JP2003175278A - Apparatus, method, and program for virtually participating in race, apparatus, method, program, and image generating server for watching race - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and method for virtually participating in a race allowing players to virtually drive racing cars according to the actual condition of a car race by virtually participating in the race as competitors. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes a participating object image storage means for storing the view of a racing course and the appearance of a race participant transmitted from a race watching image generating server; a vehicle position receiving means for receiving the position of the race participant; a virtual participant position determining means for virtually determining the position of the virtual participant according to the amount that the virtual race participant's operating terminal is operated; and a race condition depicting means for depicting the view of the racing course from the participant's point of view and depicting the appearance of the race participant. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention allows a viewer to virtually view a car race that is carried out using a car or a motorcycle in a competition course such as a Formula One race, or a race such as a short-distance running race in a track and track competition. Virtual participation device, virtual participation method, and virtual participation program Further, the present invention relates to a game watching apparatus, a game watching method, and a game watching program that can set an arbitrary place in a game course as a viewing place when watching a game. Further, the present invention relates to a game watching image generation server that transmits image information that is easy to generate an image in the game virtual participation device and the game watching device described above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automobile races such as Formula One races have been held all over the world including Japan, Europe and South America, and since the number of viewers is quite large, television broadcasting is widely broadcast all over the world. ing. Further, not only the performance of a competition car but also the teamwork of a driver and a car maintenance person are extremely important factors for winning a car race. The driver who won the famous car race is respected by spectators all over the world as an excellent driver, and the winning car also has excellent performance, which has a considerable impact on car sales. There is.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional method as described above, the spectator can meet the desire to actually participate in the competition only by watching the athletes competing on the TV broadcast or the race venue. I couldn't.

Further, in the broadcasting of automobile races, dozens of television cameras are installed in the race facility, and the director switches the cameras as appropriate for broadcasting. However, what the viewer wants to watch is the driving situation of the favorite driver, or want to compare how to take the course at a specific hairpin curve in the race facility between the drivers,
There is a wide variety. However, there is a problem in car race broadcasting that it is not possible to carry out race broadcasting in accordance with the content requested by individual viewers. Such problems occur not only in car racing but also in track and field competitions.

In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game virtual participation apparatus, a game virtual participation method, and a game virtual participation program that can virtually participate in an actual game as a game participant. To do.

[0006]

As shown in FIG. 1, a virtual game participation apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has an image database 102 in which a virtual game participation apparatus 118 is transmitted from a game watching image generation server 100. Participating object image storage means 103 for storing the course scenery of the competition course stored in FIG. 10 and the appearance of the competition participants traveling in the competition course.
And a traveling position receiving means 104 for receiving the traveling position in the competition course of the competition participant transmitted from the watching game image generation server 100 in the broadcast mode or the play mode, and the operation amount of the virtual competition participant operating terminal 106. The virtual participant position determination means 108 for virtually determining the running position of the virtual participant in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode, and the participation object image storage means 103 from the viewpoint of the virtual participant. And a competition situation drawing means 110 for drawing the course scenery of the competition course and drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant.

Here, the running position of the competition participant means coordinate data generated based on the telemetry information 105 mounted on the racing machine. In addition, information on the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants can be found in the image database 10
2 and stores it in the virtual competition participation device 118 via the competition watching image server 100. The information on the competition course and the competition participants is the information stored in the event database 101. Furthermore, the broadcast mode refers to the function of allowing virtual participants to participate in the competition while receiving the position information of the competition participants from the race venue in real time.The competition mode is the participation in the competition from the race venue that was remembered in the past. This is a function to play back the position information of the body and allow the virtual participants to participate in the competition.

According to the invention thus configured, the participation object image storage means 103 stores the course scenery and the appearance of the competition participant in advance, determines the traveling position of the competition participant based on the telemetry information 105, and the competition. Situation drawing means 1
At 10 the appearance of the competition participant and the course landscape are viewed from the viewpoint of the virtual competition object, and the competition situation drawn by the competition situation drawing means 110 is displayed on the display screen of the virtual competition participant operation terminal 106 in the broadcast mode or the play mode. It is possible to provide the competition virtual participation device 118 that is similar to the actual battle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the competition virtual participation apparatus of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, is shown in FIG.
The virtual participant appearance of the second virtual participant determined from the other second operation terminal 112 accessing 00 is received in advance via the virtual participant management server 114, and the virtual participant position is managed in real time by the virtual participant. The second virtual participant information acquisition means 116 for receiving via the server 114 is provided.

According to the invention configured as described above, it is possible to provide the competition virtual participation device 118 in which the competition situation drawing means 110 displays the appearance of the second virtual participant on the display screen of the virtual competition participant operation terminal 106. It is possible to enjoy the situation where multiple virtual participants compete.

As shown in FIG. 2, the virtual game participation method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems generates a watching game image as an object image of the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants running in the competition course. It is received in advance from the server 100 (step S100), and the running position of the competition participant in the competition course is generated by the competition watching image generation server 100.
From the broadcast mode or play mode (step S1
02), according to the operation amount of the virtual competition participant operating terminal 106 (step S104), the running position of the virtual participant in the competition course is virtually determined in the broadcast mode or the play mode (step S106), and the virtual participation. From the perspective of the body,
The course landscape of the competition course is drawn, and the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant is also drawn (step S108).

According to the invention having such steps, in the broadcast mode, it is possible to synthesize and draw the course scenery and the object image of the appearance of the competition participant in real time from the viewpoint of the virtual participant. Further, in the play mode, it is possible to provide a virtual competition participation method which is similar to the actual competition in which a virtual competition is held in the past.

