JP2023174714A - Program, image generation apparatus, and image generation method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique that can improve an image quality of an object image by enabling generation of the object image using high quality image data without delay as needed.SOLUTION: A player terminal 1500 stores low image quality texture data 241 in an image generation memory 240 to generate an object image. For this purpose, it is determined whether a high image quality status condition is met. When it is determined that the high image quality status condition is met, high quality texture data 243 is generated from the low quality texture data 241 stored in the image generation memory 240 and is stored in the image generation memory 240, then the object image is generated by using the high image quality texture data 243. On the other hand, when the high image quality status condition is not met, the object image is generated by using the low image quality texture data 241.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a program and the like for generating an object image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera.

Conventionally, game systems have been known in which objects such as characters are placed in a virtual three-dimensional space to form a game space, and a virtual camera is placed within this game space to generate an image viewed from there as a game space image. It is being In generating a game space image, an object image of each object is generated by appropriately mapping image data (texture data) for expressing the appearance of objects within the field of view of the virtual camera. In that case, if there is an object newly within the field of view of the virtual camera, the texture data related to its appearance is read out from the storage unit or received from an external device connected via communication and transferred to the memory for image generation. It is expanded and used to generate an object image.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-167291

By the way, in order to realize a high-quality appearance representation of an object, it is necessary to use high-quality image data as the texture data. However, if the texture data is high-quality image data, the data size will increase accordingly. Furthermore, since the capacity of the image generation memory is limited, the decision to delete data stored in the image generation memory or data that has already been stored can be said to be one of the keys to high-speed image generation. That is, when the image data is not stored in the image generation memory, the time required for it to be developed in the image generation memory and become usable becomes a problem. In particular, the acquisition time required to acquire the image data from outside has been a problem that can become a bottleneck. For example, in image generation that requires a high frame rate, delays in object image generation cannot be tolerated. Therefore, there has been a desire for a technology that can generate object images using high-quality image data as needed without delay.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a technology that can improve the image quality of object images by making it possible to generate object images using high-quality image data as needed without delay. That is.

A first invention for solving the above problems is a program for causing a computer to generate an object image in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera, the program comprising an image generation memory included in the computer (e.g. Storage control means for storing first image data for expressing the appearance of the object in the image generation memory 240 in FIG. 5 (for example, the player terminal calculation unit 210 in FIG. 5, the low image quality texture storage control unit 231) , determining whether second image data larger in data size than the first image data for expressing the appearance of the object with higher image quality than the first image data is stored in the image generation memory. A storage determining means (for example, the storage determining unit 215 in FIG. 5), a situation in which it is determined whether or not a high image quality situation condition indicating that the object image should be generated using the second image data is satisfied. A determining means (for example, the high image quality status determining unit 217 in FIG. 5), (1) if the storage determining means determines yes, using the second image data stored in the image generation memory; generating the object image; (2) generating the object image using the first image data when both the memory determining means and the situation determining means determine the object image; and (3) generating the object image using the first image data; If the means determines no, and the situation determining means determines yes, the second image data is generated based on the first image data and stored in the image generation memory, and the second image data is stored in the image generation memory. A program (for example, the game program 501 in FIG. 5) for causing the computer to function as an object image generation control means (for example, the object image generation control unit 233 in FIG. 5) that generates the object image using two image data. ).

According to the first invention, the first image data can be stored in the image generation memory and used for generating the object image. Specifically, as the determination of the high image quality situation condition, for example, it is determined that the high image quality situation condition is satisfied in a situation where the image quality of the object image may affect its visibility. In that case, from the first image data stored in the image generation memory, second image data with higher image quality is generated and stored in the image generation memory, and then the second image data is It becomes possible to generate object images using data. On the other hand, if the high image quality condition is not satisfied, the object image can be generated using the first image data. According to this, it is possible to generate an object image using high quality second image data only when the high image quality condition condition is satisfied. Also, at that time, second image data can be generated based on the first image data in the image generation memory and used to generate the object image. In other words, the object image can be generated without acquiring the second image data from the storage unit or external device during the game. Therefore, it is possible to generate an object image using high-quality second image data without delay if necessary, and the image quality of the object image can be improved.

In a second aspect of the present invention, the situation determining means determines the image quality improvement situation condition by including at least in the image quality improvement situation condition that the distance between the object and the virtual camera satisfies a predetermined short distance condition. A program according to the first invention may be configured to determine whether or not the conditions are satisfied.

According to the second invention, when the virtual camera is close to the object, it is determined that the high image quality condition is satisfied, and the second image data can be generated.

Further, as a third invention, the situation determining means determines that the high image quality situation condition satisfies a visibility improvement condition indicating that the visibility of the virtual camera has changed from a predetermined deteriorated visibility to a predetermined good visibility. The program of the second invention may be configured to include the above-mentioned information and determine whether or not the above-mentioned image quality improvement condition is satisfied.

According to the third invention, when the field of view of the virtual camera changes from a deteriorated field of view to a good field of view, it is determined that the high image quality condition is satisfied, and the second image data can be generated.

Further, as a fourth invention, when a discard status condition indicating that the second image data is to be discarded from the image generation memory is satisfied, the second image data is transferred from the image generation memory. The program according to any one of the first to third inventions is configured to cause the computer to further function as a discard candidate setting unit (for example, the discard candidate setting unit 219 in FIG. 5) that sets discard candidate data to be discarded from the discard candidate data. You can.

According to the fourth aspect, of the second image data stored in the image generation memory, the second image data that satisfies the discard status condition can be set as the discard candidate data.

Further, as a fifth invention, the second image data discarding means satisfies the discard status condition by at least including in the discard status condition that the distance between the object and the virtual camera satisfies a predetermined long distance condition. A program according to a fourth aspect of the invention may be configured to determine whether or not it has been completed.

