Early never-before-seen prototype of arcade Daytona USA

[Yharnamresident]

Look at the texture mapping on the track. Can the model 2 really do that?

[parallaxscroll]

Look at the texture mapping on the track. Can the model 2 really do that?

Well I looked at it a few more times. The texture resolution is too high to be Model 2, for one thing. Therefore I really think it is indeed a GE Aerospace Compu-Scene image generator running the show.

Model 2 was derived from that.

Sega and GE worked together on what the specification for the Model 2 board would be. GE could simulate what Model 2 would look like by turning off features on Compu-Scene and then show it to Sega. It was a process of cost reduction from the multi-million dollar range down to an arcade board that would cost a tiny fraction of its parent.

I'm saying that based on the following:

Back in 1990, GE Aerospace directed its operating units to look for ways to leverage aerospace technologies into "commercial adjacent markets". The GE Aerospace unit responsible for simulation at that time was GE Aerospace Simulation & Control Systems Department (GE/SCSD), located in Daytona Beach, Florida. GE/SCSD designed and built advanced simulation systems for military training and research. The systems were multi-million dollar devices which accurately replicated tanks, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft. The goal was to put a trainee in a simulator and make it realistic enough so that he was convinced he was sitting in his M1 tank, in the desert in Iraq, at night, and a hostile T-72 Iraqi tank was 3000 meters away swinging its turret towards him. The crew compartment was an exact replica of the inside of an M1 turret-- the gun breach is there, the gunsites are there, the fire control computer functions, the sounds of the engine and turret motors are real, the controls are located in the right place, and everything has the right feel and function.

The illusion is not complete unless the trainee is also given the correct visual cues. A simple and obvious concept, but something that took years to develop. GE/SCSD had perfected the visual imagery required for simulators over the years in its Compu-Scene(r) family of image generators. Compu-Scene devices produced computer generated scenes that were accurate in the visual, radar, and infrared spectrums for use in simulators. Just to put GE's vast experience related to 3D graphics and image generation in context, they actually got into the simulation business as part of their contracts with NASA to support astronaut training for the Apollo Program back in the mid-1960's. The very first Compu-Scene image generator was built to train astronauts how to dock the Apollo Command Module with the Lunar Module when it was discovered that the black & white TV camera/model board system in use was inadequate. This first Compu-Scene system had something like 16 polygons, ran at 60 Hz, and filled up a large room with electronics equipment. GE saw the potential for computer generated imagery to be used to train pilots in the military and started to invest into perfecting and improving the technology.

Compu-Scene systems in 1990 typically sold for over $2 million dollars. The customer base was pretty much limited to the Defense Department and the research departments of major aerospace companies. It was in 1990 that GE started asking the question - "What other markets could we apply simulation and image generation technology to?"

Real-Time 3D Graphics

That question prompted us to start a market research project to look at markets which would find real-time 3D graphics useful. Things like medical imaging, engineering workstations, theme park rides, and entertainment were evaluated. In the area of entertainment, we researched home video games, arcades, location based entertainment, and theme park rides. The unanswered question at the time was how to take multi-million dollar technology into these very cost sensitive markets.

Near the end of 1990, we asked our demo group to model the Daytona International Speedway(r), which was conveniently located across the street from our facility. To that geometrically correct model, we added a couple of Formula One race cars with reasonably good vehicle dynamics that you could "drive". This whole thing ran in real-time, at 60 frames per second, with about 6,000 polygons per frame, on 1M pixel displays, on a Compu-Scene PT2000 image generator which sold for about $1.5M. We made a cool looking video tape with music and sound effects and hit the road.

We visited Sega in November of 1990. At that time, all Sega's arcade games were based on sprites. They happened to be developing their very first polygon-based graphics system, which they called Model One. Model One was pretty crude by today's standards, but at the time it was pretty good. By comparison, it looked a lot like the Compu-Scene systems from the Apollo Space Program days, except that it went into a $15K arcade games instead of a multi-million dollar simulator. We showed Sega our video tape which demonstrated real-time, trilinear texture filtering, shading, and a host of other 3D graphics features and they became very interested in the GE technology.