As shown in FIG. 2, the virtual game participation method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems generates a watching game image by using the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants running in the competition course as object images. The appearance of the second virtual participant, which is previously received from the server 100 (step S100) and is determined by the other second operation terminal 112 accessing the game watching image generation server 100, is an object image via the virtual participant management server 114. (Step S112), the running position of the competition participant in the competition course is received in real time from the game watching image generation server (step S102), and the virtual travel position of the second virtual participant in the competition course is broadcast mode. Alternatively, it is received in the play mode via the virtual participant management server 114 (step S105), The running position of the virtual participant in the competition course is virtually determined in real time according to the operation amount of the thought participant participation operation terminal 106 (step S104) (step S106), and the competition course is viewed from the viewpoint of the virtual participant. Of the course participant, and the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant (step S10).
8), the second virtual participant appearance corresponding to the virtual running position of the second virtual participant is drawn (step S109).

According to the invention having such steps, in the broadcast mode, the second position for determining the virtual position by the course scenery, the object image of the appearance of the competition participant, and the other operation terminal.
The object image of the virtual participant is synthesized and drawn in real time from the viewpoint of the virtual participant. Further, in the play mode, it is possible to provide a game virtual participation method similar to the actual battle, in which the object image of the second virtual participant that determines the virtual position is drawn by the other operation terminal even in the competition held in the past. it can.

It should be noted that, in step 111, the game virtual participant device 118 delivers the game image of the course landscape, the participants and the virtual game participant to the second operation terminal 112 as a competition image, and the display of the second operation terminal 112 is displayed. By displaying the course scenery and the object images of the participants and the virtual participants on the screen, it is possible to enjoy the situation in which the plurality of participants are competing on the second operation terminal.

The game watching apparatus of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, as shown in FIG.
Of the competition participant transmitted from the competition watching image generation server 100 and the participation object image storage means 103 for storing in advance the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participant traveling in the competition course. A traveling position receiving means 1 for receiving the traveling position based on the telemetry information 105 in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode.
20, the viewing position and direction storage means 122 for storing the viewing position and the viewing direction in the vicinity of the competition course, and the participation object image storage means 1 from the viewing position and the viewing direction.
The competition situation drawing means 124 for drawing the course scenery of the competition course stored in 03 and drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant.

According to the invention thus constructed, the game watching image generation server 100 reads out the course scenery and the object images of the game participants from the image database 102 and stores them in the game object storage means 103 in the game watching apparatus 128. Download the data of the course scenery and the object images of the participants. Competition situation drawing means 12
4 displays the course landscape of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants on the display screen of the viewing terminal 126 from the viewing position and the viewing direction stored in the viewing position direction storage means 122.

In the broadcast mode, the car race currently in competition is displayed in real time, and the positions of the competition participants are sequentially redrawn based on the telemetry information 105. On the other hand, in the play mode, it is displayed on the display screen so as to reproduce a car race held in the past, and the positions of the competition participants are sequentially redrawn based on the telemetry information 105 collected in the past. It is possible to provide a game watching device that does.

In the game watching method of the present invention which solves the above problems, as shown in FIG. 4, the game watching apparatus 128 is an object image showing the course scenery of the game course and the appearance of the game participants running in the game course. Is received in advance from the game watching image generation server 100 (step S200), and the running position of the competition participant in the competition course is received from the game watching image generation server 100 in the broadcast mode or the play mode (step S202) and designated in advance. The course landscape of the competition course is drawn from the viewing position and the viewing direction (step S204), and the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant is drawn on the viewing terminal 126 (step 206).

According to the invention having such steps, in the broadcast mode, the object images of the course scenery and the appearance of the competition participants are displayed on the display screen of the viewing terminal 126 in real time from the viewing position and the viewing direction which are designated in advance. .
Further, in the play mode, it is possible to provide a game watching method which is similar to the actual game in which the race situation held in the past is displayed on the display screen of the viewing terminal 126 in real time from the viewing position and the viewing direction designated in advance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the watching game server of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problem is, as shown in FIG.
0 is means 127 for transmitting the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participant traveling in the competition course as object image information in advance, and the traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode. And means for transmitting 129.

According to the invention thus configured, the game watching image generation server 100 transmits the object image information to the game watching apparatus 128 in advance, and the position information of the game participants that changes sequentially during the game of the race. Send. To provide a game watching server that is similar to the actual game in that the game watching device 128 side can rewrite the object image information received in advance in correspondence with the position information of the participating competitors that changes sequentially and redraw it on the display screen. You can

As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual game participation apparatus of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is a virtual virtual participation apparatus 118.
Is a participation object image storage means 103 for storing in advance the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants traveling in the competition course, which are transmitted from the competition watching image generation server 100, and the competition watching image generation server 100. A virtual participant travels in the competition course according to the operation amount of the traveling position receiving means 104 that receives the traveling position of the competition participant over time in the competition course and the virtual competition participant operation terminal 106. From the viewpoint of the virtual participant position determining means 108 for virtually determining the position and the virtual participant,
It is provided with a competition situation drawing means 110 for drawing the course landscape of the competition course stored in the participation object image storage means 103 and for drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant.

According to the invention configured as described above, the virtual competition participant device 118 includes the virtual competition participant operation terminal 106.
From the viewpoint of the virtual participant operated from, the course scenery stored in the participation object image storage means 103 and the appearance of the competition participant are combined in correspondence with the running position of the competition participant, and the virtual competition participant operation terminal 106 is created. Competitive view drawing means 1 showing the course scenery and the appearance of the participants participating in the competition
It is possible to provide a competition virtual participation device that approximates the actual battle of drawing in 10.

Further, a hard disk, a disk array, or a magneto-optical disk can be used as the storage means of the present invention, and the operation terminal means is a handle, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a gear shift lever of an arcade game machine installed in a so-called game center. Can be used, and the position information of the competition participant can use a telemetry signal transmitted from the competition participant.

