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Old 03-06-2003, 03:56 PM   #12
feldon34
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Join Date: Dec 2000

Location: Rock Hill, SC
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If Jim or Prolific start doing fish with the new tools, I can guarantee you it will take more than 1 day because of the new possibilities.

150 vertices per fish limit? Gone
fin structure cannot deviate significantly from current fish without rewriting the code? Gone
new fish require new programming, for instance the big wavy fins on the triggerfishes? Gone

And now things like realistic physics (a Wimplefish with a long, flowing banner that moves properly as the fish turns or darts off in a different direction), unusual fish shapes, individual fish behaviors, etc. are possible. Again I have not seen the new tools so I am extrapolating from what I've been told, but I'd imagine that someone could sit there for a week twiddling knobs and being creative and still not be 100% happy with the fish they created.

These 5 new fish do not use the new tools yet.


Derrek said:
I've always considered Jim an artist first, programmer second, now we have some programmer at prolific designing fish.
This is incorrect, and this is why I am going to write a philosophy statement about Prolific. Prolific is not 16 programmers. It is mostly artists and a few programmers. I think the artists at Prolific making the Goldfish Aquarium, FlagPride, etc. would take great offense at the implication that they are not artists.

As for Jim being an artist first and a programmer second, he's not willing to let go of the programmer element one bit. Please look at the chat logs of Feb 15th. Jim has spent the last months programming and studying code for the Freshwater Aquarium, not creating art.

Derrek said:
It seems in the past Jim was agaisnt anyone else making fish for him and now this. I guess I was just alittle shocked to hear he wasn't making the fish.
I am quickly learning that Jim's philosophies are expressed more strongly here on the forum than is necessarily the case.

Jim has encouraged his long-time friends at Prolific -- Reichart and Will -- to create other products and contribute to the Aquarium. Jim does not want "developer of the best damn aquarium ever" engraved on his tombstone. He wants to be known for his CG(I) movie. Yes, Jim has incredibly high standards for himself and is very guarded about his work after being screwed by so many companies over the years. But in the end, the Aquarium, Butterfly Garden, etc. are revenue streams to pay to make the movie.

Back in December 2000 when I first got involved in the Aquarium fan site, Jim said that he thought a developer's kit for making fish could be a possibility. Then he mentioned that Prolific would handle this if such a thing happened. A few months ago, Jim updated his personal website with these comments:

Next in the SereneScreen Series will be a Freshwater Tank, but that doesn't mean that the Marine Aquarium won't be updated. All SereneScreen environments will be ongoing projects, and many of the enhancements will be free to all registered users. For example, the Marine Aquarium will gain a 3D background, the ability to feed the fish, and the fish will be given different behavior based on species type. There will also be "Creature Paks" available for a small extra charge which will contain unusual or difficult-to-design animals.

These things will all take time. I worked alone in building the Marine Aquarium, but now that Prolific Publishing is involved, I have the opportunity to work with other talented artists and programmers to speed up the creative process. Nevertheless, I will remain solely responsible for maintaining the quality and realism of the SereneScreen brand.

-Jim Sachs
I guess no matter what Jim does, it will be considered "selling out" if he has other people help him.

Derrek said:
Kindof on a side note, is this screensaver project that Jim started taking longer than he expected?
In February 2002, Jim was quoted as saying that he thinks the Freshwater Aquarium would take "about 45 days".

379 days and counting...

Derrek said:
I know there was talks of a butterfly and a bird screensaver but if it takes as long to do those as it did to do this MA and freshwater screensaver he might not never get to his movie.
The latest schedule (to quote Jim):
Freshwater Aquarium with 5-7 fish
3D background for Marine Aquarium
Creature Pack 1 for Marine Aquarium
Butterfly Garden
expire from exhaustion
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