Talk:Insaniquarium Deluxe

A different, undocumented version 1.1?

My Insaniquarium Deluxe says it's version 1.1 at the title screen but does not feature a "Check Updates" button. This originates from a disc, I did not buy it on Steam. Is this version known to anyone? I can (possibly) record the game booting up and/or take screenshots, if need be, to prove it. Partone (talk) 19:33, 1 December 2015 (EST)

Can you take a screenshot? Ensure it does follow the rules for uploading images, though. --Phrossi (talk) 20:05, 1 December 2015 (EST)

I noticed the PopCap logo has the word "Games" on it as well. (I used Paint.net to crop out the window title, I can upload the original if needed) Partone (talk) 21:17, 1 December 2015 (EST)

Where did the disc come from? There definitely seems to be undocumented concurrent releases of the game under the same version number, based on how many different digital and physical releases the game received, companies merging, the variance in logo placement, etc. all seem to hint at this. If it helps at all, I've only ever seen the "Check Updates" button on v1.1 via direct download from PopCap.

I do have a physical copy somewhere that I got via mail order from Popcap sometime between 2011-2013, which I don't recall having the updates button. If I can find it I'll report back here and let you know the version number. --The9thBit (talk) 05:03, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

I have this exact same version. I found this in my basement and checked the date of the files updated, and looked into the version of the game's executable and it confirmed it was v1.1 from August 18th, 2008 (8/18/2008) at 4:57 PM based on the last modified date. --INFAMOUS (Talk) 22:02, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

Space background is from a different popcap game

The background that appears when you type in "space" seems to also be in another game published by popcap, called Astropop.

• 

  The one from Astropop Deluxe

• 

  The one from Insaniquarium

These games were published around the same time so they probably saved time by reusing the same images. --Wowmom98 (talk) 18:34, 3 September 2017 (EDT)

Zuma Deluxe and Bejeweled 2 also used the same image. --INFAMOUS (Talk) 21:55, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

Possibly unused images?

I found a bunch of images that I don't think are used, but i'm not sure, they may be in the game in the form of a hidden easter egg that hasn't been found or something like that. Most of them have to do with food for some reason...

• 
• 
• 
• 

  This one is just called "talkshow"

• 

  I don't remember this being used as a background in game... Maybe for a backdrop in the virtual tank but I have never seen it available to buy.

--Wowmom98 (talk) 18:51, 3 September 2017 (EDT)

All of these are used in-game.

• The ice cream, pizza, and fried chicken are special food items in the Virtual Tank.
• The Cyrax talk show is used for the Stories section in the Challenge mode.
• The castle backdrop is a backdrop only available in Virtual Tank.

--MarlontheFett (talk) 10:51, 7 February 2019 (EDT)

Glitches

Does this game need a bugs page for levels such as Tank 0-0 and Tank 6-1? — The preceding unsigned comment was added by MarlontheFett (talk • contribs)

I don't personally think the game is buggy enough to justify a full page for what basically amounts to different versions of the same glitch. Perhaps worth noting is that The Insaniquarium Deluxe wiki claims that the Steam releases patches the tank 6 bug, so it could potentially be noted in the version differnces. --The9thBit (talk) 04:50, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

The extended alien music

I've played probably 4 or 5 revisions of the game throughout the years, and I've never encountered one that actually plays the full alien music in-game, even when paused. As far as I can tell, it is most likely (for some reason) hard-programmed to play the first seven seconds of the file and then sustain the end for 3 more seconds before looping it again. On that note, I wanted to ask if the audio clip labeled "1.0/Steam" is a actually ripped from the game, or simply recorded from gameplay. Also wanted to ask if anybody can hear the full version by pausing in 1.1, as I've never experienced that myself. --The9thBit (talk) 05:11, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

I cannot confirm the extended alien music, as I tried it myself in 1.1 and those other seconds of music do not play. It is also worth mentioning that I looked into the tracker through all of the patterns and that one pattern that plays the extended version does not exist. Also what? 4 or 5 revisions? What other revisions exist??? --INFAMOUS (Talk) 21:50, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