Furthermore, the operation terminal is an operation button of a home game machine, a handle of a drive simulator connected to the home game machine, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal,
A gear shift lever can also be used.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of the entire race virtual participation system that illustrates the embodiment of the present invention. The game machine terminal corresponds to the game virtual participation device and is composed of the game machine terminal 21, the game machine terminal 22, the game machine terminal 23, the game machine terminal 24, the game machine terminal 25, and the game machine terminal 26. The game machine terminal 24, the game machine terminal 25, and the game machine terminal 26 are connected to the Internet 16 by the router 28, but the game machine terminal 21, the game machine terminal 22, and the game machine terminal 23 are independently connected to the Internet 16. Is configured to connect to.
Further, the game machine terminal may be a home video game terminal such as PlayStation (trademark) manufactured by Sony Corporation or Gameboy (trademark) manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd., or an arcade game machine terminal installed in a game machine facility.

A game server 10 is provided at a location remote from the game console terminal. The game server 10 corresponds to a game watching image generation server, and is connected to an image database 12 and an event database 14 as a participating object image storage means. Further, the event database 14 is connected to the virtual participant management server 11. Game server 10 and virtual participant management server 1
The image database 12 and the event database 14 are configured to be connected to an external game machine terminal via the Internet 16 via the Internet 1. A telemetry receiver 20 and a computer 18 are installed at the race venue.

The image database 12 connected to the game server 10 stores object image data for reproducing the appearance of the competition participants and the scenery of the race venue. For example, the appearance of a racing machine that participates in the competition is stored in advance as three-dimensional image information, and the appearance image information of the racing machine that is viewed from a hemispherical perspective of 360 degrees in the horizontal direction and 180 degrees in the vertical direction centered on the racing machine on the road surface. Can be accumulated.

Further, in the image database 12, in addition to the appearance video information of the racing machine, three-dimensional stereoscopic image information of the scenery image of the race venue to be combined with the appearance of the racing machine as a competition participant is stored. You can

Then, in the event database 14,
Event information of various individual competitions such as car races, track and field races, swimming competitions, boat races, bicycle races, tennis, volleyball is stored, the date and time of venue information,
It is possible to store location, competition record of competition participants, performance information, performance information of a racing machine selected by a virtual competition participant, performance information of a selected virtual competition participant, and the like.

The game server 10 corresponding to the game watching image generation server delivers the position information of the racing machine based on the telemetry signal transmitted from the racing machine in competition at the race venue to the game machine terminal in real time via the Internet 16. can do.

On the other hand, on the game machine terminal side, the relative position between the racing machine operated as a virtual competition participant on the game machine terminal and the racing machine in competition at the race venue is calculated. For example, the relative position is calculated so that the virtual competition participant is located two to three meters behind the racing machine in the competition, and then the virtual competition participant is accelerated, decelerated, or advanced in response to the operation of the game machine terminal. The direction can be manipulated in real time.

On the display of the game machine terminal, the viewpoint of the virtual competition participant, in other words, the view of the race venue in the traveling direction of the racing machine as the virtual competition participant,
It is possible to perform three-dimensional image processing by synthesizing the appearance of a racing machine as a competition participant.

The operation of the present invention in the apparatus thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG. First, the virtual competition participant connects the game terminal to the game server 10 via the Internet 16 before starting the race.
Next, the venue information stored in the event database 14 and the vehicle information selected by the virtual competition participant are downloaded to the game machine terminal (step S100). The game machine terminals 21 to 23 directly download the venue information and the car information from the game server 10. Further, in a game machine installation place where a plurality of terminals are concentrated, the venue information and the car information can be downloaded to the game machine terminals 24 to 26 via the router 28. By displaying the downloaded data on the display screen of the game machine terminal, the racing machine used by the car race venue and the virtual competition participant can be arbitrarily selected.

At the stage where each racing machine that is a competition participant is arranged on the starting grid, the position information of the virtual competition participant from the game machine terminal is the rear of the desired racing machine in the starting grid. , Or port diagonally rearward or starboard diagonally rearward.

On the other hand, at the stage when the car race is started, the position signal of each competition participant becomes RF from the telemetry device mounted on the racing machine as each competition participant.
It is transmitted by a signal. Then, the telemetry receiver 20 receives the telemetry RF signal. The received RF signal is transferred to the computer 18 by the telemetry receiver 20. The computer 18 extracts data regarding the position information of each racing machine from the transferred telemetry information, and uploads the position information to the game server 10 via the Internet 16 in real time.

The game server 10 extracts the position information of the racing machine as the competition participant designated by the virtual competition participant from the plurality of uploaded position information and downloads it to a predetermined game machine terminal. (Step S102). While watching the progress of the race, the virtual competition participant sends the operation amount to the game machine terminal, for example, the turning amount of the steering wheel, the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, and the operation amount of the brake pedal (step S10).
4). On the game machine terminal side, the relative position of the racing machine between the competition participant and the virtual competition participant is calculated based on the downloaded real-time position information of the competition participant (step S106). For example, calculation processing is performed so that the racing machine of the virtual competition participant is located 3 meters behind the designated competition participant. Next, the racing machine in the virtual space and the background object image are combined (step S108). This composite object image is
The game is distributed as a competition image on the display screen as the operation terminal (step S110). Therefore, the virtual competition participation device can provide highly realistic realistic play that is similar to actual battle.

In the above embodiment, the virtual participant participates in the car race from the start of the car race deployed in the real space. However, in other embodiments, the virtual participant participates in the car race in the middle. be able to. For example, the position of the virtual participant is determined at the rear of the pit-in racing machine by operating the steering wheel or shift lever or by operating the pointing device, and the car is accompanied by the pit-out of the participant in the car race. You may enter the race, or you may run a virtual racing machine behind the competitors on the circuit. Furthermore, the automatic tracking mode can be selected with a button so as to follow the designated competition participant from the game machine terminal side.