According to the fifth invention, when the distance of the virtual camera to the object is long, it is determined that the discard condition condition is satisfied, and the second image data related to the appearance of the object can be set as the discard candidate data.

Further, as a sixth invention, a discarding means for discarding the second image data from the image generation memory when the free space of the image generation memory satisfies a predetermined small capacity condition (for example, the high capacity of the image generation memory shown in FIG. The program according to any one of the first to fifth inventions may be configured as an image quality texture discarding unit 239) for further functioning the computer.

According to the sixth invention, the second image data in the image generation memory can be discarded depending on the free capacity of the image generation memory.

Further, as a seventh invention, a game progress control means (for example, the game progress control unit 211 in FIG. 5) that communicates with the server system and controls the progress of a given online game in which the virtual three-dimensional space is the game space. , the computer further functions as: the storage control means acquires the first image data from the server system and stores it in the image generation memory; may be configured.

According to the seventh invention, first image data related to the appearance of an object placed in the game space is acquired from the server system and stored in the image generation memory, and an object image of the object is generated during the online game. , and can be used to generate second image data regarding its appearance.

An eighth invention is an image generation device that generates an object image of an object in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera, the image generation device storing an image of the object in an image generation memory provided in the image generation device. storage control means for storing first image data for expressing the object; and second image data having a larger data size than the first image data for expressing the appearance of the object with higher image quality than the first image data. a storage determining means for determining whether or not the object image is stored in the image generation memory; and a storage determining means for determining whether or not the object image is stored in the image generation memory, and whether or not a high image quality situation condition indicating that the object image is to be generated using the second image data is satisfied. (1) generating the object image using the second image data stored in the image generation memory when the storage determination means determines whether the object image is correct; 2) when both the memory determining means and the situation determining means determine that the object image is negative, the first image data is used to generate the object image; (3) the memory determining means determines that the object image is negative; When the situation determining means determines that the second image data is correct, the second image data is generated based on the first image data and stored in the image generation memory, and the second image data is used to generate the object. An image generation device (for example, the player terminal 1500 in FIG. 1) that generates an image and includes an object image generation control means.

According to the eighth invention, it is possible to realize an image generation device that has the same effects as the first invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a game system. The figure which shows the example of a device configuration of a player terminal. The figure which shows an example of a game screen. A schematic diagram explaining the principle of generating an object image. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a player terminal. The figure which shows the data structure example of the object table in a field of view. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server system. A flowchart for explaining the flow of game processing. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of object image generation control processing.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and the forms to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, in the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a game system 1000 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a game system 1000 includes a server system 1100 and a player terminal 1500 as an image generation device owned by a user who is a player 2 of the game of this embodiment, and these are connected via a communication line N. and are connected to each other for data communication.

The communication line N means a communication path that allows data communication. In other words, the communication line N includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN (Local Area Network) using Ethernet (registered trademark), etc., as well as communication networks such as telephone communication networks, cable networks, and the Internet. In addition, the communication method may be wired or wireless.

The server system 1100 includes a main unit 1101, a keyboard 1106, a touch panel 1108, and a storage 1140, and the main unit 1101 has a built-in control board 1150.

The control board 1150 includes various microprocessors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1151, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), various IC memories 1152 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and a communication device 1153. Equipped with electronic components. Note that part or all of the control board 1150 may be realized using an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Array), or an SoC (System on a Chip).

This server system 1100 performs processing for operating the game of this embodiment by having the CPU 1151 and the like perform arithmetic processing based on predetermined programs and data. Specifically, the server system 1100 issues a unique account (player ID) to the player 2 who has completed user registration, and centrally manages information regarding the player 2 as user registration data 530 (see FIG. 7). . It also performs processing related to login/logout of the player 2 and distributes data necessary for executing the game on the player terminal 1500. In other words, the game of this embodiment is realized as a type of client-server online game. The players 2 access the server system 1100 with their respective player terminals 1500, log in using the issued player IDs, and enjoy the game of this embodiment.

Note that the server system 1100 is not limited to the single configuration shown in FIG. 1, but may be configured to include a plurality of blade servers that share each function and are connected to each other via an internal bus for data communication. . Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of independent servers installed at remote locations perform data communication via the communication line N, thereby functioning as the server system 1100 as a whole.

The player terminal 1500 is a computer system that functions as a man-machine interface, and can connect to the communication line N via a mobile phone base station, wireless communication base station, etc., and perform data communication with the server system 1100. This player terminal 1500 is, for example, in the form of a smartphone, a mobile phone, a portable game device, a stationary home game device, a controller for a stationary home game device, an arcade game device, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, or the like. can be taken.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of a smartphone, which is an example of the player terminal 1500. As shown in FIG. 2, the player terminal 1500 includes a direction input key 1502, a home key 1504, a touch panel 1506 that functions as an image display device and a contact position input device, a built-in battery 1509, a speaker 1510, and a microphone 1512. , a control board 1550, and a memory card reader 1542 that can read and write data to and from a memory card 1540, which is a computer-readable storage medium. In addition, a power button, a volume control button, etc. (not shown) are provided.

The control board 1550 includes various microprocessors such as a CPU 1551, GPU, and DSP, various IC memories 1552 such as VRAM, RAM, and ROM, and for wireless communication with a mobile phone base station, wireless LAN base station, etc. connected to the communication line N. A wireless communication module 1553 and the like are installed. The control board 1550 also includes a circuit that receives signals from the direction input key 1502 and the home key 1504, a driver circuit for the touch panel 1506, an output amplifier circuit that outputs audio signals to the speaker 1510, and audio collected by the microphone 1512. A so-called I/F circuit (interface circuit) 1557, such as an audio signal generation circuit that generates a signal and a signal input/output circuit to the memory card reader 1542, is installed. Each of the elements mounted on the control board 1550 is electrically connected to each other via a bus circuit or the like, so that data can be read and written and signals can be transmitted and received. Note that part or all of the control board 1550 may be configured with ASIC, FPGA, or SoC.

