GA is Eric Daniels' baby. He has real goldfish bowls to observe while creating the fish.

You just keep giving more and more reasons to get your own tank, don't you. ;)

Goldfish are a bit cheaper to come by and keep, Mem... :)

Actually I'd be curious to know how expensive some of the exotic, ornamental goldfish are that Eric has in his product and if he owns examples of them.

Some Examples:

http://home.columbus.rr.com/dandyora...room/index.htm

Feldon, I never owned any super expensive goldfish. Probably the most I ever paid for a single fish was less than $20. But I went and looked at some doozies, here and in Hong Kong.

Thanks for the link, LouB516... good stuff!

I live in Baltimore. I go to the Aquarium about 2 times a year. I think it has suffered over the last few. I don't know if its because thy are putting assets to new exhibits.:)

Jim,

What is the native res you are shooting for in 3.0? The max my home monitor will do is 2048 x 1536, and depending on how "widescreen" is set up I might be able to see a fair amount of the tank at once. Are you shooting for something like 3200 x 1200? Just curious..........

Since it's now going to be 100% 3D, there is no native resolution for a background pic like there was before. The former background pic was 1280x768 in widescreen. The new program just stretches textures onto polygons, but I'm shooting for a 1-to-1 pixel:texel ratio on my 1920x1200 screen. If I had to name an actual pixel size for the "background", it would be about 4000x1200. On my monitor, this is about 2 screens wide.

It's impossible to keep a 3D object as razor-sharp as the native texture that it uses, because as the object moves toward or away from the camera, or changes its angle, the pixels of the texture will be averaged together as they are stretched onto the object. Even so, the gravel and few items I've got on the screen so far are VERY clear compared to the old version. This should make for a very convincing aquarium when displayed on a large Plasma or DLP screen.

Here are screen captures at the same resolution from v2.6 and v3.0:

Want to see an interesting phenomenon? Look at the center of this pic, then cross your eyes until the two images merge. The center image will be 3D. Don't do it too long, or your eyes might stay that way (just like your mother used to tell you :) ).

Now that is sweet.

lol, Jav is imagining people all over the world sitting at their desks right now being asked the question,

"Why the devil are you staring at your screen crosseyed, are you nuts?"

Can you say Lemmings anyone? :lol:

Nice work Jim, thanks for the preview. :TU:

I assume this is the way 3.0 will utilize 2 monitors for 3-D?

Wonder how many eyes just crossed?

I'm cleaning the dust off of my Eye3D premium shutter glasses and getting ready. :)

Don't assume. You know what assuming does. :) :) :)

There are easily a dozen 3D shutter glasses for PC. Shutter glasses alternate between the left eye being blocked, followed by the right eye being blocked. The blinking is synchronized with your graphics card so that the graphics card is displaying the image for your left eye at the same time the left eye is unblocked, and the same for the right eye.

To view a 60fps animation, you must be able to set your monitor (and glasses) to 120 fps. This is one case where LCD monitors are at a huge disadvantage, since they are almost all limited to 60fps.

DirectX 8 inexplicably stomped out support for 3D glasses but DirectX 9 added it back. It's unknown why it is so underused.

I don't think using 3D glasses will affect using 1 or 2 monitors (which lets you display more of the tank). I doubt there will be any way to use 1 monitor for the left eye and 1 monitor for the right eye. Jim probably won't do it anyway cause he doesn't want to get sued if someone gets permanently cross-eyed. ;)

Ha, ha - Good one, Nick. Watch Steve Martin's cautionary movie "The Jerk" and you'll see why I can't recommend that.

Or,

Ha, yeah - Marty Feldman had the opposite problem (wall-eyed). I always wondered if he appreciated "magic-eye" posters more than the rest of us, since it wouldn't take any effort for him to focus on them :)

We have some threads from days of yore ( a forum search should suffice ) concerning 3D and shutter glasses. I purchased a fairly expensive set for the time ~$200 I think it was, which included a wired pair and a wireless pair, along with the Tx that interfaced with your computer, and loads of software that worked with it. Including software which would allow you to take any normal photo and transform it into a 3D photo. The effect is quite astounding, along the lines of a 3D imax theatre.

In the current aquarium the fish look astounding using these glasses. The background looks like exactly what it is, a series of cutouts strategically placed to provide the effect of coral. I am anxiously awaiting the true 3D background and a chance to look again. :)

As Morgan says, LCD screens pretty much kill any attempt at 3D using this method. Since LCD screens are on the rise 3D shutter glasses have fallen somewhat by the wayside in recent years. But for anyone who has a crt monitor that will handle the refresh rate, 3D apps like this, and alot of games look astounding. Nvidia has kept up with updates to their 3D drivers, since Wicked 3D disappeared, and with some adjustments excellent results can be acheived. I put an area on our Help/Drivers section of the web page about this. Currently I think the drivers we have listed have been replaced by a later set from nvidia.