In the above embodiment, that is, a single virtual competition participant in which each game machine terminal is independently competing has been described, but when a plurality of participants virtually participate in a racing competition, I get more interested. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the second player participating in the game in the virtual space from the game machine terminal 21
There is a case where the racing machine of the virtual competition participant of and the racing machine of the virtual competition participant of the game machine terminal 26 compete in the same zone of the course where the competition is possible. In such a case, the relative coordinates of the second virtual competition participant are processed on the game machine terminal 26 side, and the racing machine of the second virtual competition participant is displayed on the display screen of the game machine terminal 26. be able to. In this case, the vehicle information of the second virtual competition participant stored in the event database 14 is previously downloaded from the virtual participant management server 11 to the game machine terminal 26 before the start of the race, and then the start of the race is waited for. And

After the race is started, the virtual position information of the second virtual competition participant is transmitted in real time from the virtual participant management server 11 to the game terminal 26, and the second position is displayed on the display screen of the game machine terminal 26. The appearance of the racing machine corresponding to the virtual competition participant can be drawn as an object of the three-dimensional image at the virtual running position of the second virtual competition participant. Furthermore, the virtual participant management server 11
The position information of the third virtual competition participant can be transmitted from the game machine terminal 22 to the game machine terminal 26 via the, and the third virtual competition participant is allowed to participate in the virtual space of the game machine terminal 26. You can also In this case, by downloading the vehicle information of the third virtual competition participant from the virtual participant management server 11 to the game machine terminal 26 before the start of the race, the data traffic on the Internet 16 is reduced and the game is played. The load on the server 10 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the game machine terminal 26 accesses the game server 10 to operate the virtual competition participant while operating from another game machine terminal 21.
On the game machine terminal 26 side, it is arbitrarily selected whether or not the virtual competition participant of is to enter the virtual space of the game machine terminal 26.
For example, the game console terminal 26 is the virtual participant management server 1
1, the position information other than the virtual competition participants selected by the game machine terminal 21 can be configured not to be transmitted to the game machine terminal 26.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram of the entire race virtual participation system illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. The game console terminals are the game console terminal 21, the game console terminal 22,
Game console terminal 23, game console terminal 24, game console terminal 2
5 and the game machine terminal 26. Game console terminal 2
4, the game machine terminal 25, and the game machine terminal 26 are connected to the Internet 16 by the router 28, but the game machine terminal 21, the game machine terminal 22, and the game machine terminal 23 are independently connected to the Internet 16. Is configured as follows.

Further, a game server 10 and a virtual participant management server 11 are provided at a location remote from the game console terminal,
The game server 10 is connected to the image database 12 and the virtual participant management server. The illustrated image database 12 stores real-time position information of a racing machine that is a competition participant who competed in a car race held in the past, appearance information of an object, and landscape information of a race venue.

The game server 10 includes the image database 1
The object appearance information of the racing machine and the scenery information of the race venue stored in 2 can be distributed in advance in response to a request from the game machine terminal. For example, when a past car race is selected by the game machine terminal 22, the game server 10 downloads to the game machine terminal 22 the object appearance information of the racing machine and the scenery information of the race venue in the selected car race. Next, the position information of the racing machine, which changes with time from the start to the end of the race, is transmitted from the game server 10 to the game machine terminal 22 via the Internet 16. On the display screen of the game machine terminal 22, a reproduced three-dimensional image of a car race is reproduced. This reproduced three-dimensional image is a combination of a racing machine and a background landscape image.

A player as a virtual competition participant who operates the game machine terminal 22 can watch a car race held in the past in a virtual space. Furthermore, the operation handle of the game machine terminal 22, accelerator, brake, etc. Can be operated to allow a racing machine as a virtual competition participant to follow or accompany a racing machine as a competition participant to experience a virtual race. In addition, when operating the game machine terminal 22 in the reproduction mode, FIG.
Although it is possible to download the car information from the event database 14 and select the racing machine operated by the player, in the present embodiment, the appearance object information of a predetermined racing machine stored in the computer of the game machine terminal 22 is displayed. By selecting, it is possible to synthesize the object appearance information of the racing machine of the competition participant, the landscape information of the race venue, and the object information of the virtual competition participant.

In the above embodiment, the single watching game and the single experience by the game machine terminal 22 have been described. However, the second virtual game participant from another game machine terminal 23 to the game machine terminal 2
The game machine terminal 24 may participate in a third virtual competition participant in the virtual space of the game machine terminal 22. In this case, the second or third
The object appearance information and the position information of the virtual competition participant are transmitted from the virtual participation management server 11 to the game machine terminal 22.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a game machine terminal applied to the game virtual participation apparatus illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. The game machine terminal 29 includes a display area 30 for displaying three-dimensional image information and a display area 32 for displaying a list of driver names participating in a car race in the real space. The display area 30 shows the scenery of the race venue, the front wheels 3 of the racing machine as virtual participants.
4, 36, steering wheel 38, engine speed meter 40,
The oil thermometer 42 and the shift lever 41 are displayed.

On the game machine terminal 29, the front wheels 34 and 36, the engine speed meter 40, and the shift lever 41, which are displayed in the display area 30, in response to the operation of an operating handle, a shift lever or the like (not shown). The behavior of is changed. For example, a known A / D converter can detect a change in rotation of the steering wheel, accelerator, or the like, or the amount of pedal depression, and change the display display of the steering wheel, meter, or the like.

The drivers A to E displayed in the display area 32 board the competition participants and the NEs.
A desired driver or a corresponding racing machine is selected from the competition participants on which the driver is additionally displayed by selecting the XT button 38, and the display area 30 is displayed.
The desired racing machine object can be redrawn with a composite image of 3D images.