The IC memory 1552 stores game programs and various setting data necessary to execute the game programs. Game programs and the like are downloaded from server system 1100 at appropriate timings. Note that the information may be read from a separately obtained storage medium such as a memory card 1540. Then, the CPU 1551 and the like execute the game program to perform arithmetic processing, and control each part of the player terminal 1500 according to operation inputs to the touch panel 1506, direction input keys 1502, and home key 1504, so that the player 2 can play the game. enable.

[Game overview]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen in this embodiment. In the game of this embodiment, background objects and the like are arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space to form a game space, and character objects such as a player character 3 and a target enemy character 4 are arranged within the game space and their movements are controlled. . The enemy character 4 is automatically controlled to attack and approach the player character 3 by having its appearance position and the content of its actions defined in advance by script data and by being controlled by AI.

Then, the game screen is generated from the first-person viewpoint of the player character 3. Specifically, a virtual camera CM (see FIG. 4) is placed behind the player character 3 so that its photographing direction matches the line of sight direction of the player character 3, and is controlled to follow the player character 3. Then, a game space image (so-called 3DCG) is generated in which the inside of the game space is photographed using a virtual camera commercial from the first-person perspective of the player character 3, and a hit point gauge 12 indicating the remaining number of hit points of the player character 3 and remaining bullets are added to the game space image (so-called 3DCG). A game screen is displayed on the touch panel 1506, in which various information displays such as a bullet gauge 14 that displays numbers, a sight 16, etc. are combined. A gun 5 at the bottom center of the screen is a weapon owned by the player character 3. A player 2 operates a player character 3 to move within the game space, and when encountering an enemy character 4, aims at the enemy character 4 and shoots at it.

[principle]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of generating object images in the player terminal 1500. In this embodiment, when generating an object image of the enemy character 4 (for example, 4a), texture data used to generate the object image is determined according to the distance between the enemy character 4 (for example, 4a) and the virtual camera CM (hereinafter referred to as "inter-camera distance"). change.

1. Generation of Object Image In this embodiment, low-quality texture data as first image data is prepared in advance as texture data for expressing the appearance of the enemy character. When multiple types of texture data are used to generate an object image of one enemy character, low-quality texture data is prepared for each type. Prior to the start of the game, this low-quality texture data is downloaded from the server system 1100 to the player terminal 1500 together with the game program etc., and is stored in the storage unit 500 (see FIG. 5) (game setting data in the storage unit 500). (low image quality texture data in which character initial setting data is stored in 511). Furthermore, low-quality texture data of enemy characters that come within the field of view of the virtual camera during the course of the game are read out from the storage unit 500 and stored in the image generation memory 240 (see FIG. 5). low-quality texture data 241) in the generation memory 240;

Then, the player terminal 1500 monitors whether predetermined high image quality conditions are met during game play. The high image quality situation condition is a condition that indicates that an object image should be generated using high quality texture data as second image data. For example, "the distance between the enemy character and the virtual camera is ``satisfying predetermined short distance conditions''. The short-distance condition can be, for example, "the distance between the cameras is less than or equal to a predetermined distance Dt1". The high-quality texture data is texture data for expressing the appearance of the enemy character with higher image quality than the low-quality texture data, and is texture data that has a larger data size than the low-quality texture data.

Specifically, in this embodiment, an enemy character placed within the field of view of a virtual camera is defined as an enemy character within the field of view, and a determination is made as to whether or not the high image quality condition is satisfied for each enemy character within the field of view (hereinafter referred to as (referred to as "high image quality determination"). Then, for the enemy character within the field of view for which the high image quality determination was determined to be positive, an object image is generated using the high quality texture data, and for the enemy character within the field of view for which the determination was negative, the object image is generated using the low image quality texture data. generate.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is determined that an enemy character 4a within the visual field whose inter-camera distance D to the virtual camera CM is larger than a predetermined distance Dt1 does not satisfy the high image quality situation condition. In this case, an object image of the within-field enemy character 4a is generated using low-quality texture data related to its appearance. Then, the object image based on the low-quality texture data is used to generate the game space image A11. This is because the area occupied by the within-field enemy character 4a, which is far away from the virtual camera CM, in the game space image A11 is small, and even if the object image is generated using low-quality texture data, the image quality of the within-field enemy character 4a is This is because it does not significantly affect the appearance of the.

However, as the within-field enemy character 4a approaches the virtual camera CM, the area occupied by the within-field enemy character 4a in the game space image A13 also increases, as shown in FIG. 4(b). Therefore, if an object image is generated using low-quality texture data, a problem arises in that the image quality affects the appearance of the enemy character 4a within the field of view. This is a problem in that the appearance of the enemy character 4a within the field of view is visually recognized as a rough image (rough texture), which may impede the sense of immersion in the game in some cases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(b), it is determined that the enemy character 4a within the field of view whose inter-camera distance D with the virtual camera CM is less than or equal to the predetermined distance Dt1 satisfies the high image quality condition, and An object image of an internal enemy character 4a is generated using high-quality texture data related to its appearance. Then, the object image based on the high-quality texture data is used to generate the game space image A13.

