Koi 3D

 

 

Documentation

  4. Making Koi 3D your screensaver

 

1. Installation

 

To install Koi 3D, run Koi3D.exe, the installer. Then follow the instructions in the installer wizard.

At the end of the installation, the Koi 3D Settings dialog will optionally be shown. You may use this dialog to choose your fish and preview your pond.

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2. Selecting your fish

Koi 3D allows you to customize the number and varieties of koi fish in your pond. To change these settings, go to the Fish tab of the Koi 3D Settings dialog.

There are several ways to reach the Koi 3D Settings dialog.

  1. From your desktop, go to Start > All Programs > Koi 3D > Configure
  2. You may also right-click on the Koi 3D icon on your Desktop, then select Configure from the pop-up menu.

To add a fish to your pond:

  1. Select a spot in the Pond Config Box, located in the upper left-hand corner of the Koi 3D Settings dialog.
  2. Select a fish from the Fish Selector Window on the right-hand side of the dialog. You will see a larger image of this fish appear in the Fish Preview Window, while information about this fish will come up in the Fish information box.
  3. Click the button with the arrow to add this fish to your pond.

To remove a fish from your pond:

  1. Select the fish you wish to remove from the Pond Config Box.
  2. Click the 'X' button.

To add a random fish to your pond:

  1. Select a spot in the Pond Config Box.
  2. Click the '?' button.

To preview the pond with your current selection of fish:

  1. Click the Preview button.

To save your current fish selection:

  1. Click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog.

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3. Changing the viewing angle

Koi 3D is a true 3D environment that you can view from different angles and move around interactively.

Koi 3D comes with eight pre-configured views to choose from, or you may create your own custom view. Use your keyboard's number keys to switch between the preset pond views:

Tip: Try pressing the Spacebar to ripple the pond water, then freeze the pond by hitting the 'P' key. Now use the arrow keys and numeric key pad to move around the frozen pond.

You can see how the refraction caused by the water distorts the fish differently at different angles.

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  • 1: Cycle through preset views
  • 2-9: Select one of the preset views
  • 0: Custom view (user defined)

To create a custom view, press the '0' (zero) number key and then use the arrow keys and numeric key pad to navigate around your pond until you are satisfied with your view.

The screensaver will start up in this view the next time it runs.

To Exit Koi 3D, simply move the mouse, or press the ESC key.

WARNING: Some keyboards and many laptops do not have a numeric key pad. If your computer does not have a numeric key pad you may use the following alternative controls:

  • W - Move forward
  • S - Move backward
  • Q - Rotate left
  • E - Rotate right
  • A - Tilt up
  • Z - Tilt down
  • P - freeze the pond
  • Spacebar - Ripple the water

To view these controls while running the pond, press the F1 key.

4. Making Koi 3D your screensaver

Koi 3D is a stand-alone application, but you may also set it to run as your screensaver.

You may use the Display Properties dialog to change your screensaver settings.

This dialog may be reached in several ways:

  1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel, then double-click on Display to bring up the Display Properties dialog box. Click on the Screensaver tab, and you should see a panel like the one shown here.


  2. Right-click on your Desktop and select Propeties. Click on the Screensaver tab.

You may use this dialog to:

  1. Set your default screensaver
  2. Open up the Koi 3D Settings dialog by clicking the Settings button. This dialog will allow you to select your fish, register and change your pond's advanced settings.
  3. Preview your screensaver.
  4. Change the Wait setting (the number of minutes your computer must be idle before the screensaver starts)
  5. Password protect your computer.

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5. Koi 3D settings

You may use the settings tab of the Koi 3D Settings dialog to control various settings for your pond, including sound, display resolution and more advanced settings.

1. Display Settings:

Click on the Display Settings button on the Settings panel to change the resolution that your screen uses when the pond is running. In general, lowering your screen resolution will speed up how fast your pond runs.

You may also change the color depth that your pond uses. The color depth controls how many colors your computer displays. You may choose between 16 bit and 32 bit color depth. Your pond will run faster with 16 bit color depth selected than with 32 bit color depth. If you have an older computer and your pond is running very slowly (or not at all), try selecting 16 bit color depth and the lowest display resolution.

