Beta 11i discussion
 

I see that the "statistics" display doesn't default to on.

Up and down arrows no longer do anything.

Limit frame rate still moves between two Sleep rates, but otherwise seems to work well.

Dang, that etched analog clock looks cool, too.

Oh, rats - I forgot to compile as a Beta. That's why the Stats don't default to ON.

No change to the Limit Frame Rate code. I'll probably do some more fine-tuning of that. Everything should be hooked up and working in the interfaces now. Added SereneScreen Logo to the two dialog boxes that were missing it.

I see the Logos.

Also, am testing the "Music On" feature in the Music Playlist screen. Looks good. Well, sounds good, too. :)

I notice when the sound is playing and you bring up the Music Playlist screen, the sound goes off. Not a problem though - when you return to the simulation the sound returns.

I see also that the "Play" and "Stop" only work within the Settings screen now, too.

So, one more beta (11j) and it is done?

Something like that. There are usually a lot of mini-releases at the end to fix little items that people find.

I'm trying to understand the new "Limit Frame Rate" option in the "Program Settings" menu screen.

When not checked, the program selects a default frame rate. (Using the "Sleep" equals 10 concept, I believe).

Otherwise, a user can use this to select, or force, a frame rate between 30 fps and 120 fps.


On my system the default (with Sleep as 10) gives me around a 111 fps. Up and down arrow keys no longer do anything, so the way to change this is through the Frame Rate selection.

However, I only get this default when I first open the program. If I open it (with the box not checked) and then select a Frame Rate, it gets close to the selected Frame Rate, fluctuating between two Sleep settings. Then, if I "uncheck" the selection, it does not return to the default 111 fps, but stays very close to the selected fps and no longer fluctuates between Sleep settings.

Is this something you are still "tweaking"?

Also, I'm not sure I fully understand the need for the Limit Frame Rate selection as I include it in the readme. Could you explain it a bit more?

Thanks.

...and I think they should do something. That is, there need to be hotkeys to adjust the frame rate.

Also, on the Statistics display - please remove the "Sleep" display. It's unnecessary.

Minor point: In the Clock and Logo panel, the new "Crystal is Off-Show Crystal" button is nice, and just what was needed. However I'm not sure the "casual user" will know there is a relationship between the Crystal and the Clock/Logo stuff. You're in the Clock/Logo panel, and there's this apparently unrelated button about a crystal. I'm not sure what to recommend about this, and it's perhaps too minor to worry about?

Hmm... maybe add the words "displayed on Crystal" at the top of the screen or something similar?

I was anticipating that if I unchecked the box, the frame rate would be "not limited". [Obviously, limited by the capabilities of my hardware).

That's not what I'm seeing.

Very minor point -

on the "Program Settings" menu, maybe switch the positions of the "Bubble Column" and "Show Crystal" check boxes.

This would put "Bubble Column" and "Bubble Sound" together.

Unchecking appears to revert to either a "default" which is initially calculated by the program or the last FPS or Sleep setting that it has calculated?

Dunno.

That's why I asked the question, although I do understand that Jim is still tweaking this.

CTRL-R (Reset all to default) observations:

Does not turn off statistics, and should do so.
Does not turn off "Start in Windowed Mode", and should do so.
Does not turn of "Wireframe mode", and should do so.
Does not change the "Limit Frame Rate" checkbox to whatever is the default, and should do so.
Does not (as well as I can determine) reset the "frame rate stuff" (TM) to whatever the default is. That used to be setting Sleep to 10, but it doesn't do that, or anything else that I can see.

That sounds like a lot of criticism and questions in a hurry, but:

It's nice!

Is the etched font going to be available in any color?.. Etched removes the second hand.. this permanent? Will the analog clock sport any colors other than black with white second hand..

Working on Frame Limit.

Ralph - The etched font is white, like it's etched into the crystal. It removes the second hand, because it's disturbing to see something moving when it's supposed to be carved into the glass. I thought about allowing colors with the analog clock, but then another interface would be needed, and I've got to draw the line somewhere.

Could the Limit Frame Rate default to 60 (ish) ? ... Or perhaps make 60 the maximum that can be selected? - As we have agreed many times in the past, anything higher than 60 is pointless, it only overheats the system and has no increased effect on quality.

If we are going to be nit-picking.... ;)
I don't personally consider this necessary, but for completeness the SereneScreen Logo is also missing from (my) Display Settings dialog box.

We have?

Some people can certainly perceive the difference between 60 and 80.

For most people, though, 45-60 is fine. I'd suggest a limit of 75.

