JPH11134515A - Game device and game screen compositing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simulate the actual world really even when the surface of a display body changes with the simulation state by mapping texture information corresponding to an area where the display body travels to the display body. SOLUTION: A texture arithmetic part 230 of an image composition part 200 performs operation for mapping texture to the display body and a texture information storage part 242 is stored with information on the texture to be mapped by the texture arithmetic part 230. The texture information storage part 242 is stored with more than one kind of texture information for the same display body, e.g. one tire. Then the kind of the texture information mapped to the travel surface of the tire is changed according to the state of the surface of the timer changing with the simulation state. Namely, texture information representing a whity grip surface is mapped to the travel surface of the tire in a simulation state wherein a racing car runs out of a course to enter a dirt road.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a game device and a game screen synthesizing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of three-dimensional simulators have been known for use in, for example, a three-dimensional game or a simulator for controlling an airplane or various vehicles.
In such a three-dimensional simulator device, FIG.
Is stored in the apparatus in advance. The three-dimensional object 300 represents a display object such as a landscape that the player (viewer) 302 can see through the screen 306. Then, image information of the three-dimensional object 300, which is a display object, is perspectively transformed on the screen 306, thereby forming a pseudo 3D object.
A dimensional image (projection image) 308 is displayed on the screen 306 as an image. In this device, when the player 302 performs operations such as rotation and translation using the operation panel 304, predetermined three-dimensional arithmetic processing is performed based on the operation signals. Specifically, first, the player 302
A calculation process is performed to determine how the viewpoint position, line-of-sight direction, or the position, direction, etc. of the moving body on which the player 302 rides change. Next, a calculation process is performed to determine how the image of the three-dimensional object 300 looks on the screen 306 according to the change in the viewpoint position, the line-of-sight direction, and the like. The above arithmetic processing is performed in real time following the operation of the player 302. As a result, the player 302 can see in real time a change in his / her viewpoint position or line-of-sight direction or a change in scenery or the like accompanying a change in the position or direction of the moving body on which he / she is riding, as a virtual three-dimensional image. You can experience a simulated three-dimensional space.

FIG. 20B shows an example of a display image formed by the three-dimensional simulator as described above.

[0004]

In such a three-dimensional simulator, a display object is represented by combining a large number of polygons. For example, taking a tire in a racing car game as an example, each of the side surface of the tire and the running surface of the tire is configured by combining a plurality of polygons. Further, a technique called texture mapping is used to improve the quality of the displayed image. In this texture mapping method, a texture is applied to a polygon constituting a display object, and thereby a realistic display image is obtained. Taking a tire as an example, textures representing characters, wheels, and the like are mapped on the side surface of the tire. Further, a texture representing the grip surface of the tire is mapped on the running surface of the tire. Conventionally, one display object has one
Only textures of the kind were prepared.

However, for example, when the texture of a character is mapped on the side surface of a tire, the following problem occurs. That is, in the real world simulated by the three-dimensional simulator device, when the tire rotates, the characters flow in the tire rotation direction, and when the rotation speeds up, the outline of the characters also becomes blurred. However, even when trying to simulate this phenomenon using a three-dimensional simulator, it has been found that the outline of the character is not blurred. The reason for this is that in such a three-dimensional simulator device, an image is generated every (1/60) second, for example, unlike the real world due to the processing speed. Accordingly, there is a problem that blurring of the outline of a character which occurs in the real world cannot be simulated in a realistic manner simply by giving a character texture to the side surface of the tire and rotating the tire at a high speed.

Further, for example, when mapping a texture representing a grip surface to a running surface of a tire, for example,
The following problems arise. That is, for example, when a racing car goes out of course on a gravel road or the like due to an operation error, in the real world, gravel, sand, etc. adhere to the running surface of the tire and the state of the running surface of the tire should change. . However, in the conventional three-dimensional simulator device, only one texture is prepared for one display object.
For this reason, such a change in the state of the running surface of the tire cannot be expressed, and there has been a problem that phenomena occurring in the real world cannot be realistically simulated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to solve the problem even when the surface condition of a display object changes due to a simulation situation. And a game screen synthesizing method capable of realistically simulating the world of the game.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide the speed of a display object,
An object of the present invention is to provide a game device and a game screen synthesizing method capable of realistically simulating the real world even when the rotation speed changes.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a game apparatus for synthesizing a visual field image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein an operation input by the player using operation means is provided. Movement information calculation means for calculating movement information of a display object based on a signal; texture calculation means for performing calculation for mapping a texture to a display object; and texture for storing information of texture mapped by the texture calculation means. Information storage means, wherein the texture calculation means maps texture information corresponding to the area in which the display object travels to the display object.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that when a display object enters a given area, the texture information mapped to the display object is changed to texture information corresponding to the given area.

Further, according to the present invention, when a display object enters a given area, texture information to be mapped to the display object is changed stepwise according to the traveling distance of the display object in the given area. It is characterized by the following.

