JP2003123095A - Method for displaying weather in video game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a weather displaying method for realistically representing various changes of weather conditions with less textures by using a relatively simple program. SOLUTION: This weather displaying method comprises the steps of: setting a cylindrical surface model (1) composed of at least a portion of a cylindrical surface surrounding a viewpoint (P) and capable of covering the moving range of a field of view; preparing a texture (2) showing a weather state; pasting the texture (2) in the moving range of the field of view of the cylindrical surface model (1); and moving the texture (2) along the generating line of the cylindrical surface model (1). The weather displaying method includes a step of inclining the central axis (1a) of the cylindrical surface model from a state coaxial or parallel with a plumb line (Pa) going through the viewpoint (P) in an optional direction in accordance with a game situation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved weather display method for a video game machine and a medium having software for implementing the method recorded therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art On the display screen of a video game machine,
It is often practiced to show the situation where it is raining or snowing. For example, in a train driving simulation game, not only are the scenery of the tracks and the areas along the railroad lines displayed, but also the changes in the weather are expressed in order to add reality to the game. Furthermore, when driving in bad weather such as rain or snow or fog, and in clear weather conditions, the operating conditions such as train speed and brakes are also changed to ensure proper driving operation according to the weather conditions. Advanced games such as giving a high score when played are also being developed.

However, when representing a snowy state, for example, in a conventional display method, as shown in FIG. 10, a landscape image is displayed on a flat screen model 100 set in front of a viewpoint P, as shown in FIG. Since a large number of snow grains are superimposed and displayed on the texture 101 that moves from top to bottom, it is far from the appearance of snow seen from the driver's seat of a running train and has little reality. The snow seen from the driver's seat of a running train seems to be coming closer to the front upper area while spreading downward in the left and right directions.
In order to express this above, it is necessary to prepare a texture in which the snow diffuses and moves in the left and right direction from the upper center to the bottom, separately from the texture in which the snow simply moves from top to bottom. Therefore, in order to realistically express the state of the snow that changes variously according to the moving speed of the train (moving speed of the viewpoint), many textures of various types should be prepared in advance for snow alone. It is necessary to switch the display while switching appropriately according to the moving speed of the viewpoint, and there is a problem that a large-capacity storage device is required. Also, in order to create realistic expressions with a small amount of texture, a complicated program and a high-speed arithmetic device are required, so the problem is that the small computer built into the video game console is too burdensome. It was That is, in a video game machine with many cost constraints, it is necessary to allocate most of the processing power of the computer to the movement of the character directly related to the progress of the game and the speed of response to the player's operation. Regarding the weather indicator, which is the next element, it is the fact that there is no room to give sufficient processing capacity to it.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to execute a relatively small computer which can be used in a video game machine. With a simple program,
It is intended to provide a weather display method capable of realistically expressing various changes in weather conditions with a small amount of texture. Another object is to provide a medium in which software for implementing the method is recorded.

[0005]

The above objects of the present invention are as follows.
Surrounding the viewpoint and setting a cylindrical surface model that consists of at least a part of the cylindrical surface that can cover the moving range of the visual field, creating a texture showing the weather condition, and moving range of the visual field of the cylindrical surface model. This can be achieved by a weather display method in a video game machine, which comprises a step of applying a texture and a step of moving the texture along a generatrix of a cylindrical surface model.

In this case, by performing the step of inclining the central axis of the cylindrical surface model from a state of being coaxial or parallel to the vertical line passing through the viewpoint to an arbitrary direction, it is possible to see how rain or snow is falling diagonally. It can be expressed realistically. In particular, when the viewpoint moves forward, as in a train driving simulation game, rain and snow spray from the front by executing the step of changing the inclination angle according to the moving speed of the viewpoint. Can be variously changed according to the speed of the train, and the reality is significantly improved as compared with the conventional display method.

By executing the step of rotating the texture attached to the cylindrical surface model around the central axis of the cylindrical surface model, for example, clouds, fog, haze, etc. flow from front to back. You can express the situation.

Furthermore, by setting a plurality of cylindrical surface models,
By attaching a texture to each cylindrical surface model, a more complicated and realistic expression, for example, a situation in which a black rain cloud moves from right to left and at the same time strong rain sprays from diagonally in front, is realistically expressed. be able to.

