As I said, via KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switches. As far as the video cards and Windows are concerned, there is always a monitor hooked up to the output of each card and they are completely unaware of the switching. These switches are external to the computer itself and reside on the video cables.

Oh, that's what KVM means :)
I'm not entirely sure that the system is not being confused by this. Even though the switches are external, the data flows two ways. When the system is booted up, it senses what type type of monitor is attached to what video card, and fills in a database of capabilities. I don't know if DirectX is smart enough to sense a change in configuration.

Just grasping at straws here, but that's what happens when I'm looking right at something which would seem impossible. The code seems very clear - if the object shows up at all on a monitor, it should be moving. It's like counting your fingers, and coming up with 11. Logic says it can't be right, but there it is...

While I was sure that is not the case here, I've done enough trouble shooting in the past to want to double check. I just shut down my main system and restarted it, all with the switches configured to leave the 3rd monitor connected throughout. It made no difference.


:lol: Been there, done that, have the missing hair on top to show for it. If it would help, I can put together a full set of facts about this system so you know the exact configuration. The part that gets me is that while the scene is panning, the gorgonia moves properly as far as the slight perspective shifting. It's just missing the motion you added in to simulate current/surf conditions. I'm not familiar with 3D rendering programs but I'm going to assume that means the camera motion is being properly rendered. I don't know if that is of any help though.

That's what is so spooky. The 3D objects show up in their proper places, but are stuck in time. For example, who set that clock at midnight? Not me. The only time I set the clock is when I read the system time, do the calculations to turn it into arcs of motion and set the hands at that location in 3D space. I always assume that I will be able to read the system time. I have no code in place which says, "If you can't read the system time, set the clock to midnight." If anything, it should show some random time indicating whatever numbers happened to be in the bytes it tried to get the info from.

Is the bubble column animating on that monitor?
Do F1-F2 and F3-F4 change the background colors?

Yes to both questions. The lighting effects all appear to be working fine and the motion of the fish and bubble column appear normal. Here's a quick screenshot with all three screens set to render the same image (easier to make "side-by-side" comparisons. Note the slightly different positioning of the gorgonia and the time in the righthand display.

http://webpages.charter.net/rlsimon/screencap3.jpg

Just tried MA3Beta.zip, the second posting with clock, downloaded to my desktop just to keep it seperated from the installer version. The "C" key does not bring up the clock but the "L" key still work for changing logos. In the settings window the version is T125.3.0.4727. Is that right.

I was able to correct my own problem. I tried the clock version on my laptop with success and found the version to be T130-3-0-5097. I copies that version to my desktop computer and now have the right verson and it runs and looks great. I can't figure out why the download from my desktop was the wrong version.

I also agree with the previous post that the clock would look just a touch better if it could be moved a little to the left on the crystal.

Great work, looking forward to future add-ins.

Rick- thanks for the info and the pics. Maybe there's a clue in there somewhere.

Vince,

Although the long version number (T130-3-0-5097) is useful in certain circumstances, if you press the S key, you'll see that the previous beta and installer version are both 8k. The clock version is Beta 9.

Quick question, sorry if I missed this somewhere but, where do we download Beta 9 from, and can we just install new betas over eachother or should we be uninstalling previous versions before we test new ones?

Thanks!!!

Morgan's right. Every time either Edgar or I compile the program, that long number automatically gets bumped up - whether there have been changes or not. A hundred times a day, I'll try experiments which don't work, then revert back to the original code.

But the Beta version number is something that I have to deliberately alter, so I only change it when I actually have something new.

jroseone - each version is a fully self-contained version that does not rely on any previous version.

Sorry Jim not sure exactly what you mean.

The last Beta I tested was 8K with installer, is there a Beta 9 with installer for us to test?

If so where do we download it from and should we uninstall 8k or can we just install new beta's over eachother?

Or do you mean each one will install seperately and therefore there would be multiple versions of the SS if we don't uninstall older ones?

The Installer will change approximately once a month. These will be "milestone" releases.

However you can expect there to be interim updates from every few days to a week apart.

You are welcome to download these updates whenever you wish.

Keep in mind that the Marine Aquarium Installer isn't like most installers that make huge modifications to your computer, registry, program files, data folders, etc.

You can download MA3Beta.zip and extract it over top of your existing Aquarium and you're done. You don't need to uninstall, install, or do any further steps.



If there was a way I could do it without earning Jim's ire, I'd create a separate, automatic updater stub for the Aquarium. It would be labeled as clearly as possible that this is a separate application not endorsed by Jim. And it would download the Aquarium from the fan site rather than serenescreen.com, saving bandwidth.

The "official" version on the SereneScreen website will be updated periodically when we have stable code with new features. That version includes an installer, and is called Marine Aquarium 3.

The versions which I make available here on the Forum are for testing features that I am trying out (currently the clock). These versions are named MA3Beta, and have no installer. When you download these, you can place them anywhere you want (I use the Desktop), and just double-click the icon to run them.

Ok got you Jim, so we will continue testing new betas the same way we have been.

As for the The "official" version on the SereneScreen website updates, as those become available, will we be notified and can we just install them over previous versions?

Starting several beta versions back I have been unable to get the logo to switch. I have the installer version (8k) installed and downloaded (9) to see the clock. I can get the clock to work with 'c' but the logo is not switching. I see some people are not having problems and other people do have problems.

1. What is the current name of the alternate logo? Is it still AltLogo.png?
2. Is there now a correct location for this file to be placed. In the past I found it was required in different locations.

All my computers are XP SP3.

Logs are still named AltLogo.png however they have to be placed here to work:

C:\Documents and Settings\My Name\AppData\Roaming\Marine Aquarium 3

There is a thread dedicated to this called Crystal logo issues. https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...ead.php?t=4710

Where do we download beta 9 from?

Beta9, and all "BetaBetas", will always be at http://www.fish-byte.com/MA3Beta.zip.

Regarding your previous questions: There will be announcments here in the Forum, and they can be installed over previous versions.

I know that many are wondering why there are so few announcements and so little hoopla regarding MA3. You'd have to look pretty closely at the SereneScreen homepage to even notice that it's talking about MA3 instead of MA2.6 now.

MA3 is still a Beta program, and many things have changed very quickly in the whole website/order-processing chain. We'd really rather have these initial orders trickle in while we test the whole system, instead of a deluge of activity. SereneScreen.com already gets 10,000-12,000 hits a day even in these low-volume times, so we want to make sure the new servers are up to a ten-fold increase.

Once everything is running smoothly and I get a few more features in the program, things will change dramatically. I'm designing a radically different website for SereneScreen which is more in keeping with the direction I want to take the brand.

Thanks jroseone,

That worked. I am not using roaming profiles so my location was:

"C:\Documents and Settings\[User Profile]\Application Data\Marine Aquarium 3"