As mentioned above, there's almost certainly several undocumented revisions, all of which are labeled either v1.0 or v1.1, although there's no evidence that anything changed between them besides the title screen and the presence/absence of the "check updates" button. It would be really cool if somebody could document them thoroughly one day, but that person definitely won't be me. Offhand, I can recall playing the game from a v1.0 retail store disc, a v1.1 mail order disc (update button absent), a v1.1 direct download from Popcap (update button present), and v1.1 on Steam. I think I also remember playing a preinstalled trial of it on an old laptop once. (The trial is not a seperate revision, there was just third-party DRM limiting the number of play sessions). -CitricDolphin (talk) 16:21, 15 October 2022 (UTC) (Formerly The9thBit)

Origin of "2004 Coffee Man" Watermark

I can't seem to trace the origin of the "2004 Coffee Man" (I think that's what it says) title screen watermark, now present in the v1.0 screenshot. No such company exists, and it sleeps very sloppily added in a weird spot. I've only ever seen this watermark in pirated versions of the game, so is it possible that this was added in an early scene release and never paid any attention until now? It's also conspicuously absent in all known v1.1 releases. --The9thBit (talk) 05:10, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

Over a year later, I've found something! I have no clue what the website is, but this page (all in Korean, scroll to the bottom of the page and read 7.2) claims that the watermark is only present in cracked copies of the game, so it seems my suspicion was correct. I don't have access to a legit copy of v1.0 anymore, but the picture should be replaced ASAP but somebody who does. The9thBit (talk) 02:30, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Okay last edit for now, but I've also happened across an old game-sharing website. I won't link to it here, but the title of the page is all in Arabic and it's not hard to find with the right web search. It's full of keys for old games, and almost all the PopCap games on the site (including Insaniquarium) are registered to somebody named Coffee Man. Whoever Coffee Man was, it seems they were quite active in the PopCap scene back in the day. The9thBit (talk) 02:35, 20 November 2021 (UTC)

Beta Tank 1 Song

I found this on the old 2001 Insaniquarium website.

http://www.freshpulp.com/fishtank/download/Insaniquarium%20-%20Tank%201.mp3

— The preceding unsigned comment was added by EMINX (talk • contribs)

Lots of Revisions

Greetings, I just went through and tried to iron out some of the issues with the revision differences section, which I can see has already been discussed a few times on the talk page. There are obviously a lot of different minor revisions for this game, since it had a pretty varied distribution, and just labeling them "1.0" and "1.1" doesn't seem to cut it. I took it upon myself to poke around and try to compile a more definitive set of the distributions, and I know the list isn't exhaustive, but I think I have a slightly clearer idea of the whole mess and want to put it somewhere it may be remotely helpful.

1.0 Digital Installer: This version could be directly downloaded off of the PopCap site and purchased digitally. This has a more prominent Flying Bear logo at the bottom left, replacing the smaller one at the top right, and has the popcap website URL placed below the logo. This appears to be the version used in the screenshot of the game's title screen on the bob.

1.0 MumboJumbo Disc: This is from my 1.0 disc, and was one of the possible distributions for the game. The title screen has the MumboJumbo logo on the bottom-left. This is what I have uploaded in the Revisional Differences section.

1.0 Gamehouse Disc: This is from a Gamehouse disc. The title screen has the Gamehouse logo on the bottom-left. An older version of the bob screenshot appears to be of this revision.

1.1 Original Installer: This version could be directly downloaded off of the PopCap site and purchased digitally. It has the new Popcap logo and the option to check online for updates. This may be the version featured in the "Steam 1.1" screenshot in the Revisional Differences section.

1.1 PopCap Disc: This is from my 1.1 disc, and seems to be the version on most of the 1.1 disc backups online. It includes the old PopCap logo on the title screen, and does not include a way to check for updates. Despite this, the packaging and installer uses the newer logo. This is featured as the 1.1 in-between in the Revisional Differences section (also appears to be the version screenshotted above)

1.1 RealArcade Version: This is the (a?) version that was available under the RealArcade online service. It includes the new PopCap logo, no option to check for updates, and a RealArcade logo on the bottom left, similar to a 1.0 release. Interestingly, this version's readme states that it is 1.0, but it definitely is 1.1, I assume they just forgot to change it.

