I kinda like those images, but they also remind me a lot of Robert Holdstock's 'Mythago Wood' - which was seriously too weird for me.

Hello! This is my very first post as a newly register. Have had your wonderful screensaver for many years now and I still continue to be amazed.

I don't know if this is easy or not, but while I look at the fish moving and almost believing they are real, I wait for one to get into the cave . That is my first wish if it would be easy to do.

Thank you again.

Welcome
 

Welcome to the forum SeaAquariumFan

The first time I saw Marine Aquarium for the Mac I knew I had to own it. It's the first screensaver I ever paid good hard cash for. From time to time I activate it again. It's a good thing.

Welcome to the Forum, SeaAquariumFan!

It is planned for fish to be able to swim into the cave - that's why it's there.

And welcome back, JB.

It is the first SS I ever bought, too!

Welcome to the forum. SeaAquariumFan

Same here. And WELCOME to the forum.

suggestion
 

Ive owned my Marine Aquarium for several years and enjoy it immensely, it lacks but one thing to make it real. I need to be able to feed the fish! I would suggest at the push of the f key a pellet would drop into the tank and begin to float down, the software would then randomly choose a fish or several fish(also random) to go after the food and appear to eat it at which point the food would disappear as it ate it. this would provide great enjoyment to me and my girls who also love to play with the program, constantly changing the lighting, fish and bubbles. I own v 2.0. I reviewed 3.0 but it said nothing about feeding the fish so I thought I would suggest it.

It's planned.

I would like to see some if not most of the fish stop and float several seconds then scatter when one moves fast like real fish instead of constant motion. Also would like to see about half of the fish going near the tunnel under the white coral to have two way traffic through it. Third would like another bubble stream at the back of the tank that can be spread across from small to actually be able to cover the entire blue background if desired by the user. Thanks

AI, not the movie
 

So, Jim, how are you at coding up AIs ?

Zayna Sheline - All of that is planned.

JB - Not very good. I worked on the new fish movements for several months, but couldn't maintain the momentum. I'll take another run at it when I get a chance.

Can you make a deal with Dream Aquarium?
 

Your tank is better and their fish are the bomb. Buy rights to use their fish and get them to finish the cave work. I've waited three years to see you cannot. Both programs could share the profits and I would buy it. They have the most realistic fish movements I've ever seen and I really like your new tank. Thanks. Maybe someday you might have seahorses conceived then being born. I hear it is quite unique.

Even if I were able to work with others, transplanting fish from one program to another would be (for me) about like transplanting a kidney.

You need a fish pump.. they use them all the time on the West Coast fisheries, transfer a whole ship load of fish in mere minutes.

Turtle
 

Hi,
I just discovered this screensaver, and it's great!
I'd like to know if can be added turtles.
Thank you

balazslaci - Welcome to the Forum. Sorry, no turtles.

And you don't plan for the future? I'm asking because turtles are my favorits.
Thank you

Remember that Jim's work represents an aquarium, not the ocean. The kind of turtles you are asking about wouldn't fit. :)

And once again Welcome to the forum, and we hope you are enjoying being here. For a look at some fish/creatures that have already been requested look here.

balazslaci's request is not new! .... :) ...... He must be a true turtle fan. :cool:

https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...2438#post62438
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...2439#post62439
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...2473#post62473
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...706#post119706
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...713#post119713

..... Now that's what you call persistence and dedication to turtles! :)

That's how I am about Seahorses :D

:)

hello

i'm new to the forum but have been a huge ma fan since the beginning - i gladly purchased ma3 beta as soon as i found it available and love it.

i'm wondering if the distance to the back of the tank could be user adjustable - allowing the fish to swim farther into the background.

Welcome to the forum, pwaitzman. Our good Jim Sachs gets plenty of suggestions for MA3. I mean it started as a 2D still tank, has evolved to a 3D moving aquarium, and now people are asking for an ocean filled with turtle, seahorses, and so forth. It's a nice problem to have!

pwaltzman - Welcome to the Forum. Regarding your request - sorry, but that won't be possible. It took over a year to create the 3D background, and the positions are highly critical. If anything moves even a small amount, holes open up in the scenery from certain camera angles.