2. Generation of high-quality texture data High-quality texture data is generated based on low-quality texture data. In this embodiment, a known high-resolution process for converting a low-resolution image into a high-resolution image is performed as a high-quality image process, and high-quality texture data is generated from low-quality texture data. For example, high-quality image processing can be achieved by applying high-resolution processing using super-resolution technology using a deep learning convolutional neural network.

Furthermore, when texture data that has been irreversibly compressed is used as low-quality image data, noise removal processing using a machine learning model or the like may be included in the high-quality image processing.

By doing the above, it is possible to determine that an enemy character within the visual field whose inter-camera distance to the virtual camera is less than or equal to the predetermined distance Dt1 satisfies the high image quality situation condition. In that case, high-quality texture data 243 is generated based on the low-quality texture data 241 stored in the image generation memory 240, and after being stored in the image generation memory 240, the high-quality texture data 243 is can be used to generate an object image of the enemy character within the field of view. If high-quality texture data 243 has already been generated for the enemy character within the field of view and is stored in the image generation memory 240, an object image can be generated using it. Therefore, for an enemy character within the field of view that is close to the virtual camera and is displayed large on the game screen, an object image can be generated using high-quality texture data. According to this, it is possible to realize a high-quality appearance representation of the enemy character within the field of view, and to improve the image quality. On the other hand, for an enemy character within the visual field that does not satisfy the high image quality condition, an object image can be generated using low image quality texture data. However, if the high-quality texture data 243 has already been stored in the image generation memory 240, the high-quality texture data 243 can be used to create an object for the enemy character within the field of view, even if the high-quality situation conditions are not satisfied. Generate an image. Also, by doing the above, during the game, high-quality texture data is acquired from the storage unit 500 or server system 1100 in order to generate an object image using high-quality texture data, and is expanded to the image generation memory 240. There is no need to perform any additional processing. Therefore, an object image can be generated using high-quality texture data without delay if necessary, and the image quality of the object image can be improved.

Note that an irreversibly compressed texture (for example, JPEG image data) that cannot be directly used by the GPU (the image generation unit 230 in FIG. 5) is obtained from the server system 1100 as low-quality texture data, and after noise is removed by noise removal processing, It is also conceivable that the texture be compressed again into an irreversibly compressed texture that can be directly used by the GPU, stored in the image generation memory 240, and used to generate an object image. If the data size of the irreversibly compressed texture that cannot be directly used by the GPU is smaller than the data size of the irreversibly compressed texture that can be directly used by the GPU, the same effect as described above can be achieved.

[Functional configuration]
1. Player Terminal FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the player terminal 1500 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the player terminal 1500 includes an operation input section 100, a terminal processing section 200, an image display section 390, a sound output section 392, a communication section 394, and a terminal storage section 500.

The operation input section 100 is used by the player to input various operations, and can be realized by, for example, a button switch, joystick, touch pad, trackball, acceleration sensor, angular velocity sensor, CCD module, or the like. In FIG. 2, the direction input key 1502, home key 1504, and touch panel 1506 correspond to this.

The terminal processing unit 200 can be realized by a processor, which is an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU, GPU, ASIC, or FPGA, or an electronic component such as an IC memory, and can be implemented by an electronic component such as an IC memory. Controls data input/output. Then, it performs various calculation processes based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input section 100, data received from the server system 1100, etc., and centrally controls the operation of the player terminal 1500. In FIG. 2, this corresponds to the control board 1550 and its CPU 1551.

This terminal processing section 200 includes a player terminal calculation section 210, an image generation section 230, a sound generation section 292, and a communication control section 294.

The player terminal calculation unit 210 downloads and acquires the game program 501 and game setting data 511 from the server system 1100 before starting the game, and performs various calculations for making the player terminal 1500 function as a terminal for the player to play the game. Execute processing. For example, the player terminal calculation unit 210 includes a game progress control unit 211, an in-field object management unit 213, a storage determination unit 215, a high image quality status determination unit 217, and a discard candidate setting unit 219.

The game progress control unit 211 controls the progress of the game using the game setting data 511. Specifically, (1) a process of arranging background objects and the like to form a game space; (2) a process of arranging a player character in the game space and controlling the actions of the player character in accordance with operation inputs to the operation input section 100; (3) Processing to place a virtual camera behind the player character and control its tracking; (4) Processing to place an enemy character in the game space and automatically control its movements; (5) Hit determination for attacks. Processing related to damage determination and its reflection, (6) processing for determining whether the game ending conditions are satisfied, etc. are executed.

The in-field object management unit 213 manages enemy characters placed within the field of view of the virtual camera as in-field enemy characters. Specifically, if there is an enemy character that is newly within the field of view of the virtual camera, it is added to the field of view object table 513 as a field of view enemy character, and the relationship between the field of view enemy character and the virtual camera is The inter-camera distance is calculated as needed, set in the field-of-view object table 513, and managed.

The memory determination unit 215 determines, for each enemy character within the field of view, whether high-quality texture data 243 related to the appearance of the enemy character within the field of view is stored in the image generation memory 240 (hereinafter referred to as "memory determination"). )I do. In this embodiment, when a high-quality texture data generation unit 235 (described later) in the image generation unit 230 generates high-quality texture data 243 and stores it in the image generation memory 240, the storage area (storage destination) address) is registered in the storage destination list 515. The storage determination unit 215 performs storage determination depending on whether or not a storage area is registered in the storage destination list 515. That is, if the storage area of the enemy character within the visual field to be determined is registered in the storage destination list 515, the memory determination is made affirmative, and if it is not registered, the memory determination is negative.

The image quality improvement situation determination unit 217 determines whether or not the image quality improvement situation conditions are satisfied for each enemy character within the field of view (image quality improvement determination). In the present embodiment, it is determined that an enemy character within the field of view whose inter-camera distance to the virtual camera satisfies the short distance condition described above satisfies the high image quality situation condition.