1.1 Steam Release: This is the version that you buy on Steam. It uses the new PopCap logo, but does not include an option to check for updates. This may be the version featured in the "Steam 1.1" screenshot in the Revisional Differences section.

The original 1.0 screenshot in the revisional differences section featured a crack of a supposed RealArcade 1.0 version with a "Coffee Man" watermark, but I wasn't able to find a backup of this version or its crack. I also saw mumblings of a Zone/Oberon version while looking around, which I couldn't find a backup of either.

I don't want to add this info to the page myself yet, because I frankly don't know what the hell to make of all of it, and I'm also not sure to what extent the changes are worth documenting (the page currently seems to suggest that the distributor logo differences aren't noteworthy enough). If anyone has info on any missing versions or the ones I found, please feel free to reply. Thanks Laxbby (talk) 08:30, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Imo, it would definitely be worth compiling screenshots of all the different title screen configurations and posting them in the article. This game is uniquely fascinating in how messy its release history is and how it seemed to get passed around between publishers constantly for the better part of a decade, and I think that deserves recognition. I wrote the original version of the revisional differences section, and the wording has been mostly preserved until now. The only reason I phrased it so generally was because I had no better/more specific information regarding all the different title screen configurations. Unfortunately, I now only own the Steam version of the game so I don't have any unique title screens to contribute.

While we're on the topic, is the 2004 Coffee Man variant worth mentioning specifically? It was never included in an official release so it's not technically part of the game, but it's so ubiquitous nowadays that it feels weird to leave it out entirely. CitricDolphin (talk) 09:09, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. I own every version that I mentioned in the original post (legally or otherwise), so I can totally put some screenshots together and add them. It makes sense that it was originally phrased so generally, since a lot of this info seems pretty much undocumented anyways, so I can agree with covering every known revision no matter how small. Regarding the Coffee Man crack, it's based off a version that I couldn't find on the internet (RealArcade 1.0), and I think that version definitely needs to be covered if anyone can get their hands on it. The Coffee Man crack shouldn't be listed as an official revision in my opinion, but I see no harm in saying something like "the 1.0 RealArcade variant usually circulates as a cracked version by someone named Coffee Man". I'm a bit busy currently, so feel free to format and add whatever you want to the section, but I can definitely add the screenshots and maybe port some of this info over to the main article at some point later, if you don't get around to it Laxbby (talk) 21:15, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Sorry for the late response, I never got pinged for your update for whatever reason. What you said sounds great. I'm going to leave that section alone until you get around to posting screenshots, partially because I think it would look odd with detailed descriptions of many versions but pictures of only a few, and partially because I've just finished my analysis the game and want to be done with it for now. Take your time, I'll look forward to seeing everything when you have it ready! CitricDolphin (talk) 01:13, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

It's no trouble, I actually almost never get pinged for these kinds of things, for whatever reason. I officially went and reformatted the section to hopefully be a bit neater; it's still probably not perfect, but I added the screenshots and tried to add as much info as possible. I also noticed while testing that the "Check for Updates" boolean is present in the 1.0 partner.xml file, and even gets re-enabled when forcing Trial Mode. I went ahead and updated the page to reflect this. Unless I can think of anything I left out, or randomly find a new revision, I'm probably done with it for now, so feel free to look through and do what you want with it. Laxbby (talk) 21:17, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

-changedir command line option

I've just barely started the process of picking this game apart for any other secrets it may be hiding, and I noticed that nestled with all the command-line options already on the main article, there's also a "-changedir" option. I took a shot in the dark that it would allow the game to either use a different save directory or even just execute from a different location, but it doesn't accept any parameters. Launching the game with just the launch option has no effect. I hope to get a deeper look at this later, but in the meantime, does anybody have any clue what this is about? CitricDolphin (talk) 08:13, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Figured it out, it's now properly documented on the main page. CitricDolphin (talk) 05:56, 9 September 2023 (UTC)