Conducted 4 August 1994 0700 AWST
The arcade coin-op giant Williams Bally Midway marks the end of a three- year odyssey with the release of their latest racing game, Cruis'n USA. The game takes the player on an exhilarating 3,000 mile journey along the highways and byways of that great country, at a speed which appears to approach Mach 1. Should you find time to sightsee during your manic joyride, doubtless you will be awed by the incredible scenery that unfolds as you speed headlong through the 14 courses on offer.
The talented design team responsible for Cruis'n USA have brought the game to life through the use of a revolutionary new technique known as 'Reality Mapping'. With this method live action vision shot with video cameras is superimposed over polygonal structures. Reality Mapping differs from traditional texture mapping techniques in that it permits an incredible amount of graphic detail to be shown that would otherwise be impossible to incorporate into a video games machine.
Cruis'n USA is much more than merely a racing game and not just a rehash of games like Daytona, according to Project Director Eugene Jarvis.
"It is totally different from the synthetic imagery favoured by other games, as by mapping the live-action footage onto the 3D geometry we have created a true driving experience. The live footage allows us to incorporate a greater amount of detail so enhancing the excitement of the ride.
"People are tired of driving around and around a track, seeing the same synthetic trees and grandstands. People want to get in there and experience the sensations they would feel if they went driving. We wanted to leave the player with a sense of exploration, where they can get out into the countryside and feel the freedom of the wide open road."
This thought was echoed by one of the game's artists, Xion Cooper.
"The graphic detail is so rich, the vistas so well drawn that many of the landmarks are instantly recognisable. You can drive down the road in the game and go 'hey, this is Mt Rushmore', or 'this is the Grand Canyon' and be thoroughly convinced."
The artists from Midway spent several months on the road taking images of the highways and scenery. The game is composed of fourteen distinct races, each delivering a totally unique and exciting challenge, which builds the sense of exploration that is the game's greatest asset.
According to Ted Barber, another of the team's artists, one of the advantages of using a video camera to capture the images is that you gain a unique and indefinable sense of realness that is not possible using ray tracing or light shading techniques.
"You are capturing things that you can't just recreate - you are capturing life itself. You can capture the exact way that light glints off a building that would take thousands of hours to reproduce using digital means and would not have the same degree of reality that the original had. "
Programmed on a PC platform, the team had to create many of the tools, such as the 3D engine and Reality Mapping software, from scratch before the game could even begin production as there was nothing available off-the- shelf that met their exacting requirements.
The project's hardware architect, Mark Lefredo was instrumental in developing some of the new technologies behind the game. Much of what Mark has done is being mirrored in the Ultra-64 system (AKA Project Reality) which Nintendo hopes to release to the Australian home market sometime in the next 2-3 years.
"While our 64-bit architecture is different from what Nintendo is going to, they are basically going to implement in their architecture what we've done today. They're on a different track with their RISC system, but the results will be very similar."
The heart of the new 64-bit technologies are the co-processor chips. These are the chips that take care of individual aspects of the system (such as maths operations and sound) and are an integral part of its architecture. While not a new idea, the increasing sophistication and speed of the new chips, brought about by denser layering of silicon in the electronics, means that todays chips deliver superior graphics, sound and speed than that of their counterparts from a few years ago.
Cruis'n USA uses two main co-processor chips - the ASIC (Advanced XXXXXXX Integrated Circuit) and DSP (Digital Signal Processor) chips. These are necessary to handle the huge amount of data that must be decompressed from memory 'on-the-fly' and then either displayed to the screen or played via the machine's sound system. For example, from a palette of over 16 million colours, 32,768 can be displayed on screen at any one time in a resolution of 512 x 400 pixels. In addition the 3D graphics engine has the capacity to manipulate upwards of 900,000 polygons/second.
Matt Booty, Sound Effects Leader, ensured that the SFX and music received the same degree of careful treatment as the rest of the project. The DCS (Digital Compression System) used in the game is a proprietary system developed by Midway for compressing and storing data, similar to Sony's MiniDisc technology. The sampled digital data is then decompressed in real time and played back over the machine's sound system.
This offers huge reductions in sample size without any noticeable deterioration in sound quality. First used in Mortal Kombat II and Revolution X, DCS delivers true CD quality sonics through the four hi- fidelity channels which can play back SFX, music or both..
"DCS plays back straight digital recordings, not samples," says Matt, "The sound is not synthesised or digitised in any way, such as with Creative's Soundblaster FM methods of recording. Also, each of the scenery choices has its own full-length musical score associated with it, much the same as in Outrun."