Yes we have! :)

But 75 seems fine to me... (though 60 would be better)....
I just don't see the point of going up to 120 and constantly maxing-out the CPU usage at 100%, for no noticeable increase in quality.

With the new wave of 120-hz monitors and TVs, I thought that 120 would be a good upper limit. That way, someone with a very powerful system, which might be yielding 300 fps, could control overheating while matching their monitor's refresh rate.

Cliff - You are right about the the Multimonitor Settings box. I hadn't looked at it in years, and forgot that it doesn't have a logo. The way it stands right now, adding the logo would make it too tall. When in operation, is there a lot of space in the Video Adapter section, especially under "Rendering:"?

Jim, - Not a lot.... but here's a screen-grab...

Thanks, that helps. I can probably tighten that up a little.

I know this is a nit pick, but right away when I saw the cyst. analog, it seemed to be to low on the crystal. My change might have gone to far up, but also might look more centered.

http://i47.tinypic.com/14dnkh5.gif

Adjusted.

Jim, - I'm not sure you should adjust that clock. - Its apparent position on the crystal will depend on the viewpoint. - On my normal static viewing position it looks just about perfect, and its centring on the crystal will depend on its position as seen in (and from), during the scroll across the screen or screens.

Others may disagree. - But at its mid-scroll point, mine looks like this....

Hmm...

with the etched analog clock displayed, scroll all the way to the right. You'll see the clock well to the left of the crystal.

Now scroll to the left. As you do, you'll see the clock position move on the face of the crystal, but it never gets as much to the right.

So, moving the position a bit to the right would seem to make sense.

Moving it up just a little appears OK, too, since it does seem a little low.

Will have to see how the new positioning looks.

Now that JohnWho pointed it out, I see that the etched clock, digital clock, and calendar all appear to move across the face of the crystal. To me, it looks like the etched letters are nearer than the crystal - that is, above the face of the crystal.

Am I seeing things? In any case, should they move?

That's only when scrolling across one screen. It's different again when scrolling across two screens.
It's not going to look centred in all conditions, so I suggest it should look centred when in a central position.... which it does now.
So I say, leave well alone...... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


It's perfect, Jim, don't move it.... ;)

The "movement" across the crystal is less obvious at slower panning speeds and most noticeable when manually scrolling, from what I see. When manual scrolling, what Dale describes is arguably visible.

This is one of those "observational" things that we might not ever all agree on.

Other than the slight up and to the right placement of the analog etched clock, I'm not sure how much this perception is worth changing.

Just my 2 cents.

All the single monitor folks will experience what is described regarding the farthest right/farthest left view, so I would think that once corrected for the "extremes", it is the best it can be for everyone.

Not so. - It will be too far over if it is moved from its present position.

Also, everything 'on' the crystal has always appeared to 'move' relative to the whole, it's a 3D object!

The clock and logo graphics are only about 1/1000 of an inch above the face of the crystal. What you are seeing is part of the back and sides of the crystal, which change as you change your viewpoint. The crystal is fairly thick, and you are seeing the sides appear to move right or left as you view them through the transparent face. Also, the crystal is tilted back to catch some lightplay, which causes anything on the face to get skewed when viewed from far right or left. At first, I had embedded the graphics deep within the crystal, but the murky look was not pleasing.

Whoa!

That just, like, totally amazes me that you can place objects in the virtual tank with that much precision.


http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9918/bowingn.gif

I can design it even closer that that (down to 8 decimal places), but at a camera distance of 10 feet, DirectX sometimes gets confused as to which object is in front (floating-point precision errors).

First pic:- Farthest left on single monitor....... Second pic:- Farthest right on dual-monitors.

Wherever they are positioned is going to be a compromise for all items displayed on the crystal. - They are fine as they are now, IMO.

Yeah, I like the placement of the "non-etched" analog clock, too.

Cliff's two shots illustrate how closely the clock image is attached to the crystal surface. Look at the "2", which is very close to a chip in the edge of the face. Whether viewed from extreme right or left, it's still about the same distance from that chip.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Jim. When I look at it that way, it looks right.

Having some serious computer problems. Keeps rebooting. I may be off for a while.

Edit: Could be the power supply - I've got another one temporarily piggybacked onto the computer, and it seems to be working so far.

Edit2: Nope - after 3 hours without any trouble, I did the full power-supply transplant and buttoned up the case. After startup it began giving me trouble again, with graphics anomolies all over the screen, and lockups.

Could be a failing video card that's taking out the PS.

Hope you have good backups. Wouldn't want it to take out the HD too.