Hardware pushed to the limits according to Sega-16 members

[Team Andromeda]

Man, if you could find where that interview is/scan the interview it would be awesome.

Also, some people claim the physics in the PS2 version were simplified compared to the DC one. Is there anyone here who would be able to categorically tell us if such claim is accurate or not?

There is also one on IGN btw where Yu Suzuki says much the same thing

IGNDC: Uhh... getting back to the topic, in the Dreamcst version of the game that's playable here at E3, we noticed that there's a network mode accessible off the options menu. Can you explain about this and other multiplayer modes in the game?

Suzuki: Eight of the modes in the E3 version are unselectable. The spec for the game is basically fixed, but we're still doing research into what's possible, so there may be some minor changes.

IGNDC: Who's doing the translation?

Suzuki: The same team who did the arcade version. I believe that we're the only people who can do it, because it was originally for the Naomi board, and the Naomi has higher performance than the Dreamcast. We made four Naomi boards into one Dreamcast, so we had to write code that's four to six times faster. That proves that we can make something four times faster just by changing the code. In that sense, just by changing the software engine, Shenmue can get even better.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2000/05/3...iews-yu-suzuki

[segarule]

There is a game that is growing in my mind. Jurassic Park to SMS. If it at least pushed hardware to limits i would be very happy.

But, if not, i love it anyway

[Flygon]

Nothing particularly strikes me out as too strange... it's very very pretty, however!

[Sik]

Lemmings is less pushing the limits of the SMS, and more clever programming.

This is true for just about everything impressive though, really, it's more about being clever. Pushing cycles is normally not something obvious.

1:18 there's parallax here. It's just redrawing a few tiles (notice how the foreground's silhouette is always tile aligned). Mind you, could lecture quite a few games =P

[gamevet]

Mayhem in Monsterland had some nice parallax scrolling on the C-64.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldo2ewLBt3Y

Skip ahead to the 10 minute mark to see a game level with really cool parallax.

[saturndual32]

Monster in Mayhem had some nice parallax scrolling on the C-64.

Mayhem in Monsterland is an impressive game for the C64 for sure. Yet, i would have to say i saw parallax used on the C64 more often than on the NES or SMS. Was there anything about the C64 hardware that allowed for easier use of parallax than on systems like the NES and SMS?

[gamevet]

Mayhem in Monsterland is an impressive game for the C64 for sure. Yet, i would have to say i saw parallax used on the C64 more often than on the NES or SMS. Was there anything about the C64 hardware that allowed for easier use of parallax than on systems like the NES and SMS?

I think that it has more to do with a lot of dedicated programmers wanting to take the time and effort to get the most out of the hardware. They weren't tied to deadlines and demands from publishers, like the consoles were, so you'd see games on the C-64 and Amiga that were developed over multiple years, while the console games were set with deadlines and budgets.

[QuickSciFi]

I can name some...

Disney's Aladdin - Sega Game Gear (not a mere downport from other versions; but an original prince-of-persia-esque game with amazing parallax scrolling effects and as many awesome cut scenes as you'd find even on Phantasy Star IV. Yes! That amazing!).

Defenders of Oasis - Sega Game Gear (Not only is the gameplay as great as any 8-bit RPG can offer; but the graphics were so mesmerizing, it actually made the Game Gear's usually-blurry screen look better than even that of a GBA SP).

Sonic the Hedgehog & Knuckles - Sega Genesis (This game has some of the best graphics I have ever seen on any 16 bit system; the kind that will give even the mighty Neo Geo AES/MVS a run for its money).

[EDIT]

Can you imagine Defenders of Oasis on the 3DS?

[Sik]

Unlicensed Block Out clone on the NES (well, Famicom):



Also there's this demo on the Game Boy (EDIT: skip to 1:12 or so):

[segarule]

Nothing particularly strikes me out as too strange... it's very very pretty, however!

The layers of Parallax Scrolling (jeep´s stage)seems different to me and the sprites made in Dr. Grant sound something amazing.
But im not expert in technical subjects to judge it.

[Kamahl]

Mayhem in Monsterland is an impressive game for the C64 for sure. Yet, i would have to say i saw parallax used on the C64 more often than on the NES or SMS. Was there anything about the C64 hardware that allowed for easier use of parallax than on systems like the NES and SMS?

For the parallax in mayhem or turrican? No, just euro devs being euro devs.

For the 16bit tier parallax in Flimbo's Quest? Yes, it is taking advantage of two aspects of the hardware. The first is the wide pixels, meaning you only need 4 different copies of a tile to scroll it through animation, vs 8 on the NES/SMS. The second is that the VIC chip only addresses 16KB at a time, but the C64 has 64k (it's in the name ), so you have 4 possible memory areas it can use. By keeping each 'scrolling frame' in a different 16k set, the C64 can animate the entire background with a single instruction.

I posted it before but really, it's insanely impressive looking:


Technically the NES can do the same with a memory mapper, but needing 8 copies vs 4 and needing to keep them stored in the cart rather than pre-rendering them at the start of each level, makes it unfeasible.

[EPSYLON EAGLE]

Rendering Ranger Super Nes



There are times it appears an insane amount of ships on the screen without slowdown.
I wonder how many sprites have been used to compose the scene.

[Black_Tiger]

Rendering Ranger is one of those games that SNES fans heard about too late and were praying would turn out to be the equivalent of Sapphire for SNES, but turned out to be literally the opposite (no matter how much they hyped it).

Instead of a couple ships with large unique bullets filling the screen on top of the screen also being filled with enemies of various sizes and behaviours which are animated as smooth as possible... you get a modest amount of enemies of a couple sizes with zero frames of animation and minimal behavior, simple bullets and the game moves very slow, only scrolling the background fast at times to give the illusion of speed (while the sprites still move at normal speed).

It was a neat concept and maybe if the cgi wasn't tacked on at the last minute, it wouldn't have wound up looking like a popsicle stick puppet play.

What sucks is that the SNES has shooters that do a lot of action and much more impressive stuff, but this thing gets all of the hype.

Anyway, I assume that you're talking about the occasional grid of static enemies for you to pop. It's the same as the first pipe room of Super Mario Bros having a bunch of static coins to pop.

[Gentlegamer]

But since SNES is such a weak POS system, even giving the illusion of technical prowess should be impressive.

amirite guise?

[magicalsoundshower]

I dunno, while I've never been all that fond of the way Rendering Ranger looks, I've always been impressed by the layering in the game. There's pretty much always two full background layers going on at all times and I really like some of the Mode 7 effects that appear to use sprites switched to the foreground/background to fake parallax while the Mode 7 tile layer is doing its thing.

All in all I do think the game is pretty impressive for the hardware. There's no denying this, though: The player sprite looks just ... weird.