Crystal and Clock
Hey,
Will the clock crystal replace a bit of coral in MA3 like it did in MA2.6? I was rather disapointed that it replaced a great bit of tank scenery so having it as another separate item in the tank would be great! Thanks Regards, Neil |
The last I heard from Jim I think he said it will probably replace the trachyphyllia on the right side just above the anemone.
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Bummer, personally kind of liked it more towards the middle area.
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I should have the basic crystal ready to test in a little while.
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Woo hoo!
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just to get a feeling of this forum.... sorry still new here... what do you usually mean by a little while?
hours, days or "when it's ready"? :D Thanks, Luca |
..... It will probably be before next October! :)
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well, before "an" October, anyway...
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no worries guys... we've patiently (?lol?) waited this long. Lets just trust that Mr. Sachs has it all lined up. :-) More fishy goodness for all!
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By "a little while" I mean now! :)
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Can we add a picture to the crystal or does it just sit there looking pretty?
I tried putting a .png from 2.6 into the same folder and it didn't show. Or it could be when you said "but no logo graphics on it yet." actually means you havn't mapped it yet. |
Nothing is implemented yet. We're strictly reporting any bugs or cosmetic issues on the crystal itself.
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In that case. I see nothing wrong ;)
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any chance that something could be added to subtly indicate that a new email message has arrived?
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Jim, - this appears to me as a much more interesting 'Lump of crystal' than the one in 2+Time. - I suppose the intriguing shadow/shading effect as it scrolls past is the biggest difference. - Good work! :) - I also like where you have placed it, though it's a shame we have to lose that nice green Devil's Hand coral. - Any chance that could be placed somewhere else? - Maybe somewhere at the left-hand end?
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That would be a cool clock item for those folks who use Outlook (which is most people). Not a bad suggestion at all.
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Stew - I'm working on the logo capabilities today. The idea is that it would take the same logos as v2.6 (a 256x256 PNG file).
Cliff - Glad you noticed all the detail. It has depth, which is apparent as you scroll, and also looks pretty good as fish swim behind it, or the lights are adjusted up or down. I am considering having an optional second location at the far left of the tank. The current location is good for one or two screens, but may be split between the second and third monitors on a 3-screen setup. |
How about reflection on the surface when the fish swim past :)
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Promise not to hurt me?
I find the crystal looks nicer than the piece of coral that was there previously. Even if I don't put much on the crystal, I'll probably always leave the crystal up. :) |
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True! - I will probably always leave it there too!... But I also like that green coral, - and I think the left-hand end looks empty. :eek:
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I should add that I have always had ideas about developing a Logo picker, loader, downloader for the Aquarium. I'll wait and see what MA3 does as far as interface for picking logos. The basic functionality of MA2.6 is --you just put the files in the Marine Aquarium folder and they appear in the Aquarium on a random/shuffle rotation.
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I just wish I could think of an easier way to implement logos. Designing one takes a fair amount of knowledge regarding masks, Alpha channels, file formats, etc. I'm just finishing up a SereneScreen logo which took even me about an hour, and I've been doing computer graphics for over 20 years.
I'm also experimenting with different looks. The logo I'm working on is full color, and is applied right over the face of the crystal, like a sign painted on. There's also the etched look, like most of the logos you guys have done. A third possibility is "embeded", with a color logo underneath the first layer of the crystal. |
A place at the far left hand side of the tank would be great. Giving users a choice with all the settings is a massive plus in my book!
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And don't even consider having MA3 support two or more different ways of inserting logos - that's a nightmare to write, and hideous to support. As a practical matter, you're probably stuck with that implementation. |
Personally I'm in Morgan's camp on this one.
I haven't used the crystal that often, but ( and don't shoot me here ) I really don't like that finger coral that was there. I think allot of it has to do with that miserable green color. In this instance my preferences are to keep the crystal there regardless. Jim had originally said he might put it on the right, but I much prefer where it is now. As for Logo's available, I am making a folder to contain all the decent looking logo's that I run across, and it will be on our server where anyone can get them. If there are any that anyone here would like to offer for that purpose let me know and I will add them to the selection. |
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With it, I can make etched, greyscale, or color logos with some or all of the logo transparent, translucent, etc. |
Yes, it's the same process in PaintShop Pro, but have you ever watched someone's eyes glaze over as you tried to explain the concept of an Alpha channel?
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Just got Beta7a. the new logo looks excellent on the crystal.
This is going to be the best screensaver ever made ;) |
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For those who haven't downloaded it yet, here's what it looks like:
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In Photoshop, you don't do a separate Alpha channel. You just start with a 100% transparent layer and start painting on it. Then you export it as a 24-bit PNG with the Transparency checkbox toggled.
Awesome job on the logo by the way. :) |
That's the way I do it in Paint Shop Pro. :D
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Jim has tried the newest PaintShopPro and Photoshop. He was horrified with the interface. Then again I tried an earlier PaintShop Pro and was equally horrified. We just think differently I guess. :) I do wish there was an easier, more user-friendly way to make logos, but people are going to get logos from all over the place, in various formats, most of them WITHOUT transparency. They will look awful when put on the crystal. I really don't have a problem with users having to take an extra step to get something on the crystal. |
I evolved from psp7 to psp8 to pspX.
I think one of my first was Corel Draw. XD |
I use PSP 10.
Morgan - did you extract that logo PNG from the executable, or build it yourself? |
I've just remembered PSP is now owned by Corel. I've gone back in time :D
I wonder if we'll get back Windows 3.1 :D |
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it works ok for me with one caveat, for awhile there in windowed mode my title bar would not disappear, it just greyed out and that was it. I can't reproduce it yet, so I am putting this one down to some strange occurrence for now.
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well, that was faster than expected :)
The crystal looks really good... |
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