Version 2.0 for Windows - 08/01/2007
By
Robert Bennett

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There are 2 ways to get the full registered version of this screen saver:
You can register just this screen saver for just US$7.50 and just get rid of the nag-screens from this screen saver, OR you can register UC3D and get full access to all past, present and future UC3D v1 screen savers for the one low price!! Click here for all the UC3D info.

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Well, how fast time flies. It's nearly 5 years now since I released my first shareware screensaver. I had discovered that to pay all the bills involved with running a site, and be able to put the amount of time and effort in to making these things that I wanted to, that I would have to start charging a small registration fee for my screensavers. So I released a little screensaver called "When Pigs Fly!" with 3D pigs flying around, and the rest is history! I never thought the site would survive, but thankfully it's still going all these years later, and I'm still not sick of wasting huge amounts of time making these things.

So I decided it was time to give the piggies a face lift. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I kept deciding to do new stuff instead. Finally I slapped myself into submission, and here we have a shiny new version. Even better is it's now available for the Mac. I've wanted to have flying pigs on my Mac since the day I got it, and I'm not even sure why. But now I can! And so can you!

I used to love the original version, but when I looked at it again recently I really couldn't see why. The pigs looked primitive, the scene was very plain, and the animation was ultra-simple. But I guess for a first try at something like this it wasn't so bad!

Anyway, I've remade almost all of it. The pigs now look much nicer, and the flying animation is a lot better too. I've also made them fly around over some farmland instead of just plane hills. It's only a small amount of detail really because I didn't want to slow the whole thing down too much, but it's amazing how much difference just a little detail makes. You now get a much better sense of movement and speed, so much more height and depth, when they fly over the barn and the fences. I really like it.

They still fly in flocks, but I've changed the way they fly so it's a little more natural with less strange and sudden changes. They glide more, and just look better in general. If you ask me, anyway.

One thing I haven't touched is the shootin' portion. I'm not sure what to do with this, but when I work it out I'll change it. So it's still the same as it was. It's just a basic way to let off some steam. I haven't been able to put the interactivity into the Mac version at all, but when I work out how I'll think about doing it. Again, I haven't decided if violence against flying pigs is the way I want to go anymore. I'm thinking more towards a vegan friendly screensaver. But for now, it's still in the Windows version, so enjoy it!

I still love the music too. Hopefully in 5 years time this wont look as primitive as the old version from 5 years ago did when I last saw it!

Enjoy!

I'm still in a state of shock over how popular this thing has become. It's fantastic, cos I consider this one of the best things I've done. I still enjoy sitting watching the piggies fly around.

Anyway, since I released UC3D this is the one I've had the most emails about. Almost everyone who has registered UC3D has asked when this will be available as a module. It took some doing, but I've now managed to convert it. So registered UC3D users can now enjoy all the porky goodness.

This also means if you want to register this screensaver, you can still do so for just US$5. But you can also register UC3D and get this, along with all other past, present and future UC3D v1 screensaver for the one low price! For more info on UC3D go to:

http://www.UselessCreations.com/uc3d

Whether you register or not, you'll be able to have this one switch around with other UC3D screensavers. It's all part of the fun.

If you spot any bugs, let me know.

Enjoy!

It's hard for me to believe that this screensaver is nearly a year old. It's still by far one of my favourites, and it seems lots of you guys like it too.

This is just a small update. I'm going through some of the old releases to fix up their multi-monitor support. Now you guys with more than one monitor can choose to have it just displayed on your primary screen or try and stretch it across all of them.

I also forgot to include instructions on how to play the game in the first version, but I never claimed to be intelligent and I think this just proves how stupid I am.

Enjoy!

I'm not sure where this idea originally came from, but I've had it for a while now. Basically what this screensaver does is display piggies flying around in glorious 3D!

But they don't just fly aimlessly. Years ago I remember seeing a screensaver called Swarm or something. It was all these coloured dots chasing this other dot around the screen. The pigs fly in a similar way. There are certain pigs who lead and the others follow the closest lead pig they can find. This gives the effect that they're flying around in flocks. It looks cool as (IMHO).

When I saw it for the first time and I had all the pigs doing what I wanted I thought of just one piece of music that would go perfectly. So I added the background music "Ride of the Valkyries". It's a touch of class.

Then they started doing stuff wrong and annoyed me. So I added a game mode. If their constant grunting annoys you press space. You'll then be armed with a shotgun and be able to blow them out of the sky!

Please note: No pigs were harmed in the making of this screensaver!

For music to work you must have DirectX 8 installed. Game mode should work with most versions of DirectX.

DirectX comes with most games. But if you need it you can get it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/directx

Way back I remember thinking "I'll be able to charge for screensavers when pigs fly". Well, that day has come. I can no longer pay all the website fees by myself. If you want to see Useless Creations continue (and there's 1000's of people who download from it everyday who do) then please register this screensaver! It's only US$5. You can afford it. This tiny amount will help ensure the site survives. Think of all you've taken from the site over the years, it's time to give something back.

Enjoy!

v2.0 - 8th January, 2007 - Re-Write
Huge re-write of the original version.
New 3D pig models.
New flight animations.
New background farm scenery.
New flight movement.
Almost new everything!

v1.2 - 10th December, 2003 - Update
More bugs fixed.
Converted to work with my UC3D Screensaver System.

v1.1 - 15th June, 2003 - Updated Release
Some small bugs fixed.
Better multi-monitor support added.

v1.0 - 5th September, 2002 - Original Release
Nifty 3D Piggies fly around in flocks.
Randomly generated sky and terrain.
Background music "Ride of the Valkyries".
Game Mode: Press space to start shootin' down the pigs
Smooth camera system.