MMF2 on Mac OS X and Linux

So, you want to install and run Multimedia Fusion 2 on a UNIX-based system. Why, you ask? Well, you want to run Multimedia Fusion 2. You have a mac because it has an operating system that actually works - well - or you have a PC or mac running linux because you don't want to put money into the pockets of the larger software corporations, and because you really really like spending hours on tiny and obscure problems with your machine (actually very educational).

You may even run FreeBSD, because you're a paranoid geek.

But you still miss MMF2.

One of the major upsides to MS Windows is the sheer range of software supported. Microsoft Office is, unlike most open-source office suites, not terrible, and finding good video games for Linux is a fool's errand.

Luckily, there is an excellent piece of software called Wine available, that allows us to run many - not all - Windows applications in a compatibility layer on top of a UNIX-like operating system.

Installing Wine
If you're using Zorin OS, you can skip this step, because it already has Wine installed.

First, make sure you have an internet connection. Can you read this sentence? You have an internet connection. Onwards!

Now, you need to download and install Wine using a ports system. Most linuxes/*BSDs will have one already, but for Mac OS X you'll have to download and install macports. Do this from http://www.macports.org/install.php

For Mac, you'll also be much better off updating the built in X11.app with XQuartz, which can be found http://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/ - this fixes a bug with the copying/pasting which is very frustrating.

Now, to use one of these programs, open a Terminal emulator. There's one supplied for OS X called terminal.app, and Linux being like it is, there are absolutely zillions depending on the distribution you've got. They all do the same thing, so it doesn't matter. If you're on Ubuntu, just press ctrl-alt-T and one will pop up - like a genie.

A Note on the Command Line
In Linux, you'll have to use the command line ALL THE TIME, and on Mac OS X you probably ought to get used to it, as it allows you to do more, more efficiently after a certain point. This tutorial's going to be relatively command line-intensive, so get with it. The commands which you're going to have to know for now are:

cd - change directory. Like CD in DOS.
ls - list. like DIR in DOS.
ls -a - list, including hidden files and directories. The -a is called a flag. Hidden files have a dot in front of the file name - for example the Wine directory is called .wine/

Another good thing to know is that ~/ represents the current users home directory.

So if, in the terminal, I type
cd ~/.wine/drive_c/

I'll then be in that directory, and if I then type
ls

it will list the files and directories there.

Back to installing Wine!

You're in the terminal now, right? Running Ubuntu? So type

sudo apt-get -y install wine


Important!
It may not be apt-get, due to the fragmented nature of linux distros!

Apt-get is the package manager for Debian-based Linux systems, like Ubuntu. For Mac or *BSD, replace apt-get in the above command with port (make sure you've installed macports). For an RPM-based Linux like Fedora, use yum instead.

The -y flag to apt-get/whatever answers yes to all questions in the install process. It normally takes a while so you don't necessarily want to be present, answering questions at random times.

sudo is something you'll have to use a lot - it temporarily gives you root privileges to run a command. Each time you use sudo, it will ask for your password.

Now you've typed the command and hit enter - the screen will fill up with text for ages and you can go for a walk or have a cup of tea, because installing software in this kind of way takes ages, unfortunately.

You come back. Wine is now installed on your computer.

Well done!

Installing and running MMF2 using Wine

Still in the terminal, cd (remember?) to wherever your MMF2 Setup.exe is. Now type
wine Setup.exe


This will run the Setup program. Choose where you want to install in. Note that Wine creates a virtual C drive, which is located at ~/.wine/drive_c.

Once installation is complete, you can run Multimedia Fusion 2 by cd-ing to the directory the .exe is located in, and typing
wine MMF2.exe


If you want to be pragmatic and/or clever about it, find the configuration file for the shell you use in the terminal (I use BASH, so the file is .bashrc, located in my home directory), open it in your favourite text editor, and add to the end

alias MMF2='wine ./.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Multimedia\ Fusion\ 2/MMF2.exe'


Replacing the path there with whatever the path is on your computer. Remember to use backslashes in front of spaces, brackets, etc in filenames.

Then, if you just type MMF2, bingo! MMF2 will run.

EDIT
On Ubuntu, it seems to have placed an icon on my desktop that runs just by clicking! We can ignore the terminal now!

Here we have Multimedia Fusion 2 running in Mac OS X 10.6.8,
Image
and Ubuntu Linux 12.04Image
Games

As for Click Games running on these systems - that's a whole other issue. The short answer is that some do, and some don't, and I think it's something to do with whether they use DirectX or not. All games I've made using Mac or Linux work on both. You'll be pleased to know that you can while away hours playing Derek Yu's excellent (Game Maker) Spelunky under Wine.