** 99L FINAL RELEASE rants, raves, and bug reports here ** - Page 5

Jim Sachs · 08-19-2001, 11:53 AM

I think you will find that V99L fixes this problem, which appeared to be in the sound drivers. Win2000 expects sound to be using DirectSound, which I only started using in the latest version.

83bj60 · 08-20-2001, 12:11 AM

Hi,

I noticed that the fish all look red since the K and L versions. They looked great in previous versions. Seen this before? Running latest Matox drivers, DirectX 7, Win 98SE. Does the same on the Athlon 700 as well as on the older PII-233. With a GE Force 2 card on the Athlon and with an older Viper V330 on the PII there are no color problems. The problem disappears on the Matrox when set to software. I'm presently testing the Matrox for use in the older PII replacing the Viper.

BTW, frame rate is almost the same whether it's in the Athlon or the older PII.

Any ideas?

Jav400 · 08-20-2001, 07:25 AM

83bj60,

What you are discribing is probably more from the video drivers you are using than anything else. No one that I know of has reported this particular issue before now. There have been problems with some Matrox cards in the past. Please keep in mind that he lastest drivers are not always the best. As far as your fps are concerned, that is related more primarily to your video card than your cpu.

83bj60 · 08-20-2001, 03:41 PM

Michael,

Thanks for your reply, you were right. Newer drivers are not always improved! Upon reinstalling the OEM drivers everything went back to normal, and the FPS is just as good... So like they say, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'...

If the fish were great, they really come alive now, what an improvement from the old Viper V330, which was limited to 800x600!

Congrats to all for a beautiful product and thanks for your help, much appreciated!

83bj60 · 08-20-2001, 05:35 PM

Just wanted to let you know that the latest 6.51.014 driver for the Matrox 400G work fine with the K and L versions. Seems the problem is only with version 6.22.xxx drivers from Jan. 2001 (which I thought were the latest

).

Sorry for the inconvenience, hope it can help others.

almark · 08-22-2001, 06:22 AM

I used to have a marine tank, huge thing, it cost a fortune. This is much cheaper! I just need a bigger monitor!

BTW I came across the prog from a reference in PCPRO (Oct page 265) magazine, saying that the SS came with Windows XP. I looked for it in my RC1 version but it wasn't there, so I went to fish-byte and bought it.

810Celeron, TNT2, XP

Jav400 · 08-22-2001, 07:10 AM

almark,

Sachs Aquarium isn't in the early releases of XP, but should be included in the upcomming official release. The fish-byte.com address is old and Jim is planning on retiring it. Everyone should refer to www.serenescreen.com for future reference.

Jim Sachs · 08-22-2001, 10:26 AM

Just to clear up any confusion, the Microsoft release is a 3-fish demo DX8 version which will be included with the Microsoft Plus! Pack for XP, and will be released Oct 26.

Though it has no nag screen, the MS demo points to serenescreen.com for upgrades.

almark · 08-22-2001, 02:55 PM

Jim, I would have both it anyway. BTW I gave it a plug on flashkit.com, on the swish forum and Flax forum:
board.flashkit.com/board/...did=194391

FishyBusiness · 08-23-2001, 11:29 AM

Do you know what the PLUS! pack will have in it? Bug fixes?

Jim Sachs · 08-23-2001, 03:17 PM

Screensavers, wallpaper, fonts, utilities, etc. It will be included on 10 million OEM systems, and also sold on CD.

almark · 08-25-2001, 04:41 PM

I gave you a plug, that's all! Ithought you might be happy with some free promotion!

08-28-2001, 07:03 AM

I'm normally using 1152 x 8864 @ 85 Hz, but for some reason Aquarium switches to 60 Hz when running in full screen mode. This isn't a big deal, but quite often it seems to forget to revert to 85 Hz when returning to the desktop. This, on the other hand, *is* annoying as I can't stand 60 Hz.

Is this a known bug or is it just my system that is screwed?

08-28-2001, 08:42 AM

Sorry, it appears to be a DirectX issue and not the fault of Aquarium... After some searching in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool I found an "Override" button for DirectDraw's refresh rate, which cured the problem. Why they chose to put it under the "More help" tab is beyond me though.

feldon34 · 08-28-2001, 11:59 AM

almark, thanks for the promo.

It seems to have generated a sale or two. Thanks.

Kirby Smith · 09-01-2001, 06:32 PM

Sorry Jim. I just tested 99LB2 as a screen saver (started from the usual windows process). As in past versions, when shutting down Win2k complained that 'Devldr' wasn't responding. Killing 'devldr' manually via the popup notice leads to a limbo state that I recall eventually shuts down. In this case, after 10 minutes I lost patience and hit the computer power button. (In my configuration this action causes a 5 second power-off delay that Win2k interprets as forcing a shutdown before power is lost).