2. Sound:

You may enable or disable the pond's background water sounds using the Background Sound Enabled check box.

3. Improved Fish Rendering:

Enabling Improved Fish Rendering will cause the fish in your pond to be rendered using a higher quality technique called Software Skinning, but this technique will also cause your pond to slow down significantly. Users with older or less powerful computers should not enable Improved Fish Rendering.

4. Advanced:

The next release of Koi 3D will give you the option of improving image quality by forcing your computer to use 32-bit depth buffering.

If your computer's graphics card is too old to run Koi 3D, you may try checking the Force Untextured Water box. This will disable the advanced water effects in the pond, but will allow the program to work on older machines.

5. Water Surface Resolution:

You may change the resolution at which the water surface in your pond is rendered by sliding the Water Surface Resolution bar. When set to high, this setting will give you the highest quality image of the pond water and your fish, but it will also cause the pond speed to slow down slightly. To maximize the speed of your pond, change this setting to low.

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6. Purchase and Registration

 

To register Koi 3D and remove the nag screen, you must purchase the program.

After making your purchase, you will be directed to download the Full Version of Koi 3D. During installation of the Full Version, you will be asked to provide your email address in order to register your copy.

Be sure you use the same email address you supplied when making your purchase.

 

Older versions of Koi 3D only:

To register Koi 3D and remove the nag screen, you must obtain a Registration Code.

If you have not yet purchased Koi 3D and are running a demo that you downloaded from our website, you must purchase the Full Version of Koi 3D.

Once you have obtained a registration code, you must copy it into the Registration Code box on the Registration tab of the Koi 3D Settings dialog box. This will unlock the full features of Koi 3D .

If your Registration Code appears not to work, make sure that:

  1. You correctly entered your System ID when you obtained your Registration Code from our Web Registration Page. (You must log in to access this page).
  2. You copied the Registration Code we gave you exactly as it appeared on our Web Registration Page. You should not change the format of this code, or add extra whitespace (e.g. spaces and tabs) when entering it into the Registration Code box on the Registration tab of the Koi 3D Settings dialog box. (We recommend you use CTRL-C and CTRL-V to copy and paste your System ID and Registration Code to avoid making mistakes in typing).

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7. Troubleshooting

 

Koi 3D uses advanced 3D graphics techniques which may cause it to run slowly, or not at all, on older computers.

  • For the most up-to-date troubleshooting information, visit the support page on our website at www.Koi3D.com/support.
  • If you believe you have found a bug in Koi 3D, please fill out the bug report form on our website at www.Koi3D.com/support/report_bug.html. Your bug report will help us improve our software and give you the best koi pond possible.

Common problems:

1. Koi 3D runs very, very slowly.

Try reducing the number of fish in the pond, or reducing the resolution setting for your pond.

Ideally, the framerate of your pond should be at least 15 frames per second (fps), and preferably over 20 fps. To check to see how fast your pond is running, press 'T' while the screensaver is running. The framerate will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the screen

2. Koi 3D will not run at all.

Try disabling the advanced water effects. Older computers will not be able to run Koi 3D with the water effects enabled.

If this does not work, try changing the resolution setting for your pond.

If that does not work, we recommend you obtain the latest graphics card drivers from your PC vendor's website, and install them, following the vendor's recommendations - if you are not comfortable installing drivers, we recommend contacting your vendor for detailed instructions or further advice. We cannot help resolve driver configuration issues and cannot take responsibility for problems caused by changes you make to your PC configuration.

3. I have problems running Koi 3D on my laptop, but it works fine on my desktop.

The first release of Koi 3D may not run on some laptops, particularly those more than a couple years old (e.g. Windows 98 or Windows ME laptops). In general, the graphics capabilities of most laptop computers are a year or two behind the capabilities of desktops bought at the same time.

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8. Uninstallation

 

There are two ways to uninstall Koi 3D:

  1. Go to the Start Menu and select Programs > Koi 3D > Uninstall.
  2. Go to the Start Menu and select Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. Select Koi 3D Screensaver from the list and click on the Remove button. The uninstaller will remove all software installed with Koi 3D.

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