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Old 02-29-2008, 02:10 PM   #1361
johnblommers
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Originally posted by Jim Sachs:
... I can't really picture Microsoft getting behind the Intel Mac project enough to help them with DirectX drivers.  
Which is why you don't use OpenGL in the first place?
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Old 02-29-2008, 02:44 PM   #1362
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Good thinking, Blommers. Jim learning a new API will surely speed up MA development...
Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think.

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I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
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Old 02-29-2008, 03:47 PM   #1363
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Priceless.
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Old 02-29-2008, 04:39 PM   #1364
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Originally posted by Tiny Turtle:
Good thinking, Blommers. Jim learning a new API will surely speed up MA development...  
Our happy bantering back and forth on this board is not helping Jim's productivity much either, though hopefully it provides a measure of badly needed entertainment

During my formative years I was taught that open standards are preferable to closed proprietary ones. SNA vs TCP/IP. Firefox vs IE. Linux vs Windows. OpenGL vs DirectX. Once on a proprietary path the cost of a transition back to a standard path is high.

Had MA been written in OpenGL in the first place, it would be so much easier to port it to Linux and MacOS X and reach a broader audience. But Jim has already shared his history with Amiga and I respect his developer's sense.

Fortunately Jim O'Connor's technical prowess will overcome the 3D API obstacle. We'll have our Mac OS X version of MA3 one day, TT!
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Old 02-29-2008, 04:51 PM   #1365
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Originally posted by johnblommers:
During my formative years I was taught that open standards are preferable to closed proprietary ones.  
Even in my twilight years. That is why I still only use MP3 for audio.
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Old 02-29-2008, 08:26 PM   #1366
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There are lots of reasons I use Direct3D as opposed to OpenGL. If you look at the chart on this page: http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/d3d-vs-opengl.html, you'll see an awful lot of "No's" in the OpenGL column where thare are "Yesses" in the DX8 column. But the real answer is that I speak Direct3D and not OpenGL. If I was a writer who had written a best-seller in English, would it be logical for me to abandon the language and try to write the next one in French, if I don't currently speak that language?

Not that I'm really all that thrilled about Direct3D. It's like the old saying about Democracy -- it's the worst possible form of govenment, except for all the rest.
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Old 02-29-2008, 09:29 PM   #1367
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Had the Aquarium been written in OpenGL, it would run fine on Mac and Linux, but it would not have run particularly well on PCs, at least in the first few years that the Aquarium was out. OpenGL support on Windows was poor at best.

I do support public standards and love Firefox. But it does not bother me that DirectX is developed by a corporation rather than an open source agency. It does Microsoft no good to keep the contents of DirectX a secret, as it is a public toolkit intended for developers.


It seems that website is rather out-of-date as most of the "No" items are now supported in OpenGL with extensions (which most video cards now support).
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Old 03-01-2008, 03:25 PM   #1368
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Smile So When is it ready?

When will we get the new marine aquarium? I had a heart attack in July 07 and I survived. I hope I live long enough to see the completion of Marine Aquarium 3.0. I think Marine Aquarium was the first software download that I attempted to purchase. I think Jim Sachs himself was the person helping me via email. The purchase was not processing correctly and he finally emailed me and said that I had been trying too hard for too long to give my money to purchase the original Marine Aquarium and he sent me a keycode.

I was able to successfully purchase newer version(s) when the time to update arrived. As with all those who wait...I am really looking forward to version 3.0.
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Old 03-01-2008, 04:02 PM   #1369
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It shouldn't be too much longer. The Alpha Testers are picking apart a preliminary version now, finding stuff that's very hard to fix. The only major tasks left before Beta release are the user interface, collision detection, and getting it to switch between windowed and fullscreen modes.

My current plan is to get the program into a usable form, but still using the old fish models, and without background animation. Then the registered users should be able to participate in the Beta-test process, using their MA2.6 Key Codes. That way, they could all give inputs and watch as I bring the background to life, one object at a time.
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Old 03-01-2008, 04:26 PM   #1370
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Originally posted by Jim Sachs:
It shouldn't be too much longer. The Alpha Testers are picking apart a preliminary version now, finding stuff that's very hard to fix. The only major tasks left before Beta release are the user interface, collision detection, and getting it to switch between windowed and fullscreen modes.