As noted in a previous thread, this shutdown problem doesn't happen if Fish.scr is initiated by a short-cut from the desktop, or directly.

kirby

Win2k SP2, Ati AIW Radeon, 3132 driver, MMC 7.1, DVD 4.1.0.0
and Direct X 8.0a (I think - SP2 was installed over everything)

feldon34 · 09-01-2001, 08:46 PM

Kirby, don't you mean Radeon 3102 drivers? there are no 3132 drivers at support.ati.com.

Jim Sachs · 09-02-2001, 01:43 AM

Sorry, I don't have a clue as to what "devdlr" might be. If anyone out there has experienced this problem, or has any ideas about it, please post a message.

feldon34 · 09-02-2001, 10:49 AM

Devldr is a part of Creative Labs' bloated LiveWare toolbox. I don't recommend its use on Windows 2000 and XP, but alas some features are not available without it.

20MB driver for a sound card is just embarassing when Jim's Aquarium is 700kb.

Here's a forum topic about this problem.

www.driverguide.com/board.../1803.html

Their only solution seems to be to delete the file, losing some functionality.

Kirby Smith · 09-02-2001, 11:09 AM

Feldon:

3132 is a driver set "leaked" to Rage3D.com (and likely others) a while back. It provided some improvements to 3102, and specifically fixed the high CPU usage problem (so long as one also installed the companion DVD drivers). There is a thread here somewhere where I addressed it.

So, devldr comes with Soundblaster Liveware. I thought I had turned Liveware off by stopping the start of the 'Audio HQ' tool bar. Evidently not. The only functionality I want for the 'Soundblaster Live! Value' sound card is to play sound. I have never used any of the other features. What functionality is removed along with devldr? Is there a more elegant way of removing Liveware without killing the sound card?

Thanks in advance.

kirby

08-19-2001, 11:53 AM	#81
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,816	Re: 99LB2 is great! I think you will find that V99L fixes this problem, which appeared to be in the sound drivers. Win2000 expects sound to be using DirectSound, which I only started using in the latest version. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

08-20-2001, 12:11 AM	#82
83bj60 Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 12	Bug with K and L versions with Matrox Millenium 400G Hi, I noticed that the fish all look red since the K and L versions. They looked great in previous versions. Seen this before? Running latest Matox drivers, DirectX 7, Win 98SE. Does the same on the Athlon 700 as well as on the older PII-233. With a GE Force 2 card on the Athlon and with an older Viper V330 on the PII there are no color problems. The problem disappears on the Matrox when set to software. I'm presently testing the Matrox for use in the older PII replacing the Viper. BTW, frame rate is almost the same whether it's in the Athlon or the older PII. Any ideas?

08-20-2001, 07:25 AM	#83
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Re: Bug with K and L versions with Matrox Millenium 400G 83bj60, What you are discribing is probably more from the video drivers you are using than anything else. No one that I know of has reported this particular issue before now. There have been problems with some Matrox cards in the past. Please keep in mind that he lastest drivers are not always the best. As far as your fps are concerned, that is related more primarily to your video card than your cpu. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

08-20-2001, 03:41 PM	#84
83bj60 Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 12	Re: Bug with K and L versions with Matrox Millenium 400G Michael, Thanks for your reply, you were right. Newer drivers are not always improved! Upon reinstalling the OEM drivers everything went back to normal, and the FPS is just as good... So like they say, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'... If the fish were great, they really come alive now, what an improvement from the old Viper V330, which was limited to 800x600! Congrats to all for a beautiful product and thanks for your help, much appreciated!

08-20-2001, 05:35 PM	#85
83bj60 Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 12	Matrox 400G driver Problem Found and Fixed! Just wanted to let you know that the latest 6.51.014 driver for the Matrox 400G work fine with the K and L versions. Seems the problem is only with version 6.22.xxx drivers from Jan. 2001 (which I thought were the latest ). Sorry for the inconvenience, hope it can help others.