The discard candidate setting unit 219 determines whether or not discard status conditions indicating that each high-quality texture data 243 stored in the image generation memory 240 has reached a state where it should be discarded are satisfied. Make a judgment (discard status judgment). Then, the high-quality texture data 243 that satisfies the discard status condition is set as discard candidate data.

In this embodiment, the discard situation condition is that "the distance between the enemy character within the field of view and the virtual camera satisfies a predetermined long-distance condition". The long-distance condition may be, for example, "the distance between cameras is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance Dt2". Then, the discard candidate setting unit 219 monitors whether the discard condition is satisfied for each enemy character within the field of view, and if there is an enemy character within the field of view whose inter-camera distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance Dt2, the discard candidate setting unit 219 creates a high-quality image texture related to its appearance. The data 243 is registered in the discard candidate list 517 as discard candidate data. It is preferable that the distance Dt2 is greater than the distance Dt1, which is the distance threshold for the short distance condition.

The image generation unit 230 generates a game space image (3DCG, etc.) of a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera based on the processing results of the player terminal calculation unit 210. Then, an image signal for displaying one game screen in one frame time (for example, 1/60 seconds) is generated based on the generated game space image, and the generated image signal is output to the image display section 390. For example, it is realized by a processor such as a GPU, a digital signal processor (DSP), a video signal IC, a program such as a video codec, an IC memory for drawing frames such as a frame buffer, an IC memory used for developing texture data, etc. . In this embodiment, the image generation section 230 includes a low-quality texture storage control section 231, an object image generation control section 233, a high-quality texture discarding section 239, and an image generation memory 240.

The low-quality texture storage control unit 231 stores low-quality texture data related to the appearance of the enemy character newly set as the enemy character within the field of view of the virtual camera by the within-field object management unit 213 in the storage unit 500 (character initial state of the game setting data 511). control is performed to read from the setting data) and store it in the image generation memory 240. At that time, the storage area in the image generation memory 240 for the low-quality texture data 241 is registered in the storage destination list 515.

The object image generation control unit 233 sequentially targets enemy characters within the field of view (hereinafter referred to as "target enemy characters within the field of view"), and uses the results of the memory determination and/or high image quality determination for the target enemy characters within the field of view. Based on this, generation control of the object image is performed.

Specifically, (1) if the memory determination for the target enemy character within the field of view is affirmatively determined, control is performed to generate an object image of the target enemy character within the field of view using high-quality texture data 243 related to its appearance; I do. In addition, (2) If both the memory determination and the high image quality determination for the target enemy character within the field of view are negative, the object image of the target enemy character within the field of view is generate. (3) If the memory determination is negative for the enemy character within the target visual field, and the high image quality determination is positive, high-quality texture data is generated from the low-quality texture data 241 related to its appearance. , is stored in the image generation memory 240 and used to control the generation of an object image of the enemy character within the target field of view.

The object image generation control section 233 includes a high-quality texture data generation section 235 and an object image generation section 237.

The high-quality texture data generation unit 235 performs high-quality processing on the low-quality texture data 241 under the control of the object image generation control unit 233 to generate high-quality texture data. Then, the generated high-quality texture data 243 is stored in the image generation memory 240, and the storage area in the image generation memory 240 is registered in the storage destination list 515.

The object image generation section 237 generates an object image under the control of the object image generation control section 233 using the low image quality texture data 241 or the high image quality texture data 243 related to the appearance of the enemy character within the target visual field.

The high-quality texture discarding unit 239 performs free space monitoring processing to discard the high-quality texture data 243 in the image generation memory 240. Specifically, in the free space monitoring process, it is repeatedly determined whether the free space of the image generation memory 240 satisfies the small capacity condition (discard determination), and the satisfaction of the small capacity condition is monitored. The small capacity condition may be, for example, "the free capacity is less than or equal to a predetermined capacity Ct". Then, when the small capacity condition is satisfied, the high-quality texture data 243 is discarded from the image generation memory 240. In this embodiment, the high-quality texture data 243 that has been set as discard candidate data by the discard candidate setting unit 219 and set in the discard candidate list 517 is discarded from the image generation memory 240.

The sound generation unit 292 is realized by, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processor such as a voice synthesis IC, an audio codec for playing audio files, etc., and generates audio signals of game sound effects, BGM, and various operation sounds. is generated and output to the sound output section 392.

The communication control unit 294 performs communication connection and data processing for data communication with an external device (for example, the server system 1100) via the communication unit 394, and realizes data exchange with the external device.

The image display section 390 displays various screens such as game screens based on image signals input from the image generation section 230. For example, it can be realized by an image display device such as a flat panel display, a projector, or a head-mounted display. In FIG. 2, this corresponds to the touch panel 1506.

The sound output section 392 emits sound effects, BGM, etc. related to the game based on the audio signal input from the sound generation section 292. In FIG. 2, this corresponds to speaker 1510.

The communication unit 394 connects to the communication line N to realize communication. For example, it can be realized by a wireless communication device, modem, TA, wired communication cable jack, control circuit, etc. In FIG. 2, this corresponds to the wireless communication module 1553.

The terminal storage unit 500 stores in advance a program for operating the player terminal 1500 and realizing the functions of the player terminal 1500, data used during the execution of this program, or temporarily stores data each time processing is performed. is memorized. For example, it can be realized by an IC memory such as a RAM or ROM, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD, or the like. In FIG. 2, the IC memory 1552 and the memory card 1540 correspond to this.

Further, the terminal storage unit 500 stores a game program 501, game setting data 511, an in-field object table 513, a storage destination list 515, a discard candidate list 517, and play data 519. Further, information such as timers, counters, various flags, etc., and other data necessary for the progress of the game, such as game sounds, are stored as appropriate.