"We recorded each score with the same degree of care as in a movie soundtrack, using real instruments - guitars, drums and synths. Another Midway team member, Vince Poncherelli was responsible for composing all of the original pieces, which were then put together with my sound effects.
"Vince had previously worked for commercial musical interests and is also a guitarist, so he did all of the tunes in addition to incidental stuff. A lot of the effects we used come from the likes of Skywalker Sound and Lucas Films, which we use as a base and can then tailor as necessary."
What this means is that every time you stamp your foot on the accelerator and roar off, stack your car against a barricade, or change tracks on the game's virtual CD player, it is a real world sound you are hearing that was lovingly digitised by Matt or Vince themselves. All of this combines with the live action graphics to deliver a total arcade racing experience that promises to be unlike any you have tried before.
However a realistic sounding, playing and looking game is nothing unless you also feel as if you are in the cockpit of a car. Engineer Ted Valavanis has created the first arcade simulator cabinet that delivers full pitch, yaw and roll capabilities combined with lateral as well as horizontal movement, giving true 3D-motion effects. Constructed around a ball bearing electric screw drive principle, the mechanism offers extremely high torque, which means it is super-responsive to the player's actions.
"If you are not a good gamer," says Eugene, "then the simulation becomes so real that you could lose your lunch. I am not kidding, the force exerted on the gamer is pretty strong. I think that's a good selling point - it's so real you'll get sick! If you don't like roller coasters then best stay away from this, there's too much reality there."
Designers have mentioned that their wish-list includes a full-immersion model with three monitors, two being used on either side to simulate the driver's and passenger's windows, with perhaps a fourth used for the rear window. However as this would probably cost in excess of $70,000, we are exceedingly unlikely to see this any time soon.
Another course that was proposed by Xion was Route 66, the first Federal Highway to be constructed in the US, running between Chicago and Arizona. Graphics designers travelled for a month down the stretch of asphalt capturing images for the game which sadly did not make it into the final product.
Designers also mentioned that they would like more processor speed, faster graphics, more storage and 70 as opposed to 7 tunes. Doubtless even as you read this, the guys at Midway are working on even better ways of bringing these dreams to reality.
Not content to rest on their laurels, and even before Cruis'n USA is officially released, the crew are hard at work thinking up other titles and uses for the ground-breaking Reality Mapping technology.
Plans have been mooted for an international version that might include some Australian courses, and possibly others from Europe or Japan.
There has even been some talk at Midway of a super hush-hush VR project in the pipeline that incorporates Reality Mapping techniques. However officials were tight-lipped about when we may see this.
For the future, designers see Reality Mapping being used extensively in new arcade games and eventually home systems. According to Ted Barber who comes from a background in sculpting, synthetic worlds are cool to a certain extent, but it is reality that turns people on. The possibilities for using these tools in business or 'serious' uses have also not eluded the developers. It would be possible, they say, to use Reality Mapping for recreating such things as the Vatican for use presumably in educational arenas, or as a 'virtual desktop' for home computers.
For budding game designers who are busting to break into the business, the guys at Midway have the following advice. The three best ways to get a crack in the industry is to have in interest in either music, programming or art. This involves basically staying on at school and usually getting a Tertiary degree or diploma in one of the above fields.
In addition, you must be totally dedicated (read: addicted) to video games and give the job 110% all the time. The hours are bad, and the pay isn't especially wonderful when compared to similar professions. You must feel a burning love and desire for the industry and be prepared to work well in a closely knit team. According to the guys, it also helps if you have no social life.
Cruis'n USA heralds the opening of a new era of interactivity for video games. Much of the technology that is pioneered in the game will be standard in homes in the next few years, however for now you will have to content yourself with the local Timezone arcade. From its stomach- churning full-motion cabinet to its Reality Mapped graphics and pumping audio, this is a challenge that promises to keep every hard core gamer in fits of rapture for many months to come.
Eugene summed it up, stating that Cruis'n sets a new price vs performance benchmark that other developers will be hard-pressed to match.
"All future systems are going to have to get faster and they're going to have to get less expensive, which is going to be great for the games player at home because it means that everything you ever wanted is going to be cheaper and a lot cooler."
Hallelujah!
The design team Name Responsibility
Favourite Game Eugene Jarvis Project Director
Mortal Kombat II Matt Booty Sound Effects Leader
Tempest Vince Poncherelli Musical Composer Ted Barber
Video Artist Mortal Kombat Xion Cooper
Video Artist Doom PC Eric Gribble
Programmer Tron Mark Lefredo
Electronics Pacman Ted Valavanis
Motion Cabinet Engineer
This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by Nathan Cochran for Game Bytes
Magazine. All rights reserved.