Difference between revisions of "Sega Hang-On hardware"

From Sega Retro

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'''Sega Hang-On hardware''' is an arcade system produced by [[Sega]] in 1985. It has no official name, but debuted with ''[[Hang-On]]'' (from which the name comes from) and went on to power several bike racing games of the mid-to-late 1980s. It is alternatively known as the '''Sega Space Harrier''' hardware, named after ''[[Space Harrier]]'' which released later in 1985.
 
'''Sega Hang-On hardware''' is an arcade system produced by [[Sega]] in 1985. It has no official name, but debuted with ''[[Hang-On]]'' (from which the name comes from) and went on to power several bike racing games of the mid-to-late 1980s. It is alternatively known as the '''Sega Space Harrier''' hardware, named after ''[[Space Harrier]]'' which released later in 1985.
  
The system specifications are similar to those of the [[Sega System 16]], but has a stronger focus on graphics, adding a second of a second [[68000]] processor and a separate video board. Sega Hang-On hardware acts primarily as an advancement over the [[VCO Object]] board - it was designed to scale a large number of sprites/textures in real-time, allowing for the creation of "pseudo-3D" graphics, in which a game can simulate a player moving towards the screen. At the time of release, this technology was considered groundbreaking, and would go on to fuel the  [[Sega OutRun hardware]] specification as well as [[Sega X Board|X Board]] and [[Sega Y Board|Y Board]] systems.
+
The system specifications are similar to those of the [[Sega System 16]], but has a stronger focus on graphics, adding a second [[68000]] processor and a separate video board. Sega Hang-On hardware acts primarily as an advancement over the [[VCO Object]] board - it was designed to scale a large number of sprites/textures in real-time, allowing for the creation of "pseudo-3D" graphics, in which a game can simulate a player moving towards the screen. At the time of release, this technology was considered groundbreaking, and would go on to fuel the  [[Sega OutRun hardware]] specification as well as [[Sega X Board|X Board]] and [[Sega Y Board|Y Board]] systems.
  
 
As this board was designed to serve one purpose, only five games were produced to make use of this system, all of which opt for the third-person perspective.
 
As this board was designed to serve one purpose, only five games were produced to make use of this system, all of which opt for the third-person perspective.
  
 
==Hardware==
 
==Hardware==
This was the first in Sega's Super Scaler series of [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Two-and-a-half-dimensional pseudo-3D] arcade hardware (followed by the [[Sega OutRun hardware|Sega OutRun]], [[Sega X Board]], [[Sega Y Board]] and [[Sega System 32]]). At the time of its release, this was the most powerful game system.
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Designed by [[Sega AM2]]'s [[Yu Suzuki]], this was the first in Sega's Super Scaler series of pseudo-3D arcade hardware. At the time of its release, this was the most powerful game system. The pseudo-3D sprite-scaling was handled in a similar manner to textures in later texture-mapped polygonal 3D games of the 1990s. In an interview to 1UP.com Yu Suzuki said: <sup>[http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1?pager.offset=2]</sup>
  
The pseudo-3D [http://graphics.wikia.com/wiki/Sprite sprite]/[[wikipedia:Tile engine|tile]] scaling in Sega's Super Scaler arcade games were handled in a similar manner to textures in later [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture-mapped]] [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Three-dimensional polygonal 3D] games of the 1990s. Designed by [[Sega AM2]]'s [[Yu Suzuki]], he stated that his "designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On. I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Two-dimensional 2D]. So I was always thinking in 3D."
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{{quote|My designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On. I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to 2D. So I was always thinking in 3D.
  
