About the future creature package - Page 3

Tiny Turtle · 02-26-2002, 07:10 AM

20 kB sounds good to me. Guess I can squeeze a few more frames into mine (>12 kB right now).

Yay!

Yellow Tang · 02-26-2002, 08:53 AM

So, now we have turned this thread into comlete 'off topic'. Wow!

patscarr · 02-26-2002, 10:58 AM

As long as we're off topic,

Is it difficult to make one of those animated gifs? I see them all the time but don't know how to make one. How do you do it? If it's too long winded for the forum, please send me an email.

Jim Sachs · 02-26-2002, 12:18 PM

James -

This is absolutely a driver problem. When Feldon says "Who cares", he is referring to Microsoft's signature, not you. It has been well-documented in this Forum that the Microsoft-endorsed nVidia drivers just don't work well on many machines. Often by installing an older nVidia driver, the problems disappear.

James · 02-26-2002, 06:03 PM

patscarr

it is actually not hard to make those GIFs.....
think it as an animated cartoons.....
uses many frames to diaply.....

I use Ulead GIF Animator 5 to make.....
there r lot and lot of gif animator program for download on the web....
first u have to think up a design and the scene of how ur animation would looks like......then starting on the creation of first frame.....after that...alter something a bit in the first frame and save it as second frame....and so on.....

for my tiny SSA..I simply capture the SSA many times while it's running...I captured around 30 frames....and resize it then put them all together in a GIF....finally I specified how long will each frame display..and that's it.....done....not very hard

Tiny Turtle
ya
make more creation of ur avatar...how about a tiny turtle swimming around?

Jim

yes indeed.....that what I think so too...huummm....
well.....as long as the SSA don't crash too many times of my system....it won't bugs me anyway......I can live with this minor issue.....thx for ur suggestion.....

now let me pull back to the topic....
Jim, once u've complete the new critter....r we able to turn on and off of some? just like some fishes........and even set it randomly appers?
I think it's quite a normal way to design like that....
and can we turn off the starfish as well?

and are those critter's position will be saved when SSA exit just like the starfish now?

Jim Sachs · 02-26-2002, 06:22 PM

Yes, when there are more invertebrates, you will be able to pick and choose which ones you want on the screen.

Samw · 02-27-2002, 09:03 AM

Originally posted by feldon23

If you've got other ideas, you're encouraged to post them here or under the Wishlist.

The ribbon eel, moorish idol, and the pinnatus batfish are my all time favorite marine fishes. I don't have any of them and don't plan to keep any of them in the near future as they are difficult to keep in captivity.

So I'm very happy about the ribbon eel (and also the sea anemone) being in a package. However I noticed on the Wishlist that the Moorish Idol has an 'X'. Why was that? I can't keep one in real life so it would sure be neat to keep one virtually on the PC.

Jim Sachs · 02-27-2002, 10:29 AM

The Moorish Idol is so close to the Wimplefish in appearance, that most people wouldn't appreciate the difference. That's why the Wimplefish is also known as the Poor Man's Moorish Idol. The Moorish Idol also has special significance for some religions, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

Jav400 · 02-27-2002, 10:49 AM

samw,

Yea!! another champion of the Batfish. I had one of those in my aquarium for over 10 years. I have discussed with Jim at length about including this fish. So far, no luck.

The extreme length of the fins causes Jim headaches with the collision detection and with the flow dynamics of the fins so that it would look real. I am still hoping that when we go to the 3D background, maybe a little more room would allow this fish to be included as a specialty fish. Hint Hint Jim

He has included the Zebra Moray Eel after some thought. The photo on the wishlist photo page is the one I had. I gave that photo to Morgan to use months ago.

feldon34 · 02-27-2002, 02:12 PM

The Moorish Idol also has special significance for some religions, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

Ah! The real reason comes out. If that's why, then I guess I can understand.

I hold firmly that the Moorish Idol and Wimplefish are farther apart in appearance than the Wimplefish and the Three-stripe Damsel.

As for the Batfish, the fin height can't be any harder than the Lionfish spine width can it? Granted you can't have the Batfish fold down its fin the way the Lionfish folds in its spines to get around a corner. (Watch for it, Jim added this in the current build of 1.1!)

pipeta · 02-27-2002, 03:24 PM

I didn't follow you. What did Jim add to what build of v1.1?

Jim Sachs · 02-27-2002, 03:31 PM

As the Lionfish makes a turn around the coral on the right or left, it folds back the inboard pectoral fin to make sure it clears the coral. Not really a feature, just one of the emergency measures I put in after 5 weeks of trying to keep the fins from passing through the coral.

James · 02-27-2002, 06:09 PM

Jim
have u evre consider to put sea urchins in the Aquarium critter package?
I wonder......

if u do..that'll be great...