The present invention also relates to a game apparatus for synthesizing a view image that can be viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement device calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means. Information calculating means, a texture calculating means for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object, and a texture information storing means for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculating means, wherein the texture calculating means includes: When the display object goes out of course, the texture information to be mapped to the display object is changed.

The present invention also relates to a game apparatus for synthesizing a view image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement device calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means. Information calculating means, a texture calculating means for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object, and a texture information storing means for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculating means, wherein the texture calculating means includes: Characteristically, texture information is mapped on the display object so that the display object gets dirty as the display object goes around the course.

Further, the present invention is a game device for synthesizing a view image which can be viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement device calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means. Information calculating means, a texture calculating means for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object, and a texture information storing means for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculating means, wherein the texture calculating means includes: It is characterized in that texture information to be mapped on a display object is changed stepwise in accordance with the traveling distance of the display object.

Further, the present invention is a three-dimensional simulator apparatus including at least an image synthesizing means for synthesizing a view image which can be viewed by a viewer in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the image synthesizing means maps a texture on the display object. And a texture information storage means for storing information on textures mapped by the texture calculation means, wherein the texture information storage means stores a plurality of types of texture information corresponding to the same display object. Texture information is stored, and means is included for changing the type of texture information to be mapped to the display object according to the state of the surface of the display object that changes depending on the simulation situation.

According to the present invention, a plurality of types of texture information are stored as items to be mapped on a display object, for example, a running surface of a tire. For example, texture information for a normal road surface and texture information for a gravel road area are stored. Then, the type of the texture information mapped to the running surface of the tire is changed according to the simulation situation. As a result, when the racing car is running on a normal road surface, the running surface of the tire is in a normal state, and when the racing car enters the gravel road area, the running surface of the tire is in a state where gravel, sand, etc. are attached. Expressions such as As a result, the effect of the simulation can be further increased. In this case, the place where the means for changing the type of texture information is provided is arbitrary.

According to the present invention, there is provided means for storing object information including an object number, position information, and direction information of a display object constituting a virtual three-dimensional space, and setting the object information to form a virtual three-dimensional space. Virtual three-dimensional space calculation means for performing an operation for forming the image information, means for storing image information of an object specified by the object number, the object information, and the image information read by the object number included in the object information A three-dimensional simulator including image synthesizing means for synthesizing a field-of-view image that can be seen by a viewer based on the texture calculation means, wherein the image synthesizing means performs an operation for mapping texture to the display object , The texture mapped by the texture calculation means Texture information storage means for storing information; a plurality of different types of texture information corresponding to the same display object are stored in the texture information storage means; Means for changing the number according to the state of the surface of the display object that changes according to the simulation situation, wherein the object image information storage means uses an object number that changes according to the state of the surface of the display object that changes according to the simulation state. For the designated object, the image information is stored such that the type of texture information to be mapped is different.

According to the present invention, an object number for designating a tire object is changed in accordance with a change in a display object, for example, the surface of a tire depending on a simulation situation. For example, the object number is changed so that a tire object corresponding to normal road traveling is designated when traveling on a normal road surface, and a tire object corresponding to traveling on a gravel road area is designated when traveling on a gravel road area. Then, the image information of the corresponding object is read from the object image information storage means based on the changed object number. In this case, for example, image information of a tire object corresponding to normal road running can read texture information representing a normal grip surface, and image information of a tire object corresponding to a gravel road area includes gravel, sand, and the like. It is possible to read out texture information representing the attached grip surface. Thus, according to the present invention, the type of texture information mapped to a display object can be changed by a very simple process of changing the object number.

The present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the above, the change means performs the change stepwise according to the state of the surface of the display object that changes according to the simulation situation.

According to the present invention, for example, when the display object is a tire, the type of texture information to be mapped to the display object can be changed stepwise according to, for example, a traveling distance in a gravel road area. Thereby, it is possible to express such that more gravel and sand adhere to the tire as the traveling distance becomes longer. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the realism of the simulation.

The present invention is also a three-dimensional simulator apparatus including at least an image synthesizing means for synthesizing a view image which can be seen by a viewer in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the image synthesizing means maps a texture on the display object. And a texture information storage means for storing information on textures mapped by the texture calculation means, wherein the texture information storage means stores a plurality of types of texture information corresponding to the same display object. Texture information is stored, and means for changing the type of texture information to be mapped to the display object according to the speed and rotation speed of the display object is included.

According to the present invention, a plurality of types of texture information are stored as items to be mapped on a display object, for example, a side surface of a tire. For example, texture information for a stopped state and texture information for a high-speed rotation state (or a high-speed running state) are stored. Then, for example, the type of the texture information mapped on the side surface of the tire is changed according to the rotation speed of the tire. Thus, when the tire is in a stopped state, a character having a sharp outline can be displayed on the side surface of the tire, and when the tire is rotating at a high speed, a character having a blurred outline can be displayed. In this case, the means for changing the type of texture information to be mapped may be included in, for example, a virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit that performs calculation for forming a virtual three-dimensional space, or may be included in an image synthesis unit. Also, both may be included. Further, the present invention includes calculating the relative speed and relative rotation speed between the viewer and the display object from the speed and rotation speed of the display object, and changing the type of the texture information according to the obtained speed.

