Fish Picker for MA2
 

Anyone care to test it? It only supports MA2, not MA1.1. So do not overwrite the previous picker if you want to keep using it for Widescreen 1.1.
http://home.wanadoo.nl/sfinx98/progs/picker_ma2.zip

I've heard of this before but haven't ever tried it, but will try it now :)

Seems to work nice for me, though still testing it out.

hi, mm.....that was quick.....i'll have to check it out also...

When you start the aquarium from MM_Picker, it starts just fine, but when you escape from the SS and come back to the MM_Picker, you see the "stop" buttin in there, even though the SS is "stopped" by escaping....

I have noticed it with the privious version also

not a biggie I guess...but thought I should let you know...

By the way thanks for the new version. I am big fan of this. Especially the star fish placement...good job....keep it up...and keep the faith...

Vish, it should revert to "start" in a second or so. And make the "windowed mode" selection available again. Doesn't it do that?

can you explain the Advanced Settings: Blankspace and calculate normals?

Well, these are not really Fish Picker questions, but hidden features which have been in the Aquarium since 99K (if not earlier). The reason they are hidden will soon become apparent...


"Blankspace" is the registry name for "animation stabization", or Ctrl-S.

Early on in the development of the Aquarium, some users reported stuttering/skipping in the Animation. Further, it was discovered that pressing S to bring up the Fps/Resolution Display miraculously stabilized the animation. This was especially apparent on many earlier GeForce and TnT Riva cards.

However, many people expressed a desire for smooth animation AND the ability to hide the Fps/Resolution Display. The solution was Ctrl-S, which does the same thing as S but draws it in either the background color, or in a transparent font. However it does it, this has been a lifesaver and has been the first recommendation to any customer who has 'stuttering' animation.

If you want to toggle Ctrl-S permanently, you must press Ctrl-S, SPACE, SPACE to tell the Aquarium to write that change to the registry (which writes in "Blankspace").


Marine Aquarium 2 adds a layer of complexity to Ctrl-S. In all prior versions of the Aquarium, the CPU has "raced" at 100% usage even if no other task needed that CPU time. You can imagine that this generates a lot of heat on a 2000 MHz PC, especially since only 3-10% CPU is really needed to generate 60fps of smooth animation!!!

This "100% racing" has also been the cause of various lockups. And was a serious problem for laptop users, especially those with loud fans that only kick in when the CPU is running very warm.

Fortunately, that is all in the past, as MA2 does everything it can to use only the % of CPU necessary to generate 60fps (or whatever setting you choose) of smooth animation.


So how does this relate to Ctrl-S?

The neccessity of Ctrl-S seems to have been reduced, and more importantly, S and Ctrl-S race the CPU at 95-100% even in MA2 !

In short, Ctrl-S has always been and should continue to be a "hidden" feature needed only if there is instability in the fish animation.


Now what was the other one you asked about? :)

Maybe I should let our resident expert on CalcNormals, Cliff Addy, answer this. Here's a brief:

With CalcNormals turned off, assumptions about the amount of light hitting each part of each fish are made. With CalcNormals turned on, no assumptions are made. Even the slightest turn of a fin can either catch a glint of light or suddenly be in shadow. Actually, I think the effect can be a tad too strong at times.

By default, the Aquarium comes with CalcNormals turned *off* to maximize smoothness/performance.

Press N to experiment.

Thanks but still confused
 

Thanks for the background :TU: but;
This somehow implies that it will run at the reduced CPU rate automatically. This has not been my case and I find an inconsistancy in the CPU used. From a low of 10~15% to a normal of ~40%. Perhaps the installation of V2 was influenced by copies of previous versions. However I installed V2 at work, (just to see what it looks like on a 19" LCD) a new installation and it runs at 100%...... And overheats the card to produce stuttering fish and bubbles in approximatly 10 minutes of running :( (a 32Meg GeForce something in a P-4 specifically purchased to run Autocad).
I will try the Ctrl-S routine on Monday to see if I can reduce the CPU demand..... or remove it

works fine for me mm. with all the new fish now, that "custom settings" is great.

CalcNormals
 

I could never presume to tell the real experts about CalcNormals - :)

Fanatic, - maybe, ..... Expert? - never! ...... (I don't really understand what is going on! - but I DO like the effect!)

Do experiment with the n key though, - and check out these threads:-

https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...ht=CalcNormals
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...s&pagenumber=5

....... and in particular, this one:-

https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...s&pagenumber=3

Or just do a search on the forum for CalcNormals!

..................... May the CalcNormals be with you! :TU:

Re: Thanks but still confused
 

There is nothing automatic about Ctrl-S. It is a hidden, manual toggle which ships in the OFF position.

It's inconsistant. DirectX is nothing if not INconsistant. But I am happy if it is under 35%.

Different branches of the registry.

Set the Aquarium to 16-bit color, limit to 58fps.

If this does not clear up the problem, start killing off background tasks one by one.