Jim Sachs · 02-27-2002, 06:33 PM

Yes, there will probably be sea urchins, but the most common species are cold-water critters, and wouldn't fit with this warm-water reef tank. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker, since one reason for having an electronc aquarium is putting creatures together that you might not ordinarily find in the same tank. I just need to do some more research to find the most realistic species within reason.

feldon34 · 02-27-2002, 07:16 PM

Did I mention I want the purple guys?

Don't always get what I want though...

James · 02-27-2002, 07:31 PM

Morgan...Yes of coz...
u did mention it in other thred [is this Aquarium version 2010? ]

but Jim didn't say anything about it....
so here I ask again since the topic of this thread is about the future creature package

now Jim said there will probably be sea urchins.....
just not sure whether it's purple or not......
thx to Jim now u can get what u want Morgan

let's wait then

Jim.....I admire ur spirit.....while developing the new feature of SSA.....u still keep ur SSA as close to realism as possible....
that's sooooo great.......
I'm really really impressed by that spirit....

now off topic a little bit....
is it possible to make the display of FPS as "toggleble"?
since every time i want my SSA to show the FPS....I have to press "S" everytime when SSA starts......
can u make it remeber my current display setting about the FPS in later version?

James · 02-28-2002, 04:39 PM

Morgan....is it the first time u ever chage ur avarta?

that looks cool too...
I can see u really like that purple guy.......

James · 02-28-2002, 06:43 PM

First of All I'm sorry I pull the topic about Horseshoe Crab from [is this Aquarium version 2010? ] thread to here.....as this thread topic is About the future creature package....so I think it'll be more sutible to put it here..

It's glad to hear that Jim has been considering for a long time to add the Horseshoe Crab into SSA

I found many ppl don't actually know what's Horseshoe Crab
so here is its picture

It is actually a live fossil....
it apeears on the earth at around Trilobite appears
here is how Trilobite looks like

Horseshoe Crab is very hard to keep in the saltwater tank....
it require very high water quality to live.
I have it in my tank few years ago....
I found Horseshoe Crab has a big problem of itself....
if it accidently flip itself upside down....it's extreamly difficult to let it flip itself back to the position and once it's upside down...it'll keep struggling and this may lead it to death after it's exhausted...
it normaly can flip itself back by poking its long spine tail to the ground....but the bottom of saltwater tank usually stuff up by sand.....this makes the environment hard for Horseshoe Crab....
everytime I saw Horseshoe Crab is upside down...I have to flip it back by hand.......the shell of Horseshoe Crab is very heavy and thick....about 1cm to 2cm thickness....I still keep my Horseshoe Crab 's shell after it died as souvenir....it's quite large and can be a saffety helmet for a child..

it sometimes like to shfting in and out of sand.....

so Jim..
if u r considering adding Horseshoe Crab into SSA....
will it possible to add those interesting behaviour of Horseshoe Crab?
and what about this

is it possible to make the display of FPS as "toggleble"?
since every time i want my SSA to show the FPS....I have to press "S" everytime when SSA starts......
can u make it remeber my current display setting about the FPS in later version?

and for the Sea Urchin
I found some in this page
http://www.marinedepotlive.com/inverts-urchins.html

examples are
Longspine Black Urchin - Diadema savignyi

and
Pencil Urchin - Eucidaris species

there r more in the URL above...

so Morgan.....any comment on those Sea Urchin?
I'm sorry I didn't find any purple one....

Jim Sachs · 02-28-2002, 09:12 PM

Horseshoe crab fipping spside down, no. Burying itself in the sand, yes -- but it brings up the problem of people not seeing it until the next time it moves. If they have selected it from the list and don't see it, they will email us, and that is to be avoided at all costs.

Longspine urchin, no -- spines way too thin.

Pencil Urchin, maybe -- I'll have to do more research.

Saving position of "s" key, no -- it's just a diagnostic tool, not meant to show up every time the Aquarium is run.

James · 02-28-2002, 09:43 PM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs
Horseshoe crab fipping spside down, no. Burying itself in the sand, yes -- but it brings up the problem of people not seeing it until the next time it moves. If they have selected it from the list and don't see it, they will email us, and that is to be avoided at all costs.

Yes Jim,I've thought of that as well....but it can be solved by the simply setting....
say make an option just like the starfish....a checkbox like
[ ]Horseshoe Crab allowed under the sand
and u can make it in and out of the sand while the checkbox is checked....
beside the Horseshoe Crab won't burying all part of itself....
from my experience.....it only burying itself half in the sand....
so it still shows its half part of body and tail.....
how's the idea?

