Marine Aquarium 3 Comments & Appreciation - Page 31

Wizwad · 04-14-2009, 04:46 PM

We did hear that a son was born, didn't we? And then, as you say, nothing.

Which clearly leaves a space which must be filled by temporary stand ins!

cjmaddy · 04-15-2009, 01:59 AM

We received a card and picture from him, (of the baby), - but then I started to get concerned having heard nothing more, nor seen anything here on this forum.
However, Doc informed me that as far as he knew, everything was fine and he's just happy being a new dad. - I do hope everything is ok!

.... I wish he would drop by and tell us!

Jeff68005 · 04-16-2009, 11:56 PM

I just received 3.0 and am pleasantly shocked by the improvements over 99L and 1.1.

I am especially pleased:
to be able to select to turn off certain fish.
to select any number of fish up to 30. ( I was at 7)
The seabed moves to enhance the screen saver objective to avoid "burn in" That makes it worth the wait. "Burn in" risk was a major reason that I put it away previously.
I am getting some black/white pattern flicker at the very bottom... below the seabed floor to the edge of the screen. If this is on purpose, then it comes under avoiding "burn in" and is not a major distraction once you get used to it.

System: Gigabyte GA8-PE800Ultra P4 2.66 533 Scoket 478
3 sticks total 1 Gig (PC2700) PNY 333 memory
Original XP updated on line to SP3 and all updates.
ATI 7500 video card with microsoft updated driver.
HP w2207h wide screen Flat-Panel Monitor. (recent purchase)

---------------------

Comment/Suggestion:

By observation, I have found this screen saver qualifies as a real test of the cooling of my CPU, etc. I typically run in the low to mid 30s in everyday operation / idle.
Version 3.0 (great eye candy) with 30 fish, no starfish, no crystal and no barbed fish will run my CPU up into the low or mid 40s. I have added a couple of case fans (9 total) to insure a safe and happy operation. I can see this burning out somebody's system who has no idea about internal temps due to CPU operating at or near capacity. I mean who thinks about CPU power when a screen saver is running? Most people think of the PC as being "at rest".

Therefore suggestion for an add-on package in place of the clock:
CPU temps and percentage of CPU ability in use. See Speedfan software for example. To avoid "burn in" the crystal could change color as the unit heats up and settles down. User set temp alarm would also go a long way to temp additional purchasers like me. If you like the idea, it's yours in exchange for an email letting me know when to send you money for the add-on routine.

cjmaddy · 04-17-2009, 11:24 AM

Altering the Sleep() setting will help your CPU and GPU temps. - See...
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...%29#post112356
https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...%29#post112575

feldon34 · 04-17-2009, 12:22 PM

Yep just press UP and DOWN to adjust your Sleep setting. This is the equivalent of limiting the number of frames per second generated by the Aquarium.

jleslie · 04-17-2009, 02:19 PM

Plus 30-40 is pretty (actually suspiciously) cool for a P4 (though it does depend on how well the thermal monitoring is implemented, some are very inaccurate). I don't think mine gets that cool when idling.

cjmaddy · 04-23-2009, 03:23 AM

Are you perhaps confusing the two different .scr file names?

Downloading MA3Beta.zip from fish-byte.com will always give you the latest beta that Jim has available, - currently, Beta10a, (T413.3.0.8057).
The extracted screensaver file will always be MA3Beta.scr ..... This currently has the moving clams.
Check out.... https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...?t=4385&page=3

Downloading from SereneScreen.com will always give you the latest 'Installer' version available, - currently Beta9M, (T302.3.0.1735)
The installed screensaver file will be MarineAquarium3.scr ...... This version does NOT yet have moving clams.

Jim Sachs · 04-23-2009, 03:43 AM

Cliff's right - the file at http://www.fish-byte.com/MA3Beta.zip will always be the very latest (often highly experimental) version. The file contained in the ZIP will always be called MA3Beta.scr, and will overwrite any older file of the same name (so if you want to keep an older file, you can rename it).

When you run the program, the version number will be in the Statistics text in the upper left corner of the screen. This display can be toggled on and off with the "S" key.

Edgar is working on making Beta10a the official version on SereneScreen.com.

dwax · 04-29-2009, 06:57 PM

Always something new to see LOL. I started the screen saver and noticed a Picasso Trigerfish buried half way in the gravel looked like it was laying eggs or something.

G600 · 04-30-2009, 05:06 PM

Recently I saw a Regal Angelfish emerge from the gravel. This also happened when starting the screensaver.

