Why does my Starfish stay on the bottom of the "tank"?

[Crazy4Dogs]

Hi Everyone!

Before I ask my question, May I send my sincere wishes for a very Blessed Easter....Hallelujah....HE IS RISEN!!! And also may I convey my best wishes to all of my Jewish Friends a very Blessed Passover.

Now to my question;

I absolutely LOVE my "aquarium" (even though I'd like a bit less immovable stuff and then be able to add maybe 3-4 TINY, colorful saltwater fish in addition to the 6 I'm allowed), but I digress......I find watching the "tank" VERY relaxing, and I was looking forward to seeing the Starfish climb up on the clock......but he only stays on the floor of the "tank". I checked the box that says "Allow the starfish to go on the clock", but it NEVER has.....what am I doing wrong?????

I even removed the clock from the scene by using one of the keyboard commands, but my beautiful little Starfish is STILL on the bottom of the "tank" moving ever so slowly, gracefully and realistically.

Am I confused about the Starfish being able to climb up the anemones, mosses, etc. to reach the clock, or do I need to change one of my settings?

Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions.

Gratefully,
Crazy4Dogs

[Tiny Turtle]

You should turn on "Automatic lights" for the starfish to find its way off the gravel. This as the transition from vertical to horizontal proved not to look satisfactory to Mr. Sachs so instead our favorite echinoderm sneaks up in the (brief) cover of darkness...

/Tiny Sneak

[Dale]

[quote=Crazy4Dogs
...
I checked the box that says "Allow the starfish to go on the clock", but it NEVER has.....what am I doing wrong?????
...

Gratefully,
Crazy4Dogs[/QUOTE]

Where is that box? I can't find it (version Q216.2.6.439). All I can find is a box that says "Starfish allowed on glass." Where am I missing it?

[feldon34]

I've never heard of this mysterious "starfish on the clock" feature. Maybe an April Fool's? Starfish on the Glass is predicated on Automatic Lights being on. It has to be total darkness for a brief moment for the starfish to get up onto the glass.

[Jim Sachs]

Nope, the starfish can't go on the clock, since the clock doesn't exist in 3D (it's part of the background picture).

[Crazy4Dogs]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for answering my question.....I TOTALLY misunderstood what checking the box about the starfish meant!

To "Dale".....you are absolutely right; it doesn't say "clock" at all....it says "Starfish allowed on glass".........I thought 'glass' was referring to the irregular piece of glass where the clock, date, calendar and logo appears...I'm embarrassed for being a dumbbell.

By 'glass', does it mean THAT 'glass', or does it mean the front of the virtual 'tank', so that I could see the underside of the Starfish?

To "Tiny Turtle".....I changed the settings to 'Automatic Lights' and I watced it for about 30 minutes, (being disabled and at at home, I don't have to worry about a Boss sneaking up on me ), and one of its' "peds' DID show its' underside on my monitor, but I guess several hours at 'Automatic lights' will make much more of a change. And BTW, I think having a "Tiny" Sea Turtle in the tank would be a terrific addition for the future!

To Mr. Sachs.......first of all I offer you my sincere gratitude for creating this EXQUISITELY enchanting and realistic environment that I get to share my home with!!! It is more than just realistic and beautiful.....it is also a non-medicinal stress and pain reliever! It brings me hours of joy and relief from pain.....thank you! (I also bought the Goldfish program, too...it's beautiful, too!) My question to you concerning the Starfish is if I keep the lighting in the tank a bit darker than the settings that I like, (I have the two sliders more to the right, with the foreground more to the right....it's basically a BEAUTIFUL medium Royal Blue..... and I can see the fish and their true colors and still see the lighting flicker as the water ripples, and I see and hear the bubbles clearly. If I made the front of the tank a bit darker, would it make the Starfish behave differently?

Thank you to EVERYONE who responded to my question, and I look forward to getting more feedback....I especially want to know what the "glass" is in the "Starfish allowed on glass" selection! Is it the clock? Or is it the "tank"?

I happily await for your very helpful and friendly explanations, as well as other hints you might have.

I decided about 3 years ago to teach myself how to use a computer since I've been permanently disabled since 1988. I thought it would be a great way to learn and keep in touch with friends, etc., so I don't understand at least 100 TONS of computer basics. I'm learning as I go, and I've seen more 'BSODs' than any of you probably have....but making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. It's also a great way to meet new friends like all of you.....I visit more Forums for help than I care to count!!

I truly am glad I found THIS Forum....you've ALL been so kind and helpful. Thank you, too, for your patience with me....I really appreciate it!

Gratefully;
Crazy4Dogs

[Jim Sachs]

The glass being referred to is the front glass of the tank. Some people don't like to see the starfish suspended on the glass, so I gave them the option of turning this feature off. There's no smooth way for the starfish to make the transition from the floor to the glass, so I only let it happen when the lights are completely off. Like all the creatures, the movement of the starfish is random, but if it is moving toward the front glass and happens to touch it when the automatic lights have the foreground totally dark, then it will switch to the glass. Same goes for switching back to the floor. So if the lights never go off, it will never switch.

[Jav400]

Glass refers to the front "glass" of the tank, and you will get to see the bottom of the starfish when he gets there.

I'm glad you are enjoying the aquarium so much, and that you found our forum. Don't be shy about asking questions about either the aquarium or general computer questions. ( those should go in the gaming/Hardware software forums ), we will be more than glad to help you with those as well. We have alot of computer guru's here and should be able to help with whatever you run into.