The game program 501 is application software for realizing the functions of the player terminal calculation section 210, image generation section 230, sound generation section 292, and communication control section 294 by being read and executed by the terminal processing section 200. Alternatively, the game program 501 may be a dedicated program according to a technical method for realizing an online game, or may be composed of a web browser program, a plug-in for realizing interactive image display, and the like. In this embodiment, the game program 501 is downloaded from the server system 1100 together with game setting data 511 and the like, and stored in the storage unit 500.

The game setting data 511 includes game space initial setting data and character initial setting data, as shown in the original game setting data 560 in FIG. Character initial setting data related to the enemy character includes low-quality texture data related to its appearance.

The in-field object table 513 stores a list of enemy characters (in-field enemy characters) placed within the field of view of the virtual camera. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the in-field object table 513 stores the distance from the virtual camera (inter-camera distance) in association with the object ID of the in-field enemy character.

The storage destination list 515 stores storage areas (addresses of storage destinations) of the low image quality texture data 241 and the high image quality texture data 243 stored in the image generation memory 240.

The discard candidate list 517 stores a list of high-quality texture data 243 that has been determined as discard candidate data by the discard candidate setting unit 219.

The play data 519 stores various data describing the progress of the game. For example, the player ID (account), the current player level, a list of characters that can be used as player characters, their current ability values, the status of the player character and enemy characters in the game being played, etc. are set.

2. Server System FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server system 1100. As shown in FIG. 7, the server system 1100 of this embodiment includes an operation input section 100s, a server processing section 200s, an image display section 390s, a sound output section 392s, a communication section 394s, and a server storage section 500s. Equipped with.

The operation input unit 100s is for inputting various operations for system management, maintenance, etc., and can be realized by, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc. In FIG. 1, the keyboard 1106 and touch panel 1108 correspond to this.

The server processing section 200s can be realized by a processor that is an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU, GPU, ASIC, or FPGA, or an electronic component such as an IC memory, and can be implemented by a processor such as a CPU, GPU, ASIC, or FPGA, or an electronic component such as an IC memory. Controls data input/output. Then, it performs various calculation processes based on predetermined programs and data, operation input signals from the operation input unit 100s, data received from the player terminal 1500, etc., and centrally controls the operation of the server system 1100. In FIG. 1, this corresponds to the control board 1150 and its CPU 1151.

This server processing section 200s includes an account management section 270, a game management section 280, an image generation section 290s, a sound generation section 292s, and a communication control section 294s.

The account management unit 270 performs processing related to user registration and manages data of each registered user (player) linked to an account. For example, it is possible to execute processes such as issuing an account to a user who has gone through a registration procedure and generating user registration data 530, registering and managing personal information for each account, and managing login and logout processes and their history. can.

The game management unit 280 performs various processes related to game execution management on the player terminal 1500. For example, processing for transmitting distribution data 550 to the player terminal 1500 in response to a request from the player terminal 1500, or acquiring data necessary for managing game play from the player terminal 1500 to update the user registration data 530. Processing etc. can be executed.

The image generation unit 290s generates an image related to system management of the server system 1100, and outputs it to the image display unit 390s.

The sound generation unit 292s is realized by executing an IC or software that generates and decodes audio data, and generates or decodes audio data such as operation sounds and BGM related to system management of the server system 1100 and video distribution. Audio signals related to system management are output to the sound output section 392s.

The communication control unit 294s performs communication connection and data processing for data communication with an external device (eg, player terminal 1500) via the communication unit 394s, and realizes data exchange with the external device.

The image display section 390s displays various screens for system management etc. based on the image signal input from the image generation section 290s. For example, it can be realized by an image display device such as a flat panel display, a projector, or a head-mounted display. In FIG. 1, this corresponds to the touch panel 1108.

The sound output section 392s emits the audio signal input from the sound generation section 292s. In FIG. 1, this corresponds to a speaker (not shown) included in the main body device 1101 and the touch panel 1108.

The communication unit 394s connects to the communication line N to realize communication. For example, it can be realized by a wireless communication device, a modem, a TA (terminal adapter), a jack for a wired communication cable, a control circuit, etc. In FIG. 1, the communication device 1153 corresponds to this.

In the server storage unit 500s, programs for operating the server system 1100 and realizing various functions of the server system 1100, data used during the execution of this program, etc. are stored in advance, or data is stored each time processing is performed. Memorized temporarily. For example, it can be realized by an IC memory such as a RAM or ROM, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM or DVD, or the like. In FIG. 1, this corresponds to the IC memory 1152 and the storage 1140.

Further, the server storage unit 500s stores an account management program 503, a game management program 505, user registration data 530, and distribution data 550. In addition, information such as timers, counters, various flags, etc. is stored as appropriate.

The account management program 503 is a program that is read and executed by the server processing unit 200s to realize the function of the account management unit 270. The game management program 505 is a program for realizing the function of the game management section 280 by being read and executed by the server processing section 200s.

The user registration data 530 is prepared for each player registered as a user by the account management unit 270, and stores various data for management regarding the game play of the player, including the player ID (account).

Distribution data 550 includes a game program 551 and game setting data 560. These are the originals of the game program 501 and game setting data 511 distributed to the player terminal 1500.

The game setting data 560 stores various initial setting data for executing the game of this embodiment. This game setting data 560 includes game space initial setting data 561 and character initial setting data 563.

Game space initial setting data 561 is initial setting data for forming a game space. For example, model data, texture data, placement position data, etc. are stored for each background object.