''Hang-On'' was controlled using a [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_arcade_cabinet video game arcade cabinet] resembling a [[wikipedia:Motorbike|motorbike]], which the player moved with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of [http://www.giantbomb.com/motion-control/3015-474/ motion-controlled] arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on [[game console]]s. [http://web.archive.org/web/20131113173854/http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1?pager.offset=1]
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|Yu Suzuki}}
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 +
''Hang-On'' was controlled using a video game arcade cabinet resembling a motorbike, which the player moved with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on [[game console]]s. <sup>[http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1?pager.offset=1]</sup>
  
 
==Technical Specifications==
 
==Technical Specifications==
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** Sub-CPU: 20 KB (4 KB roads, 16 KB sub-RAM)
 
** Sub-CPU: 20 KB (4 KB roads, 16 KB sub-RAM)
 
** Sound: 2.25 KB
 
** Sound: 2.25 KB
* Video resolution: 320×224 (display), 400×262{{ref|https://github.com/mamedev/mame/tree/master/src/mame/drivers/segahang.c}} (overscan), [[wikipedia:Progressive scan|progressive scan]] (non-[[wikipedia:Interlaced video|interlaced]])
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* Video resolution: 320×224 (display), 400×262{{ref|https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/drivers/segahang.c}} (overscan), [[wikipedia:Progressive scan|progressive scan]] (non-[[wikipedia:Interlaced video|interlaced]])
 
* [[wikipedia:Frame rate|Frame rate]]: 60 frames per second
 
* [[wikipedia:Frame rate|Frame rate]]: 60 frames per second
 
* [[Palette|Color palette]]: 32,768 (15-bit RGB [[wikipedia:High color|high color]] depth)
 
* [[Palette|Color palette]]: 32,768 (15-bit RGB [[wikipedia:High color|high color]] depth)
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==Gallery==
 
==Gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:SpaceHarrierHardware motherboard.jpg|Motherboard
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SpaceHarrierHardware motherboard.jpg|Motherboard
File:SpaceHarrierHardware soundboard.jpg|Sound Board
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SpaceHarrierHardware soundboard.jpg|Sound Board
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  

Revision as of 02:24, 9 October 2015

SpaceHarrierHardware motherboard.jpg
Sega Hang-On hardware
Manufacturer: Sega
Release Date RRP Code

Sega Hang-On hardware is an arcade system produced by Sega in 1985. It has no official name, but debuted with Hang-On (from which the name comes from) and went on to power several bike racing games of the mid-to-late 1980s. It is alternatively known as the Sega Space Harrier hardware, named after Space Harrier which released later in 1985.

The system specifications are similar to those of the Sega System 16, but has a stronger focus on graphics, adding a second 68000 processor and a separate video board. Sega Hang-On hardware acts primarily as an advancement over the VCO Object board - it was designed to scale a large number of sprites/textures in real-time, allowing for the creation of "pseudo-3D" graphics, in which a game can simulate a player moving towards the screen. At the time of release, this technology was considered groundbreaking, and would go on to fuel the Sega OutRun hardware specification as well as X Board and Y Board systems.

As this board was designed to serve one purpose, only five games were produced to make use of this system, all of which opt for the third-person perspective.

Hardware

Designed by Sega AM2's Yu Suzuki, this was the first in Sega's Super Scaler series of pseudo-3D arcade hardware. At the time of its release, this was the most powerful game system. The pseudo-3D sprite-scaling was handled in a similar manner to textures in later texture-mapped polygonal 3D games of the 1990s. In an interview to 1UP.com Yu Suzuki said: [1]


My designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On. I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to 2D. So I was always thinking in 3D.


— Yu Suzuki


Hang-On was controlled using a video game arcade cabinet resembling a motorbike, which the player moved with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on game consoles. [2]

Technical Specifications

Sega Hang-On

Sega Space Harrier

The Sega Space Harrier hardware added the following upgrades in late 1985:

  • FM sound chip: Yamaha YM2151 @ 4 MHz (8 FM synthesis channels)
  • RAM: 308.25 KB[1]
    • Main CPU: 94 KB (16 KB work RAM, 32 KB sub-RAM, 32 KB tiles, 4 KB text, 2 KB sprites, 4 KB colors, 4 KB roads)
    • Sub-CPU: 20 KB (16 KB sub-RAM, 4 KB roads)
    • Sound: 2.25 KB
    • Video RAM: 192 KB high-speed SRAM (Static RAM)[2]
  • Color palette: 98,304
    • 16-bit color palette: 15-bit RGB high color depth (32,768 colors) and 1-bit shadow & highlight that triples up to 98,304 colors.
  • Graphical capabilities: Translucent shadows

Gallery

List of Games


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