Stardust is the first game to use pre-rendered 3D graphics?

[drHirudo]

Originally Posted by Cubemon

At least Blasteroids used pre-rendered 3D sprites in 1987.

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Mukor rules all galaxies.

This is an arcade game. The article I linked claims the first game

for a mainstream home video game console

i.e. usually platforms where most of the titles are done by bedroom programmers or small teams with limited budget.

For sure rendered 3D graphics existed long before Stardust and Donkey Kong Country. But before the Amiga 3000 and Amiga 4000, doing 3D scenes or small sprites was not very practical, because of the long rendering times required for even small simple objects. Later with the introduction of 68060 and PPC, rendered graphics stared to appear even on Aminet games, but before 1993-1994 only a few were able to afford weeks of rendering times for small budget projects. Back in 1993, Rare's workstations needed special HVAC unit, just to keep the station okay and they were leaving objects for render overnight.

[Amigajay]

Would surely have to go to the Marty version of Microcosm then (Mar 1993)

[malko]

Originally Posted by Steve

Here is a rendered hand animation from (drum roll please).... 1972!!

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Amazing that such movie has not been lost !
And for 1972, the result of the work is impressive. Money well spent on research and development at the university .

Thanks for the link.

[MartinW]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

I'm still doubting the veracity of the Xevious claim, because theres nothing remotely about the graphics in Xevious that suggest rendering would be quicker than hand animating.

I mean, they made fuck all effort on the music, but supposedly went all out to render some of the enemies!

Maybe they spent so much on rendering those rectangles they blew all their sound effect budget too Man the sound effects are shit on Xevious.

I seem to recall fixing one of the PCBs once. Horrible things IIRC!

[NorthWay]

There was some math involved in Marble Madness IIRC from a talk by the designer (youtube of course).

[DamienD]

I quite like Xevious, was a cool game back in the day and I still play it via MAME every now and then.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by NorthWay

There was some math involved in Marble Madness IIRC from a talk by the designer (youtube of course).

The courses are tall bitmaps rendered with a VAX-11/780, then touched up by hand.

[Shatterhand]

Originally Posted by DamienD

I quite like Xevious, was a cool game back in the day and I still play it via MAME every now and then.

Back in the day it was AMAZING. There was absolutely nothing like it. Even it sounds like shit It was very influential, one of the first scrolling shoot'em ups ever, the first vertical scrolling one to make an impact.

I remember when I got the MSX version, which is actually a sequel but contains a nearly pixel-perfect version of the original, people drooled with the fact I had Xevious AT HOME in a such near perfect version.

[musojon74]

Wow, very impressive. They must have had some serious power in Utah Uni at this time!

[Cubemon]

Originally Posted by drHirudo

This is an arcade game. The article I linked claims the first game

It certainly does, but neither you or the topic did. So now you've got a general 3D rendering history discussion on your hands.

Be careful what you wish for!

And regarding pre-rendered sprites on home computers, I believe Skidmarks did it in 1993.

[Seiya]

i think the very first games with pre-rendered 3D graphics are Alone in the Dark (1992) and Eternam (1992)

[jamielemon]

Originally Posted by Seiya

i think the very first games with pre-rendered 3D graphics are Alone in the Dark (1992) and Eternam (1992)

Alone In The Dark uses real-time 3D graphics for the characters and hand-drawn graphics for the backgrounds (same as the early Resident Evils).

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

I mean, they made fuck all effort on the music, but supposedly went all out to render some of the enemies!

Namco were considered pioneers in video game music – how many other games with better music from 1982 do you know? Probably something from Namco.

Synth music pioneer Haruomi Hosono even remixed it as the first track on his record Video Game Music and as a separate single.

[Amigajay]

Originally Posted by idrougge

Namco were considered pioneers in video game music – how many other games with better music from 1982 do you know? Probably something from Namco.

Jungle Hunt, Pengo, Mr Do! All sound better to me!

[saimon69]

Originally Posted by jamielemon

Alone In The Dark uses real-time 3D graphics for the characters and hand-drawn graphics for the backgrounds (same as the early Resident Evils).

Actually i remember a K special (K was the italian version of ACE magazine) about Alone in the Dark where they shown using a 3D program (3D studio 4 if am not wrong) to do the base job, that later had to be retouched by hand.

I remember Marco Maltese of the Five Stars team trying to use Imagine to render some of the enemies on Powder, since we were working on it in 1990 (but since the game came out in 1998 at the end we lost);
some of the surviving enemies are on the Clouds stage.

[saimon69]

Originally Posted by Amigajay

Jungle Hunt, Pengo, Mr Do! All sound better to me!

I think Amigajay had things like Tower of Druaga and Mappy in mind - do you have idea how i was shocked when i heard the synth-Banjo or even the honkytonk on Mappy at the time when everything used mostly square waves?

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[Amigajay]

Originally Posted by saimon69

I think Amigajay had things like Tower of Druaga and Mappy in mind

Erm nope, just comparing 1982 arcade games and those have better music imo.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by idrougge

Namco were considered pioneers in video game music – how many other games with better music from 1982 do you know? Probably something from Namco.

Synth music pioneer Haruomi Hosono even remixed it as the first track on his record Video Game Music and as a separate single.

I can't be any more blunt that I am right now.

The "music" in Xevious is absolutely fucking terrible, i've literally heard better music on a 1980's digital watch!

[gimbal]

lol You must really like the Final Countdown.

[oscar_ates]

Rise of the robots used 3d pre rendered graphics also