02-26-2002, 10:58 AM	#43
patscarr Pet Shark Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Back in Buffalo Posts: 5,455	As long as we're off topic, Is it difficult to make one of those animated gifs? I see them all the time but don't know how to make one. How do you do it? If it's too long winded for the forum, please send me an email. Patrick

02-26-2002, 12:18 PM	#44
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	James - This is absolutely a driver problem. When Feldon says "Who cares", he is referring to Microsoft's signature, not you. It has been well-documented in this Forum that the Microsoft-endorsed nVidia drivers just don't work well on many machines. Often by installing an older nVidia driver, the problems disappear. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-26-2002, 06:03 PM	#45
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	patscarr it is actually not hard to make those GIFs..... think it as an animated cartoons..... uses many frames to diaply..... I use Ulead GIF Animator 5 to make..... there r lot and lot of gif animator program for download on the web.... first u have to think up a design and the scene of how ur animation would looks like......then starting on the creation of first frame.....after that...alter something a bit in the first frame and save it as second frame....and so on..... for my tiny SSA..I simply capture the SSA many times while it's running...I captured around 30 frames....and resize it then put them all together in a GIF....finally I specified how long will each frame display..and that's it.....done....not very hard Tiny Turtle ya make more creation of ur avatar...how about a tiny turtle swimming around? Jim yes indeed.....that what I think so too...huummm.... well.....as long as the SSA don't crash too many times of my system....it won't bugs me anyway......I can live with this minor issue.....thx for ur suggestion..... now let me pull back to the topic.... Jim, once u've complete the new critter....r we able to turn on and off of some? just like some fishes........and even set it randomly appers? I think it's quite a normal way to design like that.... and can we turn off the starfish as well? and are those critter's position will be saved when SSA exit just like the starfish now? James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com Last edited by James; 02-26-2002 at 06:28 PM.

02-26-2002, 06:22 PM	#46
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	Yes, when there are more invertebrates, you will be able to pick and choose which ones you want on the screen. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-27-2002, 10:29 AM	#48
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	The Moorish Idol is so close to the Wimplefish in appearance, that most people wouldn't appreciate the difference. That's why the Wimplefish is also known as the Poor Man's Moorish Idol. The Moorish Idol also has special significance for some religions, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium Last edited by Jim Sachs; 02-27-2002 at 10:32 AM.

02-26-2002, 07:10 AM	#41
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	20 kB sounds good to me. Guess I can squeeze a few more frames into mine (>12 kB right now). Yay!

02-26-2002, 08:53 AM	#42
Yellow Tang YT Join Date: Jan 2002 Tournaments Won: 1 Location: Germany Posts: 729	So, now we have turned this thread into comlete 'off topic'. Wow!

02-27-2002, 09:03 AM	#47
Samw Registered Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 7	Originally posted by feldon23 If you've got other ideas, you're encouraged to post them here or under the Wishlist. The ribbon eel, moorish idol, and the pinnatus batfish are my all time favorite marine fishes. I don't have any of them and don't plan to keep any of them in the near future as they are difficult to keep in captivity. So I'm very happy about the ribbon eel (and also the sea anemone) being in a package. However I noticed on the Wishlist that the Moorish Idol has an 'X'. Why was that? I can't keep one in real life so it would sure be neat to keep one virtually on the PC.

02-27-2002, 10:49 AM	#49
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	samw, Yea!! another champion of the Batfish. I had one of those in my aquarium for over 10 years. I have discussed with Jim at length about including this fish. So far, no luck. The extreme length of the fins causes Jim headaches with the collision detection and with the flow dynamics of the fins so that it would look real. I am still hoping that when we go to the 3D background, maybe a little more room would allow this fish to be included as a specialty fish. Hint Hint Jim He has included the Zebra Moray Eel after some thought. The photo on the wishlist photo page is the one I had. I gave that photo to Morgan to use months ago. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-27-2002, 02:12 PM	#50
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	The Moorish Idol also has special significance for some religions, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone. Ah! The real reason comes out. If that's why, then I guess I can understand. I hold firmly that the Moorish Idol and Wimplefish are farther apart in appearance than the Wimplefish and the Three-stripe Damsel. As for the Batfish, the fin height can't be any harder than the Lionfish spine width can it? Granted you can't have the Batfish fold down its fin the way the Lionfish folds in its spines to get around a corner. (Watch for it, Jim added this in the current build of 1.1!) "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

02-27-2002, 03:24 PM	#51
pipeta Royal Gramma Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Israel Posts: 146	I didn't follow you. What did Jim add to what build of v1.1?