In the present invention, the "cylindrical surface model" is used.
In that case, not only is it a geometrically perfect cylindrical surface, but for example, the “elliptical cylindrical surface model” whose cross-section perpendicular to the axis is elliptical, which will be described later.
Alternatively, or alternatively, a “polygonal cylindrical surface model” having a polygonal cross section perpendicular to the axis is also included.

Furthermore, the above object of the present invention can be achieved by using a medium in which software for implementing the above weather display method is recorded.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cylindrical surface model set in the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of texture used in the method of the present invention, FIG.
2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the texture of FIG. 2 is pasted on the cylindrical surface model of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state of moving the texture of FIG. 3 along a generatrix of the cylindrical surface model, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the central axis of the cylindrical surface model in FIG. 4 is tilted, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the texture is rotated around the central axis of the cylindrical surface model, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a cylindrical surface model is set, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the central axis of the cylindrical surface model is set at a position separated from the viewpoint, and FIG. 9 is an ellipse set in the method of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of a cylinder surface model.

In the method of the present invention, a cylindrical surface model 1 as shown in FIG. 1 is set. The cylindrical surface model 1 is a cylindrical surface model that includes at least a part of a cylindrical surface that surrounds the viewpoint P and can cover the moving range of the visual field. That is, the cylindrical surface model 1 is set so as to cover at least the moving range of the visual field about the viewpoint P at the angle α in the vertical direction and the angle β in the horizontal direction. A region outside the range of the visual field, for example, a back region exceeding the range of the angle β may be eliminated. Also, as described later, the vertical length of the cylindrical surface model is the angular range of the visual field when the central axis of the cylindrical surface model is vertical so that the visual field range can be covered even when the cylindrical surface model is tilted. Set sufficiently longer than α (see Fig. 8)
It is common to do.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model 1 coincides with the vertical line Pa passing through the viewpoint P, but depending on the image to be displayed,
As shown in FIG. 8, the central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model 1 may be set at a position separated from the vertical line Pa passing through the viewpoint P. Further, instead of the cylindrical surface model 1, an elliptic cylindrical surface model 1D having an elliptic cross section perpendicular to the axis as shown in FIG. 9 may be set. The "ellipse cylindrical surface model" is also included.

Next, in the method of the present invention, the texture 2 showing the weather condition as shown in FIG. 2 is prepared. What is shown is a snow texture, and a large number of snow grains are randomly arranged on the same plane. In addition, textures such as rain, hail, and haze, which indicate other weather conditions, are created and prepared according to the content of the game. In some cases, a cloud texture 2A as shown in FIG. 6 or a texture such as fog or haze can be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a snow texture 2 as shown in FIG. 2, for example, is attached to the moving range of the visual field of the cylindrical surface model 1 shown in FIG. Then, FIG.
As shown in, when the snow texture 2 is moved from the top to the bottom along the generatrix of the cylindrical surface model 1, a display image as if the snow is falling straight from the top to the bottom can be expressed. In this case, a state in which snow particles are falling in a state of surrounding the viewpoint P within the range of the visual field is displayed on the display screen. Therefore, the conventional display method as shown in FIG. In comparison, a realistic expression with perspective and depth is realized.