Character initial setting data 563 is initial setting data that defines character objects such as player characters and enemy characters. This character initial setting data 563 is prepared for each character object. In association with the object ID, model data, texture data, motion data, and initial values of various ability parameters such as attack power, defense power, and HP are stored. In this embodiment, at least the character initial setting data 563 related to the enemy character includes one or more low-quality texture data 565 related to the appearance thereof.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of game processing at player terminal 1500. The processing described here is realized by the terminal processing unit 200 reading and executing the game program 501.

In the game process, first, the game progress control section 211 starts controlling the progress of the game (step S1). Specifically, the game progress control unit 211 arranges background objects to form a game space, and arranges a player character and an enemy character within the game space. Then, automatic control of the enemy character is started, and the player character is made to move in accordance with the player's operation input. Additionally, a virtual camera is placed behind the player character, and tracking control is started. In addition, controls that are basically required to control the progress of the game are also started as appropriate.

Furthermore, the high-quality texture discarding unit 239 starts free space monitoring processing (step S3). Through this processing, the free space of the image generation memory 240 is monitored, and when the free space is below a predetermined capacity Ct, the high-quality texture data 243 registered as discard candidate data in the discard candidate list 517 is used for image generation. is discarded from memory 240 for use.

After controlling the progress of the game and starting necessary processing, the in-field object management unit 213 monitors the presence or absence of an enemy character that has newly come within the field of view of the virtual camera. If there is an enemy character within the field of view (step S5: YES), the enemy character is added (set) to the field of view object table 513 as an enemy character within the field of view, and management of the distance between the cameras is started. (Step S7). That is, the in-sight object management unit 213 calculates the inter-camera distance between the in-sight enemy character and the virtual camera as needed, and updates the in-sight object table 513.

Then, in response to the addition of the within-field enemy character in step S7, the low-image quality texture storage control unit 231 in the image generation unit 230 reads the low-image quality texture data 241 of the new within-field enemy character from the storage unit 500, It is stored in the image generation memory 240 (step S9).

Further, the discard candidate setting unit 219 determines the discard status of each enemy character within the field of view, based on the distance between the cameras, to determine whether the discard status condition is satisfied (step S11). If there is an enemy character within the field of view for which the discard status determination is affirmative (step S13: YES), the high-quality texture data 243 related to its appearance is set as discard candidate data and registered in the discard candidate list 517 (step S13: YES). S15).

Subsequently, the storage determination unit 215 refers to the storage destination list 515 and determines whether or not the high-quality texture data 243 related to the appearance of each enemy character within the field of view is stored in the image generation memory 240. (Step S17).

Further, the image quality improvement status determination unit 217 performs image quality improvement determination for each of the enemy characters within the field of view to determine whether or not the image quality improvement status condition is satisfied based on the distance between the cameras (step S19).

Thereafter, the object image generation control section 233 in the image generation section 230 performs object image generation control processing (step S20). FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of object image generation control processing.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the object image generation control process, the enemy characters within the field of view are sequentially set as the target enemy characters within the field of view, and the process of loop A is executed for each enemy character within the field of view (steps S201 to S215).

In loop A, first, the process branches depending on the result of the memory determination regarding the enemy character within the target visual field. That is, if the memory determination is affirmative (step S203: YES), the process moves to step S211.

On the other hand, if the memory determination is negative (step S203: NO), the process branches depending on the result of the high image quality determination for the enemy character within the target visual field. If the high image quality determination is affirmative (step S205: YES), the process moves to step S207. That is, if the memory determination is negative and the image quality improvement determination is positive, the process moves to step S207. Then, in step S207, the high-quality texture data generation unit 235 performs high-quality image processing by applying a known high-resolution process, and creates a high-quality texture from the low-quality texture data 241 related to the appearance of the enemy character within the target visual field. Generate data. Thereafter, the generated high-quality texture data 243 is stored in the image generation memory 240, the storage area is registered in the storage destination list 515 (step S209), and the process moves to step S211.

Further, if the high image quality determination is negative (step S205: NO), that is, if both the memory determination and the high image quality determination are negative, the process moves to step S213.

Then, in step S211, the object image generation unit 237 uses the high-quality texture data 243 related to the appearance of the target enemy character within the field of view, which is stored in the image generation memory 240, to generate an object of the target enemy character within the field of view. Generate an image. Further, in step S213, the object image generation unit 237 uses the low-quality texture data 241 related to the appearance of the target enemy character within the field of view, which is stored in the image generation memory 240, to generate the object of the target enemy character within the field of view. Generate an image.

Then, once the process of loop A has been performed for all enemy characters within the field of view, the object image generation control process ends. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the image generation unit 230 generates a game space image using the object image of the enemy character within the field of view as the object image generated in the previous object image generation control process (step S31), and the image display unit 390 to display a game screen (step S33).

Thereafter, it is determined whether the game is over or not, and unless the game is ended (step S35: NO), the process returns to step S5 and the above-described process is repeated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an object image can be generated using high-quality image data without delay as needed, and the image quality of the object image can be improved.

Note that the form to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and components may be added, omitted, or changed as appropriate.

For example, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the object image generation principle was applied to the generation of an object image of an enemy character, but various objects other than the enemy character, such as the player character, the equipment of the player character, and the enemy character, etc. It can be similarly applied to the generation of object images of various objects in the game space, such as items and background objects. Furthermore, the applicable games are not limited to the exemplified game that generates a game screen from a first-person perspective.