08-22-2001, 06:22 AM	#86
almark Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Belfast, Ireland Posts: 37	everything working fine I used to have a marine tank, huge thing, it cost a fortune. This is much cheaper! I just need a bigger monitor! BTW I came across the prog from a reference in PCPRO (Oct page 265) magazine, saying that the SS came with Windows XP. I looked for it in my RC1 version but it wasn't there, so I went to fish-byte and bought it. 810Celeron, TNT2, XP best regards, A l m a r k

08-22-2001, 07:10 AM	#87
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Re: everything working fine almark, Sachs Aquarium isn't in the early releases of XP, but should be included in the upcomming official release. The fish-byte.com address is old and Jim is planning on retiring it. Everyone should refer to www.serenescreen.com for future reference. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

08-22-2001, 10:26 AM	#88
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,816	Re: everything working fine Just to clear up any confusion, the Microsoft release is a 3-fish demo DX8 version which will be included with the Microsoft Plus! Pack for XP, and will be released Oct 26. Though it has no nag screen, the MS demo points to serenescreen.com for upgrades. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

08-22-2001, 02:55 PM	#89
almark Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Belfast, Ireland Posts: 37	Plug! Jim, I would have both it anyway. BTW I gave it a plug on flashkit.com, on the swish forum and Flax forum: board.flashkit.com/board/...did=194391 best regards, A l m a r k

08-23-2001, 11:29 AM	#90
FishyBusiness Registered Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 2,206	Re: Plug! Do you know what the PLUS! pack will have in it? Bug fixes? Frank

08-23-2001, 03:17 PM	#91
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,816	Re: Plug! Screensavers, wallpaper, fonts, utilities, etc. It will be included on 10 million OEM systems, and also sold on CD. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

08-25-2001, 04:41 PM	#92
almark Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Belfast, Ireland Posts: 37	PLUG! I gave you a plug, that's all! Ithought you might be happy with some free promotion! best regards, A l m a r k

08-28-2001, 07:03 AM	#93
Guest Posts: n/a	Refresh rate bug? I'm normally using 1152 x 8864 @ 85 Hz, but for some reason Aquarium switches to 60 Hz when running in full screen mode. This isn't a big deal, but quite often it seems to forget to revert to 85 Hz when returning to the desktop. This, on the other hand, is annoying as I can't stand 60 Hz. Is this a known bug or is it just my system that is screwed?

08-28-2001, 08:42 AM	#94
Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Refresh rate bug? Sorry, it appears to be a DirectX issue and not the fault of Aquarium... After some searching in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool I found an "Override" button for DirectDraw's refresh rate, which cured the problem. Why they chose to put it under the "More help" tab is beyond me though.

08-28-2001, 11:59 AM	#95
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,947	Re: Refresh rate bug? almark, thanks for the promo. It seems to have generated a sale or two. Thanks. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

09-01-2001, 06:32 PM	#96
Kirby Smith Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 24	In response to Jim's response at the bottom of Page 4 Sorry Jim. I just tested 99LB2 as a screen saver (started from the usual windows process). As in past versions, when shutting down Win2k complained that 'Devldr' wasn't responding. Killing 'devldr' manually via the popup notice leads to a limbo state that I recall eventually shuts down. In this case, after 10 minutes I lost patience and hit the computer power button. (In my configuration this action causes a 5 second power-off delay that Win2k interprets as forcing a shutdown before power is lost). As noted in a previous thread, this shutdown problem doesn't happen if Fish.scr is initiated by a short-cut from the desktop, or directly. kirby Win2k SP2, Ati AIW Radeon, 3132 driver, MMC 7.1, DVD 4.1.0.0 and Direct X 8.0a (I think - SP2 was installed over everything)

09-01-2001, 08:46 PM	#97
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,947	Re: In response to Jim's response at the bottom of Page 4 Kirby, don't you mean Radeon 3102 drivers? there are no 3132 drivers at support.ati.com. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

09-02-2001, 01:43 AM	#98
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,816	Re: In response to Jim's response at the bottom of Page 4 Sorry, I don't have a clue as to what "devdlr" might be. If anyone out there has experienced this problem, or has any ideas about it, please post a message. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

09-02-2001, 10:49 AM	#99
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,947	Re: In response to Jim's response at the bottom of Page 4 Devldr is a part of Creative Labs' bloated LiveWare toolbox. I don't recommend its use on Windows 2000 and XP, but alas some features are not available without it. 20MB driver for a sound card is just embarassing when Jim's Aquarium is 700kb. Here's a forum topic about this problem. www.driverguide.com/board.../1803.html Their only solution seems to be to delete the file, losing some functionality. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

09-02-2001, 11:09 AM	#100
Kirby Smith Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 24	Ahal A clue, a most palpable clue Feldon: 3132 is a driver set "leaked" to Rage3D.com (and likely others) a while back. It provided some improvements to 3102, and specifically fixed the high CPU usage problem (so long as one also installed the companion DVD drivers). There is a thread here somewhere where I addressed it. So, devldr comes with Soundblaster Liveware. I thought I had turned Liveware off by stopping the start of the 'Audio HQ' tool bar. Evidently not. The only functionality I want for the 'Soundblaster Live! Value' sound card is to play sound. I have never used any of the other features. What functionality is removed along with devldr? Is there a more elegant way of removing Liveware without killing the sound card? Thanks in advance. kirby