One would get the same illusion if the fish size was determined by how close they were to the "front".. or one could mimic the effect by changing the transparency of the water. Making a fish semi disappear when in the back..
All major headaches to code I am sure..

Jim,

A while ago there was a discussion about the intensity/strobe effect of the light reflections. Some people thought it was great as it is, and others thought it was too much. Personally, I thought it was perfect in MA2.

A suggestion would be to include a slider adjustment for this within the background color adjustment tab your working on now. What are your thoughts about this?

Ralph - Could you clarify what you mean by the size being determined by the distance from the camera? Because that's exactly what has always happened since MA1. The fish are 3D objects, so they get smaller as they recede from the camera. Here's a random shot of two fish at differing distances, showing a tremendous size difference.

Please let me know if this is not what you are talking about, because this has been mentioned so many times over the years that I really wonder what people expect to see.

Jim if you didn't move the coral, but made a distance adjustment where it just allowed greater depth in the open space above the coral where the fish got even smaller like above would that mess up anything?

Jim.. yes that was what I was talking about.. Making the fish smaller as they recede from the camera... I was not aware this was already taking place :erm: The process just looked very natural to me without being aware why.

Personally I'm not sure what the benefit would be, but maybe it could be done.

Overall what Jim does is like a magician. They entice you into watching one hand while the other one does what they want it too to fulfill and create the illusion.

That's what Jim does as well. The positioning and look of the tank is all illusion. Move one object, even slightly and it's ruined.

Overall I'm not sure what deepening the tank would accomplish. Basically there might be something there just because of the fact that farther away means smaller and less detail, which equals "easier" as far as slight of hand so to speak. The question's are -

1) Is there anything Jim wants to accomplish that would be made easier by doing it back there?

2) Is anything going to get broken by doing it?

Let's remember - it's called "Marine AQUARIUM", not "Marine Ocean".

Aquariums, at least the commercial, decorative type, aren't very deep. Certainly not deep enough for a fish to swim toward the back and disappear into the murky depths. While we can't see the back of MA3, visually it appears that there is about as much space between the back of the coral and the back of the aquarium as there is in the front. That being the case, I suspect that the size difference that we see between a fish in the front and then in the back is what the developer has determined through actual observation, or maybe slightly increased for effect.

When you add this to the "3D effect" of the panning viewpoint you get a reasonably realistic feeling of depth.

I give it two :TU: :TU:, mainly because that's all the thumbs I've got.

Unless it's a custom tank, the most depth you usually see is 24 inches, in rare occasions on very large tanks it might go up to 30".

Jav and JohnWho are totally correct in their assessments - It's an aquarium 24 inches deep, and that's how far the fish can go.

IMHO.... The very simple addition of a darker background is all that's required to give just that little extra impression of depth.

.... And we will very soon all have that option! ... :)

A mirrored background does that even better, though I'm not suggesting Jim add that.

I left 2.6 on my vista laptop. Love how night and day interacts.. Underwater backgrounds are tough because in the ocean the background just fades out. With tropical fish the scene is more direct then real life landscape, if that makes any sense. Just like the background of my puffer avatar.

I think the background is good now....maybe some higher gravel fading out away from the main scene, or taller swaying plants. If the starfish gets reintroduced....that would be great. I know it has to do with the light transition in the older version.

What! not a single comment from Jim, or anyone else. :sad:

OK, I understand - silence is worth a thousand words. :)

I'll delete this post and the original suggestion in the morning. ;)

Pirates chest and other trinkets have been discussed years ago.. Jim was "strongly" opposed I seem to recall.

harris - Sorry, you are not being intentionally ignored, I just avoid this thread unless absolutely necessary. I'll see how much trouble it would be to change the lightplay intensity.

JohnWho - The treasure chest is in the Freshwater Aquarium. People involved with saltwater tanks are generally purists who don't want any toys in the tank. Things are a little looser in the freshwater community, and the bubbling tresure chest is almost a must-have.

Actually I think I would like to see an option for slower gentler lightplay in the tank. Never thought about it until harris' suggestion but yes. It would be a nice new wrinkle and maybe help with the illusion of depth that has been discussed.