Further, the present invention provides a means for storing object information including an object number, a position information, and a direction information of a display object constituting a virtual three-dimensional space, and a virtual three-dimensional image by setting the object information. Virtual three-dimensional space calculation means for performing a calculation for forming a space; means for storing image information of an object specified by the object number; and the object information and the image read out by the object number included in the object information A three-dimensional simulator comprising: an image synthesizing unit that synthesizes a visual field image that can be seen by a viewer based on information; and a texture calculating unit that performs an operation for mapping a texture to the display object. And a texture mapped by the texture calculation means. A plurality of different types of texture information corresponding to the same display object, and the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit stores the texture information of the display object. Means for changing the object number in accordance with the speed and rotation speed of the display object, wherein the object image information storage means maps objects designated by the object number which is changed in accordance with the speed and rotation speed of the display object. The image information is stored such that the types of texture information to be obtained are different.

According to the present invention, an object number for designating a tire object is changed according to a display object, for example, a rotational speed of a tire. For example, the object number is changed so that a tire object for a stop state is designated when the tire is in a stopped state, and a tire object for a high-speed rotation state is designated when the tire is in a high-speed rotation state. Then, the image information of the corresponding object is read from the object image information storage means based on the changed object number. In this case, for example, the image information of the tire object for the stop state reads the texture information for the stop state, and the image information of the tire object for the high-speed rotation state reads the texture information for the high-speed rotation state. It has become. This can be realized, for example, by changing the texture coordinates (information specifying the texture information) included in the image information.

The present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the above, the change means performs the change stepwise according to the speed and the rotation speed of the display object.

According to the present invention, for example, when the display object is a tire, the tire is used not only for a stopped state and a high-speed rotation state, but also for a low-speed rotation state and a medium-speed rotation state.
Texture information to be mapped stepwise can be changed.

[0027]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First, an example of a three-dimensional game realized by the three-dimensional simulator will be briefly described.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the present three-dimensional simulator apparatus. In the three-dimensional simulator device of FIG. 2, a plurality of independent simulator devices (game devices) 1-1,
1-2, 1-3, and 1-4 are connected to each other via a data transmission line. This makes it possible to realize a racing car game in which a player racing car operated by a player competes with a racing car operated by an opponent player or a computer car operated by a computer.

Here, an independent simulator apparatus 1-
1, 1-2, 1-3, and 1-4 mean that each simulator device is formed so as to be able to independently play a single player game. Of course, via a data transmission line,
A configuration in which a multi-player type game is played in the same game space may be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the simulator devices is formed similarly to the driver's seat of an actual racing car. Then, the player sits on the seat 18 and looks at the game screen (a pseudo three-dimensional image of the scenery seen from the driver's seat of the racing car) displayed on the display 10, and handles the handle 14 provided on the operation unit 12 and the accelerator 1.
5. Operate the fictitious racing car by operating the shift lever 16 and the like to play the game.

The three-dimensional simulator shown in FIG.
Although the present invention has a multi-player type game configuration, the present invention is not limited to this and can be naturally applied to a single player configuration.

FIG. 3 shows a virtual 3D game in this 3D game.
An example of a dimensional space is shown. As described above, the course 20 formed three-dimensionally is arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space in the present three-dimensional game. In the vicinity of the course 20, there are a building 60, an arch 62, a stand 64, and a cliff 6.
6, three-dimensional objects such as a wall 68, a tunnel 70, a tree 72, and a bridge 74 are arranged. The player operates the racing car while watching the display 10 on which these courses and the like are projected. Then, starting from the start point 76, the golf player goes around the course 20 and goes around the course a predetermined number of times to reach the goal, and the ranking of the player is determined.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show an example of a game screen displayed on the display 10 in the present three-dimensional game. The player operates the player car 51 while watching the game screen, and competes with the opponent racing car 52, the computer car 53, and the like. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the viewpoint of the player is set behind the player car, but the viewpoint of the player may be set at the position of the driver's seat.

In FIG. 4, the texture of the character 40 is applied to the tire 30 of the other racing car 52. In this case, the other racing car 52 is running at a high speed, and the tire 30 is rotating at a high speed. Therefore, in this embodiment, in this case, the texture of the character 40 having a blurred outline is applied to the side surface of the tire. As a result, the game screen displayed on the display can be made very realistic. In the present embodiment, for example, when the racing car is stopped at the start, the texture of the stopped character is mapped to the tire 30. When the running speed of the racing car is increased and the rotational speed of the tire is increased, the texture of a character which is not blurred but is expressed in such a manner as to flow in the rotational direction of the tire is mapped to the tire 30. When the rotation speed is further increased, the texture of the character whose outline is blurred as shown in FIG. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the type of texture to be mapped to the tire is changed stepwise according to the rotation speed of the tire (or the traveling speed of the racing car), a more realistic display image can be obtained. .

