Could the Genesis handle 3D graphics?

[Rex Dart]

Virtua Racing...

 

Yeah, post #7, but there are so many more that do 3D without the benefit of a second CPU on the cart.

 

 

a special form of 3D called "lines of constant z"

 

Sounds like my job.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Chilly Willy]

Yeah, post #7, but there are so many more that do 3D without the benefit of a second CPU on the cart.

Yeah. See that Star Fox demo for a good example of pure 3D polygon-goodness on the MD.

 

 

Sounds like my job.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Having good math skills can help a lot when programming, but some folks can find it a bit - boring.

[Austin]

Technically speaking, games like Doom ARE "real" 3D. While the level data may be 2D with the 3rd dimension being derived from floor and ceiling values, that doesn't make it not 3D. The rendering is a special form of 3D called "lines of constant z" that makes rendering fast and easy. If you aren't familiar with that, get a good book on 3D graphics programming. Now there are better ways to go 3D that are more realistic, but "not as good or realistic 3D" is not the same thing as "not 3D".

 

Yeah, I suppose my "not 3D" comments were a little unwarranted, especially in the case of DOOM. That, or I used the incorrect wording. Whenever I have thought "3D" in the past, I have always equated that to, as you mentioned in your last post, "pure 3D polygons". Your description above makes sense though.

[Chilly Willy]

Yeah, I suppose my "not 3D" comments were a little unwarranted, especially in the case of DOOM. That, or I used the incorrect wording. Whenever I have thought "3D" in the past, I have always equated that to, as you mentioned in your last post, "pure 3D polygons". Your description above makes sense though.

No sweat. We know what you meant, and most of us agree. It's why games like Doom get called 2.5D instead of 3D - because most people don't consider them real 3D since the data is closer to 2D. True polygon games that reside in a full 3D map are what most people consider real 3D, but those were mostly beyond consoles and computers of the times unless restricted to a bare handful of polys.

[108 Stars]

Can the Genesis handle Donkey Kong Country?

Pretty much anything can handle DKC, save for the Vectrex. There is no 3D in it at all.

The characters and backgrounds are prerendered on computers and then 2D bitmap pics of them are used as normal sprites.

 

Imagine playing a 3D game on PC; then you take screenshots of the 3D character walking, crop the character in each screenshot and put the pics together as an animation. Just multiple 2D pics of a 3D graphic. That's what DKC displays on SNES, the difference to Mario just being that DK is not pixeled by hand, but a pic of a 3D model.

 

Even the Master System can do it.