Simple additions
 

I'm planning to work on some simple additions to MA3, like allowing the user to change the digital clock colors.

Many of these requests have been lost in the labyrinth of the Forum, so if you have a pet easily-implemented feature, please re-list it here.

Points mentioned so far:

• Bug fixes - Yes (if I can pinpoint exactly what the bug is).
• Fading between logos - Yes.
• New background color interface - Yes.
• Multiple bubble columns - Borderline(-).
• Starfish on glass - Remote.
• New critters - No (I haven't even finished the re-do of the old critters yet).
• More Featherdusters - Borderline(-)
• Clock-Logo enhancements - Probably.

Its difficult for users to know what to you is simple and what isn't.

But one that I would say would benefit everyone would be adjustable background lighting/coloring.

That one's borderline, but I'll see what I can do.

multiple bubble columns/curtain

Yes, adjustable background lighting/colours.
Yes, moveable or multiple bubble column/columns.
Two or three additional feather dusters? (Tubeworms do look more natural in groups) This was in fact agreed to here!
Starfish on glass?

On the crystal, when one display changes suddenly to another and jarrs the attention, would it be easy to implement a fade out / fade in from one to the next? (e.g. fade out duration 0.5s, maybe blank for 0.5s, fade in duration 0.5s?)

Are bug fixes included in your plans?

If so, fix the one from this thread: https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...ead.php?t=5164

Re: borderline --
"Automatic lights. There will soon be a greatly expanded interface for customizing the background colors. "

This is a great idea. And you never know, that Eureka moment might come while the pressure is off. I'm okay with the lighting as is, because the registry hack is very simple, but it does seem to be of great importance to a lot of people. Having said that I'd rather have moveable multiple bubble columns or a new critter first.

I vote for a new critter too.

Bug fixes - Yes (if I can pinpoint exactly what the bug is).
Fading between logos - A good chance.
New lighting interface - Borderline(+).
Multiple bubble columns - Borderline(-).
Starfish on glass - Remote.
New critters - No (I haven't even finished the re-do of the old critters yet).

Some people had asked for different fonts for the clock too, including an etched effect.

If critters are out does that include what Cliff asked for-- more than one feather duster worm?


Edit: Sorry for being a picky Nicki, because apart from the request for the critter, these are all other peoples suggestions ;), a few people also had mentioned that the gravel on the extreme right side of the tank is a bit too straight.

Regarding "changing background colors" -

the F1 -F4 keys do it a little now.

How about a "auto rotate" through the current upper and lower background shades?

Is that less of a problem than a "new lighting interface".

You are talking about Automatic Lights, which would be part of the new lighting interface.

This topic, "Simple additions", could be just what MA3 has needed. - I've been searching around for some time now in my remaining brain cell, to see if I could come up with some approach or other, that might kick-start some progress into Jim's ongoing updating problems. - Then yesterday, we get, as Nicki so well described it.... a Eureka moment!.... Jim himself, starting a new thread, requesting our suggestions for easily-implemented features. - If this goes the way I hope it will, and if we can somehow dissuade some members from introducing the very things that Jim will be put off by. - then this just might be the start of something productive.

Let's all try to avoid resurrecting yet again, old might-be-bugs, that are more likely to be OS or third-party related, and just stick to the type of requests that Jim has indicated, - ie, "Simple additions to MA3, like allowing the user to change the digital clock colours." etc!

It's not often we get Jim coming to us asking us for ideas, it's usually the other way around. - This may all result in only minor additions or changes, but if they can be implemented easily, it could mean a step forward for MA3. After what I think we all will agree has been too long a period of Jim slaving away at his apparently never ending struggles, whilst we just moan or pester for the impossible.

I wish this topic every success, Jim. - If you do manage to succeed in revisiting and implementing some long awaited additions or changes, however small or few in number, I'm sure that not only will MA3 and its ever impatient following benefit, - but you also might return to the new fish models and all their accompanying difficulties, with renewed vigor!

I promise not to mention new critters again :p

Bravo, Cliff. That's the spirit I was looking for. I know that there have been requests where my response was something like "That doesn't sound too hard, I'll consider it", but I can't remember most of them. I started this thread in hopes that the folks who made those suggestions would jog my memory.

Jim,

I edited your first post and listed what has been mentioned so far - along with your response. Hopefully this will make it easier on you to keep up with what is discussed since you only have to refer to your original post for the list.

Can we have a response on the Feather Dusters? ... ;)

Borderline (-). It would mean tearing into the background again, which means many days of plugging holes.

I know it says "remote," but I hope you can put "Borderline(+)" after "Starfish on glass."

Remote would probably be the equivalent of Borderline(---).

Dale - regarding your post #7, are we sure that bug wasn't fixed already? My notes include the line "Beta10c - fixed default music write-path problem"

The issue with the starfish on the glass, as you know, was in the past it happened in the dark.