FIG. 5 shows a game screen when the player's car 51 goes out of course on the gravel road area 26 due to a player's operation error. When the racing car enters the gravel road area 26 in this way, gravel, sand, and the like should adhere to the tire 30 in the real world, and the tire should be whitish. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the racing car enters the gravel road area 26, the texture to be mapped to the tires 30 is changed as shown in FIG. Thereby, the tire 30 which was black in FIG.
5 becomes slightly whitish in FIG. 5, and a realistic game screen can be obtained. In this case, as in the case of the above-described characters, the type of texture to be mapped to the tire 30 is changed stepwise according to, for example, the distance traveled on the gravel road area 26 and the like. This allows
The realism of the display screen can be further increased.

2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a three-dimensional simulator according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present three-dimensional simulator apparatus includes an operation unit 12 to which a player inputs an operation signal, and a virtual three-dimensional space operation unit for performing an operation for setting a virtual three-dimensional space by a predetermined game program. 100, an image synthesizing unit 200 for forming a pseudo three-dimensional image at the viewpoint position of the player, and a display 10 for outputting the pseudo three-dimensional image.

For example, when the present three-dimensional simulator is applied to a racing car game,
A steering wheel 14, an accelerator 15 and the like for driving the racing car are connected, and an operation signal is input by this.

In the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100, a plurality of display objects, for example, the course 20, the building 60, the arch 62, the stand 64, and the cliff 6 in the virtual three-dimensional space shown in FIG.
6. A calculation for setting the position or the position and direction of the player racing car, the opponent racing car, the computer car, etc. is performed. This calculation is performed based on an operation signal from the operation unit 12, map information set and stored in advance, and the like.

The image synthesizing unit 200 performs an operation of synthesizing a view image from an arbitrary viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the operation result from the virtual three-dimensional space operation unit 100. Then, the synthesized view image is output from the display 10.

In this embodiment, the image synthesizing section 200
Is the texture calculation unit 230 and the texture information storage unit 24
And 2. Here, the texture calculation unit 230
Performs an operation for mapping a texture to a display object. The texture information storage unit 242 stores information on the texture mapped by the texture calculation unit 230. The texture information represents, for example, a character / wheel pattern mapped on the side surface of the tire, a grip surface pattern mapped on the tire running surface, and the like. The texture information storage unit 242 stores the same display object, for example, a plurality of types of texture information for one tire. Specifically, as what maps to the side of the tire,
Texture information representing characters / wheels for a stationary state, texture information representing characters / wheels whose outline is slightly blurred due to tire rotation, texture information representing characters / wheels that are completely blurred to flow in the tire rotation direction, etc. It is remembered. In addition, as information to be mapped on the running surface of the tire, texture information representing a black grip surface, texture information representing a grip surface that has become whitish due to the attachment of gravel, and texture information representing a grip surface that has become whitish are stored. Have been. And then,
The three-dimensional simulator apparatus of the present embodiment includes, for example, means for changing the type of texture information mapped on the side surface of the tire according to the rotation speed of the tire or the traveling speed of the racing car. Similarly, means for changing the type of texture information mapped on the running surface of the tire in accordance with the state of the tire surface that changes depending on the simulation (game) situation is also included. That is, for example, when the state of the running surface of the tire as a display object changes whitish due to a simulation situation in which the racing car enters the gravel road area and enters the gravel road area, the texture information representing the whitish grip surface is added to the running surface of the tire. Will be mapped. Note that these changing means may be included in the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 102,
It may be included in the image synthesizing unit 200 or may be included in both.

Next, an example of a specific configuration of the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100 and the image synthesis unit 200 will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example of a block diagram of the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100, and FIGS. 9 and 12 show an example of a block diagram of the image synthesis unit 200.

The configurations of the virtual three-dimensional space calculating means and the image synthesizing means in the present invention are shown in FIGS.
The configuration is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and any type of configuration can be adopted.

3. Description of Virtual Three-Dimensional Space Calculation Unit As shown in FIG. 6, the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100 includes a processing unit 102, a virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 104, a movement information calculation unit 106, and an object information storage unit 108. It consists of.

Here, the processing section 102 controls the entire three-dimensional simulator apparatus. The processing unit 102
A storage unit provided therein stores a predetermined game program. The virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100 calculates a virtual three-dimensional space setting according to the game program and operation signals from the operation unit 12. The movement information calculation unit 106 calculates the movement information of the racing car according to an operation signal from the operation unit 12, an instruction from the processing unit 102, and the like.