Further, the high image quality condition can be set as appropriate other than "the distance between the cameras satisfies the short distance condition" as exemplified in the above embodiment. For example, the image quality improvement determination may be made by setting the image quality improvement status condition to be "satisfying the visibility improvement condition indicating that the field of view of the virtual camera has changed from a predetermined worsened visibility to a predetermined good visibility." In that case, when the surrounding environment of the player character changes and the visibility improvement conditions are met, object images of enemy characters within the field of view and other objects within the field of view of the virtual camera are generated using high-quality texture data. do. Specifically, when the player character moves from a dark place to a bright place, when the weather settings around the player character change from rainy to sunny, or when fog clears, the conditions for improving visibility are met and the high image quality is The determination is made affirmative.

Alternatively, the image quality improvement determination may be made using "being a locked-on enemy character" as the image quality improvement status condition. In that case, an object image is generated for the locked-on enemy character using high-quality texture data. In addition, when a multiplayer game in which multiple players participate is executed as an online game, the image quality improvement may be determined based on the image quality condition condition that ``the player character is operated by a player who is registered as a friend.'' . In that case, an object image is generated using high-quality texture data for the player character of the player registered as a friend.

Further, it is also possible to perform a high image quality determination by combining a plurality of the illustrated high image quality situation conditions. For example, the image quality improvement determination may be made by including both the satisfaction of the short distance condition and the satisfaction of the visibility improvement condition in the image quality improvement situation conditions. The high image quality determination may be made in the affirmative when either one of the conditions is satisfied, or it may be configured in such a manner that the determination is made in the affirmative when both conditions are satisfied.

Furthermore, the player may be able to specify the magnification of the high-resolution processing. For example, the player may enter a numerical value within the range of settable magnifications to specify the magnification, or the magnification size may be selected in stages, such as selecting from three levels: "large," "medium," and "small." It is also possible to specify a configuration.

1000... Game system 1500... Player terminal 100... Operation input unit 200... Terminal processing unit 210... Player terminal calculation unit 211... Game progress control unit 213... In-field object management unit 215... Memory determination unit 217... High image quality status determination unit 219...Discard candidate setting section 230...Image generation section 231...Low quality texture storage control section 233...Object image generation control section 235...High quality texture data generation section 237...Object image generation section 239...High quality texture discard section 240...Image Generation memory 241...Low image quality texture data 243...High image quality texture data 292...Sound generation section 294...Communication control section 390...Image display section 392...Sound output section 394...Communication section 500...Terminal storage section 501...Game program 511... Game setting data 513...In-field object table 515...Storage destination list 517...Discard candidate list 519...Play data 1100...Server system 100s...Operation input section 200s...Server processing section 270...Account management section 280...Game management section 290s...Image Generation section 292s...Sound generation section 294s...Communication control section 390s...Image display section 392s...Sound output section 394s...Communication section 500s...Server storage section 503...Account management program 505...Game management program 530...User registration data 550...For distribution Data 560...Game setting data 561...Game space initial setting data 563...Character initial setting data 565...Low quality texture data N...Communication line 2...Player

Claims (8)

A program for causing a computer to generate an object image of an object in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera, the program comprising:
storage control means for storing first image data for expressing the appearance of the object in an image generation memory included in the computer;
Memory for determining whether second image data larger in data size than the first image data for expressing the appearance of the object with higher image quality than the first image data is stored in the image generation memory. Judgment means,
situation determining means for determining whether a high image quality situation condition indicating that the object image should be generated using the second image data is satisfied;
(1) If the memory determination means determines yes, the object image is generated using the second image data stored in the image generation memory, and (2) the memory determination means and the situation (3) generating the object image using the first image data when both are determined as negative by the determining means, and (3) generating a negative image by the memory determining means and positive by the situation determining means Object image generation control that generates the second image data based on the first image data and stores it in the image generation memory, and then generates the object image using the second image data. means,
A program for making the computer function as a computer. The situation determining means includes at least in the image quality improvement situation condition that the distance between the object and the virtual camera satisfies a predetermined short distance condition, and determines whether the image quality improvement situation condition is satisfied.
The program according to claim 1. The situation determining means includes, in the image quality improvement condition, a condition for improving the visibility that indicates that the field of view of the virtual camera has changed from a predetermined worsened visibility to a predetermined good visibility, and determines the image quality improvement condition. Determine whether the conditions are met,
The program according to claim 2. Setting the second image data as discard candidate data to be discarded from the image generation memory when a discard status condition indicating that the second image data should be discarded from the image generation memory is satisfied. A discard candidate setting means for
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3, for causing the computer to further function as a computer. The second image data discard means includes at least in the discard situation condition that the distance between the object and the virtual camera satisfies a predetermined long distance condition, and determines whether the discard situation condition is satisfied.
The program according to claim 4. discarding means for discarding the second image data from the image generation memory when the free space of the image generation memory satisfies a predetermined small capacity condition;
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, for causing the computer to further function as a computer. a game progress control means that communicates with a server system and controls the progress of a given online game in which the virtual three-dimensional space is a game space;
further causing the computer to function as
The storage control means acquires the first image data from the server system and stores it in the image generation memory.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An image generation device that generates an object image of an object in a virtual three-dimensional space viewed from a virtual camera,
storage control means for storing first image data for expressing the appearance of the object in an image generation memory included in the image generation device;
Memory for determining whether second image data larger in data size than the first image data for expressing the appearance of the object with higher image quality than the first image data is stored in the image generation memory. Judgment means;
a situation determining means for determining whether a high image quality situation condition indicating that the object image should be generated using the second image data is satisfied;
(1) If the memory determination means determines yes, the object image is generated using the second image data stored in the image generation memory, and (2) the memory determination means and the situation (3) generating the object image using the first image data when both are determined as negative by the determining means, and (3) generating a negative image by the memory determining means and positive by the situation determining means Object image generation control that generates the second image data based on the first image data and stores it in the image generation memory, and then generates the object image using the second image data. means and
An image generation device equipped with

Images