Was F-Zero the first "3D effect" racer?

[Leon Retro]

I have to agree with you here, though a few years ago I was heavily into 2D fighters so I almost exclusively played only AES and Dreamcast games.

As for the NGPC I have a certain affinity for the machine. I think the reason people love the machine is that for such a small library, the ratio of gems to stinkers is very high indeed. Add to that the fact that SNK vs Capcom: MotM is one of the finest 2D fighters on the planet and you've got yourself a nice machine to collect for. Specs aren't the be all and end all of handheld gaming. Put it this way, I'd take a GB mono over a Lynx any day of the week.

Yep, the NEO was a dream for fans of 2D fighting fans throughout the 90s and in to this decade. I have always preferred Capcom & Namco fighters, though.

I bought a NGPC with around 12 of the so called "Best Games" ... Sonic & Metal Slug are o.k. , but seriously.. I was shocked at how weak the tech is and how cheap the actual machine feels. I had higher expectations for a machine from SNK.

I guess this is my handheld Top5:

1. GBA
2. PCE-GT
3. GB
4. Game Gear
5. LynxII

I'm not really a fan of handheld machines. Never have the time to play them, and when.. I do have spare time.. I want to play on a big screen, or do something else.

Well off topic but I don't really rate the Lynx at all. I'v owned gameboy, game gear, lynx and Neo Geo pocket, and personally I would rate the gameboy above everything followed by the neo geo pocket, then the gamegear then the Lynx at the bottom by a large distance.

Although the gamegear had a fair amount of crap on it you had that adaptor to play master system games on it, which meant that you had some classics opened up like R-Type and Shinobi.

Game Gear destroys the NeoGeoPocket. I truely feel that. Maybe my NGPC was broken? .. Is the screen supposed to be really dark - and the games hardly have any colours? ... Is the build-quality meant to feel really cheap and creaky? Was I conned?

[samanosuke]

Game Gear destroys the NeoGeoPocket. I truely feel that. Maybe my NGPC was broken? .. Is the screen supposed to be really dark - and the games hardly have any colours? ... Is the build-quality meant to feel really cheap and creaky? Was I conned?

I dunno but I found the washed-out, pastel coloured display of the GameGear bloody awful. I much preferred the TFT display of the NGPC which, in decent light, looks crystal clear. Let's not even compare portability or battery life which, for handhelds, is one of the most important design aspects.

My top five would be:

1. Gameboy Light
2. Nintendo DS
3. GBA SP
4. PCE GT
5. NGPC

Side note: My favourite would probably be the GP2x had I ever owned one.

[Skull Commander]

I never played a pc engine GT, but I know I would have enjoyed it, as I now own a pc engine. If I saw one at a decent price I think I would pick it up.

[Team Andromeda]

I loved and still love my Neo Geo Pocket, truly was a portable system , built to last and had a great line up of games , with Neo Turf Masters just being a gem , I wished the system had 2 more buttons though.
I've always thought the GameGear to be a pile of sh8t , horrible to look at and hold , d-pad utter tripe , and a horrible screen to boot .

It never gets much credit , but I love my Nomad, I wish the screen was a little bit better , but other than that it was a handheld to blow all others of the planet With a great button and D-pad to boot and a awesome games line up - To be able to play John Madden 92 on the bog , and also hook the Nomad up the TV was an amazing feature back in its day .

[eastyy]

3d affect racer.....dont know if it really classes as a racer....but would stunt car racer be the first ?

[samanosuke]

3d affect racer.....dont know if it really classes as a racer....but would stunt car racer be the first ?

Oh dear.

[Leon Retro]

3d affect racer.....dont know if it really classes as a racer....but would stunt car racer be the first ?

Nope. Stunt Car is actually proper 3D. A truly brilliant achievement on the part of the legend Geoff Crammond. He was working on a new version this decade - but the publisher/developer went out of business, so it got canned.

This question is driving me mad now ... I think Super Hang-On was the first coin-op to use hardware based scaling to give a 3D Effect. Using the Super-Scalar - which was also used for Space Harrier, Outrun etc....

F-Zero was a very significant game for the home. It showcased Mode7; the sort of tech that had only previously been used in the arcades.

