Nabad

Hi guys, so again I have another idea which I plan to start as soon as possible. I want to create a virtual aquarium, however this is not just your just your average fish screen saver, I'm planning on making a completley interactive simulation, however it will be much more, an innovative time-sink. I plan on making it a hobby, a thing to do while talking on AIM or waiting for a download to finish.

My plans are to make the fish completley dynamic, as they will grow and have tendancies, such as prefered foods, relationships with other fish, and even stats of sorts. The fish will be a completley independant entity, as they will react based on what you do, rather than do what you tell them. It is going to have a user friendly interface with a ring scrolling menu, such as the one in secret of mana for the gameboy. I plan on creating a huge database for this in order for thousands of interactions and possibilites to take place and a myriad of choices to choose from. Things such as fish type, coral, plants, rocks, filters, water type, lighting, and even tank type. The program will also be able to function as your desktop and screensaver while idle, and run as an application while doing other processes.

Now for the ambitious part, is that I plan on making this a full 3D environment, with interactive and movable parts. The tank will be able to rotate a full 360 degrees and zoom in and out. There will be shimmering effects as well as a nice level of texture. I know all of this sounds very intense, however I plan to put a lot of work into this, and I'm trying to create something I can develope as I learn new things, and implement features as my skills as a programmer grow.

As of now, I know html and Java, html is out of the question, and Java is not really suited for this. So I wanted to know if first off, you think this is possible, and second, what language would you recommend? Thanks for reading my post and please post any sugestions you guys have. =)

tempest

That's just what i want to do while talking on AIM, feed my virtual fish...

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Nabad

Well you know I never said it would be for everyone but think a little open minded here.

Dameon

Java would work with Java 3D.

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Nabad

Oh really? I was thinking maybe C++?

coldDeath

C++ can use OpenGL which is good for 3D graphics, search this forum for a post by me and you'll find some info and links.
There is also Direct X for C++ which is made by Microsoft for Windows only.
You could also look into OGRE which Ooble quite likes, although i haven't tested it out yet.

But if you already know Java it might be an idea to llearn Java 3D as Dameon said.

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