Further, the object drawing method used in the present embodiment is, for example, selected by clicking the "Prost" player of B displayed in the display area 32,
The computer in the game machine terminal 29 recalculates the position of the racing machine in the virtual space based on the position information from the telemetry device mounted on the racing machine on which the Prost player is riding, and draws the object.

For drawing the above-mentioned object, the X and Y coordinate information of the object is subjected to data processing by, for example, a geometry engine manufactured by Toshiba Corporation installed in a consumer game machine, and a three-dimensional stereo image of 3 million polygons per second is obtained. Can be displayed with. This geometry engine performs arithmetic processing using the Z method based on the X and Y coordinate information of the object, and displays the depth and surface of the object in the display area 30 as a triangular polygon aggregate. Further, instead of the geometry engine manufactured by Toshiba Corporation, a general-purpose digital signal processor DSP may be used to continuously draw triangular polygons to redraw the object image.

FIG. 8 is a configuration block diagram of the entire game watching system illustrating the embodiment of the present invention. The race venue screen simulating a real space has an elliptical circuit, background mountains, trees, pits 46, and racing machines 4.
The situation where 4 and other racing machines are orbiting an elliptical circuit is displayed.

Further, on the race venue screen, a point 40 for changing the viewpoint desired by the game spectator and an arrow pointer for determining the viewpoint are displayed. First, the player of the game machine terminal sets the position vector (X, Y, Z) and the direction (theta, phi) of the point 40 with a pointing device including a mouse, a trackball, and a joystick. The magnification of the display screen can be arbitrarily determined by operating the operation handle or the shift lever. The illustrated display screen 48 is an example in which the enlargement ratio is set in the range of 200 meters.

On the display screen 48, the scenery of the racing machine 44 of the competition participant watching the game from the point 40 and the scenery of the race venue are combined and displayed as a three-dimensional image. The game machine terminal downloads the object information of the racing machine within the field of view from the image database 12 as the participating object image storage means. However, in the real-time mode, based on the telemetry information transmitted from the racing machine in the real space, the position information of the racing machine in the field of view, the absolute coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the point 40, and the viewpoint direction (theta, phi). ) And the relative coordinates are set in the virtual space of the game terminal. Then, on the display screen 48 of the game machine terminal, the scenery of the racing machine 44 and the race venue redrawn based on the set relative coordinates can be displayed as a three-dimensional image.

In the above embodiment, the point of view from the sky in the vicinity of the course of the circuit is set at the point 40, but it goes without saying that the point 40 can be moved to any place in the race venue desired by the spectator.
For example, when it is desired to watch the pit 46 in addition to the elliptical course, the object information of the scenery of the race venue stored in the image database 12 and the object of the racing machine in the pit 46 are combined, and the display screen 48 is displayed. You can also redraw it.

A game watching method illustrating an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 4. First, the course scenery of the race venue and the appearance data of the racing machine simulating the real space are downloaded from the game watching image generation server 100 to the game watching apparatus 128 (step S200). The downloaded data includes elliptical circuits, background mountains, trees, pits 46, appearance information of racing machines 44 and other racing machines. Next, the game watching apparatus 128 receives the running position of the racing machine from the game watching image generation server 100 (step 202). The game watching apparatus 128 can obtain a composite image in which the racing machine 44 and another racing machine orbit around the elliptical circuit based on the received position information of the racing machine.

On the race venue screen shown in FIG. 8, a point 40 for changing the viewpoint desired by the game spectator and an arrow pointer for determining the viewpoint are displayed. First, the game machine terminal player as the viewing terminal 126 sets the position vector (X, Y, Z) and the direction (theta, phi) of the point 40 with a pointing device including a mouse, a trackball, and a joystick (step). S20
4). Furthermore, the enlargement ratio of the display screen can be arbitrarily determined by operating the operation handle or the shift lever. The illustrated display screen 48 is an example in which the enlargement ratio is set in the range of 200 meters.

The game watching device 128 is point 4 in FIG.
The racing machine 44 of the competition participant watching from 0 and the scenery of the race venue are combined to process the appearance drawing of the competition participant (step S206). The combined object image is distributed to the viewing terminal 126 (step S20).
8). Then, on the display screen 48, the racing machine 44 and the scenery of the race venue redrawn based on the set relative coordinates can be displayed as a three-dimensional image.

In the above embodiment, the point of view from the sky in the vicinity of the course of the circuit is set at the point 40, but it goes without saying that the point 40 can be moved to any place in the race venue desired by the spectator.
For example, when it is desired to watch the pit 46 in addition to the elliptical course, the object information of the scenery of the race venue stored in the image database 12 and the object of the racing machine in the pit 46 are combined, and the display screen 48 is displayed. You can also redraw it.

The game situation drawing means used in the above-mentioned embodiment can also use the image processing technique of selecting the viewpoint direction of 360 degrees in the horizontal direction by the conventional panorama image processing, and is provided by IPIX Co. of Tennessee, USA. Up and down left and right 3
A 60-degree real panoramic image processing technique can be used, and a three-dimensional 360-degree panoramic image technique provided by iMOVE, Oregon, USA, or walk-through software can also be used. Especially iMO
When using VE's walkthrough software, spherical panoramic images are displayed as "3D Studio MA".
X "," AutoCAD R13 ", and" Light "
It can be generated by "wave" software.

IPIX Real Panorama and iMOVE
When using the company walkthrough software, the image viewed from the virtual competition participant described in the above embodiment is not limited to the traveling direction of the racing machine,
For example, the viewpoint of the competition spectator can be moved in the direction of the spectator seat of the stand or the pit sign.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of telemetry information used in the game virtual participation apparatus that illustrates the embodiment of the present invention. The telemetry information includes at least the engine speed, throttle opening ratio, and vehicle speed that are transmitted in real time from the racing machines of the competition participants, and the horizontal axis is the time, and the vertical axis is the output result of the computer converted to the measured value. Is.

