Marine Aquarium 3 Comments & Appreciation - Page 14

Jim Sachs · 01-30-2009, 02:36 PM

Hmmm.. Zip must have grabbed the wrong file. I'll look into it.

OK, try downloading again. http://www.fish-byte.com/MA3Beta.zip

cjmaddy · 01-30-2009, 02:47 PM

Nothing here.

Jim Sachs · 01-30-2009, 02:59 PM

Should be uploaded properly now. Getting lightheaded from hunger. Going out for chocolate pie.

Rainyfly · 01-30-2009, 03:11 PM

Love the clock!

Thanks Jim

Nicki · 01-30-2009, 03:28 PM

Mmmmmm.... piiiiiiiiiiiie ( drools like Homer Simpson ) . Glad you went for the analog clock first . It's class - and may confuse the under 20's (jk) .

Derrek · 01-30-2009, 03:39 PM

IMO I think the clock would look better with 'etched' numbers, so that the numbers appear to be etched on the surface of the crystal. The black numbers remind me of peel and stick numeral stickers you would find at a craft store.

jleslie · 01-30-2009, 03:50 PM

My comments on the clock are as follows:

I think the hands should be distinguished better, the hours and minutes do tend to merge together a bit when they're close. Suggestion - red seconds hand and mid/dark grey for mins/hours.

I find the flashing reflections of the lighting from the numbers not too serene (quite the opposite). Could the numbers be made less reflective (perhaps more 3D too)?

IMHO, of course.
John

Nicki · 01-30-2009, 03:59 PM

To Jim - thankyou . What you said in another post is so right , this whole Beta testing thing has been a blast with new goodies all the time .

To Jav400 - maybe you could post a picture of that ?

Jim Sachs · 01-30-2009, 06:27 PM

John - I plan on making many different clock styles available. This was just an experiment to get the math right.

enigma63941 · 01-30-2009, 08:33 PM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

If you really want to, I won't stop you

Keycodes for version 3 are available already?

Jim Sachs · 01-30-2009, 08:53 PM

Yep.

jleslie · 01-31-2009, 04:06 AM

Jim - I thought that was probably the case on the clock, but decided I'd add some comments in case of any use, e.g. others weren't getting the shimmering effect.

Nicki · 01-31-2009, 07:56 AM

John - I hadn't noticed the shimmering until you mentioned it , so it's good that you did . We will probably have a choice between matte and shiny - yes ?

Jav400 · 01-31-2009, 09:47 AM

Butters,

For the life of me I can't find the .png file now, but that was long ago and a hard drive crash ago as well. I'll keep looking for the actual file, but here is the original post when I first did it for a crystal before.

https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...&postcount=146

Nicki · 01-31-2009, 11:42 AM

That's great Jav ( is it okay to call you Michael ? ) , thanks for looking it up for me . Maybe I could get my friend Mel to recreate it , she's brilliant with PSP and as nutty about Stargate as I am , although she's more a Daniel/Vala shipper than Jack/Sam . Space Channel ( here in Canada ) is showing Continuum tonight - though I already have the dvd of course .

Nicki .

rps · 01-31-2009, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

John - I plan on making many different clock styles available. This was just an experiment to get the math right.

Hmmm... seems that the numbers on the clock are a "constant"; you could, in theory, put moving clock hands on the face of any .png file... (including one supplied by the user)

That said, I think I prefer the "stuttering" second hand (that advances the next second, pauses, then advances to the next, etc.) to the constantly-moving "sweep" second hand. The constant motion of the sweep hand just doesn't strike me as very "serene".

Just one user's opinion...

~Ralph S.

Jim Sachs · 01-31-2009, 10:52 PM

Regarding the use of .png files as clock faces - Yes, the clock is an offshoot of the Logo system, so I could eaily put the hands over any picture. I may make it an option. But first I have to make the digital clock and calendar.

Regarding the second-hand, you are the first one to say that. Everyone else who's commented thought that the smooth-sweeping hand was great. It sure would have been a LOT easier to just move it once per second. You just need to read the Seconds field of the system time structure, and place the hand accordingly. I had to figure out the math (not my strong point) to factor in the milliseconds since the last screen refresh. The smooth-sweep looks far more elegant to me because when I see the "stuttering" hands in other programs I think, "Well, sure, they just have 60 different pre-antialiased drawings of that hand. Anybody could do that".

Xylem · 02-01-2009, 12:57 AM

Yes, I sort of like the sweep second hand, too.

But I'd like to buttress the objections to the 'shimmering' numbers. On mine they actually are flashing in an irregular way which is quite distracting. I suppose it's supposed to be the reflective effect of surface ripples, etc, but intead it looks like something is behaving incorrectly. Also the effect does not appear on the hands of the clock, so it appears to be an oddity of the numbers.

Other than that, I do like the clock. In fact if it was superimposed on the extant Serenscreen logo that would be really cool.

my 2 cents.....

Jim Sachs · 02-01-2009, 01:03 AM

OK, I toned it down.

patscarr · 02-01-2009, 07:56 AM

I'd like to see examples of both the stuttering and smooth sweeping in the aquarium so I could make an educated decision as to which one I like best.

