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-   Marine Aquarium 2 for Windows Archive (https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   Marine Aquarium 3 Rumors and Speculation (https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3675)

JamesLA 02-11-2008 09:40 PM

Probably of all the additions I would like to see is the Sea Horse. They have always been one of my favorite sea creatures. I hope Jim can fit this in. I realize he gets a lot of requests however.

James

Jav400 02-11-2008 09:52 PM

For the most part fish in an aquarium dont throw very dark shadows because of the diffuse lighting, generally speaking. But as far as I know in 3.0 Jim wants to be able to create this as well. Hopefully with improved collision routines, Jim will be able to allow the fish to get close enough to objects to cast a slight shadow.

As for the seahorse, I believe its scheduled to be included in one of the creature packs at a future date.

johnblommers 02-11-2008 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dabombguyman
I....It doesn't look like the fish in the screenshot have shadows. Are they supposed to?

The fish in MA2.6 don't cast shadows either. It's asking for the moon I think.

Jav400 02-11-2008 10:30 PM

Jim used discretion as the better part of valor in that one. The fish weren't allowed to get close enough to really cast shadows. :)

johnblommers 02-11-2008 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jav400
Jim used discretion as the better part of valor in that one. The fish weren't allowed to get close enough to really cast shadows. :)

True, but the fish do get close to the gravel and plantings, yet no shadows are cast thereon. Spooky. :D

Jim Sachs 02-11-2008 11:25 PM

dabombguyman - I'm not sure I understand the first part of your question. The edges of what?

Regarding shadows, yes the fish in 3.0 will eventually have shadows. In previous versions the fish never got close enough to the gravel to worry about shadows, but in 3.0 they will be able to skim the floor looking for food. The shadow would fade out quickly with height above the floor. If you look at a real saltwater tank, the lighting is extremely diffuse, so the fish cast no shadows once they are about an inch off the floor.

Leon 02-12-2008 06:50 AM

Hey, Jim I was only kidding about the Octopus... LOL

The Seahorse idea is a great one. Like my wife always says: "They are soooo cute!" And when they breed, the male does all the work of looking after the ponies. (Now we know why they are "cute"!)
I know this isn't the correct forum for the following comment but...your shark screensaver has many features that are excellent. Like all the different tanks one can browse through. Luckily we have 5 PC's at home so they can all have different tanks. What a pleasure!

Bottom line is, your screensavers are excellent and I wish version 3 would come out already!

Leon

Jav400 02-12-2008 07:41 AM

Leon,

The octopus has long been in Jim's plans. It was always planned to be probably the last creature created since it will probably be the most complex.

As for the shark saver, that one is not Jim's. It was created by the people at Prolific Publishing, who also do some work for Jim.

Derrek 02-12-2008 09:32 AM

I don't remember it being asked or talked about before if so please forgive me but will MA3 have a crystal to put in your own logo or display the time like in MA2.6?

ESHIREY 02-12-2008 09:53 AM

Yes it will.

cjmaddy 02-12-2008 10:07 AM

..... eventually! ... I think! ... ;);)

Leon 02-12-2008 11:50 AM

Hi Michael! Oops! I thought it was one of Jim's screensavers. But I feel better knowing that he actually knows them...

I feel foolish and don't have anything else to say. :silent:

Leon

Jav400 02-12-2008 12:11 PM

ROFL, don't worry Leon we're glad to have you here; and if I had a nickle for everytime I .............................

Well you know the saying. :)

Leon 02-12-2008 12:37 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ROFLCOPTER.jpg

Dabombguyman 02-13-2008 05:19 PM

Jim, I'm talking about how the edges are visibly pixilated instead of being smoothed out.

Jim Sachs 02-13-2008 06:43 PM

If you are talking about the edges of the fish, they'll look about the same in MA3. The smoothness of 3D objects is entirely dependent on the resolution you're using.

If you're talking about the background, then MA3 is far sharper. All previous versions use a stationary 2D backdrop behind the fish. The "objects" in the background are just drawn onto this 1024x768 picture. If your resolution is set higher than that and your video card doesn't do smooth interpolation, then it can look somewhat blocky. MA3 has a super-wide background made of 3D objects, so it looks great at high resolutions and screen sizes.

johnblommers 02-13-2008 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Sachs
The "objects" in the background are just drawn onto this 1024x768 picture. If your resolution is set higher than that and your video card doesn't do smooth interpolation, then it can look somewhat blocky.

Are you referring to anisotropic filtering Jim? If not, what settings effect smooth interpolation?

Jim Sachs 02-13-2008 07:16 PM

Each card and driver have different settings, so I really have no idea. For the first couple of years after I released the Aquarium, I'd get rare complaints that the background was blocky, but it always looked great on my machines, so I though those people were crazy. Then, around 2003, I happened to go into a different CompUSA than I usually frequented, and as usual saw about 30 monitors running the Aquarium. But some looked blocky, and I found that those were being powered by a computer with an ATI card (a Rage 128, I think). I played around with the settings, but didn't have any luck getting it to do interpolated stretching. Sorry.

johnblommers 02-13-2008 09:48 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Jim, just and FYI. Here's what the ATI preferences settings look like on a Mac

Leon 02-14-2008 04:40 AM

I know I should read the thread in its intirety to find the answer I am looking for but it is a rather big thread!

When will Version 3 be coming out? Or is that an "open ended" project?

Just curious...

Leon


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