02-27-2002, 03:31 PM	#52
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	As the Lionfish makes a turn around the coral on the right or left, it folds back the inboard pectoral fin to make sure it clears the coral. Not really a feature, just one of the emergency measures I put in after 5 weeks of trying to keep the fins from passing through the coral. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-27-2002, 06:09 PM	#53
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	Jim have u evre consider to put sea urchins in the Aquarium critter package? I wonder...... if u do..that'll be great... James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com

02-27-2002, 06:33 PM	#54
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	Yes, there will probably be sea urchins, but the most common species are cold-water critters, and wouldn't fit with this warm-water reef tank. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker, since one reason for having an electronc aquarium is putting creatures together that you might not ordinarily find in the same tank. I just need to do some more research to find the most realistic species within reason. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-27-2002, 07:16 PM	#55
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	Did I mention I want the purple guys? Don't always get what I want though... "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

02-27-2002, 07:31 PM	#56
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	Morgan...Yes of coz... u did mention it in other thred [is this Aquarium version 2010? ] but Jim didn't say anything about it.... so here I ask again since the topic of this thread is about the future creature package now Jim said there will probably be sea urchins..... just not sure whether it's purple or not...... thx to Jim now u can get what u want Morgan let's wait then Jim.....I admire ur spirit.....while developing the new feature of SSA.....u still keep ur SSA as close to realism as possible.... that's sooooo great....... I'm really really impressed by that spirit.... now off topic a little bit.... is it possible to make the display of FPS as "toggleble"? since every time i want my SSA to show the FPS....I have to press "S" everytime when SSA starts...... can u make it remeber my current display setting about the FPS in later version? James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com Last edited by James; 02-27-2002 at 07:41 PM.

02-28-2002, 04:39 PM	#57
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	New Avatar Morgan....is it the first time u ever chage ur avarta? that looks cool too... I can see u really like that purple guy....... James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com

02-28-2002, 06:43 PM	#58
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	About Horseshoe Crab and Sea Urchin First of All I'm sorry I pull the topic about Horseshoe Crab from [is this Aquarium version 2010? ] thread to here.....as this thread topic is About the future creature package....so I think it'll be more sutible to put it here.. It's glad to hear that Jim has been considering for a long time to add the Horseshoe Crab into SSA I found many ppl don't actually know what's Horseshoe Crab so here is its picture It is actually a live fossil.... it apeears on the earth at around Trilobite appears here is how Trilobite looks like Horseshoe Crab is very hard to keep in the saltwater tank.... it require very high water quality to live. I have it in my tank few years ago.... I found Horseshoe Crab has a big problem of itself.... if it accidently flip itself upside down....it's extreamly difficult to let it flip itself back to the position and once it's upside down...it'll keep struggling and this may lead it to death after it's exhausted... it normaly can flip itself back by poking its long spine tail to the ground....but the bottom of saltwater tank usually stuff up by sand.....this makes the environment hard for Horseshoe Crab.... everytime I saw Horseshoe Crab is upside down...I have to flip it back by hand.......the shell of Horseshoe Crab is very heavy and thick....about 1cm to 2cm thickness....I still keep my Horseshoe Crab 's shell after it died as souvenir....it's quite large and can be a saffety helmet for a child.. it sometimes like to shfting in and out of sand..... so Jim.. if u r considering adding Horseshoe Crab into SSA.... will it possible to add those interesting behaviour of Horseshoe Crab? and what about this is it possible to make the display of FPS as "toggleble"? since every time i want my SSA to show the FPS....I have to press "S" everytime when SSA starts...... can u make it remeber my current display setting about the FPS in later version? and for the Sea Urchin I found some in this page http://www.marinedepotlive.com/inverts-urchins.html examples are Longspine Black Urchin - Diadema savignyi and Pencil Urchin - Eucidaris species there r more in the URL above... so Morgan.....any comment on those Sea Urchin? I'm sorry I didn't find any purple one.... James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com Last edited by James; 02-28-2002 at 09:49 PM.

02-28-2002, 09:12 PM	#59
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,791	Horseshoe crab fipping spside down, no. Burying itself in the sand, yes -- but it brings up the problem of people not seeing it until the next time it moves. If they have selected it from the list and don't see it, they will email us, and that is to be avoided at all costs. Longspine urchin, no -- spines way too thin. Pencil Urchin, maybe -- I'll have to do more research. Saving position of "s" key, no -- it's just a diagnostic tool, not meant to show up every time the Aquarium is run. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-28-2002, 09:43 PM	#60
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	Originally posted by Jim Sachs Horseshoe crab fipping spside down, no. Burying itself in the sand, yes -- but it brings up the problem of people not seeing it until the next time it moves. If they have selected it from the list and don't see it, they will email us, and that is to be avoided at all costs. Yes Jim,I've thought of that as well....but it can be solved by the simply setting.... say make an option just like the starfish....a checkbox like [ ]Horseshoe Crab allowed under the sand and u can make it in and out of the sand while the checkbox is checked.... beside the Horseshoe Crab won't burying all part of itself.... from my experience.....it only burying itself half in the sand.... so it still shows its half part of body and tail..... how's the idea? James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com Last edited by James; 02-28-2002 at 09:47 PM.