Marine Aquarium 3 Rumors and Speculation - Page 63

cjmaddy · 02-19-2008, 02:50 PM

This is what's possible with the settings quoted in that link that I gave!.

Stew2000 · 02-19-2008, 03:20 PM

I always have mine set to: 4x Antialiasing & 16x Anisotropic Filter.
(If anyone wanted to know)

Patrick Gallagher · 02-19-2008, 08:00 PM

Jim,

From what I've read I think I'm ok to run M.A. 3.0 but if not I want to upgrade soon because I am really looking forward to your new version.
I may do the duo screens soon anyway.

Pent 4 3 Ghz
1 Gb of Ram
ViewSonic VG910s Display
Nvidia GE Force 4 MX4000, 1280 X 1024, 32 bit

I want to be able to run that octopus creature pack when it comes out.

Patrick in Seattle

Jav400 · 02-19-2008, 08:21 PM

If anything you might want to upgrade your video card. Everything else seems fine. If thats what you are interested in upgrading, let us know how much you want to spend and we can help you pick out a good card.

Jim Sachs · 02-19-2008, 08:27 PM

People have been having trouble with MA3 on the G-Force 4400. I don't know if any of the Beta testers has tried a 4000 yet. I now have a 4400, and am just waiting for a CPU which will fit in the motherboard that I got to run the card.

Yodelking · 02-20-2008, 12:51 AM

Originally posted by Jim Sachs:

People have been having trouble with MA3 on the G-Force 4400. I don't know if any of the Beta testers has tried a 4000 yet. I now have a 4400, and am just waiting for a CPU which will fit in the motherboard that I got to run the card.

Is the MX440 and 4400 same? The problems was with MX440...

I don't know about Geforce MX4000

Jav400 · 02-20-2008, 06:13 AM

The 4000 is a pretty low end video card. Its AGP and probably somewhere around 64 - 128 RAM. That part depends on who his particular card is made by. They are pretty hard to find anymore, but its something like a $35.00 card.

To run 3.0 well you should be in the 6xxx range at least. But for the money difference something in 7xxx range would be best IMO.

Leon · 02-20-2008, 08:53 AM

Isn't it a drag to try and keep up with technology? Just when you have it cracked they move the goalposts again!

I treated myself last Xmas and bought an 8800GTX card - I have never made a better purchase...

And what is this I hear about other screensavers? Butterflies, birdies etc? Tell me more!

Leon

Jav400 · 02-20-2008, 09:04 AM

Leon,

Nice card, thats what I use. You will be happy to know that I get over 325fps with that card using some decent settings as far as quality and AA and so forth goes. That of course is with whats in the Alpha currently. There is still alot more to go though. None of the background items move yet, the fish haven't been redone yet, and none of the special creatures are there yet. But, overall you have nothing to worry about.

Jim has been under fire alot lately from the testers wanting more and more options and stuff. Personally I am one of those people and fall into that camp. Overall Jim wants to make sure the saver runs on as many older cards as possible, for obvious reasons. But with the caliber of cards generally available these days I think he should push the limit by including "checkboxes" if you will and settings for more options. If people can run them then great, and if people dont have a strong enough card then they don't have to use them. Unfortunately some of the ideas like dedicated settings for AA and so forth within the settings options are a major undertaking to implement and probably wont happen. I am still hopeing for things like a setting for actinic lighting and a few others though.

As for the other question, Jim has always planned a series of savers. The idea was to generate enough money to create a computer generated movie he wants to do.

Jim Sachs · 02-20-2008, 11:20 AM

Though the GeForce 6,7,or 8 series would be ideal to run MA3, the 4 series should have enough power to run it. My 5-series 5200 gives an acceptable 42 frames-per-second. Two of the Beta-testers have MX440 cards, which is a pretty high percentage, and makes me feel like I really should try to support that card. The problem has not been lack of power, but that the card doesn't work with MA3 at all. As soon as my new microprocessor gets here, I'll try to diagnose it.

Andrew Jenkins · 02-20-2008, 12:54 PM

Originally posted by cjmaddy:

Dabombguyman,
Your attached image link doesn't appear to be working.