Jim Sachs · 05-01-2009, 10:31 AM

Should be taken care of with the new fish models/movement.

flipper · 05-07-2009, 12:27 AM

Hi Jim. Been 7 yrs for me! Just dropped by on a whim and wow the new beta looks and works quite nice. I'm glad to see you finally went pseudo-3D on the coral, they all look great. I'm sure the newer fish models will be first class as well.

If you ever need any free D3D or Windows dev help let me know as I'm quite familiar with both now. I'd be happy to help you spiffy up any part of the app you're getting a lot of complaints on but don't have the time for, if any.

Anyway, just wanted to say I'm glad to see you're back at it/still at it.

Jim Sachs · 05-07-2009, 02:02 AM

Welcome back, flipper.

John-E34 · 05-08-2009, 05:51 AM

Hi guys,

I have just registered to post a request for the "framerate" option to be brought back.

I have a quite fast system, and nothing ever seems to stress any part of it, but the latest beta's lack some way of limiting the framerate.

My graphics card goes from low fan speeds, (normal) to medium, then to "flat-out" within 10 minutes of the screen saver starting.

I have now disabled MA3, as it is more a "system killer" than the designed screensaver.

PLEASE put back the option to limit framerates.

feldon34 · 05-08-2009, 06:50 AM

John, First, welcome to the forums!

The framerate limiter is there, it just has a different name: SLEEP.

Press S to see your current Sleep amount.

Press UP and DOWN to change the sleep amount. It defaults to 10, but you can probably get to 20-30 on a high end system and not see any major loss in framerate yet it will put less stress on your system.

Hopefully in a later version, it will have a more promising name like Limit Framerate. Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra.

Rick Simon · 05-08-2009, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by feldon33:

Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra.

Excellent idea, though I'd prefer a "Set Max Framerate" option with an input field for the desired framerate instead. Personally, I'm satisfied with MA3 running at 30-40fps. And then there is my multi-monitor system. MA3 averages between 33 and 37fps at all Sleep settings (when stretched across all 3 screens). It definitely changes the CPU utilization though, from ~10% to 100%.

Plecostomus · 05-09-2009, 03:55 AM

Whats going on, I have a standard HP 9277 (quad) with 25 and 1/2 inch screen running at 1920x1200, MA3 no problem yet tried pressing S and got following 111.13fps sleep 10, loads of fish in tank, could not count less than nine. Music and bubbles are on, 111.13fps is not a typing error, lucky I guess.

cjmaddy · 05-09-2009, 06:03 AM

Plecostomus, - try increasing the default Sleep() setting until your FPS drops to around 60ish.. - It will benefit your CPU usage, considerably!

On my modest system, lowering the Sleep() to '1' can give as much as 190 FPS, (in Windowed mode), but with 100% CPU usage!!!
The default Sleep(10) setting produces about 112 FPS and registers around 60% CPU usage in the Task Manager.
Increasing to Sleep(20) produced about 52 FPS and registers around 25/30% CPU usage. - Your setup of course may be different.

As others have said though, the best thing to do is change the Sleep() setting until the FPS drops to about 60, - any more than that is pointless and will only contribute to over-heating. - On my system I find that Sleep(17) gives me around 63fps.

BTW, - Welcome to another UK member to the forum!

Plecostomus · 05-09-2009, 10:52 AM

Thanks for info cjmaddy,will go and tamper with settings,if lights go out in Lancs its probably my fault

John-E34 · 05-09-2009, 10:02 PM

Originally posted by feldon33:

John, First, welcome to the forums!

The framerate limiter is there, it just has a different name: SLEEP.

Press S to see your current Sleep amount.

Press UP and DOWN to change the sleep amount. It defaults to 10, but you can probably get to 20-30 on a high end system and not see any major loss in framerate yet it will put less stress on your system.

Hopefully in a later version, it will have a more promising name like Limit Framerate. Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra.

Thanks for the info, I have a frame rate of about 110 now (was over 900) and all is well.

It seems strange to have such a critical setting hidden, rather on the display panel in the options menu...

