Distortion as Screen Saver
 

I'm not sure if this a bug or a compatibility issue since I had the exact same problem with MA2.6...

I can run MA3 (and MA2.6) as a stand alone program and have no problems at all at max resolution (1920x1200x32). Once I install and use as a screen saver I get all kinds distortion. The fish and coral look ok but the screen shears and tears.

With MA2.6 I finally got it to work with out issues by changing the resolution to 1600x900x16 and using the wide screen option. So far with MA3, changing the resolution to 1920x1200x16 seems to work ok.

If this is the way it has to be to work then so be it, but i just find it odd that I have no problems with it until windows wants to use it as a screen saver.

BTW--beautiful job on MA3 Jim. I can't wait to see the final product!!

Thanks
Jim

Dell xps m1710
nvidia geforce go 7950 gtx
Win xp pro sp3

From what you are saying it could be coming down to a priority issue.

Every program that runs on your computer has a system priority. Which basically means that windows is trying to figure out what program is most important and give that one the resources it needs to run. When you start the program manually, it gives it a higher priority than a screen saver gets by default. Screen savers are about the lowest on the totem pole that you can get as far as Windows is concerned, so if anything else, or everything else is running at the same time, windows will make the decision to give them priority of system ram, video memory, cpu cycles, or whatever they need.

Try this and see what you get:

Start the beta and then do a CTL+ALT+DEL to get to the task manager. Find MA3Beta under the process tab and then right click on it. Where you see it says "Priority" it probably says normal, because we found some problems already in this area, but go ahead and raise it higher and then see what you get...........

What you are doing here is telling windows that you want MA3 to be more important than other things, but keep in mind that if you leave it that way and you have MA3 running in a window while working with other apps you could be causing problems with them because windows won't allocate them what they need to run properly.

If that doesn't take care of it, then from your specs this is a notebook with a to go card in it. It could be coming down to a driver issue as well. I know in the past Dell requires specific drivers as they change theirs somewhat from standard drivers, or at least they used too I know with desktops, and I think with notebooks as well. Check Dell's site and see if there are any updated drivers for that card, and if there is any mention that you must use their drivers only. If you don't then you can go to here and see if nvidia's drivers will work better. Just remember to check with Dell's info first before trying nvidia.

Thanks Michael for your reply! I tried what you suggested and it didn't seem to make much difference. And the higher the priority the more unstable everything became.

There was a new driver version but it didnt help either. On Dell's support forum there were several entries with the same problem (for M2.6) for this laptop model. No one there had a fix either. I guess it's a model specific issue.

Oh well, 1920x1200x16 looks pretty fantastic so no worries here...

It was a long shot, but it was a shot and worth trying.

Generally speaking laptops are strange beasts and driver versions and reactions to different programs can have weird results at times. When the final version comes out just make sure to set your frame rate as low as you can and it still look good movement wise. Laptops do not dispel heat anywhere near as well as desktops and you do not want to fry any of the components.