..... But I would hazard a guess that you are referring to what is commonly referred to as 'jaggies' - If so, does your video card give you the option to apply AA or AF ? (ie. Antialiasing & Anisotropic Filtering). If it does, try settings like these. - It can make a very noticeable difference to what is otherwise unavoidable, without a lot of complications to the programming.

Hi cjmaddy- When i try to open your setting like 'these' I get a message that I may not have sufficient permissions to access the link. can you advise what the settings you are suggesting are as I would like to play around with mine also.

Thanks

Jav400 · 02-20-2008, 02:14 PM

Cliff may have already gone to bed, so I will answer that one for you. Basically what he is refering too are your video card settings like Antialiasing and Anisotropic filtering. You can go to your settings screen for your video card and adjust those manually. These can take a large hit on your frame rate depending on how strong your card is, so start with the least setting, usually 2x and go from there according to your preferences.

Leon · 02-20-2008, 02:31 PM

Originally posted by Jav400:

Leon,

But with the caliber of cards generally available these days I think he should push the limit by including "checkboxes" if you will and settings for more options. If people can run them then great, and if people dont have a strong enough card then they don't have to use them.

I was very, very impressed with the people who made "Crysis", the game a lot of people are raving about (It's French even!). I can run it on my high-end machine and my son (bless his heart!) can also play it on his older PC. We experimented with it after that on various other PC's and it works on most of them. The beauty is, if you do have a fast PC, you really get the benefit of great visuals and excellent game play. Conversely, if you have a older video card you can still enjoy the game.

So, basically, if more people can access the product...need I say more?

This forum fascinates me. I didn't realise so many people are into fish.

I almost feel guilty going to my fishmonger.

Jav400 · 02-20-2008, 02:52 PM

I'm hopeing for something along the same lines from Jim. But unfortunately, he has some issues to deal with that things like Crysis don't. One of his concerns is that most of the time if you walk into a store and see monitors setup on display his SS will be running on them. Jim is afraid that if he includes alot of these things and some dweb in the store sets things up they may check to many different things on a system that may not be able to handle it and then what is shown on all the monitors will be choppy and messed up in the presentation. I can understand that viewpoint, but conversly I also think that with what can be done with some of those settings even a few of them being setup correctly will far outweigh the others. Not to mention that the effect given will totally blow away any other screensaver on the market, and word of mouth on the net and elsewhere will make it the "Saver to Have. " But it is a difficult decision on where to draw that line on inclusions.

Jim Sachs · 02-20-2008, 03:18 PM

Leon - the company which developed Crysis has 186 employees, so they can afford to test on just about every platform out there. (Plus, their product was distributed by Electronic Arts, which probably also has a few computers laying around.)

I'll do my best to make MA3 run on as wide a range of equipment as possible, but the combinations out there are really overwhelming. The Beta test team has a couple-dozen computers, which seem to represent a fairly good cross-section of equipment.

Leon · 02-20-2008, 04:22 PM

I didn't for one minute think that you should emulate Crysis. I was just pointing out that "access to a product" is always a good thing.

How long did it take you to count the employees?

Jim Sachs · 02-20-2008, 04:31 PM

Their Wikipedia article says it all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crytek

johnblommers · 02-20-2008, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by Leon:

basically, if more people can access the product...need I say more?.

Which is of course why Jim supports porting MA to the Macintosh

cjmaddy · 02-20-2008, 05:16 PM

Andrew,
Sorry, that was my fault!

... The screen shot I wanted to show you had been previously posted by me, and I crossed linked to it again here. - I shouldn't have done that, - it was on the Beta-testing forum! ... Apologies to Jim, Morgan, and Michael!
It was only showing my card's settings though. - This is it.

... What Michael said is quit correct! - (Other than saying I was in bed!!! - I was out!)

Patrick Gallagher · 02-20-2008, 07:31 PM

Wow!! Thanks to all on the video card question. I feel that $200. is my upper limit. I'm trying to nurse this set of hardware along for another 2 years. I will check out the GeForce 6,7 &8 series also the 88000 GTX card. I don't do games so M.A and D.A. are my most intense video needs.
I don't want to start a holy war but suggestions of cards and how they are set up like the screen shoot Jav400 did are most welcome. By the way Jim I frequently go down to Walport on the Oregon coast, great area.