The object information storage unit 108 has storage storage areas as many as the number of objects constituting the virtual three-dimensional space, and in each area, position information and direction information of the object and information to be displayed at this position (ie, An object number of an object to be applied to the object is stored (hereinafter, the stored position information / direction information and the object number are referred to as object information). FIG. 7 shows an example of the object information stored in the object information storage unit 108. FIG. 8 shows the position information and direction information (X
m, Ym, Zm, θm, φm, ρm) and the absolute coordinate system (X
w, Yw, Zw) are shown.

These objects are represented by a set of polygons as shown in FIG.

The object information stored in the object information storage unit 108 is stored in the virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 10.
4 is read. In this case, the object information storage unit 108 stores the object information of the frame immediately before the frame. Then, the virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 104 obtains object information (position information, direction information) in the frame based on the read object information and the movement information calculated by the movement information calculation unit 106. . Such a process is not required for a stationary object because there is no such movement information and the object information does not change.

As described above, the virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 1
In 04, the object information of all the objects constituting the virtual three-dimensional space in the frame is set. In addition, the map setting unit 110 performs selection and setting of a map only for a portion necessary for display when displaying a divided map in the virtual three-dimensional space.

In the present embodiment, the texture information to be mapped to the display object is changed by changing the object number in the object information shown in FIG. For example, consider a case where object information to be mapped on the side surface of a tire is changed according to the rotation speed of the tire (or the traveling speed of a racing car). In this case, first, the rotation speed of the tire (or the traveling speed of the racing car) is determined by the movement information calculation unit 106.
Alternatively, it is obtained by arithmetic processing in the virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 104. When it is determined that the rotation of the tire is stopped or rotating at a low speed, the object number of the tire is changed so as to specify the tire object for the stopped state. Similarly, when it is determined that the tire is rotating at a medium speed or a high speed, the object number of the tire is changed so as to designate a tire object for a medium speed rotation state or a high speed rotation state. The object image information storage unit 212 in the image synthesizing unit 200 stores image information of a plurality of types of tire objects corresponding to one tire. And
Which of the plurality of types of tire objects is selected is specified by the above object number. For example, when a tire object for a stop state is selected by specifying the object number, image information of the tire object for a stop state is read from the object image information storage unit 212. In the tire object for the stop state, text mapped to the tire side surface and texture coordinates (coordinates for reading out texture information) are specified so that the wheel appears to be stopped. The side surface of the tire rotating at a low speed can be expressed by rotating the tire object for the stationary state.

Similarly, in the tire objects for the medium-speed and high-speed rotation states, the polygon shapes are the same, but the characters,
The texture coordinates are specified so that a texture whose wheel outline looks blurry or looks like flowing in the rotation direction is mapped. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to change the texture information to be mapped to the tire by changing the object number.

The same method is used when changing the object information to be mapped on the running surface of the tire according to the simulation (game) situation. That is, the arithmetic processing in the movement information arithmetic unit 106 or the virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 104 determines whether or not the racing car has entered the gravel road area, or how long the racing car has traveled in the gravel road area. You. Then, based on these determinations, the object number of the tire is changed, whereby the texture information mapped to the tire object read from the object image information storage unit 212 is changed.

4. Description of Image Supply Unit As shown in FIG. 9, the image supply unit 210 includes an object image information storage unit 212, a processing unit 215, and a coordinate conversion unit 21.
8, a clipping processing unit 220, a polygon data conversion unit 224, and a sorting processing unit 226. In addition, the clipping processing unit 220 includes the perspective projection conversion unit 22.
Contains 2.

In the image supply section 210, various coordinate conversion processing and three-dimensional calculation processing are performed according to the setting information of the virtual three-dimensional space set by the virtual three-dimensional space calculation section 100.

That is, first, as shown in FIG. 10, objects 300 and 33 representing a racing car, a course, etc.
For 3 and 334, arithmetic processing for arranging the polygons constituting them in a virtual three-dimensional space represented by an absolute coordinate (world coordinate) system (XW, YW, ZW) is performed. Next, for each of these objects, a process of converting the polygons constituting the objects into a viewpoint coordinate system (Xv, Yv, Zv) based on the viewpoint of the player 302 is performed. After that, a so-called clipping process is performed,
Next, perspective projection conversion processing to the screen coordinate system (XS, YS) is performed. Next, conversion processing of the output polygon format is performed, and finally, sorting processing is performed.

Now, in the present embodiment, the position information,
The object information including the direction information and the object number is transferred from the virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 100 to the processing unit 215. The image information of the corresponding object is read from the object image information storage unit 212 using the transferred object number as an address. That is, for example, when the object number specifies the tire object for the stop state, the image information representing the tire object for the stop state is read from the object image information storage unit 212. Similarly, when the object number designates a tire object for a medium-speed or high-speed rotation state, image information representing a tire object for a medium-speed or high-speed rotation state is read from the object image information storage unit 212. The image information of these tires is expressed and stored in the object image information storage unit 212 as a set (polyhedron) of a plurality of polygons. The processing unit 215 forms data as a set of frame data, object data, and polygon data from the data read by the data format forming unit 217, and sequentially transfers the data to the coordinate conversion unit 218 and thereafter.

