as they have enough food. If you plan a long holiday consider taking along your Virtual Pet Rock or have a neighbour or friend come along once every day to feed your Virtual Pet Rock and play with it. You probably already have someone coming to your house to water the plants and throw away the junk mail so why not ask them to spend some time with your VPR? Who knows how much joy you and you virtual friend can bring into someone's life. Top. Q: Can I trade in / upgrade my Virtual Pet Rock? A: This is at our discretion. We occasionaly release bugfixes and plug-ins but these never alter the basic nature of your Virtual Pet Rock. If you want to trade in your Virtual Pet Rock simply because you don't like it's colour we will try to find a new home for it, but we will not allow you to download a new one. Virtual pets are people too and just like we dislike people who dump dogs in a forest we abhor people who abandon their virtual rocks just because they don't care for the responsibility of caring for an inanimate object. Top. Q: That's so sad. Can I adopt an abandoned Pet Rock? A: Sure, if we have some available. Please realise though that caring for a formerly abandoned Virtual Pet Rock is harder than taking out a new one. The Virtual Pet Rock has likely become traumatised and will need more attention. You will have to spend more time playing with it. Top. Q: My pet rock regularly asks me to feed it, even though I just fed it? A: Your Virtual Pet Rock uses food just like any living thing. You'll have to feed your rock every now and then, adjust the slider to increase the amount of food given if needed. Top. Q: So how much food does a Virtual Pet Rock use per hour? A: That would be telling. You will have to learn the ways of your rock and adjust your life around it. Top. Q: What kind of food do you give to a pet rock anyhow, this all seems pretty silly to me? A: Virtual Pet Rock food is patent-pending and at present we cannot divulge the precise ingredients. Think of the food as grains of sand if that will make you happier, although it must be said that sand is only one of the main ingredients. Top. Q: The site used to greet me and my pet by name but somehow this doesn't happen anymore. Why? A: You are probably using a different browser or have changed your browsers settings. We use cookies to keep track of you and your pet's name. Click to log back in to the site. Top. Q: How do the online statistics work? Why do I have to upload more than once to get a chance to be the greenest rock? A: To prevent people who only upload once, when they've just started up their rock and never again, to hog the most coveted spot in the QuickStats we require more uploads before you can be eligible for this honour. We reserve the right to make additional changes to how this selection mechanism works if there is abuse of our current system. Top. |
© OOOk Default:
QuickStats
Best cared for rock: Greame Most average rock: Greame Worst cared for rock: Greame Newest rock: Greame Random rock: Zize Forum removed.
|