Patrick

02-19-2008, 08:21 PM	#1244
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	If anything you might want to upgrade your video card. Everything else seems fine. If thats what you are interested in upgrading, let us know how much you want to spend and we can help you pick out a good card. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-19-2008, 08:27 PM	#1245
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,794	People have been having trouble with MA3 on the G-Force 4400. I don't know if any of the Beta testers has tried a 4000 yet. I now have a 4400, and am just waiting for a CPU which will fit in the motherboard that I got to run the card. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-20-2008, 12:51 AM	#1246
Yodelking yodeler Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Staffanstorp, Sweden Posts: 294	Originally posted by Jim Sachs: People have been having trouble with MA3 on the G-Force 4400. I don't know if any of the Beta testers has tried a 4000 yet. I now have a 4400, and am just waiting for a CPU which will fit in the motherboard that I got to run the card. Is the MX440 and 4400 same? The problems was with MX440... I don't know about Geforce MX4000 Yodelking - För god att kolsyra!

02-20-2008, 06:13 AM	#1247
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	The 4000 is a pretty low end video card. Its AGP and probably somewhere around 64 - 128 RAM. That part depends on who his particular card is made by. They are pretty hard to find anymore, but its something like a $35.00 card. To run 3.0 well you should be in the 6xxx range at least. But for the money difference something in 7xxx range would be best IMO. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-20-2008, 09:04 AM	#1249
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Leon, Nice card, thats what I use. You will be happy to know that I get over 325fps with that card using some decent settings as far as quality and AA and so forth goes. That of course is with whats in the Alpha currently. There is still alot more to go though. None of the background items move yet, the fish haven't been redone yet, and none of the special creatures are there yet. But, overall you have nothing to worry about. Jim has been under fire alot lately from the testers wanting more and more options and stuff. Personally I am one of those people and fall into that camp. Overall Jim wants to make sure the saver runs on as many older cards as possible, for obvious reasons. But with the caliber of cards generally available these days I think he should push the limit by including "checkboxes" if you will and settings for more options. If people can run them then great, and if people dont have a strong enough card then they don't have to use them. Unfortunately some of the ideas like dedicated settings for AA and so forth within the settings options are a major undertaking to implement and probably wont happen. I am still hopeing for things like a setting for actinic lighting and a few others though. As for the other question, Jim has always planned a series of savers. The idea was to generate enough money to create a computer generated movie he wants to do. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-19-2008, 03:20 PM	#1242
Stew2000 Registered Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: UK Posts: 89	I always have mine set to: 4x Antialiasing & 16x Anisotropic Filter. (If anyone wanted to know)

02-19-2008, 08:00 PM	#1243
Patrick Gallagher Registered Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 14	Jim, From what I've read I think I'm ok to run M.A. 3.0 but if not I want to upgrade soon because I am really looking forward to your new version. I may do the duo screens soon anyway. Pent 4 3 Ghz 1 Gb of Ram ViewSonic VG910s Display Nvidia GE Force 4 MX4000, 1280 X 1024, 32 bit I want to be able to run that octopus creature pack when it comes out. Patrick in Seattle

02-20-2008, 08:53 AM	#1248
Leon Registered Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11	Isn't it a drag to try and keep up with technology? Just when you have it cracked they move the goalposts again! I treated myself last Xmas and bought an 8800GTX card - I have never made a better purchase... And what is this I hear about other screensavers? Butterflies, birdies etc? Tell me more! Leon

02-20-2008, 11:20 AM	#1250
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,794	Though the GeForce 6,7,or 8 series would be ideal to run MA3, the 4 series should have enough power to run it. My 5-series 5200 gives an acceptable 42 frames-per-second. Two of the Beta-testers have MX440 cards, which is a pretty high percentage, and makes me feel like I really should try to support that card. The problem has not been lack of power, but that the card doesn't work with MA3 at all. As soon as my new microprocessor gets here, I'll try to diagnose it. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-20-2008, 12:54 PM	#1251
Andrew Jenkins Registered Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: London Posts: 18	Originally posted by cjmaddy: Dabombguyman, Your attached image link doesn't appear to be working. ..... But I would hazard a guess that you are referring to what is commonly referred to as 'jaggies' - If so, does your video card give you the option to apply AA or AF ? (ie. Antialiasing & Anisotropic Filtering). If it does, try settings like these. - It can make a very noticeable difference to what is otherwise unavoidable, without a lot of complications to the programming. Hi cjmaddy- When i try to open your setting like 'these' I get a message that I may not have sufficient permissions to access the link. can you advise what the settings you are suggesting are as I would like to play around with mine also. Thanks

