Roel
Senile Team Big Cheese
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22 May 2017 14:34 / last edited 22 May 2017 14:34
Hey there, space cats!

So far most footage of Intrepid Izzy was taken from the HD version, running on a PC. But let's take a closer look at the Dreamcast version today.

Here's a video of the game running on the actual hardware, recorded this very morning:


For those of you who are interested in the technical details, this is how it was done:
  • Using a nifty tool, all the game data from the HD original was scaled down by 50%, and the bit depth of the images reduced from 32 to 16. So all the levels and characters and such are still exactly the same, just smaller and with fewer colours.
  • The Dreamcast is running a tool that allows it to load the game and the data files from a PC via a network cable. It doesn't load quite as fast as it would from a CD or GD, but it saves a lot of time burning CD-R's.
  • This TV has a VGA port, so the Dreamcast was simply connected via a VGA box. No upscaler was used.
  • The game is running at a resolution of 640x480 pixels, and the frame rate is a stable 60 frames per second. Sadly this video doesn't have such a high frame rate, but trust me, this game is running super smoothly!

Because a video can only say so much, here's a screenshot so you can see exactly what the game looks like on the Dreamcast, down to the last pixel:
izzy-on-dc.png
On account of the reduced bit depth of the images, a banding effect is visible in the water. There are tricks to counteract that, but that is a detail that will have to wait until much later.

As always, thank you for reading and come again!

Attached files:

jeroen
newt model
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22 May 2017 16:24
Great video.
Also the shot including all the other Sega consoles and reflection of the Sonic poster should go over well with the Dreamcast crowd

Roel
Senile Team Big Cheese
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22 May 2017 16:48
Pure coincidence, but I hope others will notice it too.