To make a long story shorter, GE/SCSD was interested in adapting its Compu-Scene technology to non-military markets and Sega was very interested in improving the graphics quality of its arcade games. This was the beginning of a relationship that continues to this day. GE/SCSD would adapt its graphics technology to Sega's proprietary arcade system. The result was what Sega calls the Model 2 arcade graphics system. Model 2 brought real-time textured mapped polygon graphics to Sega's arcades. The structure of this relationship was and continues to be very good. GE/SCSD knew real-time image generation and Sega knew how to keep the cost down, the experience fun, and already was number one in the arcade machine marketplace.

The relationship with Sega has continued through the 1990's as GE Aerospace became part of Martin Marietta, who then merged with Lockheed to form Lockheed Martin, who then formed Real 3D to commercialize this vast portfolio of graphics technology. And even Real 3D has undergone a recent change. Real 3D, Inc. is now a new corporation which is owned jointly by Lockheed Martin (80%) and Intel (20%). In addition to custom graphics chips and board designs for Sega, Real 3D is bringing its real-time 3D graphics technology to the PC and workstation markets.

Graphics Features for Sega

How you went about developing the systems for Sega:

The systems we developed for Sega were based on a cooperative development program. We proposed to Sega a list of graphics features we thought would be good to incorporate into their arcade systems. Sega would come back with a design to cost and schedule requirement, and essentially we would work together to achieve the best balance between technology, cost, and schedule. From a technology perspective, we have an unmatched portfolio of graphics intellectual property and experience. When we proposed something to Sega, all we had to do was take a Compu-Scene system and deactivate certain features to show them what Model 2 would look like, in real-time, before we even started designing anything. Remember, we were bringing graphics technology from the very high end down to the arcade. We were very accustomed to military specifications and the performance requirements that came with meeting these specifications. Because we had done it many times before, Sega had great confidence that we could indeed adapt our high-end real-time image generation technology to a lower cost arcade graphics system. At that time, only maybe two other companies in the world could do what GE/SCSD could, and neither of these companies had the patent portfolio or experience that we had.

Note: those other two companies could only have been:
1.) GE Aerospace / Martin Marietta's main rival, Evans & Sutherland, who helped Sega's rival, Namco, with the texture-mapping, shading and lighting of the System 22 family of arcade boards first used in Ridge Racer.
2.) Silicon Graphics, who would obviously work with Nintendo on Project Reality / Ultra 64 / Nintendo 64. Remember back then, there was no 3Dfx Voodoo, Rendition, PowerVR and Nvidia wasn't even a company until 1993 and didn't have a product (NV1) until 1995.

continuing on:

What were the technical milestones you had to achieve:

Compared to the graphics performance that we were routinely delivering in our Compu-Scene product line, the graphics performance of Model 2 was not a significant technical challenge. The challenge was moving from a mindset of designing multi-million image generators, with a volume of 40 or so systems a year, to designing a graphics system that goes into an arcade game machine that sells for $15K with annual volumes of 65K units.

That is not the case today. The graphics features we designed into Sega's Model 3 arcade graphics systems are very leading edge, especially compared to what the PC market thinks of as leading edge, or "hot" 3D graphics. There is an order of magnitude difference in performance levels, and we think that trend will continue for some time. In other words, while PC graphics will continue to make great strides in image quality and fidelity (thanks in part to Real 3D's efforts with Intel), 3D graphics on the desktop trails the arcade platform by a wide margin in terms of raw performance, level of detail, and image quality. We would anticipate the arcade platform will maintain this advantage for quite some time - even though claims of arcade-like graphics are being made by some today, the arcade-like graphics they speak of equate to Model 2-like graphics. The latest arcade architectures, and certainly the next generation arcade systems in the pipeline right now, deliver graphics performance not possible on the PC platform.

http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html

[Moirai]

where is mr.sega btw?

Banned 4 Life for being an Orbi preaching dumbass.

Actually he was only banned for two years.

[NeoVamp]

Actually he was only banned for two years.

SHUTUP! He's banned for life, and that's the way I like it.

Damn Orbi troll.

[parallaxscroll]

This is really bad video quality but you can see some Lockheed Martin Real3D/Pro-1000 demos here - Just forward to 5:40.
The demos are running on the Pro-1000 image generator, this is not a Model 3 board. The demos have nothing to do with Sega.
Before anyone says that space flight shooter demo is Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, it is not. It has to do with the image in this flyer.

After that, you'll see someone playing a Virtua Fighter 3 machine- That of course, is Model 3.