A vertical line 50 shown by a partially broken line in the figure is telemetry information at the passing point of the 23rd lap of the orbiting lap of the racing machine. The state of the racing machine along the vertical line 50 is as follows: intake air temperature 40.83 degrees, gearbox temperature 119.47 degrees, oil temperature 107.34 degrees, vehicle speed 152.
Digital information from various sensors such as 59 km / h, throttle opening ratio 99.5%, engine speed 6,853 rpm, etc. can be calculated by a computer and digitized to be grasped. In addition, the computer calculates the average vehicle speed of the racing machine starting from the time point indicated by the vertical line 50, for example, and multiplies the running time from the starting point to convert the relative position of the racing machine into coordinate data on the course for real-time calculation. Can be processed.

The computer uploads the relative position of the racing machine to the game server 10 as the position information of the competition participants. Further, instead of relative position information based on the elapsed time from the starting point of the circuit and the vehicle speed, based on the acceleration or deceleration of the speed of the racing machine and the absolute value of the speed, while comparing with the past speed change and the absolute value of the speed, It is also possible to calculate the course position of the circuit on which the racing machine is running. Further, the moving direction corresponding to the turning operation of the handle of the game machine terminal can be additionally calculated to obtain the position information of the competition participants on the course.

It is also possible to mount GPS on the above racing machine and obtain position information (X, Y, Z) of the competition participants in real time via telemetry while receiving radio waves from artificial satellites. It is also possible to mount a mobile phone terminal such as PHS on a racing machine and receive the position information of the competition participants in real time from the mobile communication base station while receiving radio waves from communication bases at two or more points.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a circuit used in the competition virtual participation device exemplifying the embodiment of the present invention.
The circuit is displayed in a so-called north-up format in which the upper part of the drawing indicates north, and is provided with zones of 24 sections, a starting point 52 of absolute coordinates, and a relative position 54. The relative position 54 of the racing machine as a competition participant can be calculated by a computer based on the starting point 52 based on the position information from the telemetry device mounted on the racing machine. The minimum speed of the zone 55 where the starting point 52 exists is 8
It has a transit time of 9.25 seconds at 8.76 km / h. The striped zone including this zone 55 is a section in which the minimum speed at which the racing machine decelerates when passing a curve and the passing time are measured.

On the east side of the circuit, the maximum speed of zone 56 is 174 km / h and the transit time is 0.44 seconds.
The non-patterned zone including this zone 56 is a section in which the maximum speed and the passing time at the stage when the racing machine accelerates the straight course are measured. Continuously, the minimum speed of zone 57 is 148.96 km / h and the transit time is 3.63 seconds,
The maximum speed of zone 58 is 169.58 km / h and the transit time is 3.41 seconds. The minimum speed of zone 59 is 108.78.
The transit time is 5.58 seconds at km / h.

On the north side of the circuit, the maximum speed of zone 60 is 142.48 km / h and the transit time is 0.57 seconds.
The minimum speed in zone 61 is 119.28 km / h and the transit time is 4.27 seconds. The maximum speed in zone 62 is 118.06.
The passing time is 0.69 seconds at km / h, the minimum speed of the zone 63 is 60.42 km / h and the passing time is 4.57 seconds, the maximum speed of the zone 64 is 197.66 km / h and the passing time is 8.35. Second, the minimum speed of zone 65 is 125.64km
/ H, the transit time is 6.31 seconds.

On the west side of the circuit, the maximum speed of zone 66 is 185.22 km / h and the transit time is 4.15 seconds.
The minimum speed of zone 67 is 145.04 km / h and the transit time is 5.22 seconds. The maximum speed of zone 68 is 158.96.
The transit time is 0.45 seconds at km / h, the minimum speed of the zone 69 in which the relative position 54 where the racing machine is currently located is displayed is 152 km / h, and the transit time is 6.13.
Seconds, the maximum speed of zone 70 is 160.80 km / h, the transit time is 4.29 seconds, and the minimum speed of zone 71 is 82.1.
At 6 km / h, the transit time is 3.42 seconds, the maximum speed of zone 72 is 210.36 km / h, and the transit time is 6.81 seconds.

On the south side of the circuit, the minimum speed of zone 73 is 131.74 km / h and the transit time is 7.28 seconds.
The maximum speed of zone 74 is 130.52km / h and the transit time is 1.36 seconds. The maximum speed of zone 75 is 91.20k.
The passing time is 0.38 seconds at m / h, the minimum speed of the zone 76 is 70.44 km / h and the passing time is 5.88 seconds, and the maximum speed of the zone 77 is 228.44 km / h and the passing time is 9.18. Second, the minimum speed of zone 78 is 65.44km /
Passing time is 5.89 seconds at h, maximum speed of zone 79 is 2
The transit time is 15.84 seconds at 25.38 km / h.

The computer can digitize the relative position information of each zone from the starting point 52 in the X and Y coordinates based on the information from the telemetry to perform the arithmetic processing.
The vehicle speed data of the racing machine can be obtained from the telemetry device.

FIG. 11 is an external view of a telemetry device used in the game virtual participation device exemplifying the embodiment of the present invention. The racing machine of the participants is the controller 8
0, a transmitter 82, and a transmitting device including an antenna 84 are mounted. The controller 80 is connected to data sources from various sensors included in the RF signal transmitted from the above-described telemetry device such as a vehicle speed sensor, a direction sensor, GPS information, and a temperature sensor. The transmitter 82 converts the sensor data sent via the controller 80 into an RF signal and transmits it from the antenna 84 in real time.