What has occurred to me (which I've posted before) is that one animation could be built of the starfish climbing up onto the glass. That's not the hard part. The hard part is you never know what angle the starfish will be rotated when it wants to climb up onto the glass.

My thought for this was that the animation would start with the starfish at a specific position and rotation.

Before the starfish can climb up, one of the 5 arms has to be touching the glass. Then there would be a "morph" to get the arms to line up with the starting point of the 'climb' animation. Then invisibly, the starfish would rotate around so that it lines up with the correct rotation that it needs to be to match the animation.

It might look a little clunky before it's received some tuning, but having the starfish slowly climb would be very cool. ;)

Jim it might be a interim solution, but just to get the starfish on the glass to satisfy users until you do the actual work where people can see it get there - make it go on the glass while the aquarium is dollied to the other side of the aquarium.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't work for windowed or multi-monitor layouts where there is no scrolling.

Previously, getting the starfish onto the glass didn't work for folks who had automatic lighting disabled.

Rick,

:dunce::dunce:

Somehow it sounded better in my head.

Of course I only use one monitor as well.

Yes, we are sure.

A. The thread referenced in Post #7 was started December 2009. Well after 10c and 10d.

B. See (for a start) post #20 in the referenced thread. Summary: modal differences in behavior between simulation mode and screensaver preview mode.

A really simple addition...
 

Until the adjustable background lighting/colouring can be implemented, the registry hack that Jim gave us some time ago is relatively simple to make, assuming you don't mind monkeying around in the registry.

However, for those who prefer the simple life ;), download and run the following little script and it will do this for you... BackgroundColor.reg
Using the function keys F1 to F4 will simply return the colours back to the current MA3 defaults.

The BackgroundBottomColor ff113111 and BackgroundTopColor ff000040 in the script can be changed to whatever you want.
But those two values give a rather nice effect, IMHO. (See below...)

No problem! After giving it some thought, it's a bit thornier an issue than I at first thought. You could possibly only have the starfish move onto/off of the glass while not within the visible area, but that might create some jarring visuals. Consider a scenario like this... user is running a dual monitor setup which still allows for panning but the panning just barely hides the lefthand area where the starfish lives before it returns. At the rate of movement the starfish normally moves at, for it to move completely onto the glass in the relatively few seconds that the area would be hidden, would not be life-like at all.

In order for this to qualify as a "simple" thing to do, I think Jim only has one of two options...

1) place a user option in the settings to allow for always showing the starfish either on the glass, or off of the glass. That way the end user could select where they want the starfish to appear. Not a very good solution, but probably the easiest since it avoids the entire transition problem.

2) work out a light cycling solution and transition the starfish in the same way as in v2.

Of course, both of these depend on the routines for displaying the starfish on the glass already being in place. If Jim has to do more work to add that in, then I doubt the starfish on glass CAN be added in as a "simple" addition.

3) When MA3 starts, starfish is (randomly? alternately?) in one of the two modes, and stays in that mode.

OK! How about we compromise and say that the starfish can be set to a)floor b)glass or c)random in the settings?

:) ;)

I think that would be excellent, and probably acceptable to almost everybody. And it "solves" a particularly tough animation, too. It can't be easy to smoothly transition from the sand to the glass (even if you're a starfish).

What if there was some turbulence when the starfish wanted to climb up the glass..Perhaps a release of bubbles that would make a temporary local cloud. when it dissolved the starfish is on the glass, same routine when it wants to come off.

Wow - which button do I press to make all that happen? :)

It's called the "Any" key.

Ah, you are talking about the

"wishing star" fish!

:lol:

A desk top short cut

In one of the settings columns could you add a icon (for a better word) so that a desk to short cut can be made.

As you might know I lost my Desk top Icon how??? It took me a long while to find a link program hidden in my C:\ windows etc plus I was getting very frustrated.

Even if the Short Cut is removed it can be easily replaced

I hope this is one worth considering.

Secondly a quick and easy method of selecting your own music.

Flip/Keith:):)

The Aquarium has a music playlist feature.

A really simple addition
 

Cliff.
I like your choice of the background top colour and would want to replicate it.
My registry shows the following which does not seem to fully relate to your suggested entries.
"BackgroundTopColor Reg_DWORD 0xff5599ff(4283800063)"
I opened your script with WordPad. I could not find Jim's registry hack.

A really simple addition...
 

clifdene,
You are quite correct!... that is what the entry looks like in the registry, but you only need to change the hexadecimal number.

If you make the change in the registry itself....
Change only the six digit number after the ff, to the hexadecimal number for the colour you want. DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE. (And don't forget the ff)
And if you use or change the script, it MUST be in the style shown in that script, ie... "BackgroundTopColor"=dword:ff000040

For the record... here's - Jim's registry hack!