Wish list
 

I'm all for the Clownfish and the Mandarinfish, and would love to see the octopus too. They'd all be icing on the cake for me. This is the best screensaver I've seen, and I'm happy to check in often and see what's progressing. I am a Deluxe registered user...Jim has done a tremendous job with this program. People have remarked about seeing it on my system and I give them the web address. Jim, keep it real...no tiny scuba divers or little castles..let's keep it a true reef environment.

Re: Snails and Starfish
 

My rule about not showing the aquarium walls doesn't apply to the front wall, since reflections are not a factor there. So I don't mind having snails and starfish crawling (slowly) on the front glass. Like the fish, the invertebrates could each be turned off, or set to different creatures, if the user doesn't like obscuring the view.

--- Jim Sachs

Re: Snails and Starfish
 

Good point Jim, thanks for clearing that up. I personally wont mind if they do crawl across the front of the tank, I just pointed it out because I thought it might be something that could bother some users. But I guess I had one of those good ol' fashioned brain farts and forgot that you will be able to turn them off, my mistake! heh heh ;)

-DL

wonder...
 

Hmm... octopus in a sea tank, is the tank not a bit to small for that?

I rater see some animated starfish, coral and anemone. Perhaps one or two seashells?

Greatz, Coin

*excuse me for the bad english, looks at "Spell Check" Thank god*

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Hi there,

I don't know if this has already been said, I'm late for work and don't have time to read all the ideas yet. :)

How about having a size setting? I like certain fishes and would like to have more than one of the same type yet have some larger or smaller than each other so that they look like different fishes instead of exact copies of the same fish. Does that makes sense?

Gotta run, I LOVE this program.

Ascii

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Combining Ascii’s idea, with the adding new skins idea by JagCrAsH and feldon23, would it be worth it worth it to make a few skins of each fish, that look slightly different. Much like these two fish that are very close, but not exact. I’m mostly thinking about the future when you have fish with personalities and some that swim in schools.

Re: wonder...
 

Animated Starfish, and a Sea Anemone are coming. Other animated Coral will take a while and require serious computing resources.

Realize that the fish in Jim's tank are up to 10 inches long. An Octopus isn't that much bigger in comparison.

=)
 

YES! =)

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Please make a fresh water aquarium for the rest of us fresh water aquarium fiends. And African Cichlids are an ABSOLUTE MUST!!! =)

Another Suggestion,
 

First of All i would like to say thank you for the best piece of software that i have ever registred this is the first one that have been worth the money payed.

I have been reading all this ideas and suggestion i must say there is a lot of ideas out there, and i also read a reply where you mentioned that it would take a life time to comlete, and you are most probably right,

If you are doing it all alone then it will take a life time, but why not make a plug in system, then all the programmers Graphic designers, could start working on some of the designs, like the octapus, more fish designs, backgrounds, or eaven behaviour patterns.
Or like someone mentioned, starting a MP3 song.

If you take on all the responsibility your self, it will take you an etenity to complete, just imagine where Winamp would have been today if it havent been for the plug in system. and the plug in system was not in the first releases.

The download size would be smaller if you only had the 3 original Fish in it, and then people could download the extra features, and then add them as a plug in.
In the programming you would still be able to determine the maximum alowed number of functions depending on the registration.

Anyway, that was my inputs.
Brian Levinsen
b.levinsen@chello.nl

Re: Another Suggestion,
 

Here another idea. How about having, on a long random timer, a quick cat's paw dropping down into the tank from the top, a single splash (with sound effect?)with the fish doing a quick dart away from it. It would probably have to be a 2d paw, but if it's a fast in and out maybe people won't notice. :)

Ascii

p.s. Forgive the image to the left, I usually post on the Everquest forum and that's my character on Everquest (well, ONE of them)

Re: Another Suggestion,
 

Eldaria,

While it would be nice for the Aquarium to be completely open-ended, nobody would pay for it. Also, it would be harder for Jim to get people excited about it if there are too many steps involved in getting all of the fish.