Impressive things could be still be achieved with software scaling tecniques, but the games wouldn't look so 3D.

[Eps]

It never gets much credit , but I love my Nomad, I wish the screen was a little bit better , but other than that it was a handheld to blow all others of the planet With a great button and D-pad to boot and a awesome games line up - To be able to play John Madden 92 on the bog , and also hook the Nomad up the TV was an amazing feature back in its day .

I forgot to mention that on the other thread where I was listing off my Sega consoles - love my Nomad!! Gunstar Heroes and Thunderforce IV on the go

[eastyy]

Nope. Stunt Car is actually proper 3D. A truly brilliant achievement on the part of the legend Geoff Crammond. He was working on a new version this decade - but the publisher/developer went out of business, so it got canned.

This question is driving me mad now ... I think Super Hang-On was the first coin-op to use hardware based scaling to give a 3D Effect. Using the Super-Scalar - which was also used for Space Harrier, Outrun etc....

F-Zero was a very significant game for the home. It showcased Mode7; the sort of tech that had only previously been used in the arcades.

Impressive things could be still be achieved with software scaling tecniques, but the games wouldn't look so 3D.

Well i think hard driving was the first true 3d racer then was probably closely followed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana...The_Simulation

then in 92 you got games like super mario kart and virtua racing and geoff crammonds grand prix

with all these games like pole postion/super hangon it was all a cheat 3d as you couldnt See any of the course apart from the stretch of the road you were on

[samanosuke]

Well i think hard driving was the first true 3d racer then was probably closely followed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana...The_Simulation

then in 92 you got games like super mario kart and virtua racing and geoff crammonds grand prix

with all these games like pole postion/super hangon it was all a cheat 3d as you couldnt See any of the course apart from the stretch of the road you were on

It was Revs I tell you!! I don't know whether the cars were polygonal but the track certainly was! Check out the video a couple of pages back.

Edit: On second thoughts, the cars do look polygonal!

[eastyy]

i think you may be right http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REVS

[samanosuke]

i think you may be right http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REVS

I'm still not positive that the cars are polygonal but they certainly look it. Never trust Wiki though!

[Leon Retro]

Well i think hard driving was the first true 3d racer then was probably closely followed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana...The_Simulation

then in 92 you got games like super mario kart and virtua racing and geoff crammonds grand prix

with all these games like pole postion/super hangon it was all a cheat 3d as you couldnt See any of the course apart from the stretch of the road you were on

I don't know what the first 3D racer was? ... It could be Revs, as that is a mid '80s game.

When it comes to scaling to produce a 3D effect, Sega used their Super-Scaler technology for a host of arcade games: Space Harrier, Outrun, Super Hang-On, PowerDrift, etc.... The company used that tech because 3D technology was expensive and slow in the '80s.

Once we were in the '90s, 3D tech became much more affordable and capable. Sega weren't the first arcade company to deliver a 3D racer for the arcades, but.. Virtua Racing sure was the most impressive one anyone had seen in 92. After that, 3D went from strength to strength. The Model2 board delivered texture mapped 3D worlds, that still look nice. Impressive stuff for 15-year-old tech.

If the question was simply: " Which home system was the first to have dedicated hardware for 3D effect scaling? " ... I'd say it was the SNES. It was a big thing for 1990. Mode7 effects, as seen in F-Zero & Pilotwings did stun people. Now, we see it as simplistic, but.. back then it was something quite fresh for the home.

[stevosowl]

Its not the first [it was just after hard driving] but the 3d racer i remember is Winning Run.

With its polygons, great speed and force feedback i was lucky enough to have a friend who had one in his garage [his dad had an arcade machine business]. Many a school lunchtime was spent in free credits!

Check it out

[Leon Retro]

Its not the first [it was just after hard driving] but the 3d racer i remember is Winning Run.

With its polygons, great speed and force feedback i was lucky enough to have a friend who had one in his garage [his dad had an arcade machine business]. Many a school lunchtime was spent in free credits!

Check it out

I think I played that a couple of times as a kid. I'm not sure when it was released? Some sites say '88 - others say '89.



I think it did come out before Hard Drivin. From what I can see of the visuals - they look very Amiga-esque( Geoff Crammond's F1 ) ... but obviously better.