Thu, 08/25/2022 - 18:58 — sheath

One of these things is not like the other.  One is made with quadrilaterals, the other with triangles.  Popularly referred to all over the Internet as "sprites" or "polygons."  Misdirected mathematical assumptions aside, let's focus on something else.  Draw distance.  At what draw distance does a game become "good" at 3D?  We will start with the most obvious examples, popularized by the most emmanently unbiased game magazine ever, Edge/NextGeneration.

On the left we have the rushed Saturn launch game Daytona USA, often pointed to as evidence that the Saturn was "not a 3D system."  On the right, we have Wipeout by the legendary Psygnosis, often pointed to as the reason why the Playstation was clearly better at 3D games.  Present in both, texture warping, pop in, lower detail vehicle models than contemporary 3D Arcade titles. 

But, how about that draw distance?  Is one better than the other, or is one simply less obvious because of the background color?

Saturn Pre-Launch Daytona USA ----- ----- ----- Flawless PS1 Wipeout

Meanwhile....

Saturn 1996 Daytona CCE ----- ----- ----- Daytona USA Model 2

Daytona USA, Daytona Netlink Edition/CE(Improved Draw Distance). and Model 2 Emulator:
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Daytona Championship Circuit Edition (1996), Daytona Netlink Edition/CE(Improved Draw Distance):
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Edge/NextGeneration Magazine - Summer 1995

"Saturn was not designed for fast 3D..." Jason Brookes, "Viewpoint," Edge, July 1995, 19.1"...the Playstation is the most powerful home system available..." Allan Murphy, SCEE Developer Support, "Viewpoint, Letters," Edge, August 1995, 18.2 "the crucial graphical weakness ... is that it blocks in huge chunks of scenery disturbingly late," Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 72.3 "...Ridge Racer has established an unassailable lead over Daytona." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 734 "The artificial intellegence of Daytona's cars is greatly superior to Ridge Racer's...there are up to 40 cars on track at once." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 74.5 "...Saturn Daytona fails to capture the arcade experience that PlayStation Ridge Racer so convincingly delivers." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 75.6

Count of Key Terms used in Saturn Daytona Review by Edge:
Daytona: 16
Ridge Racer: 10
Saturn: 9
Sega: 4
AM2: 2
Playstation: 2
Namco: 1

  1. 1. "Saturn was not designed for fast 3D..." Jason Brookes, "Viewpoint," Edge, July 1995, 19.
  2. 2. "...the Playstation is the most powerful home system available..." Allan Murphy, SCEE Developer Support, "Viewpoint, Letters," Edge, August 1995, 18.
  3. 3. "the crucial graphical weakness ... is that it blocks in huge chunks of scenery disturbingly late," Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 72.
  4. 4. "...Ridge Racer has established an unassailable lead over Daytona." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 73.
  5. 5. "The artificial intellegence of Daytona's cars is greatly superior to Ridge Racer's...there are up to 40 cars on track at once." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 74.
  6. 6. "...Saturn Daytona fails to capture the arcade experience that PlayStation Ridge Racer so convincingly delivers." Jason Brookes, "testscreen," Edge, June 1995, 75.