Also, the Octopus will require a completely different programming and animation routine. If anything in the Aquarium WERE to be opened to the public it might be the backgrounds and regular flat fish. I don't forsee anything else being opened to the public because it would require the source code being given away for free. It's hard to build a business model off of that!!

And support for alternate fish tank sounds or mp3 music can be added very easily. All Jim has to do is make the Aquarium run a single commandline (which you could specify in Settings). This would allow people to record their own aquarium sounds, or play their favorite Winamp playlist.

Addition to the wishlist
 

I think it might have been mentioned before, but it would be nice to see the fish forage for food: nibbling on the plants/rocks, picking stuff off the ground.

P.S. I absolutely LOVE the program (I have a freshwater fish tank and have been playing with the idea of getting a salt-water one as well)! This is one of the few programs that I actually registered and paid for ;)

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

"Sea horses would be fantastic"

Ditto

Whishlist: other features
 

I just got the full 7-fish version running in my computer. I can't say anything else but the fact that the whole thing is realistically awesome!

I would like to see two features added in the future, if feasible:

- That fish move their mouth (I think it's already been suggested here somewhere)
- And my wife's suggestion: "If the rock-live creatures of the bottom moved as in a real aquarium, I'd say it would be perfect!"

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Here's one that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet. I know that we've all pretty much agreed that an octopus would be great and one that changes color is even better, but what is the one thing that is being overlooked?

INK!!!

When the tap on glass feature is added in along with the octopus, tapping would frighten it and cause it to release it's ink. Either that or it could do it if another fish is agressive towards it.

-DL

Shadows
 

A friend who recently saw the program suggested that more realism would be reached if fish casted shadows when swimming close to the corals, rocks and bottom of the tank, as well as over other fish.

Re: Shadows
 

This is a very common request here. Fish do not cast shadows in a fish tank because of the unique diffuse lighting.

If you check out an aquarium or fish store, you'll discover this to be true :)

Re: Shadows
 

You know, I had 2 fishtanks (freshwater) in the past and never really was aware of this.

It's interesting, because you want
to keep it as real as possible, and then these
shadows would actually make it less real! (it
seems like anti-intuitive, huh?)

wishlist fish and thought
 

a nice looking fish possibility for the wishlist is: koran angelfish (as a juvenile as coloration changes as adult). a pic can be found at: www.aquarist.net/photo/gallery.htm
also, since there are so many wishlist ideas, maybe, a voting system for registered users as to what gets incorporated?

Re: wishlist fish and thought
 

Koran Angel are really beautiful. I saw some at a local fish shop. I might bring a digital camera and take a picture. I'll add it to the list.

I'd love to add a voting system, but this Forum only allows voting of up to 5 choices.

wishlist
 

Just thought that I would add a couple of more cents worth of choices. Most of the fish mentioned so far have somewhat of the same basic body shape, which for you helps in programming, but results in much the same look except for coloring. If you are looking for something a little different, may I suggest one that I kept in my aquarium for over 12 years, ( with much difficulty I might add ), the Platax Pinnattus or commonly called the Long Finned Batfish. It is unusual in that it has extremly long fins which flow and undulate as it swims. A picture may be found at saltaquarium.miningco.com...atfish.htm

Re: wishlist - A NEW Random mode option........
 

Morgan,

I see that there is a toggle to "'Fish can't leave the screen' toggle" in the wish list? I think the best way would be to let them leave the fish tank but a new random fish come back on in its place, that way tank doesnt stay the same in random mode, its always changing that way the user gets to see all the fish eventually instead of seeing the same fish whilst in one session.

I would love to see a Moray Eel opening and clocing its jaws in the coral reef too..........not coming out.........just sitting there with a menacing look on its face.....

Ad_Enuff

Re: wishlist - A NEW Random mode option........
 

Having a new random fish to replace a fish that has just left the side of the screen would be a neat feature, but it will require DirectX 8 or may never be possible due to the problems creating and destroying 3D objects has on many video cards. This is why the ability to hit Ctrl-# (1 through 7) was removed in an early version of the Aquarium.