I would be shocked if Ctrl-S did not keep CPU usage to 100% unless you have inadvertently turned it on and pressing Ctrl-S is, in fact, disabling it.

Hey Mountainmaster,

I have a quick feature request regarding your FishPicker program… I was wondering if it was possible to implement a ‘randomize’ custom settings option… this way every hour (or whatever) I can have it randomly pick from all my custom profiles, which would allow me to have a different background color of my choice, different set of fish of my choice etc at timed intervals…

Basically I've wanted a background randomizer since day one… automatic lighting doesn’t do it for me seeing how it passes right though the cool blue dark background (and never stopping) on the way to the black background… plus, without the ‘never’ for specific fish option, randomizing fish with your program still loads up a few of my least favorite fish…

Thanks for your consideration and the already giant steps forward in customization that Serenescreen Aquarium currently and unfortunately lacks,

riz

New version 4.0.1 is up at the link above. Just minor changes that most of you won't even notice. For instance, I changed the name Wimplefish to Longfin Bannerfish to match MA2. And I also prepared Fish Picker for the newly planned MA2 filename without the spaces, see this thread: https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...&threadid=1399

riz, good idea to continue this discussion on a public level. This is the answer I sent you in a private mail:
My reason for that last remark is not that I am unwilling to implement this feature, merely that I think it will be difficult and time consuming.

Well it's a question of how the Aquarium responds to the Registry being updated mid-stream by an outside program. I would imagine not particularly well.

The Aquarium ignores most (if not all) outside registry changes as long as it runs. On exit it writes its current settings back.
To make this work the Aquarium needs to be closed and restarted by Fish Picker. So it would not look smooth at all.
Then there may be timing problems if the aquarium is still writing to the registry while it exits and fish Picker starts to write new settings at the same time. Ouch! :confused:

Due to zip problems (now sorted!), since my C drive disaster, I have only just installed this new v4.0.1 Fish Picker!

Nice to see it's introduction for MA2! :TU: .......... Everything is working fine so far!

(If there is anyone out there who has NOT used Mountainmasters previous progs' ..... I can strongly recommend them!
I have been a big fan of Fish Picker since it started, and I am still amazed that Prolific have not picked up on this style of customisation. To me, it has a number of much nicer features!)

FISHPICKER MA2
 

Mountainmaster, I can't thank you enough for making this update for MA2. If anyone still has any doubts about this program, don't, try it and you won't want to use the aquarium without it. Thank you !
:TU:

It should tell you guys something that Mountainmaster's program is now being seriously looked at when selecting features to add next to the Aquarium... :)

Be aware/warned that the Settings panel in the Marine Aquarium, MAT, FlagPride FoNA, etc. all run on the same codebase and that new settings are rolled out in whichever product is next in the pipeline. So we might see new Settings controls in another product first!

mm......will picker work in v.k and v.l.....

what is v.k and v.l?

i guess v.99k or v99L, i forget. can i still download older versions

i miss fishes swimming through layers more and swimming right at me now and then, especially in wide-screen version

Not with 0.99K. The old Fish Picker 3.0.9 might support 0.99L since that was the first version that had its registry settings in CURRENT_USER instead of LOCAL_MACHINE. If you don't select the Lionfish it should work allright, but I can't guarantee anything. :contract:
You can still get Fish Picker 3.0.9 from my download page: http://home.wanadoo.nl/sfinx98/software.htm

thanks mm i still have that one......

Fish Picker 4.0.3 is available for download now from http://home.wanadoo.nl/sfinx98/progs/picker_ma2.zip

Finally I added the longtime requested feature "Cycle Custom Settings"! I am not sure though if it will work on all systems. Please report any problems here. To avoid errors you should neither access the aquarium manually nor actively use other applications when this option is set!

Appears to work on my system just fine! - Not something I would particularly want myself, and as you say, not very serene when set for one minute , but for those that want this feature, it's fine.
Just a pity that the change over can not be smoother, but well done! - It works! :TU:

Thanks for the feedback Cliff. As I mentioned before I was worried about timing problems, especially on older systems. I guess your AMD K6-2 500MHz is somewhere in that category :silent: , so anything more recent should be fine as well.
The reall issue here is: Does your MA2 close within 2 seconds? Because that is the amount of time Fish Picker will allow before it starts writing new settings to the registry.

Could you give examples of the changeable tank settings you are using?

If you could create preset tanks with the fish you wanted, plus if you could control the frequency of each fish in the RANDOM selection, would this satisfy all your needs that you are meeting with Fish Picker?

mm......on mine it closes to desktop and starts again, all in 3secs......intel 810 chipset..670mhz.....319ram.....hp pavilion6736

MM, it's really a nice feature u've implemented.....
this make me recall that some while ago back to AquaReal's forum, someone actually ask for this similar feature, that cycle through all the "*.ar" files(each *.ar files r the preset setting of the tank in AquaReal), Formosoft is planing to make that happen in future, but it's great to see there's a plugin for MA doing the same thing, I'm impressed.

U really done the nice job MM:TU: , btw, do u need more startfish position HEX value in registry? maybe I can help u again somehow as well as making the new empty tank picture with more starfish position label?

I like to be involved with the fish picker developement again :)

this is becoz MM"s picker converge all the wanted features that MA dont' have and those turns out very popular, it's very funny that many of those feature r actually planed in the future AR too(bcoz the demand on AR forum), such as cycling the random fish in an interval time, I do think this is a nice feature to cycle through all included fish in the program, so that the user dont' have to chaneg the setting many time, just leave the program runing and runing and eventually u can see all the fish. Since it's a popular demanding feature, MA really should add this function in future.

This feature not only reduce the complexity of UI as well as increase the usability intuitivism of the program and many fun with it too!!

It 'snaps' from MA2 to the desktop instantly, then stays with the Desktop/FishPicker for about 8 secs, followed by about 8 secs of black screen. With 3 x 7 fish custom settings, it feels like it could go on for ever, - if I let it!

After choosing 'Cycle Custom Settings' you have to remember to press the 'Apply' button before 'Start'ing the aquarium!
Could 'Start' be programed to override 'Apply' ? - Just a thought! :)

I didn't think I needed this, - but I quite like it! ..... I could get used to this! :)

CPU ........ AMD K6-2 500MHz
Windows .... 98SE
Motherboard. TMC AI5VG+ 100Mz (VIA MVP3)
Video card . GeForce4 MX440 64mb AGP (Driver 4.13.01.3140)
Sound card . Sound Blaster AWE-32 (Driver 4.38.16)
DirectX .... Version 8.1b

Mountainmaster, you da man! That is awesome and it works perfectly! Now I can have different colored backgrounds without having to have 'automatic lights' on... finally the deep blue background can be seen without having to keep in on it all the time... and of course, I can randomize my own fish, leaving out my few least favs... I do have a server machine in my entertainment center running the aquarium full time and this is absolutely the answer to a new look every hour... new fish that I pick and a different color background to boot!

Great job! and thx,
riz

Morgan, I am not sure if I understand your question right, but the settings that are cycled are those that the users has stored under Custom Settings. When nothing was stored there there won't be any cycling.
James, some more positions up high on the glass would be nice. But to be honest I am not really looking forward to working on the image-map again, because there is a lot of trial and error involved in getting those coordinates right. So in short: Yes, I would appreciate more starfish positions, but it may be a while before I pick up the courage to implement them.
Cliff, the cycling actually begins the second time the aquarium is started. Which setting you get the first time is indeed determined by what you applied last.

I guess I'd better download it and try it out. :)

What I mean is, besides manually setting fish and starfish locations, what else is essential to the "Changeable Tanks"? Do people want sound/bubble settings remembered with 1 tank vs. another?

Mountainamster, it appears I have found a small bug...

http://pages.prodigy.net/rizzer/fishpicker.gif

it seems that I see this error more consistantly when I have more than 3 custom saves... though on one machine I can have 3 saves but when I add the fourth I see the errror... on my main pc, I get the error every time... I've tested a bunch of different scenarios and don't have an exact answer on when it happens unfortunately...

Basically I created 5 saves, one for each shade of background... I've created the new save, hit the apply button, created another, saved and applied... etc... chose 'cycle custom settings, chose 1 minute for testing purposes... it doesn't cycle after a minute, then when I escape the aquarium, the message is there...

Just wanted to let you know,
riz

riz, it is probably the timing problem I mentioned earlier. The aquarium does not close down within the 2 seconds Fish Picker allows it to do that. I should have used a wait-loop that checks when the aquarium stops. Oh well, tomorrow is my day off so I may have some time to look into it.

Morgan, ask anyone and they'll say: the more features that are stored in custom settings the better :D Personally I think the bubble column should be in there, but I don't care much for the sound since I usually have a CD playing with all other sounds turned off.

Ok, I think I fixed it in this new version 4.0.4. http://home.wanadoo.nl/sfinx98/progs/picker_ma2.zip

riz, can you check if this one works for you?

mm....what an addition to fish picker.......adds a whole new dimension to MA...... works great with 9 "tanks" so far.......how many "saves" can we have........would be nice to have a 2min. cycle time, 1min. not quite long enough, 5min. too long sometimes. so many beautiful fish to see

mountainmaster... unfortuantely no, it's still now working... BUT, the error message is gone...

This is what I've now noticed... with the settings at 1 minute custom cycle... at over one minute nothing appears to have happened (no cycling of custom saves) but if i move the mouse, the aquarium doesn't close, it refreshes and loads up the next custom setting... if I move it again before the minute, it closes...

Basically if you move the mouse after each minute, it is correctly cycling the custom saves... but not on it's own, only because of the mouse move, double-spacebar doesn't work tho... if I move the mouse before the first minutes it closes, if I wait to move the mouse after the first minute but before the second it closes...

Hope this helps,
riz

P.S. My two machines use Nvidia cards... one a g4 ti4400, the other a g4 mx420... both with the 43.45 dets