02-20-2008, 02:14 PM	#1252
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Cliff may have already gone to bed, so I will answer that one for you. Basically what he is refering too are your video card settings like Antialiasing and Anisotropic filtering. You can go to your settings screen for your video card and adjust those manually. These can take a large hit on your frame rate depending on how strong your card is, so start with the least setting, usually 2x and go from there according to your preferences. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-20-2008, 02:31 PM	#1253
Leon Registered Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11	Originally posted by Jav400: Leon, But with the caliber of cards generally available these days I think he should push the limit by including "checkboxes" if you will and settings for more options. If people can run them then great, and if people dont have a strong enough card then they don't have to use them. I was very, very impressed with the people who made "Crysis", the game a lot of people are raving about (It's French even!). I can run it on my high-end machine and my son (bless his heart!) can also play it on his older PC. We experimented with it after that on various other PC's and it works on most of them. The beauty is, if you do have a fast PC, you really get the benefit of great visuals and excellent game play. Conversely, if you have a older video card you can still enjoy the game. So, basically, if more people can access the product...need I say more? This forum fascinates me. I didn't realise so many people are into fish. I almost feel guilty going to my fishmonger.

02-20-2008, 02:52 PM	#1254
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	I'm hopeing for something along the same lines from Jim. But unfortunately, he has some issues to deal with that things like Crysis don't. One of his concerns is that most of the time if you walk into a store and see monitors setup on display his SS will be running on them. Jim is afraid that if he includes alot of these things and some dweb in the store sets things up they may check to many different things on a system that may not be able to handle it and then what is shown on all the monitors will be choppy and messed up in the presentation. I can understand that viewpoint, but conversly I also think that with what can be done with some of those settings even a few of them being setup correctly will far outweigh the others. Not to mention that the effect given will totally blow away any other screensaver on the market, and word of mouth on the net and elsewhere will make it the "Saver to Have. " But it is a difficult decision on where to draw that line on inclusions. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

02-20-2008, 03:18 PM	#1255
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,794	Leon - the company which developed Crysis has 186 employees, so they can afford to test on just about every platform out there. (Plus, their product was distributed by Electronic Arts, which probably also has a few computers laying around.) I'll do my best to make MA3 run on as wide a range of equipment as possible, but the combinations out there are really overwhelming. The Beta test team has a couple-dozen computers, which seem to represent a fairly good cross-section of equipment. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-20-2008, 04:22 PM	#1256
Leon Registered Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11	I didn't for one minute think that you should emulate Crysis. I was just pointing out that "access to a product" is always a good thing. How long did it take you to count the employees?

02-20-2008, 04:31 PM	#1257
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,794	Their Wikipedia article says it all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crytek Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

02-20-2008, 04:46 PM	#1258
johnblommers The Architect Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 756	Originally posted by Leon: basically, if more people can access the product...need I say more?. Which is of course why Jim supports porting MA to the Macintosh Reasons people don't watch Star Trek: 60% - It’s for nerds. 39% - The show’s stupid. 01% - My parents were killed by Klingons and it's still too painful.

02-20-2008, 07:31 PM	#1260
Patrick Gallagher Registered Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 14	Wow!! Thanks to all on the video card question. I feel that $200. is my upper limit. I'm trying to nurse this set of hardware along for another 2 years. I will check out the GeForce 6,7 &8 series also the 88000 GTX card. I don't do games so M.A and D.A. are my most intense video needs. I don't want to start a holy war but suggestions of cards and how they are set up like the screen shoot Jav400 did are most welcome. By the way Jim I frequently go down to Walport on the Oregon coast, great area. Patrick