Here, the frame data is data such as the viewpoint position and direction of the player 302 in the virtual three-dimensional space. The object data refers to data including position information, rotation information, and other attached data of the object. The polygon data is image information about the polygons constituting the object, and is data composed of vertex coordinates of the polygon, vertex texture coordinates, vertex luminance information, and other attached data. These data are converted by the data format forming unit 217 into a data format as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 11A, in this data format, data of an object displayed in the frame is linked to the frame data at the head. With these object data at the top, polygon data constituting the object are linked. Then, each of these polygon data is
As shown in FIG. 11B, the header includes vertex luminance information, vertex texture coordinates, and vertex coordinates given to each vertex of the polygon.

In this embodiment, the values of the vertex texture coordinates in FIG. 11B are set to be different between the tire object for the stationary state and the tire object for the medium speed and the rotating state. The vertex texture coordinates serve as address information when texture information is read from the texture information storage unit, as described later. Therefore, if these vertex texture coordinates are different,
The texture information mapped to the tire will also be different.

5. Description of Image Forming Unit The image forming unit 228 calculates image information inside the polygon based on the vertex image information given for each vertex of the polygon, and outputs this to the display 10. As shown in FIG.
Texture information storage unit 242, palette & mixer circuit 2
44.

In the present embodiment, image synthesis is performed by a method called a texture mapping method and a Gouraud shading method in order to more efficiently synthesize a high-quality image. Hereinafter, the concepts of these techniques will be briefly described.

FIG. 13 shows the concept of the texture mapping method.

In the case of combining an object 332 as shown in FIG. 13 in which each surface is provided with, for example, a lattice or stripe pattern, an image is conventionally formed by a polygon.
(1) to (80) (Polygons (41) to (80) are not shown)
And image processing is performed on all of these polygons. The reason is that in the conventional image synthesizing apparatus, 1
This is because the filling of the color in one polygon could be performed only with one designated color. As a result, when synthesizing a high-quality image on which a complicated pattern or the like is applied, the number of polygons increases significantly. Therefore, it is practically impossible to synthesize such a high-quality image. It was possible.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the object 3
Coordinate conversion such as rotation, translation, perspective projection conversion, etc. of 32, and processing such as clipping are performed on polygons A, B,
The processing is performed for each C (specifically, for each vertex of each polygon), and a lattice-like or striped-like pattern is handled as a texture, and is processed separately from polygon processing. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, a texture information storage unit 242 is provided in the image forming unit 228, in which texture information to be mapped to each three-dimensional polygon, that is, an image such as a grid-like or a stripe-like pattern is provided. Information is stored.

The addresses of the texture information storage unit 242 for designating the texture information are given as vertex texture coordinates VTX and VTY of each three-dimensional polygon. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, for each vertex of polygon A, (VTX0, VTY0), (VTX1, VTX1,
Vertex texture coordinates of (TY1), (VTX2, VTY2), (VTX3, VTY3) are set.

Texture operation unit 2 in image forming unit 228
At 30, the texture coordinates TX and TY for all the dots in the polygon are obtained from the vertex texture coordinates VTX and VTY. The texture information storage unit 24 calculates the texture coordinates TX and TY.
2, the corresponding texture information is read out and output to the pallet & mixer circuit 244. As a result, FIG.
It is possible to perform image composition of a three-dimensional object on which a texture such as a lattice or stripe is mapped as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, as described above, the object 332 is represented as a set of polygons. Therefore, the continuity of the luminance information at the boundary of each polygon becomes a problem. For example, when trying to represent a sphere using multiple polygons, if all the dots in a polygon are all set to the same brightness, we actually want to represent "roundness", but the boundaries of each polygon are represented as "roundness" Not happen. Therefore, in the present embodiment, this is avoided by a technique called Gouraud shading. In this method, the vertex luminance information VBRI0 to VBRI3 is given to each vertex of the three-dimensional polygon as shown in FIG. 13 similarly to the above-described texture mapping method, and when the image is finally displayed by the image forming unit 228, From the vertex luminance information VBRI0 to VBRI3, luminance information for all dots in the three-dimensional polygon is obtained by interpolation.