01-30-2009, 02:36 PM	#261
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	Hmmm.. Zip must have grabbed the wrong file. I'll look into it. OK, try downloading again. http://www.fish-byte.com/MA3Beta.zip Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-30-2009, 02:59 PM	#263
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	Should be uploaded properly now. Getting lightheaded from hunger. Going out for chocolate pie. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-30-2009, 06:27 PM	#269
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	John - I plan on making many different clock styles available. This was just an experiment to get the math right. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-30-2009, 08:53 PM	#271
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	Yep. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

01-31-2009, 09:47 AM	#274
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Butters, For the life of me I can't find the .png file now, but that was long ago and a hard drive crash ago as well. I'll keep looking for the actual file, but here is the original post when I first did it for a crystal before. https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...&postcount=146 Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

01-30-2009, 02:47 PM	#262
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	Nothing here.

01-30-2009, 03:11 PM	#264
Rainyfly Registered Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 31	Love the clock! Thanks Jim

01-30-2009, 03:28 PM	#265
Nicki Sugar Plum Fairy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,267	Mmmmmm.... piiiiiiiiiiiie ( drools like Homer Simpson ) . Glad you went for the analog clock first . It's class - and may confuse the under 20's (jk) .

01-30-2009, 03:39 PM	#266
Derrek Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 186	IMO I think the clock would look better with 'etched' numbers, so that the numbers appear to be etched on the surface of the crystal. The black numbers remind me of peel and stick numeral stickers you would find at a craft store.

01-30-2009, 03:50 PM	#267
jleslie Engineer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,279	My comments on the clock are as follows: I think the hands should be distinguished better, the hours and minutes do tend to merge together a bit when they're close. Suggestion - red seconds hand and mid/dark grey for mins/hours. I find the flashing reflections of the lighting from the numbers not too serene (quite the opposite). Could the numbers be made less reflective (perhaps more 3D too)? IMHO, of course. John

01-30-2009, 03:59 PM	#268
Nicki Sugar Plum Fairy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,267	To Jim - thankyou . What you said in another post is so right , this whole Beta testing thing has been a blast with new goodies all the time . To Jav400 - maybe you could post a picture of that ?

01-30-2009, 08:33 PM	#270
enigma63941 Registered Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 247	Originally posted by Jim Sachs: If you really want to, I won't stop you Keycodes for version 3 are available already?

01-31-2009, 04:06 AM	#272
jleslie Engineer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,279	Jim - I thought that was probably the case on the clock, but decided I'd add some comments in case of any use, e.g. others weren't getting the shimmering effect.

01-31-2009, 07:56 AM	#273
Nicki Sugar Plum Fairy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,267	John - I hadn't noticed the shimmering until you mentioned it , so it's good that you did . We will probably have a choice between matte and shiny - yes ?

01-31-2009, 11:42 AM	#275
Nicki Sugar Plum Fairy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,267	That's great Jav ( is it okay to call you Michael ? ) , thanks for looking it up for me . Maybe I could get my friend Mel to recreate it , she's brilliant with PSP and as nutty about Stargate as I am , although she's more a Daniel/Vala shipper than Jack/Sam . Space Channel ( here in Canada ) is showing Continuum tonight - though I already have the dvd of course . Nicki .

01-31-2009, 10:32 PM	#276
rps Registered Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 57	Originally posted by Jim Sachs: John - I plan on making many different clock styles available. This was just an experiment to get the math right. Hmmm... seems that the numbers on the clock are a "constant"; you could, in theory, put moving clock hands on the face of any .png file... (including one supplied by the user) That said, I think I prefer the "stuttering" second hand (that advances the next second, pauses, then advances to the next, etc.) to the constantly-moving "sweep" second hand. The constant motion of the sweep hand just doesn't strike me as very "serene". Just one user's opinion... ~Ralph S.

01-31-2009, 10:52 PM	#277
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	Regarding the use of .png files as clock faces - Yes, the clock is an offshoot of the Logo system, so I could eaily put the hands over any picture. I may make it an option. But first I have to make the digital clock and calendar. Regarding the second-hand, you are the first one to say that. Everyone else who's commented thought that the smooth-sweeping hand was great. It sure would have been a LOT easier to just move it once per second. You just need to read the Seconds field of the system time structure, and place the hand accordingly. I had to figure out the math (not my strong point) to factor in the milliseconds since the last screen refresh. The smooth-sweep looks far more elegant to me because when I see the "stuttering" hands in other programs I think, "Well, sure, they just have 60 different pre-antialiased drawings of that hand. Anybody could do that". Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-01-2009, 12:57 AM	#278
Xylem Registered Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Belleville, Michigan Posts: 68	Yes, I sort of like the sweep second hand, too. But I'd like to buttress the objections to the 'shimmering' numbers. On mine they actually are flashing in an irregular way which is quite distracting. I suppose it's supposed to be the reflective effect of surface ripples, etc, but intead it looks like something is behaving incorrectly. Also the effect does not appear on the hands of the clock, so it appears to be an oddity of the numbers. Other than that, I do like the clock. In fact if it was superimposed on the extant Serenscreen logo that would be really cool. my 2 cents.....

02-01-2009, 01:03 AM	#279
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,787	OK, I toned it down. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-01-2009, 07:56 AM	#280
patscarr Pet Shark Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Back in Buffalo Posts: 5,455	I'd like to see examples of both the stuttering and smooth sweeping in the aquarium so I could make an educated decision as to which one I like best. Patrick