Since I no longer have any way of seeing it in 3D (no more CRTs), I can't really develop 3.0 for stereo vision. Since it's 3D, it will automatically work to some extent, but there might be some visual anomolies.

I'd like to try one of these: http://www.sharpsystems.com/products...nch/ll-151-3d/

The resolution is very low, but it's an interesting concept.

It would be interesting to see just how effective this process is. From what I have read on the site it appears that the screens are set with a standard 2 1/2" eye setting that is non-adjustable. I have no way to compare that to any of the settings that I have used in the past with my glasses. Using my software I can adjust the "depth of field" so to speak, and can make major changes in the effect. All the way from zero effect; to where from across the room using the wireless glasses you would swear that a fish is swimming 15 feet in front of the screen and you need to duck to let him pass. If you get one of these Jim be sure to let us know how well it works.

I don't know how well it would help without you being able to see it for yourself, but I will definately check beta versions for the 3D effect using my stuff.

It sounds rather restrictive as regards your head positioning, Jim. Unless this review is incorrect.

...... I'd only be able to get one of my heads into the viewing envelope.

Yes, I've read the reviews and it does sound restrictive. Also, the 1024-pixel display is divided in two, so that each eye sees only a 512-pixel image. Reviewers say that the overal effect is better than 512, but definitely not 1024. At any rate, this sort of defeats the main purpose of 3.0, which is to bring MA into the world of hi-definition.

Some day they'll have goggles with a high-def screen for each eye. Then you can just lay back on the couch and immerse yourself in 3D.

Jim,

You can't run the glasses at 60Hz (30fps)?

Even if it would work - all reports I've read say no - anything below 100hz (50hz per eye) gives me an instant migraine.

But that's on CRTs, which flicker. In between frames being painted, the image fades. This does not happen on LCDs. LCDs merely change the pixels, with no interstitial "black" or "fade" in between.

Well, if someone claims to have it working, I'll be glad to look at it.

has somebody tried the Metal Gear Acid 2 for PSP?
The PSP has an lcd-screen and for this game are some 3D glases included(solid eye) with them you can see very nice 3D film sequences. really nice made...

Jim,
Thanks for the little preview. Nice!

Since I'm already (slightly) crosseyed I can't see the 3D effect of the composite image, but anytime you're curious about whether or not we would like to see stuff like that - assume we do. :)

Hi everyone, im new to the forum, but have loved the screensaver for a long time. Anyhow i just wanted to post on a comment spoken earlier by Jim.

Was it possibly a leafy sea dragon :). They are awesome fish, i imagine incredibly hard to design, but what an addition that would make. I saw them at the Pittsburgh Zoo in PA and was truely awe struck at their design and beauty. I love fish lol...

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/554...gonfishhb0.jpg

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/671...dragon1ll2.jpg

No, I didn't mean the weedy leafy sea dragon. I was referring to a particularly ugly little fish - ragged and brownish green.

I have often thought of including sea dragons. What an amazing evolutionary adaptation, to look so much like seaweed. Unless, of course, they are among critters that eat seaweed. You are right - the programming would probably be prohibitive. Regular sea horses are on the short list, though.

Hey buddy, Welcome to the forum. I saw you over at DA. Glad you came here too.
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/9499/welcome38gk.gif

thanks
 

Thanks, what can i say, i love aquarium screensavers and between MA and DA (not picking favorites) they are the best i've seen. It seems to add a level of enjoyment when you actually participate in the forums for the products you use.

Glad you are enjoying it so much, and like Ed says; Welcome to our forums.

nice
 

255 DVD's, not bad at all JAV. I too am a collector of DVD's. I have around 700 currently. I do love my movie time. This summer i watched 9 seasons of X-Files :) Roughly (200) 45 minute episodes so now i have to catch up on the movies i've acquired since then. My list is just in Excell though. If you count SVCD's and Divx Xvid releases i have on cd, then i have around 1400 movies :TU:

1400 !!! :erm: - That makes my 215 look pathetic! ..... and I've still got to watch about 70 of them! :rolleyes:

ha ha ha
 

Yea let's hope that the MPAA never decides to stop by, i won't say how many i actually paid for out of that 1400.:o

Just to get back on topic momentarily - I'm heading up to San Francisco again tomorrow, looking for more source material. I had a very good day yesterday, and got a lot of good pics at Pet World in San Bernardino. The manager let me have the run of the place with my cameras right at closing time. It was just getting dark, so the reflections in the glass were minimal (plus, I remembered to wear my dark shirt).

Very nice Jim. Kudo's to the manager for being so helpful and allowing you the time and space. :TU:

Good point, Jim. - Sadly not everyone understands these anti-reflection techniques! ;)


...... Great shot there, Jim.