FIGS. 14A to 14K visually show the flow of arithmetic processing for texture mapping. As described above, the image forming unit 228 performs an arithmetic process for forming all the image information in the polygon based on the vertex image information of the polygon. In this case, the texture information to be mapped to the polygon is stored in the texture information storage unit 242, and the texture coordinates TX, T
Y is required. 14 (F), (G),
(H) and (I) visually show the state of the arithmetic processing for obtaining all the perspective projection transformed texture coordinates TX ^* and TY ^* in the polygon. FIG. 14B,
(C), (D), and (E) visually show how arithmetic processing is performed to obtain perspective projection transformation display coordinates X ^* and Y ^* , which are coordinates at which texture information is to be displayed. The above calculation is performed by the texture calculation unit 230. Then, as shown in FIG. 14 (J), the calculated perspective projection transformed texture coordinates TX ^* and TY ^* are texture coordinates TX and TY.
The texture coordinates TX and TY are subjected to reverse perspective projection transformation, and the texture information storage unit 2
Texture information is read from 42. Finally, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 (K), image synthesis is performed by associating the read texture information with the calculated X ^* and Y ^* coordinate positions. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a texture storage plane configured by the texture information storage unit 242.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the racing car 50 represented by the above-described texture mapping. By performing texture mapping in this way, a very high-quality display image can be obtained.

FIG. 17 shows the racing car 50 of FIG.
The example of the object applied to the tire 30 which comprises is shown. Thus, the tire object is represented by combining a plurality of polygons. As shown in FIG. 17, when an object is represented by a plurality of polygons, there is a problem that the boundary of each polygon is not represented as “roundness”. However, this problem can also be solved by using the Gouraud shading method described above,
As a result, a tire having a rounded shape can be represented as shown in FIG.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show an example of texture information mapped on the side surface 32 of the tire 30. FIG. FIG. 18A shows texture information used when the tire is in a stationary state and in a low-speed rotation state.
8 (B) is texture information used when the tire is in a high-speed rotation state. In FIG. 18A, the character 3
4. Wheel holes 36 and shaft 38 are clearly contoured. On the other hand, in FIG. 18B, the character 34, the wheel 36, and the shaft 44 are drawn so as to flow at a very high speed in the rotational direction, and the outline is blurred. When the rotation of the tire is medium speed, the texture information in the middle state between FIGS. 18A and 18B may be used. As described above, it is understood that the reality of the display image can be greatly increased by changing the texture to be mapped according to the rotation of the tire.

FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C show examples of texture information mapped on the running surface 33 of the tire 30. FIG. This texture information is stored in the running surface 33
May be mapped one by one to each of the polygons constituting the tire, or may be mapped to all the polygons constituting the running surface 33 of the tire at once. FIG. 19A shows texture information used when the racing car is running on a normal road, and FIGS. 19B and 19C show the texture information when the racing car enters the gravel road area. This is the texture information used. FIG. 19B shows texture information used when the distance traveled on the gravel road area is short, and FIG. 19C shows texture information used when the travel distance is long. And FIG.
The texture information shown in (C) is the most whitish,
This makes it possible to realistically express the state of gravel and sand adhering to the running surface of the tire.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

For example, the method of the present invention for changing the type of texture information to be mapped on a display object according to the speed and rotation speed of the display object is not limited to the case where the texture is mapped on the side surface of the tire, and various methods are used. Applicable to
For example, in FIG. 4, the road surface 21 and the guardrail 2 flowing backward as the player car 51 runs.
2. This method can be applied to the building 24. In this case, when the player car 51 is in a stopped state, the road surface 21,
A plurality of types of texture information may be prepared, such as texture information to be mapped to the guardrail 22, the building 24, and texture information to be mapped to these when the player car 51 is in a medium speed or high speed running state.

The method of changing the type of the texture information to be mapped on the display object according to the surface state of the display object which changes depending on the simulation situation is not limited to the case where the texture is mapped on the running surface of the tire, and various methods are also available. Applicable to For example, the texture information mapped on the vehicle body may be changed so as to express that the vehicle body becomes dirty with oil or the like every time the racing car goes around the course. Also, consider a case where the racing car is stopped by the brake and the brake disc against which the brake pads are pressed heats red. In this case, the red heating color of the portion of the brake disc that is not covered by the caliber should be visible from the outside through the spoke wheel gap. In order to express this, if the texture information is changed so that the surface of the brake disk or the like glows red according to the degree of deceleration of the rotation of the tire, a more realistic expression can be achieved. In particular, this effect is effective for expressing a racing game running at night.

In the present embodiment, a racing car game has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all kinds of three-dimensional games, for example, a spaceship in which a three-dimensional map is formed. It can also be applied to games, robot battle games, tank games, fighter games, role playing games, and the like.

The present invention can be applied not only to three-dimensional games for business use but also to, for example, home-use game machines, flight simulators, driving simulators used in driving schools, and the like. Further, the present invention can be applied to a large attraction type game device and a simulation device in which a large number of players participate.

Also, for example, when the present invention is applied to a fighter aircraft game, texture information mapped to the aircraft so that bullet holes are formed on the surface of the aircraft itself each time a fire is received from an enemy aircraft. May be changed. Further, when the fighter is accelerated, texture information mapped to the engine may be changed by the backfire so that the surface of the engine of the fighter shines red. Further, when the present invention is applied to a roll-plane game, texture information to be mapped on the surface of the clothes worn by the player and the party before and after the battle so as to express the blood returned from the battle with the enemy before and after the battle. May be changed.

