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-   Marine Aquarium 3 for Windows (https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46)
-   -   Marine Aquarium 3 Comments & Appreciation (https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4382)

cohiba420 02-10-2009 10:31 PM

amen!

zeeric 02-11-2009 12:12 PM

well, it's a fantastic simulator of fish, but it's for relaxing, i can't see what else it can be :) so simulator, yes but screen saver, it can't be call another way at the moment : not a game, not a scientific test for us, but a good time to be cool in front of a simulator af life, a complex screensaver ;) For the clock, i agree that it's not the most important thing for a simulator ;) the clams, interacting with fish are more important.. but you re clock is a good thing ;) HS by the way, i discover that you have done the graph of defender of the crown??? you are nearly a god for amiga lover ;) congratulation really !!!

Jim Sachs 02-11-2009 12:18 PM

I think there's a compliment in there somewhere, so thanks.

Overlord 02-11-2009 12:31 PM

Here's a compliment for you. Thanks for finishing the clock so you can go forward with the clams, new fish models and critter packs. I hope people realize that since you started this screensaver years ago, any request that gets added in is a bonus not a necessity.

Jav400 02-11-2009 12:39 PM

If the clams are almost done, then I would vote for holding off on updating the installer version so it can include the clams. :)

Jim Sachs 02-11-2009 12:44 PM

I've already turned in Beta9c to Edgar and Mark to be wrapped in the installer and put onto SereneScreen.com.

The clams are nowhere near done, but I'm up to my armpits in them. I'd guess they'll take a couple of weeks.

Jav400 02-11-2009 12:45 PM

Ouch, I didn't know it would be that long. Sorry Jim. :eek:

Chiana 02-15-2009 07:23 AM

Hellow Jim,

First Of All Gr8 Work... This Is My Favorite Screen Saver /Application In The All World... :p

Second, I wold Like U To Considur Adding The Feature:
That A Mouse Duble Click On The Aquarium Window Will Switch Between Full Screen / Window Mode (Like Media/Video Players)...

Thanks In Advanced, And Very Much Appreciation For Your Work... :TU:

Jim Sachs 02-15-2009 11:08 AM

Maybe. It's already pretty easy, though - just a right-click away.

Chiana 02-16-2009 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Sachs (Post 110926)
Maybe. It's already pretty easy, though - just a right-click away.

Hey Jim,

Many Thx For The Reply...
The Right Click, Post The Mini Menu... The F Key, Do The Trick...
But Mouse Double Click Will Be More Convenient...

As I Say,It's For Your Consideration... I Will Buy The New Ver Anyway... :TU:

tormod 02-16-2009 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiana (Post 110939)
Hey Jim,

Many Thx For The Reply...
The Right Click, Post The Mini Menu... The F Key, Do The Trick...
But Mouse Double Click Will Be More Convenient...

If this is implemented how will we be able to "tap" the glass without causing
a minimize/maximize ?

tormod

Chiana 02-16-2009 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tormod (Post 110943)
If this is implemented how will we be able to "tap" the glass without causing
a minimize/maximize ?

tormod


Hi Tomrod,

"tap" the glass? I don't See This Feature In This Version (& Never Used It B4;))...
Any Way, I Sure Hope Jim Will Go With My Suggestion... Or Maybe An Option To Choose Keys Settings Manualy... :TU:

tormod 02-16-2009 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiana (Post 110944)
Hi Tomrod,

"tap" the glass? I don't See This Feature In This Version (& Never Used It B4;))...
Any Way, I Sure Hope Jim Will Go With My Suggestion... Or Maybe An Option To Choose Keys Settings Manualy... :TU:

It's not implemented yet, it's a future idea. The idea is to mimic how a fish
would react if you tap the glass. On the MA you would use the mouse. A
double click to minimize/maximize would impede this feature.

tormod

Jav400 02-16-2009 08:24 AM

I don't see the point really.

If that was implemented it's not changing or adding anything. You would need to right click twice - 2 clicks. Right now it's right click once, choose from the menu, and left click once; 2 clicks. What's the difference? :confused: Plus you lose the extra functionality of the other choices there....................... :TD:

cjmaddy 02-16-2009 08:27 AM

We already have the F key and the Right-Click context menu, to toggle between Full and Windowed mode. So I hope/think that there are far more important demands on Jim's time and attention, - at this stage of MA3's development! ... Yes? ;)

Jim Sachs 02-16-2009 11:28 AM

Cliff - Yes.