My current plan is to get the program into a usable form, but still using the old fish models, and without background animation. Then the registered users should be able to participate in the Beta-test process, using their MA2.6 Key Codes. That way, they could all give inputs and watch as I bring the background to life, one object at a time.  
Do you mean not hard to fix? And so 2.6 owners will be able to participate in the Beta? That's awesome!
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Old 03-01-2008, 05:03 PM   #1371
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I mean EXTREMELY hard to fix. The most difficult type of bug, because it has to do with timing, which is different on every computer.

On MA3, the left and right-arrow keys are used to scroll the scene back and forth. It should scroll smoothly, but some machines get rather jerky. It depends completely on what other programs, TSAs, and viruses are stealing clock cycles away from the Aquarium. No matter what I try, half the testers say "There - it's smooth, don't change a thing!", while the other half say "It was smooth before, but now it's jerky. Change it back!". Since it's always smooth on my machines, I'm working in the blind.
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Old 03-02-2008, 02:40 PM   #1372
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Angry

It seems that website is rather out-of-date as most of the "No" items are now supported in OpenGL with extensions (which most video cards now support).[/quote]


Does that mean there's hope for us Mac owners? Nothing will ever pry me away from my Mac to buy a PC. Can you find one or two Mac tech experts to work with OpenGL, and free Jim for the creative work?
Also, would a Mac version of MA 3 be workable with OS 10.2.8? My Mac is several years old and it's a little late to invest in Jaguar, Panther, Leopard, etc. But if not, that's OK, I'm willing to wait for my next computer.
By the way, my current MA 2.6 has worked great on my Mac.
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Old 03-02-2008, 03:20 PM   #1373
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Originally posted by debavocet:
...Can you find one or two Mac tech experts to work with OpenGL, and free Jim for the creative work?  
Jim Sachs has Jim O'Connor do the conversion to Mac OS X and OpenGL so that is already covered. There is a cool free Mac utility called GLview that lets you test your video card performance and compliance with all the standards from OpenGL 1.1 to 2.1.
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Reasons people don't watch Star Trek:
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Old 03-02-2008, 03:22 PM   #1374
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As always, Jim O'Connor is poised to start the Mac conversion as soon as I'm "done" with the regular version.
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Old 03-02-2008, 03:52 PM   #1375
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Originally posted by johnblommers:
There is a cool free Mac utility called GLview that lets you test your video card performance and compliance with all the standards from OpenGL 1.1 to 2.1.  
Thanks - I'll give it a try.
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Old 03-02-2008, 06:39 PM   #1376
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Question Fantastic!

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:
My current plan is to get the program into a usable form, but still using the old fish models, and without background animation. Then the registered users should be able to participate in the Beta-test process, using their MA2.6 Key Codes. That way, they could all give inputs and watch as I bring the background to life, one object at a time.  
Can't wait to do some beta testing again Jim! Sounds Fabulous!

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Old 03-02-2008, 08:16 PM   #1377
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ahhh beta testing.. music to my ears.
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Old 03-04-2008, 01:20 PM   #1378
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Hello to the board, I haven't posted before but I've been with Jim since verision 99, seem like forever. I come by and read whats going on from time to time, I must say I'm really getting excited about MA3, and can't wait to see it. Love reading the board to keep up to date. Hope Jim has good luck solving the bugs. I'll try to post more often.
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Old 03-04-2008, 01:23 PM   #1379
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Welcome back and join in anytime, glad to have you taking a more active part.
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Old 03-04-2008, 04:52 PM   #1380
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Originally posted by Bubbadude:
Hello to the board, I haven't posted before but I've been with Jim since verision 99, seem like forever. I come by and read whats going on from time to time, I must say I'm really getting excited about MA3, and can't wait to see it. Love reading the board to keep up to date. Hope Jim has good luck solving the bugs. I'll try to post more often.  
Wow. You must be one of the oldies like me who still rememeber Marine Aquarium 0.3.
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