In the present invention, the arithmetic processing performed by the virtual three-dimensional space arithmetic means, the image synthesizing means and the like may be performed using a dedicated image processing device, or may use a general-purpose microcomputer, DSP or the like. And may be processed by software.

Further, the arithmetic processing performed by the virtual three-dimensional space arithmetic means, the image synthesizing means and the like is not limited to that described in the present embodiment. For example, the texture mapping method and the like are the same as those described above. Not limited.

The pseudo 3 synthesized by the present invention
The two-dimensional image can naturally be displayed on a display called a head mounted display (HMD).

[0081]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an appearance of the three-dimensional simulator device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual three-dimensional space in the present three-dimensional game.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen image synthesized by the three-dimensional simulator device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen on which images are synthesized by the present three-dimensional simulator device.

FIG. 6 is an example of a block diagram of a virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing object information stored in an object information storage unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing object information set for an object.

FIG. 9 is an example of a block diagram of an image combining unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing three-dimensional arithmetic processing in the present embodiment.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of a data format formed by a data format forming unit. FIGS.

FIG. 12 is an example of a block diagram of an image combining unit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a texture mapping method.

FIGS. 14A to 14K are diagrams visually illustrating a texture mapping method according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a texture storage plane configured by a texture information storage unit.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a racing car represented by texture mapping.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a tire object constituted by polygons.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are examples of texture information mapped on a side surface of a tire.

FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C are examples of texture information mapped onto a tire running surface.

FIG. 20A is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining the concept of the three-dimensional simulator device, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen formed by the three-dimensional simulator device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 display 12 operation unit 100 virtual three-dimensional space calculation unit 102 processing unit 104 virtual three-dimensional space setting unit 106 movement information calculation unit 108 object information storage unit 110 map setting unit 200 image synthesis unit 210 image supply unit 212 object image information storage unit 215 processing unit 217 data format forming unit 218 coordinate converting unit 220 clipping processing unit 222 perspective projection converting unit 224 polygon data converting unit 226 sorting processing unit 228 image forming unit 230 texture calculation unit 242 texture information storage unit 244 pallet & mixer circuit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A game apparatus for synthesizing a visual field image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement information calculating means calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using an operation means. A texture calculation unit for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object; and a texture information storage unit for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculation unit. A game device for mapping texture information according to a running area on a display object. 2. The game according to claim 1, wherein when a display object enters a given area, texture information mapped to the display object is changed to texture information corresponding to the given area. apparatus. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the display object enters a given area, texture information to be mapped to the display object is displayed according to a traveling distance of the display object in the given area. A game device characterized in that it is dynamically changed. 4. A game apparatus for synthesizing a view image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement information calculating means calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using the operation means. A texture calculation unit for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object; and a texture information storage unit for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculation unit. A game device characterized by changing texture information to be mapped to a display object when a course out has occurred. 5. A game apparatus for synthesizing a view image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement information calculating means calculates movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using the operation means. A texture calculation unit for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object; and a texture information storage unit for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculation unit. A game apparatus characterized in that texture information is mapped on a display object so that the display object becomes dirty as the course of the course is repeated. 6. A game device for synthesizing a view image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein the movement information calculating means calculates the movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using the operation means. A texture calculation unit for performing a calculation for mapping a texture to a display object; and a texture information storage unit for storing information of a texture mapped by the texture calculation unit. A game device characterized in that texture information to be mapped to a display object is changed stepwise according to a traveling distance. 7. A game screen synthesis method for synthesizing a view image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, the method comprising calculating movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means, and Performing a texture operation for mapping a texture to an object, storing information of the texture to be mapped in the texture operation, and mapping texture information corresponding to an area in which the display object travels to the display object. Game screen synthesis method. 8. A game screen synthesis method for synthesizing a visual field image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, comprising: calculating movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using an operation means; A texture operation for mapping a texture to an object is performed, and information of a texture to be mapped in the texture operation is stored, and when a display object goes out of course, the texture information to be mapped to the display object is changed. A featured game screen synthesis method. 9. A game screen synthesis method for synthesizing a visual field image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, comprising: calculating movement information of a display object based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means; A texture operation for mapping a texture to an object is performed, and information of the texture to be mapped in the texture operation is stored, and the texture information is added to the display object so that the display object becomes dirty as the display object goes around the course. A game screen synthesis method characterized by mapping a game screen. 10. A game screen synthesis method for synthesizing a visual field image viewed from a player in a virtual three-dimensional space, wherein movement information of a display object is calculated based on an operation signal input by the player using operation means, and Performs a texture operation for mapping a texture to an object, stores information on the texture to be mapped in the texture operation, and gradually changes the texture information to be mapped to the display object according to the traveling distance of the display object. A game screen synthesizing method, comprising: