Jim, where do we go from here! (Redux)

[Jim Sachs]

Well, it's the "selectable" part that has me worried. If it's an animated part of the background, like the swaying corals and the featherduster, then it might be fairly easy. But if I have to open up the interface systems, then it becomes a major project.

But at least I know where the money will come from, thanks to Patrick. I plan to invest $1000 with him, and at 1000-to-1, my winnings will finish my house.

[patscarr]

Sure, sure, I'll take those bets, but just like at the racetrack, the odds fluctuate, and with Jim's latest comment, they're down to 100 to 1 now.

[cjmaddy]

This isn't the racetrack, you offered odds of 1000-to-1, and we accepted!

.... You're not going to chicken out now are you?

[Wizwad]

B'kawk!



(Where's the "runs round like a chicken" smiley?)

[Surferminn]

Well, I believe that Cliff and I are in for the original odds as we declared our acceptance of the odds BEFORE Jim's latest comments and BEFORE the changing of the odds!

[Jav400]

Yeah, but no money changed hands yet, so Pat is still in the clear until that point.

[patscarr]

OK, Cliff, Minn, and Jim are in for 1000 to 1. Anybody who gets in now is in for 100 - 1, but we still need to define "improvement." Since I'm taking the bets, I say it is a starfish on the glass, half animated eel in the cave, some new creature or moving coral, etc... NOT some unseen or unnoticed code to fix some obscure bug.

[nicksteel]

After a year of people pleading for a new feature, someone doesn't want one?

And, adding a confined object to the background would be much more simple than adding an independent object and modifying the user interface.

I notice that CompUSA is opening a few stores. I've been ordering from their web site.

[patscarr]

Originally posted by nicksteel:

After a year of people pleading for a new feature, someone doesn't want one?  

Nothing would make me happier than to lose this fictitious bet.

[Jav400]

In general Eel's are rather a slow moving creature. There isn't anything about them particularly excitable, so the addition of one would fit well within the scope of MA.

The video below shows one with the breathing and mouth moving. If this type action were emulated utilizing the central cave in MA3 it would be absolutely awesome.

Now, if Jim wants to go to that extent or not is another story......................................

[patscarr]

"...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Most people would like the eel. The handful who don't will just have to deal with it.

[Wizwad]

Extra points if you can name the philosopher who came up with that quote. Points deducted if there is any mention of Star Trek.

[Jim Sachs]

In answer to the question of why it's so hard to make anything selectable, it's because the fish selection interface would have to be completely re-worked, with new code and graphics. Everything would have to be re-arranged to find a place for the eel. The "cast of thousands" would have to be mobilized to come up with all the translations for Moray Eel. It's a real can of eels.

Nice video, Michael - very informative.

Patrick - Fictitious?! I was counting on that money!

[cjmaddy]

If there is to be a Moray Eel, I vote that it should be the colour of Michael's.... After all, he has supported their inclusion for so long...

I also think the brown colour would look better in the MA3 cave.... .....

[Jav400]

Thank you Cliff, I have always thought so as well. I have waited 10 years to see if "Harvey" made it into Jim's work, ( Named after Elwood P. Dowd's pooka, cause sometimes you saw him and sometimes you didn't ) it would be nice to see him there.

[Jim Sachs]

Michael - Is the video of the same type of eel as Harvey? At first I thought it was black, but in some of the frames it does seem to have a reddish tinge.

[Jav400]

Yes, same species, but not him. My avatar is one as well. That video was just one I found on you tube that showed I guess what you would call the "attitude" of the Zebra Moray's. They generally don't like bright light as they don't see well, but have a well developed sense of smell. Alot of people will hand feed them, I did mine after awhile, but it can be slightly dangerous because they strike more at smell than sight. Zebra's don't have teeth per-se as do other Moray species, but it felt like I had slammed my thumb in a car door the one time he got it by mistake. Not to mention I had to stand there while he made up his mind to let go instead of slinging him across the room as instinct called for.

The opening and closing of the mouth movement is as much for "smelling the water" as it is for breathing if I remember correctly.

As for an actual photo of Harvey, the only one I have was used on the creatures wishlist page down at the bottom. This was many many years ago when I had my aquarium running. As to the color of zebra's; generally they are a reddish/maroon brown color depending on how the light hits them during movement.

They are fairly common for home aquarium's as they are generally considered a "hardy" species. Finding one in a local aquarium store for some high res shots should be fairly simple.

[Jim Sachs]

Michael - I know that you are especially attached to the Zebra Moray eel, but do you have a second choice? The Zebra is not a "quick read" - the prominent stripes make it difficult to know exactly what you're looking at. The eyes and mouth tend to get lost in the camouflage.

[Jav400]

Not really.

I don't know what to tell you on that one Jim. Something like the snowflake eel or a Tessalata has a similar body shape, but the coloring looks as if it would be just as problematical. Other than those you have Standard Green Moray's which are just ugly IMHO compared to the rest of your work, and I don't recall ever seeing one of those in an aquarium other than somewhere like Shed or some such professional aquarium.

After those then you get into other more difficult shapes like the Blue Ribbon eel which has large mouth and nose appendages that I figured were going to be another shape programming problem with flow dynamics to get them to look/move properly. So actually I figured I lucked out with the one I had and liked.

I thought it would be the easiest one to get a high res shot of in a local shop, and to make the body shape of as well, if you were going to include one at all.........

Overall the Zebra Moray is one of the most common seen Eels in a home aquarium, probably because of the lack of teeth thing, to keep it from eating all the other inhabitants, and it's general disposition of live and let live as long as it's not starving or anything.

[patscarr]

That Tessalata Eel looks interesting, but I like Harvey better.