Tank preferences don't stick?

[JimO'Connor]

I have had a question about how the preferences work.

Each tank has its own preferences. Each tank has its own list of fish to go in it. Each tank has its own bubbles, sound and lighting settings.

Fish favorites are global.

To set the preferences for the Large Clear Tank, for instance, you need to select "Large Clear Tank" in the pop up menu above the settings on both the tank and the fish panels.

In version 0.9.4 and beyond, selecting a tank in the tank list box will ALSO select it in the pop up menus on the tank and fish preference panels. You can still select a different tank in the pop up menu, but selecting a tank in the tank list will assume you also want to adjust its settings.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by JimO'Connor
In version 0.9.4 and beyond, selecting a tank in the tank list box will ALSO select it in the pop up menus on the tank and fish preference panels. You can still select a different tank in the pop up menu, but selecting a tank in the tank list will assume you also want to adjust its settings.

I think this is a Good Thing™. It should make it a bit easier to understand.

[JimO'Connor]

Thanks AKcrab. I think so too. I am also considering adding an "Apply to all" button.

[JimO'Connor]

The new check boxes are for "Auto Lighting", "Sound" and "Bubbles". Changing the checkbox changes the value which shows up on the right when that tank is selected. This allows you to quickly and easily turn the sound off for ALL tanks.

What do you think?

I need picture suggestions for "Debris". I'm thinking a crumpled pop can or maybe an old tire?

[AKcrab]

I LOVE the mockup.

I like the crumpled can idea.

[JimO'Connor]

It isn't a mock-up. It works. I did it right after I built 0.9.6.

[AKcrab]

Even better!

[patscarr]

Originally posted by JimO'Connor
What do you think?

That looks great! Will it make it into the PC version?

[Wizwad]

That's a beautiful Settings Panel Jim!

With regard to Debris - how about an old boot with a hole in it?

[JimO'Connor]

You can be a UI designer...

Several people have commented privately about the column heading artwork not being very [ahem] great. I admit I threw those together in PhotoShop just to get this up and running. Eric is going to make a better bubble and light bulb for me. No idea what he has in mind for debris though.

With this UI there are two places to turn off Bubbles for the selected tank, and that is a bit confusing. You can turn off bubbles in the right panel or in the table with the check box. I'm not thrilled with this. Multiple paths to the same setting should make sense and I'm not sure this does. However, we really need the enable/disable check box next to the bubble slider to indicate how to enable the slider...

Thoughts?

[JimO'Connor]

Here is my idea (rough though it is). Basically, get rid of the entire right side of the panel. Do everything in the table. This mock up shows the light adjustment popup control (like a QuickTime volume slider) and the bubble popup control on screen at the same time, though they would only appear when someone clicks on the bubble or the lighting mock-up drawing.

Note that I have drawn a crude boot to represent debris.

Also note that the whole concept of sound on when application is frontmost has gone away. I don't think anybody uses this and it complicates the UI with something I don't think many people understand.

Thoughts?

[JimO'Connor]

Okay, so that went over like a lead balloon. I'd been up all night and it seemed like a good idea to my adled brain.

Does anyone actually use tank specific sound settings? The general opinion here is that sound settings should be global and I'm leaning towards making it so.

[AKcrab]

Hey, sorry Jim. I've been busy.

The new mockup is excellent!

I think the whole sound/frontmost thing is moot.

Everything in one place makes perfect sense.

(The graphics need a little help.)

[JimO'Connor]

You mean you do something besides post here? What for?

Eric thought that the all in the table design is too busy, so I'm looking for ways to make it work without being so cluttered.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by JimO'Connor
Eric thought that the all in the table design is too busy, so I'm looking for ways to make it work without being so cluttered.

It is cluttered, but look at all the settings you're trying to put in one space. There's just too many things you can set for each tank. (Too many == GoodThing™)

I'm going to wrack my brain and see what I can come up with.

[johnblommers]

It's good to grapple with ease-of-use. We're talking about a Mac product here, and mac users won't up up with crappy interfaces.

But let's not lose track of the realism which is the selling point of GA. So that realism will be enhanced by:
- allowing more fish in the tank
- allowing fish to cast blobby shadows on the gravel
- adding bump maps so we can see the scales on these fish

I know, I know, this has been addressed before

[JimO'Connor]

This is a bit better than the previous attempt, but I'm still stuck with the boot for the moment.

The lighting palette shows up when you click on the cycle or the manual lighting representation in the lighting column of the table. The idea is that the manual lighting icon will show the foreground and background lighting by the shades in the box.

It may still be too busy, but it is a HUGE improvement from the previous version.

Clicking on the varying number of bubbles would bring up a slider for adjusting the bubbles.

The sound is now a single slider for the entire product, and it would live on this screen somewhere, which doesn't really affect the use of the table so I left it off.

[cjmaddy]

?

[JimO'Connor]

I love it!

[Marian Nichols]

I don’t have a Mac, but I do love some of the ideas you are coming up with. Nice thought about an old boot or shoe is have a big see through hole that the fish swim into and through. Another ‘debris’ you often see in a real pond is old drink bottles or a wide mouth jar that is clear and when the fish swim into it you can see them inside. I have in my real goldfish tank a pair of broken clay pots and it is one neat looking setup to me. You can decrease the height of the plants to allow for a floating variety or even some lily pads.

How about a skull? A large human or an animal like a bull.

Here is a picture of mine.