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Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

extentofthejam.com

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Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#11

Post by InsideOutSanta »

Netcob wrote: post #10

I love the ingenuity, I also love youtube documentaries on this topic, but... as a child (in the 90s), I did not like these pseudo 3D racing games at all! Mode 7 on the SNES was usually fine. I don't know how accurately it rendered a single flat surface in 3D, but it felt real enough and responsive enough. Except for the very rare cases where they simulated non-flat surfaces (Speed Racer, Super Off-Road), even though…

IMO it greatly depends on the game. Very advanced games that used this technique, like OutRun in the arcade, really almost feel like you're driving on a road with real turns. Lotus Turbo Challenge on the Amiga also does a pretty good job giving you the illusion that you're actually approaching turns, i.e. that there is a turn ahead of you and it is coming towards you.

But most games that implemented this technique were much more primitive, and just amounted to "bending" the road to indicate turns, which never feels like there's actually a turn coming towards you. It just feels like the road is suddenly changing its shape. But that's not an inherent fault of the technique, it's just a poor implementation.

I do agree that Mode7 games, which effectively display an almost correctly rendered 3D plane, are generally a much better experience.

Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#13

Post by rzzzt »

InsideOutSanta wrote: post #11
Netcob wrote: post #10

I love the ingenuity, I also love youtube documentaries on this topic, but... as a child (in the 90s), I did not like these pseudo 3D racing games at all! Mode 7 on the SNES was usually fine. I don't know how accurately it rendered a single flat surface in 3D, but it felt real enough and responsive enough. Except for the very rare cases where they simulated non-flat surfaces (Speed Racer, Super Off-Road), even though…

IMO it greatly depends on the game. Very advanced games that used this technique, like OutRun in the arcade, really almost feel like you're driving on a road with real turns. Lotus Turbo Challenge on the Amiga also does a pretty good job giving you the illusion that you're actually approaching turns, i.e. that there is a turn ahead of you and it is coming towards you. But most games that implemented this technique we…

Pit Stop II on the C64 felt like you had force feedback on a digital joystick, no less!

Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#15

Post by [deleted] »

Netcob wrote: post #10

I love the ingenuity, I also love youtube documentaries on this topic, but... as a child (in the 90s), I did not like these pseudo 3D racing games at all! Mode 7 on the SNES was usually fine. I don't know how accurately it rendered a single flat surface in 3D, but it felt real enough and responsive enough. Except for the very rare cases where they simulated non-flat surfaces (Speed Racer, Super Off-Road), even though…

[deleted]

Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#16

Post by frou_dh »

Netcob wrote: post #10

I love the ingenuity, I also love youtube documentaries on this topic, but... as a child (in the 90s), I did not like these pseudo 3D racing games at all! Mode 7 on the SNES was usually fine. I don't know how accurately it rendered a single flat surface in 3D, but it felt real enough and responsive enough. Except for the very rare cases where they simulated non-flat surfaces (Speed Racer, Super Off-Road), even though…

I agree. Even at the time, many of the games that look like this felt like you were being dragged around the track, and just finessing it a bit with the controller input.

It's not a good feeling as a player when a game mostly plays itself and gives you some token involvement.

Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#17

Post by mysterydip »

elevationapi wrote: post #12

I remember Vroom killing the game on Atari ST : https://youtu.be/Z-RELFjDu_8?si=giyiDpRqUPNSNEK9 Insane depth of view with fluidity for the time

There's a new racing game that just came out for the ST that achieved 50FPS: https://retroracing.itch.io/faster-atari-ste

Re: Lou's Pseudo 3D Page (2013)

#18

Post by anthk »

frou_dh wrote: post #16
Netcob wrote: post #10

I love the ingenuity, I also love youtube documentaries on this topic, but... as a child (in the 90s), I did not like these pseudo 3D racing games at all! Mode 7 on the SNES was usually fine. I don't know how accurately it rendered a single flat surface in 3D, but it felt real enough and responsive enough. Except for the very rare cases where they simulated non-flat surfaces (Speed Racer, Super Off-Road), even though…

I agree. Even at the time, many of the games that look like this felt like you were being dragged around the track, and just finessing it a bit with the controller input. It's not a good feeling as a player when a game mostly plays itself and gives you some token involvement.

Lotus III on the Amiga did the mountain tracks almost af if they had some height and so due to the bending effect from the guard rails and being able to see the actual cliffs at the sides. OTOH, curves were better than the average 16 bit racer, as you could step a bit offroad from the curve, but not so much. But it gave the game some believability.

Also, the patched Road Rash 1-2-3 ROMs for the Mega Drive run much better with far more frames, and neither any overclocking is required at all, nor any extra hardware. That make them very good on simulating pseudo-3D races.

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