Once again Welcome to our forum and I hope you enjoy your time here.

PS. Looks like Jim answered while I was typing.

[Crazy4Dogs]

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for the help and clarification about the Starfish & glass.

Also, a BIG 'Thank You' for the nice Welcome.....it's always a pleasure to meet such nice people! I love your 2 programs, and I'm proud to own them ....they are SO REALISTIC!!!!

Your forum is also beautifully set up.....the Navy Blue and Royal Blue colors with the turquoise and lime-green accents make me feel like I'm writing in the ocean in a bathescape!!......(not sure if that's the correct spelling; but it's one of those things that they send explorers to the bottom of the sea in...Jacques Cousteau, (RIP) used them a lot, but with his heavy French accent, I sometimes had trouble getting the words right......I hope my French teacher isn't on this forum!!

Thanks again, Everyone!

Best Regards;
Crazy4Dogs

[ESHIREY]

Yes, Welcome to the forums.

[Crazy4Dogs]

You're Welcome!

Crazy4Dogs

[patscarr]

Welcome to the forum Crazy!

[Crazy4Dogs]

Thanks for the Welcome, patscarr!!

Are those 2 little beauties YOUR doggies???? They're such cuties....what breed are they, and what are their names?

Crazy

[patscarr]

Yes, they are two of my babies. On the left is Lucky. She's a five year old Yokshire Terrier (the big kind). On the right is Jacqueline, named for my wife's favorite niece. She's a mutt that followed me home from work one day. You can see lots more pictures of them and my other children if you click My Homepage link. How many do you have?

[Crazy4Dogs]

Well, Pat....right now, we have a 21 month old BEAUTIFUL golden retriever-spaniel and who-knows what-else mixed breed dog that we rescued from "Animal Friends" (a NO-KILL Shelter that's been located in Pittsburgh for decades). His name is, "Jasper", and I love him to pieces!!! He is the fourth dog that we've had, the first three were ''American Eskimos"....my avatar is the picture of our last dog, "Sugar Bear" who died on February 9, 2004 after a long bout with cancer and being an insulin-dependent diabetic....he was about 4 months shy of his 12 th Birthday when he died. His litter-mate brother, "Kodiak", died approximately 18 months before him....from bone cancer that required months of chemo, but it metastasized quickly, and he died on October 13, 2001 . Our American Eskimo dog before them, "Lather" was our 1st dog, and he died of cancer, too, but he was almost 14 years old when he died.

After our last 'Eskie'....."Sugar Bear" died of cancer, we started to wonder if this breed was prone to cancer, so after the lengthy grieving process was over and my incessant nagging to my husband ), we decided to adopt a shelter dog who NEEDED a home, so we met the litter that "Jasper" was in at his foster home, (they make all their puppies that are going to put up for adoption stay in a home environment, and the 'foster family' watches them for any possible behavioral problems...isn't that great?!). We walked into the lady's back yard where "Jasper" and his brother and sister were staying, and she brought them all out at the same time. "Jasper" ran DIRECTLY TO ME and started licking me.....needless to say it was love at first sight, and after we passed the extensive scrutiny application (something that ALL prospective adoptive "parents" have to go through to make sure that the animal(s) will live in a good home) "Jasper" was given his first round of vaccinations; was dewormed; tested for heartworm & other diseases; was Micro-chipped; and was neutered, and when he had healed we could bring him home!! (ALL of those procedures are INCLUDED in the adoption donation..."Animal Friends" really have their act together, and the animals are ALL well taken care of when in their care. What a joy he is....I'll never get a dog from a Breeder again.....I feel Blessed to have a dog who needs me as much as I need him.

We also have a 20-year-old "White Crowned Pionus" parrot (about the size of Robin, but with a shorter tail)...his name is "Augie"....he says a few words....screams loudly when he can't see me....and then bites me hard enough to cause bruising and bleeding.....we have a love-hate relationship!!! "Jasper" is able to reach him when "Augie" is sitting in his seed-catcher tray, and "Augie" says either "hi", or 'hello" to him...."Jasper" licks him, and "Augie" tries to feed "Jasper"! However, if "Augie" climbs down his ladder and is on the floor, "Jasper's" instincts kick in and her tries to paw him. Needless to say, we NEVER leave them alone together.....a 20-year-old bird who only weighs several ounces would make a 'snack' for a dog with hunting and retrieving in him by his nature.

Now aren't you sorry you asked about my 'babies'......I didn't mean to be so lengthy, but I'm just a proud "mommy" who has a propensity to ramble on and on......I apologize.....especially since this is a FISH Forum!!! Maybe we should start a new forum where members can discuss OTHER species.

To the Moderators and all subscribers to this Forum.......again, I apologize for getting off-topic.

I'll shut up now....I'm sure you're all bored to tears.

Crazy4Dogs

[patscarr]

No apologies necessary. Feel free to post pictures in the Gallery. I'd love to see them.

[Wizwad]

Or you guys could just move this discussion to the Coffee House and natter on for as long as you wish!

Morgan, would you be up for doing the necessary?

[Tiny Turtle]

C4D probably doesn't even see the Coffee House as she's only accumulated eight posts so far...

[feldon34]

I've relaxed that requirement to, I think, 4 posts and 2 days.

[Tiny Turtle]

Ok. Good to know.