Re: wishlist fish and thought
 

feldon23,

About the voting system, I would love to see this on your site. If you want a voting system to have more then 5 choices, look into www.sitegadgets.com I haven't used their voting booth myself, so I'm not sure how great it is, but it looks good.

Re: wishlist fish and thought
 

Maybe a red or purple fire fish or a flame hawk fish or watchman goby of some kind and or a red blood shrimp or one of those orange brittle stars. I dont remember i the real scientific names, just the names the fish store had when i bought them. I would like to see more of the smaller reef fish variety. Usually only the very large reef aquariums have larger fish like the angels and butterfly's becuase they mess things up to much or eat the corals and they dont get along together very well most of the time. Dont take me wrong im not compaining just would like to see some smaller reef fish too. Oh put me down for Mandarin fish too :)

Re: wishlist fish and thought
 

oops i should have checked the list first fire fish already there. Dog face puffers are way cool had one of those for long time. Can i vote for it about 100 times :)

Framerate limiter
 

would be nice to be able to set a maximum framerate so that running screensaver won't eat all of my CPU power whenever I leave my computer for a couple of minutes while computing something else (like MP3 or DivX encoding)..

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

One one the things I really love with my Wimamp is a plug in calle White Cap which take the spectrum analyzer of the music being played and distorts it in such beautiful ways.

I was wondering if Jim could maybe somehow have the fish "React" to any MP3 that you might be playing while it's running? Maybe just having them turn to a beat or something. :)

I feel guilty suggesting anything new, since it implies that I'm not happy with the program, when in reality it is amazing as is.

Ascii the Amazed

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Well, I don't think you're going to see Jim get excited about dancing fish. We are going for realism here afterall.

But if the Aquarium spawned a Winamp process (which many have requested), then the Aquarium could monitor, using DirectX, the volume level being generated on Wave Out. I'm sure he could trigger his "tap on the glass" code when the volume hits a certain level (and then the code would be deactivated for 1/4 of a second). So the fish could react to the music, if only by swimming away or speeding up out of nervousness.

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

The wishlist (check the first page of this topic) has been updated.

For some reason, the Facula Butterfly (featured in some of Jim's artwork) disappeared from the Wishlist. I have re-added it, as well as correctly alphabetizing the Lionfish.

Cheers,

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Hey Morgan,

Looks like you added a fresh water fish to the list (at least I think it's a fresh water fish), the Bumblebee Goby. Am I right or just confusing it with something else?

-DL

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Can anyone confirm? I looked at it and it's in front of a green plant background. This makes me think it's a freshwater fish too.

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

I've confirmed that it's a brackish water fish. Not truly salt, not truly fresh. I would suggest that it be removed because it doesn't really fit the "salt" theme. It's a cute fish, but brackish water is not used in reef tanks. Just some FYI...

- DL

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

I know a Clown fish is comming but I would love to see it narrowed to a Maroon Clown. I second the Batfish vote. Also, when the AI is up and running a Cleaner Wrasse would be nice. A small fish like this could even be added as an 8'th as it wouldn't effect the eco system on a tank this size.

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

Pretty good idea. I'll consider it.

--- Jim Sachs

Re: wishlist
 

The Long Finned Batfish that was mentioned by jav400te would be a great addition and other difficult to keep fish, It's a good way to view them without the heartache of trying to keep the real things.

http://saltaquarium.miningco.com/lib...tfishsilva.jpg

Re: wishlist
 

Wow, people love this fish. This is about the 4th request for it.

I put it on the Wishlist a couple days ago.

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

I haven't seen any requests for live Sea anemone (sp??). Since I don't own a SW fish aquarium I don't know if it would be realistic but I think it would be nice to see one in there swaying away.

Re: The Sachs Aquarium WISHLIST
 

TheTap,

If you check out the Wishlist on my page, the Clownfish is in a live Sea Anemone. Jim is working as fast as he can. The next version of the Aquarium (next week) will have a Clown Trigger and a Clownfish. Later on, he's going to redo the background, which will include a living sea anemone and then the Clownfish will live symbiotically with it.

I know I can't wait :)