The pit side receiving device for supporting the racing machine is provided with a receiver 90 connected to the omnidirectional antenna 86 and the directional antenna 88, and a computer 94 connected to the receiver 90. The computer 94 receives the signal from the receiver 90 via the two PC cards 92.

The above-mentioned receiving device receives the RF signal transmitted from the antenna 84 on the racing machine side by the omnidirectional antenna 8
6 receives in real time, and the directional antenna 88 arranged at a predetermined position such as a start grid receives absolute position telemetry information. The received telemetry information is input to the computer 94 via the receiver 90. The telemetry information obtained from the directional antenna 88 can be processed as the position information of the absolute position as the starting point, and the telemetry information obtained by the omnidirectional antenna 86 can be processed as the position information of the relative position where the racing machine travels.

The controller 80 can detect the speed of the racing machine from the vehicle speed sensor, the traveling direction of the racing machine from the direction sensor, and the latitude, longitude, and altitude above sea level from the GPS information.

The software program of the present embodiment is used when a game participant or a viewer participates in the competition by a virtual participant when the competition participant runs on the circuit and the competition is held. The computer in the game machine terminal 29 is programmed so as to receive the course scenery and the appearance of the running competition participant as object images from the game server 10 of the game watching image generation server in advance.

Further, the software program of the present embodiment has means for receiving the running position of the racing machine, which is a competition participant, in real time from the game server 10, and a handle provided on the game machine terminal 29 of the virtual competition participant. , A means for virtually deciding in real time the competition running position of a virtual participant located in a virtual space in accordance with a predetermined operation amount such as an accelerator, and drawing a landscape of the circuit from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, Means for drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant are programmed to function on the computer in the game machine terminal 29.

Furthermore, the software program of the present embodiment is a means for receiving in advance the scenery of the circuit and the appearance of the competition participants running on the circuit as object images from the game server 10 of the game watching image generation server, and the game. Means for receiving in advance the appearance of the virtual participant of the second virtual participant determined by another operation terminal accessing the server 10 as an object image via the game server 10 of the virtual participant management server. 29
Is programmed to work on your computer.

The software program receives means for receiving in real time the running position of the competition participant running on the circuit from the game server 10, and the virtual running position of the second virtual participant running on the circuit.
And the running position of the virtual participant located in the virtual space in real time according to the operation amount of the game machine terminal such as predetermined steering wheel, accelerator, brake, etc. corresponding to the means for receiving virtual competition participants in real time. And the virtual participant's point of view to draw the scenery of the circuit and draw the appearance of the participant on the display screen corresponding to the running position of the participant. Means for drawing the appearance of the virtual participant corresponding to the virtual running position are programmed to function on the computer in the game machine terminal 29.

In the software program of this embodiment, when a race participant is traveling on a circuit and a car racing competition is held, the viewer can view the scene of the circuit from an arbitrary viewpoint. Means for previously receiving from the game server 10 of the game watching image generation server an object image of the appearance of the competition participants traveling on the circuit is programmed to function on the computer in the game machine terminal 29.

The software program draws the scenery of the circuit from the means for receiving the running position of the competition participant running on the circuit from the game server 10 in real time, and the viewing position and the viewing direction designated in advance. Means for drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant are programmed to function on the computer in the game machine terminal 29.

The competition virtual participation apparatus and the competition watching apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the above illustrated examples,
Needless to say, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a computer was used to virtually participate in a game or watch a game.
The virtual competition participant may be operated using the DA terminal device, or the competition may be watched. Also, while downloading or streaming the image information of the course scenery that can be seen from the viewpoint position of the virtual competition participant, it is combined with the image data of the appearance of the object of the competition participant that is stored in the game machine terminal in advance, so it is a relatively small amount of data. It is possible to redraw the 3D stereoscopic image even with traffic.

[0084]

As described above, according to the competition virtual participation system of the present invention, a player can virtually participate in a car race actually held or a car race held in the past. Since the game console terminal acquires the position information uploaded from the race venue in real time via the game server, it is possible to reduce the data traffic on the communication line.

Further, according to the competition watching apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to watch a car race that is actually held or a car race that was held in the past from an arbitrary viewpoint specified by the spectator. It can be effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a race virtual participation system in which the present invention is adopted.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a flow of a virtual race participation system in which the present invention is adopted.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a race viewing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a race viewing system in which the present invention is adopted.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of the entire race virtual participation system for explaining the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration block diagram of the entire race virtual participation system for explaining the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a game machine terminal explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration block diagram of the entire game watching system for explaining the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of telemetry information explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a circuit illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a telemetry device illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 game server 11 Virtual participant management server 12 image database 14 event database 16 Internet 18 Computer 20 Telemetry receiver 26 Game console terminals 28 routers 29 Game console terminals 30, 32 display area 38 handle 40 engine speed meter 41 shift lever 44 racing machine 46 pits 48 display screen 80 controller 82 transmitter 84 antenna 86 omnidirectional antenna 88 directional antenna 90 receiver 92 cards 94 computer 100 game watching image generation server 101 event database 102 image database 103 participation object image storage means 104 traveling position receiving means 105 Telemetry information 106 Virtual competition participant operation terminal 108 Virtual participant position determining means 110 means of drawing the competition situation 112 Second operation terminal 114 Virtual Participant Management Server 116 Second Virtual Participant Information Acquisition Means 118 Competition virtual participation device 120 traveling position receiving means 122 Viewing Position Direction Storage Means 124 Competition situation drawing means 126 viewing terminal 128 watching games

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 302 G06F 17/60 302E ZEC ZEC F term (reference) 2C001 AA09 BA02 BA05 BA06 BC02 BC03 BC05 BC08 CA01 CB01 CB04 CB06 CB08 CC02