Wizwad 02-16-2009 02:37 PM

How *are* those clams coming along? Still giving you grief, Jim?

Jim Sachs 02-16-2009 03:09 PM

OK Wiz, here's a progress report.

I loaded all my former clam pieces and experiments into Lightwave and realized I had to change my plan slightly on how to animate them. No big deal, but they will need an intermediate position between open and closed. As the clam closes, the blue "meat" needs to clear the teeth of the shell, so it has to arc out of the way, instead of the linear movement from one position to the other. I put together some more tests, and found that the bare shell didn't look convincing in its closed position. So, I went to the local aquarium store and bought an empty clam shell to photograph. I still haven't got the lighting exactly right, but it will work.

At about that point I had a conference call with Prolific, and was informed that they are talking to several publishers to take the place of Encore, and we'll need a Gold Master disk soon. Now, the first batch of CDs that are produced will just be a copy of the latest Beta at that point, and then the customers will be encouraged to come and get free updates. But there are still some functions which I'm not comfortable turning loose on the general public in their current state. Sure, it would be nice to have the clams working, but they are not really vital. So I decided to put them on hold and spend a day implementing a better music interface and a Logo interface.

The internal workings of the Logo interface will be nearly identical to the music interface, so I tackled the music first. Each time someone has complained about the music pausing before it starts, or some other problem, Edgar has added a level of checks and indirection until the sound system is unbelievably difficult to follow. A day became two, then three, then four. I think I finally got it, though. The user can now open up the Music dialog box, click on any song in the list, preview it, and move it up or down in the list. The Logo playlist will be very similar, with the addition of being able to set the number of seconds that each logo will play.

cjmaddy 02-16-2009 05:18 PM

Wow!... :eek:

Wizwad 02-16-2009 05:42 PM

I'm sorry to hear you've been dragged away from the clams, but glad you've got a handle on how to progress with them. Also glad you've managed to come up with a music/logo interface you're sorta happy with. :TU:

So is that Gold disk required right away, or do you think you'll have time to work on a couple of other more interesting bits before it has to be pushed out?

Jim Sachs 02-16-2009 05:58 PM

It's required pretty soon, but I don't know exactly when.

I think everyone will be pretty happy with the Logo interface. I've greatly simplified my original plan. What the user will see is a list which looks exactly like the music playlist, except with image files. This is a list of anything which can appear on the crystal, including clocks and calendars. A typical list might look something like this:

SereneScreenLogo.png 10
ProlificLogo.png 5
ANALOGCLOCK 20
AuntBetty.png 10
DIGITALCLOCK 5
CALENDAR 5

The images are inserted into the list by hunting through the harddrive, just like music files. There are buttons for inserting clocks and calendars at any point in the list. You can click on any item and adjust its position up or down on the list, as well as number of seconds it plays. To repeat an item anywhere in the list, just load its name again and move it to the desired position (the music playlist can also do this now).

Dale 02-16-2009 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Sachs (Post 110974)

I think everyone will be pretty happy with the Logo interface. I've greatly simplified my original plan. What the user will see is a list which looks exactly like the music playlist, except with image files. This is a list of anything which can appear on the crystal, including clocks and calendars. A typical list might look something like this:

SereneScreenLogo.png 10
ProlificLogo.png 5
ANALOGCLOCK 20
AuntBetty.png 10
DIGITALCLOCK 5
CALENDAR 5

The images are inserted into the list by hunting through the harddrive, just like music files. There are buttons for inserting clocks and calendars at any point in the list. You can click on any item and adjust its position up or down on the list, as well as number of seconds it plays. To repeat an item anywhere in the list, just load its name again and move it to the desired position (the music playlist can also do this now).

Great Design!!! I'm usually very skeptical when somebody says "everyone", but I think you may have achieved it. [And people should appreciate the elegance of the design].

snorkler 02-16-2009 11:07 PM

clams
 
So if we didn't "need" the music player we would already have live clams?
Sad!

Michael

Jim Sachs 02-16-2009 11:13 PM

And the logos. And the clock. And the calendar.