An important advantage of the method of the present invention is that the vertical axis Pa passing through the viewpoint P through the central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model.
By inclining in an arbitrary direction from the state of being coaxial with (FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4) or parallel (FIG. 8), for example, as shown in FIG.
And it can be expressed easily. That is, for example, in a train driving simulation game, the inclination angle is gradually increased according to the moving speed of the viewpoint P in the process of increasing the speed of the train and increasing the moving speed of the viewpoint P. More precisely, as shown in FIG. 5, the central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model 1 is within a plane S including the moving direction L of the viewpoint and the vertical line Pa passing through the viewpoint, and the vertical line Pa is
Is inclined by an angle γ with respect to
Gradually increase according to the moving speed of. In that case, the snow that initially fell from the top to the bottom on the entire screen, but the snow grains on the left and right sides gradually fell outward and diagonally downward, further increasing the speed and the angle γ Four
At about 5 °, snow is projected from far away from the central area of the display screen, radiating downward and to the left and right, and a very realistic image is displayed. The central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model is
Instead of tilting in the direction of movement of the viewpoint, or at the same time as tilting in the direction of movement of the viewpoint, it is also possible to tilt diagonally in the lateral direction, so that snowstorms, rain, etc. can be expressed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a cloud or haze texture 2A or the textures of the sun, moon, stars, etc. are pasted on the cylindrical surface model 1, and these textures are applied to the central axis 1a of the cylindrical surface model. If you rotate it around, you can realistically express the movement of clouds.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, if a plurality of cylindrical surface models 1A, 1B, 1C surrounding the viewpoint P are set and a texture is attached to each of these cylindrical surface models, it becomes more complicated. You can express realistic images. For example, the snow texture attached to the cylindrical surface model 1A is moved downward while rotating to the right, and the snow texture attached to the other cylindrical surface model 1B is moved downward while rotating to the left. By doing so, it is possible to realistically express how snow falls to the left and right.
At the same time, by attaching a cloud texture to the cylindrical surface model 1C and rotating it, a more realistic expression is possible.

Note that in FIG. 7, the cylindrical surface models 1A, 1B, and 1C are drawn with different diameters for the sake of convenience of the drawing, but these cylindrical surface models do not physically exist, and are merely images. Since it is an operational model in a computer program for display, it does not matter even if a plurality of cylindrical surface models having the same diameter are set.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cylindrical surface model 1
The central axis 1a of the above is set at a position shifted from the vertical line Pa passing through the viewpoint P, the elliptic cylindrical surface model 1D as shown in FIG. As described above, the “model” and the like are also included in the cylindrical surface model in the present invention.

The weather display method according to the present invention is realized by executing a computer program for executing the above steps by a computer in a video game machine, but the present invention also includes such a computer program. It also provides a medium on which is recorded.

[0022]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, according to the present invention, various weather conditions can be changed by a relatively simple program that can be executed by a small computer used in a video game machine. It is possible to provide a weather display method that can be realistically expressed with a small amount of texture. Although the method of the present invention is most preferably used for displaying the weather, other screen displays,
For example, it can be applied to the display of a large number of bombs in a game in which a submarine moves forward while avoiding a large number of bombs dropped in the sea. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but includes all modified embodiments that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art from the above description.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cylindrical surface model set in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a texture used in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the texture of FIG. 2 is attached to the cylindrical surface model of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the texture in FIG. 3 is moved along a generatrix of a cylindrical surface model.

5 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the central axis of the cylindrical surface model in FIG. 4 is inclined.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a texture is rotated around a central axis of a cylindrical surface model.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a plurality of cylindrical surface models are set.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the central axis of a cylindrical surface model is set at a position separated from the viewpoint.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an elliptic cylindrical surface model set in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a weather display method in a conventional video game machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cylindrical surface model 1a central axis 2 texture P viewpoint

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A step of setting a cylindrical surface model (1) surrounding at least a part of a cylindrical surface surrounding a viewpoint (P) and capable of covering a moving range of a visual field, and a texture (2) indicating a weather condition. It consists of the step of creating, the step of pasting the texture (2) in the moving range of the visual field of the cylindrical surface model (1), and the step of moving the texture (2) along the generatrix of the cylindrical surface model (1). Weather display method for video game consoles. 2. The video according to claim 1, further comprising the step of inclining a central axis (1a) of the cylindrical surface model from a state of being coaxial or parallel to a vertical line (Pa) passing through a viewpoint (P) in an arbitrary direction. Weather display method for game consoles. 3. The weather display method for a video game machine according to claim 2, further comprising the step of changing the inclination angle according to the moving speed of the viewpoint (P). 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of rotating the texture (2) attached to the cylindrical surface model (1) around a central axis (1a) of the cylindrical surface model. The method of displaying the weather on the video game machine described in. 5. A plurality of cylindrical surface models (1A, 1B, 1C)
Is set and a texture is attached to each cylindrical surface model, The weather display method in the video game machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. A medium having software recorded thereon for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.