04-14-2009, 04:46 PM	#601
Wizwad Only me... Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Essex, England Posts: 2,584	We did hear that a son was born, didn't we? And then, as you say, nothing. Which clearly leaves a space which must be filled by temporary stand ins! Mark ----------- Intel i7 12700K \| Aorus Z690 Pro \| Corsair DDR5 5600 32GB \| Asus Dual RTX3060ti 6GB v2 Mini OC \| Corsair RM850 Gold PSU \| 1TB NVMe M.2 WD Black SN850 \| 4TB Seagate BarraCuda HDD \| Corsair Airflow 5000D Case \| HP 32QHD 4K Monitor \| Windows 11 x64 Professional

04-17-2009, 12:22 PM	#605
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	Yep just press UP and DOWN to adjust your Sleep setting. This is the equivalent of limiting the number of frames per second generated by the Aquarium. "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

04-23-2009, 03:43 AM	#608
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,790	Cliff's right - the file at http://www.fish-byte.com/MA3Beta.zip will always be the very latest (often highly experimental) version. The file contained in the ZIP will always be called MA3Beta.scr, and will overwrite any older file of the same name (so if you want to keep an older file, you can rename it). When you run the program, the version number will be in the Statistics text in the upper left corner of the screen. This display can be toggled on and off with the "S" key. Edgar is working on making Beta10a the official version on SereneScreen.com. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

04-29-2009, 06:57 PM	#609
dwax Registered Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: SOUTH DAKOTA Posts: 83	Always something new to see LOL. I started the screen saver and noticed a Picasso Trigerfish buried half way in the gravel looked like it was laying eggs or something. By dustywax at 2011-12-13

05-01-2009, 10:31 AM	#611
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,790	Should be taken care of with the new fish models/movement. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

04-15-2009, 01:59 AM	#602
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	We received a card and picture from him, (of the baby), - but then I started to get concerned having heard nothing more, nor seen anything here on this forum. However, Doc informed me that as far as he knew, everything was fine and he's just happy being a new dad. - I do hope everything is ok! .... I wish he would drop by and tell us!

04-16-2009, 11:56 PM	#603
Jeff68005 Registered Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Near Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 2	I just received 3.0 and am pleasantly shocked by the improvements over 99L and 1.1. I am especially pleased: to be able to select to turn off certain fish. to select any number of fish up to 30. ( I was at 7) The seabed moves to enhance the screen saver objective to avoid "burn in" That makes it worth the wait. "Burn in" risk was a major reason that I put it away previously. I am getting some black/white pattern flicker at the very bottom... below the seabed floor to the edge of the screen. If this is on purpose, then it comes under avoiding "burn in" and is not a major distraction once you get used to it. System: Gigabyte GA8-PE800Ultra P4 2.66 533 Scoket 478 3 sticks total 1 Gig (PC2700) PNY 333 memory Original XP updated on line to SP3 and all updates. ATI 7500 video card with microsoft updated driver. HP w2207h wide screen Flat-Panel Monitor. (recent purchase) --------------------- Comment/Suggestion: By observation, I have found this screen saver qualifies as a real test of the cooling of my CPU, etc. I typically run in the low to mid 30s in everyday operation / idle. Version 3.0 (great eye candy) with 30 fish, no starfish, no crystal and no barbed fish will run my CPU up into the low or mid 40s. I have added a couple of case fans (9 total) to insure a safe and happy operation. I can see this burning out somebody's system who has no idea about internal temps due to CPU operating at or near capacity. I mean who thinks about CPU power when a screen saver is running? Most people think of the PC as being "at rest". Therefore suggestion for an add-on package in place of the clock: CPU temps and percentage of CPU ability in use. See Speedfan software for example. To avoid "burn in" the crystal could change color as the unit heats up and settles down. User set temp alarm would also go a long way to temp additional purchasers like me. If you like the idea, it's yours in exchange for an email letting me know when to send you money for the add-on routine.

04-17-2009, 11:24 AM	#604
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	Altering the Sleep() setting will help your CPU and GPU temps. - See... https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...%29#post112356 https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...%29#post112575

04-17-2009, 02:19 PM	#606
jleslie Engineer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,279	Plus 30-40 is pretty (actually suspiciously) cool for a P4 (though it does depend on how well the thermal monitoring is implemented, some are very inaccurate). I don't think mine gets that cool when idling.

04-23-2009, 03:23 AM	#607
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	Are you perhaps confusing the two different .scr file names? Downloading MA3Beta.zip from fish-byte.com will always give you the latest beta that Jim has available, - currently, Beta10a, (T413.3.0.8057). The extracted screensaver file will always be MA3Beta.scr ..... This currently has the moving clams. Check out.... https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums...?t=4385&page=3 Downloading from SereneScreen.com will always give you the latest 'Installer' version available, - currently Beta9M, (T302.3.0.1735) The installed screensaver file will be MarineAquarium3.scr ...... This version does NOT yet have moving clams.