Actually, I had guessed that the clams would take two weeks. It's only been a week, I did some of the clam work, and the other stuff is almost done. It's possible that the remainder of the clam work will go faster than expected.

rctneil 02-17-2009 06:34 AM

That interface for the crystal sounds pretty good Jim! - Congrats

Can't wait to try it out.

When will the latest beta be released?

Thanks

Regards,
Neil

Old Prop 02-17-2009 09:34 AM

This is a long-overdue appreciation for the magnificent piece of work that MA3 is fast becoming. Well done! Keep it up!

I tried feldon32's old Logo Creation Guide to put a close-cut photo of my daughter-in-law onto the crystal in MA3 Beta 9a and find that procedure still works without a hitch. I just named my new png file "AltLogo.png" and put it in \Application Data\Marine Aquarium 3 in place of the usual file by that name. Comes up on the L key whether MA3Beta times in by itself or I start it with the Display Properties\Screen Saver panel.

Looking down the road, having a dropdown list of selectable logo images will be brilliant. MA3 just keeps on getting better!

Jim Sachs 02-17-2009 10:16 AM

I'm hoping to have Beta 9c out by tonight.

henemly 02-17-2009 10:52 AM

Nice. Thanks Jim. The 'time to display' is a super feature.

Simple Steve 02-17-2009 12:17 PM

Honestly, I'm only interested in the movement, behavior, and look of the fish. That will decide for me whether or not MA is worth buying to me. Once that gets addressed I'll have an opinion of MA 3.

rctneil 02-17-2009 12:30 PM

Yeh, I agree that the new style fish and fish behavior should be next on the agender after the clams and those parts will in my opinion make version 3 have at least most of the features originally planned for this verison

Jim Sachs 02-17-2009 04:48 PM

I plan to work on the new fish right after the clams.

rctneil 02-17-2009 04:58 PM

Good on ya! - :D

patscarr 02-17-2009 05:11 PM

Will you be able to include a "play at random" feature for the music, Jim?

Jim Sachs 02-17-2009 07:06 PM

Sure, why not.

Jim Sachs 02-18-2009 11:48 AM

Beta9c news - I got bogged down in text-string stuff (one of my least-favorite things in the world). Every line of new code seems to require 10 lines of error-checking. The problem is in reading the Playlist and Logolist files. Originally, I was going to hide these in the Registry, but now that they are out in the open, people can monkey with them.

Take the Logolist, for example. It consists of file names of pictures (including the complete path to the file), followed by a comma, a space, the number of seconds to display that picture, and a carriage return. The user could theoretically add names manually, though it would be a lot of typing with the paths and all. My routine has to read through the list and build an array of filenames and durations. If someone has disrupted the order of information in the list, the possibilities for errors, endless loops, and crashing bugs are almost infinite.

dwax 02-18-2009 01:14 PM

Will the clams be in Beta9c Jim? And the text-string stuff means no update today then huh?

Jim Sachs 02-18-2009 01:45 PM

The new music and logo interfaces will be in Beta9c, and probably not today unless things start going a little faster.

The clams will be Beta10.

Dale 02-18-2009 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Sachs (Post 111023)
Beta9c news - I got bogged down in text-string stuff (one of my least-favorite things in the world). Every line of new code seems to require 10 lines of error-checking. The problem is in reading the Playlist and Logolist files. Originally, I was going to hide these in the Registry, but now that they are out in the open, people can monkey with them.

Take the Logolist, for example. It consists of file names of pictures (including the complete path to the file), followed by a comma, a space, the number of seconds to display that picture, and a carriage return. The user could theoretically add names manually, though it would be a lot of typing with the paths and all. My routine has to read through the list and build an array of filenames and durations. If someone has disrupted the order of information in the list, the possibilities for errors, endless loops, and crashing bugs are almost infinite.

I presume you would do (essentially) the same level of checking if the data were "hidden" in the Registry.

Jim Sachs 02-18-2009 02:17 PM

I wouldn't need to, since it wouldn't be in human-readable form. The array could just be stored as-is, like the fishset list. No need for complex parsers.

feldon34 02-18-2009 02:22 PM

IF there is a full music picker and logo picker in the Aquarium, then you can be stingy on the format of the playlist file and just reject it if people start putting spaces, commas, etc. where they don't belong.

Would Comma Separated Values format help you?

"Filename.png","10"
"Logo.png","20"


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