Do you know what Rendering software dreamcast uses?

I was wondering in general what rendering software dreamcast uses the game system? FMI thanks

Ric

 

This would depend on the game engine, which in turn is taylored to the game type. In any case it would be a proprietry (sp?) system and not something you would be able to take advantage of.

If you mean what hardware does it use, that is a different question.

Why do you ask?

Pete

 

well i was asking because i was looking a some dreamcast renderings for some games like shenmue and sonic adventures and the pics are hi rez and i was wondering what programs they used to render the pics is it the system it seld or the software for making the games that renders the pics?


Ric

 

it is the games 3d engine that renders the frames. And since they are displayed on a TV they are not very high rez.

 

do you know if sega still makes the delevopers kit for making games for the dreamcast system??

thanks Ric

 

I really don't think objects that are being rendered in real time are the pinnacle of what you want your renderer to accomplish. And really, Dreamcast? Why not try to emulate the Unreal Warfare engine or other such highest end computer engine? But I digress... I truely don't see the purpose in getting a real-time rendering engine for a film.

 

would be nice to have realtime, but not only what i said b4 about it not being really high rez, but also it is only rendering the characters. the backgrounds are all prerendered and 2D.

 

"would be nice to have realtime"

If you are animating characters, you don't really use "real time" to do the work. Animators, even for Dreamcast games, typically use programs like 3d StudioMAX and standard key frame / function curve manipulation for creating animated sequences. They then just export the animation sequences and meshes into the game engine being used. (Or if they are using Mo-Cap, then they export those sequinces). The game engine then knows how to render them, based on the data and code it has. The Dreamcast only reads the game engine software, and runs the processes for it as quickly as it can, to create what you see.

In other words, you'd still be working with traditional animation and 3D software.

If all you are worried about is render time; most animators will work out the animations with low poly meshes, or just the bone structure. That will allow you to see the motion real time, and adjust it. Then you can render with all of the bells and whistles for the final post.

Dreamcast itself is just a bit of hardware designed to run game software. The real time engines come with each game, and are fueled by pre-made animations created usually with other programs.

The SDK for dreamcast contains tools for programing software, not for animating or modeling characters. (At least... I'm pretty sure.)

If you just want a quick render, you can always turn down the detail options and the poly count.

Scott

 

don't forget that a Dreamcast (and other console systems) is basically just a render machine. It doesn't have to run any overhead for an operating system or anything. That is why they can have such slow processors compared to computers and still render their scenes over 30 times a second.

 

Well there is another question. Is the original poster referring to something like cinematics? In that case they are pre-rendered in whatever software the game developer used.

 

Very true. Consoles use pre-rendered scenes very heavily. Even in FFX, you could easily tell the difference between the cutscenes and the in game cinematic.

And out of respect for computers, I know *many* computer games that easily surpass the real time effects and look of dreamcast games. Even Xbox, which is considered the prettiest of all the consoles out there, basically runs on a modified PC built into a console. And it can't come close to comparing to the real time graphics available on my PC. (granted my PC is above average.)

And again, either way you cut it, the animations and characters are not created on the dreamcast. You need other software, probably on a PC. And to port it into dreamcast format, and get it to run, needs even *more* software... just to get it to render out like a game. I don't really think this is viable, or even possible, to be honest. ;-)

You'd be further along in making a game than a movie, if you even got half way to making it work.

Scott

 

Darthmanrich,
Sega is currently up for sale. So they do not make anything anymore. The dreamcast was the last console that they made. Then they switched over to just being a software company making games. That is why you now see sega games on the playstation and nintendo. But now Electronic Arts and Microsoft are looking into buying sega.