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A competition object image storage means for storing in advance the course scenery of a competition course and the appearance of a competition participant traveling in the competition course, which is transmitted from the competition watching image generation server; A traveling position receiving means for receiving, in a broadcast mode or a play mode, a traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course, which is transmitted from a server; and the virtual according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant. Virtual participant position determining means for virtually determining the running position of the participant in the competition course in a broadcast mode or a play mode; and from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, the competition stored in the participation object image storage means. And a competition situation drawing means for drawing the course scenery of the course and drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant. A virtual competition participation device, comprising: the game situation drawn by the game situation drawing means is displayed on the display screen of the operation terminal in a broadcast mode or a play mode. 2. A game virtual participation device according to claim 1,
The virtual participant appearance of the second virtual participant determined from another operation terminal accessing the game watching image generation server is received in advance via the virtual participant management server, and the virtual participant position is real-time participated in by the virtual participant. Second virtual participant information acquisition means for receiving via the body management server;
The competition situation drawing means further draws an appearance of a second virtual participant corresponding to the virtual running position of the second virtual participant;
Competition virtual participation device. 3. The course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participant traveling in the competition course are previously received as object images from the competition watching image generation server; the traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course. In a broadcast mode or a play mode from the game watching image generation server; the running position of the virtual participant in the competition course is virtually changed in the broadcast mode or the play mode according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant. A virtual scene of the competition course is drawn from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, and an appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant is drawn; 4. The course scenery of the competition course and the appearances of the competition participants traveling in the competition course are previously received as object images from the competition watching image generation server; The appearance of the second virtual participant determined from the operation terminal of the virtual participant is received as an object image via the virtual participant management server; the running position of the competition participant in the competition course is received from the game watching image generation server in real time. The second
The virtual running position of the virtual participant in the competition course is received via the virtual participant management server in the broadcast mode or the play mode; the competition course of the virtual participant according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant. The driving position in the virtual position is virtually determined in real time; from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, the course landscape of the competition course is drawn, and the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant is drawn; Drawing the appearance of the second virtual participant corresponding to the virtual running position of the second virtual participant; 5. A computer for a player or a viewer to participate in the competition by a virtual participant when the competition participant runs in the competition course and the competition is held; the course scenery of the competition course And means for previously receiving, as an object image, the appearance of a competition participant traveling in the competition course from the competition watching image generation server; the traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course is broadcast from the competition watching image generation server. Means for receiving in the mode or the play mode; according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant,
Means for virtually determining the running position of the virtual participant in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode; drawing the course landscape of the competition course from the viewpoint of the virtual participant and running the competition participant A virtual competition participation program to function as a means for drawing the appearance of competition participants corresponding to positions. 6. A computer for a player or a viewer together with a second virtual participant to participate in the competition with the second virtual participant when the competition participant runs in the competition course and the competition is held. The course scenery of the competition course,
Means for receiving in advance, as an object image, the appearance of a competition participant traveling in the competition course from the competition watching image generation server; a second virtual participant determined from another operation terminal accessing the competition watching image generation server. Means for receiving the appearance of the virtual participant as an object image; Means for receiving the running position of the competition participant in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode from the game watching image generation server; Means for receiving the virtual running position in the competition course in the broadcast mode or the play mode via the virtual participant management server; in the competition course of the virtual participant according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant. Means for virtually determining the running position in broadcast mode or play mode; from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, the competition course It is made to function as a means for drawing a course landscape, drawing the appearance of a competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant, and drawing the appearance of a virtual participant corresponding to the virtual running position of the second virtual participant. Virtual participation program for competition. 7. A competition object image storage means for storing in advance the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants traveling in the competition course, which are transmitted from the competition watching image generation server; the competition watching image generation A traveling position receiving means for receiving, in a broadcast mode or a play mode, a traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course transmitted from a server; a means for storing a viewing position and a viewing direction in the vicinity of the competition course; A competition situation drawing means for drawing the course landscape of the competition course stored in the participation object image storage means from the viewing position and the viewing direction and drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant. And a game watching apparatus for displaying the competition situation drawn by the competition situation drawing means on a display screen. 8. The course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participant traveling in the competition course are received in advance as object images from the competition watching image generation server; the traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course. In the broadcast mode or the play mode from the game watching image generation server; drawing the course scenery of the competition course from the viewing position and viewing direction specified in advance, and participating in the competition corresponding to the running position of the competition participant. Draw body appearance;
How to watch the competition. 9. A computer for a viewer to view from an arbitrary viewpoint when a competition participant is traveling in the competition course and a motor competition is being held; the course scenery of the competition course and the competition course. Means for receiving in advance the appearance of a competition participant as an object image from the game watching image generation server; receiving the running position of the competition participant in the competition course from the game watching image generation server in broadcast mode or play mode. Means for drawing a course landscape of the competition course from a preset viewing position and viewing direction and drawing an appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant; Watching program. 10. A course landscape of a competition course and a means for transmitting in advance the appearance of a competition participant traveling in the competition course as object image information; a broadcast mode of the traveling position of the competition participant in the competition course. Or means for transmitting in game mode; 11. A competition object image storage means for storing in advance the course scenery of the competition course and the appearance of the competition participants traveling in the competition course, which are transmitted from the competition watching image generation server; the competition watching image generation Running position receiving means for receiving a running position of the competition participant over time in the competition course, which is transmitted from a server; and the virtual participant according to the operation amount of the operation terminal of the virtual competition participant. Virtual participant position determining means for virtually determining a running position in the competition course; drawing a course landscape of the competition course stored in the participation object image storage means from the viewpoint of the virtual participant, and A competition situation drawing means for drawing the appearance of the competition participant corresponding to the running position of the competition participant; A virtual competition participation device for reproducing and displaying a situation on the display screen of the operation terminal.