04-30-2009, 05:06 PM	#610
G600 Registered Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Goirle, Netherlands Posts: 52	Recently I saw a Regal Angelfish emerge from the gravel. This also happened when starting the screensaver.

05-07-2009, 12:27 AM	#612
flipper Registered Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 60	Hi Jim. Been 7 yrs for me! Just dropped by on a whim and wow the new beta looks and works quite nice. I'm glad to see you finally went pseudo-3D on the coral, they all look great. I'm sure the newer fish models will be first class as well. If you ever need any free D3D or Windows dev help let me know as I'm quite familiar with both now. I'd be happy to help you spiffy up any part of the app you're getting a lot of complaints on but don't have the time for, if any. Anyway, just wanted to say I'm glad to see you're back at it/still at it.

05-07-2009, 02:02 AM	#613
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,790	Welcome back, flipper. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

05-08-2009, 05:51 AM	#614
John-E34 Registered Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2	Frame-Rate issues... Hi guys, I have just registered to post a request for the "framerate" option to be brought back. I have a quite fast system, and nothing ever seems to stress any part of it, but the latest beta's lack some way of limiting the framerate. My graphics card goes from low fan speeds, (normal) to medium, then to "flat-out" within 10 minutes of the screen saver starting. I have now disabled MA3, as it is more a "system killer" than the designed screensaver. PLEASE put back the option to limit framerates.

05-08-2009, 06:50 AM	#615
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	John, First, welcome to the forums! The framerate limiter is there, it just has a different name: SLEEP. Press S to see your current Sleep amount. Press UP and DOWN to change the sleep amount. It defaults to 10, but you can probably get to 20-30 on a high end system and not see any major loss in framerate yet it will put less stress on your system. Hopefully in a later version, it will have a more promising name like Limit Framerate. Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra. "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

05-08-2009, 06:01 PM	#616
Rick Simon Registered Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 93	Originally posted by feldon33: Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra. Excellent idea, though I'd prefer a "Set Max Framerate" option with an input field for the desired framerate instead. Personally, I'm satisfied with MA3 running at 30-40fps. And then there is my multi-monitor system. MA3 averages between 33 and 37fps at all Sleep settings (when stretched across all 3 screens). It definitely changes the CPU utilization though, from ~10% to 100%.

05-09-2009, 03:55 AM	#617
Plecostomus Registered Join Date: May 2009 Location: Somerset UK Posts: 5	111.13fps Whats going on, I have a standard HP 9277 (quad) with 25 and 1/2 inch screen running at 1920x1200, MA3 no problem yet tried pressing S and got following 111.13fps sleep 10, loads of fish in tank, could not count less than nine. Music and bubbles are on, 111.13fps is not a typing error, lucky I guess.

05-09-2009, 06:03 AM	#618
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	Plecostomus, - try increasing the default Sleep() setting until your FPS drops to around 60ish.. - It will benefit your CPU usage, considerably! On my modest system, lowering the Sleep() to '1' can give as much as 190 FPS, (in Windowed mode), but with 100% CPU usage!!! The default Sleep(10) setting produces about 112 FPS and registers around 60% CPU usage in the Task Manager. Increasing to Sleep(20) produced about 52 FPS and registers around 25/30% CPU usage. - Your setup of course may be different. As others have said though, the best thing to do is change the Sleep() setting until the FPS drops to about 60, - any more than that is pointless and will only contribute to over-heating. - On my system I find that Sleep(17) gives me around 63fps. BTW, - Welcome to another UK member to the forum!

05-09-2009, 10:52 AM	#619
Plecostomus Registered Join Date: May 2009 Location: Somerset UK Posts: 5	Thanks for info cjmaddy,will go and tamper with settings,if lights go out in Lancs its probably my fault

05-09-2009, 10:02 PM	#620
John-E34 Registered Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2	Originally posted by feldon33: John, First, welcome to the forums! The framerate limiter is there, it just has a different name: SLEEP. Press S to see your current Sleep amount. Press UP and DOWN to change the sleep amount. It defaults to 10, but you can probably get to 20-30 on a high end system and not see any major loss in framerate yet it will put less stress on your system. Hopefully in a later version, it will have a more promising name like Limit Framerate. Then again, what I would love is an "Autodetect Framerate" button which runs the Aquarium, looks at the framerate over a span of about 10 seconds, and then adjusts the Sleep setting to give you a framerate of 60 fps with nothing extra. Thanks for the info, I have a frame rate of about 110 now (was over 900) and all is well. It seems strange to have such a critical setting hidden, rather on the display panel in the options menu...