[lambo]

I don't think this has been raised before -- searches of likely keywords don't seem to turn it up, anyway -- but I thought it worth asking if anyone else has noticed this, or had an explanation for it.

I saw in another thread a reference to a "hidden command" performed by CTRL+ALT+F. I tried it in MA2, and the effect of performing it repeatedly was amazing.

It freezes the screen, but it also takes the first fish on the list and places him in the center of the screen, where his fins and eyes continue to move (eerily) while everything else is frozen. (I assume the "F" in the command was probably originally meant to stand for "freeze".)

After the keystroke is repeated, however, I've found that the behavior of the first fish on the list alters dramatically . He swims much more vigorously, and if you repeat the action a few more times, it seems to really annoy him. I've had my Purple Tang actually turn to face the front and thrash about while quite literally glaring at me in apparent anger for ten or fifteen seconds. Often the fish will swim offscreen and simply stay there until you hit CTRL+ALT+F again to drag him back to center-screen.

The command also seems to mess with the graphics of the program. When I had the Yellow Tang placed first on the list, he was thrashing about in the foreground turned about three-quarters toward the front, and where the usually semi-transparent front fins (the "arms", if you will) moved in front of the fish's body, you saw not more yellow where his body would be but the coral that was behind him. On another occasion the Emperor Angel actually burst right through the coral from the back plane of the display to the front.

I apologize if this has been discussed before. I've lurked here on and off since purchasing version 1.1 about a year ago, and have never seen it mentioned. I'd particularly like to hear Mr. Sachs' explanation for it, if he wouldn't mind. And I'd also like to know if there are any other "hidden commands" that alter the fishes' behavior. Feel free also to tell me I'm imagining the whole thing and should seek professional help.

Finally, I'm about to purchase a new notebook. Do the Radeon Mobil cards on the Dells work pretty well for MA2?

By the way, it goes without saying that MA2 (and 1.1 for that matter) are brilliant and beautiful programs. I downloaded the demos of both SimAquarium and AquaReal last night, and I don't see how anyone can find them in the same league as MA2, let alone prefer them.

Thanks.

Lambo