Upcoming 3D background

[asprague]

I'm sure we'll see more flexibility in the Starfish in the future. Jim right now is switching into 3D background gear. Aside from the possibility of a release with a couple of new fish, this is Jim's next major step.

Morgan
Operator of Inside the Tank : Sachs Aquarium website

For those of us who are old and forgetful, how about a gentle reminder/summary/discussion as to what a "3D background" is, why we want it, and what, if any, special hardware/software we will need to take advantage of it

Thanks,
Arnold

[feldon34]

A long time ago,
in a galaxy far away,
we had a poll about the 3D background.
You may Fast Forward to the end of this if you just want to see the results of the poll...

Current background
The current background is a flat bitmap in several pieces so the fish can swim in front of some, and behind other parts of it. The shadows or "lightplay" from the rippling water above are cast onto invisible lightplay objects which are visible by entering Wireframe mode (press W). These little mounds catch the shadows and give the illusion of an Aquarium with depth.

The New background
The new background which Jim has intended all along, would be a 100% 3D object which light will interact with in a realistic manner, and with which the fish and eels can swim around and through. The Octopus and Zebra Moray Eel will each have alcoves to hide in when the lights are turned up too bright.

The 3D background will provide a platform for the shrimp, crab, lobster, Picasso Trigger, and other creatures and fish to interact with. Some of the 3D background (not all due to performance limitations and the difficulty of doing so) will be live corals that move in the ebb and flow of the water, specifically, the oft-requested sea anemone which the Percula Clownfish will coexist with. Note that the movement, complexity, and behavior of the anemone and clownfish will be so complicated as to likely be considered a Bonus Creature, incurring a small upgrade charge. (This is not the first time this has been mentioned)

If you haven't been following this discussion, the 3D background will take a new form compared to the current one. The 3D background will indeed be TWICE the width of your monitor (65% wider than your widescreen monitor) and the 'camera' will slowly pan back and forth to reveal the entire length of the coral reef. Because of the added real-estate, the number of fish you can have concurrently may be bumped to 10 or more, as there will be more room for them to make themselves comfortable.

<font size=+1>Click here to see a mockup of how the double-wide background could look.</font>

Performance hit?
Finally, the issue you probably want to know most about... the 3D background will be as optimized as humanly possible while providing the most dramatic and realistic platform for the Aquarium. It is hoped that the 3D background will have the performance hit on your video card of approximately 3 fish. Obviously, Jim is not psychic and so cannot guess just how complex the background will be. It was only after he delved into trying to add a Banggai Cardinal that he realized the 6 tentacles (in place of fins) simply required too much geometry for the current 3D fish engine.

Who is affected?
In the poll I mention above, the question was posed, if the new background added a large performance hit, would you
1) Be willing to switch off a few fish to keep the Aquarium running smoothly?
or even more drastic
2) Do you have, or have you considered buying a stronger 3D card to handle the more complex background?

Be aware that Jim has planned a 3D background from the beginning and taken great pains to maintain compatibility with older 3D cards. Somewhat to his chagrin, I hosted a poll to gauge people's opinions on how they would react if the new 3D background were a sizeable performance hit over the current versions. The reaction was overwhelmingly in support of Jim going forward with the 3D background.

Before we get panicky, let's realize that as Jim plans it now, the only people who would possibly see a sluggish Aquarium are users of ATI Rage, Rage Pro, early Matrox cards, and first-generation TnT RiVa owners (Diamond Viper 550, etc.). In all cases, a $25 used TnT Riva 2 or GeForce-class video card will definately future-proof your computer for at least the life cycle of the Aquarium. So far, I have not been disappointed with the Aquarium on my 16mb TnT Riva 1 card running at 1024x768. Some people might find 45fps a little low, but I'm quite content.

I hope this answered any fears, questions, concerns about the 3D background.

<font size=+1>Check out the The 3D Background Poll.</font>

[FrogMastr]

When we will have the 3d background with will it be Automatic? or we will have ability to stop the panning, and even have possibility to runn in Windows mode and have full tank?

I am talking here for those of us who use it as a program not a SS

[feldon34]

You will be able to stop the camera.

I don't think Jim would take away Windowed mode. People enjoy it too much. Although I'd guess that you'll have the choice of the entire width, or scaling the window horizontally to show as much or as little as you wish.