Difference between revisions of "Sega Model 2"

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'''Sega Model 2''' was an arcade system board released by Sega in 1993. It was the successor to the Model 1 board. This board introduced texture mapped polygons. There were three versions of the Model 2 board: Model 2A-CRX, Model 2B-CRX and the Model 2C-CRX. Model 2 and 2A-CRX used a custom DSP with internal code for the geometrizer while 2B-CRX and 2C-CRX used well documented DSPs and uploaded the geometrizer code at startup to the DSP. Notable Sega Model games are ''Daytona USA'', ''[[Sonic the Fighters]]'', and ''The House of the Dead''.
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The '''Sega Model 2''' is an arcade system board originally debuted by Sega in 1993 as a successor to the [[Sega Model 1]] board. It is an extension of the Model 1 hardware, most notably introducing the concept of texture-mapped polygons, allowing for more realistic 3D graphics (for its time). The Model 2 board was an important milestone for the arcade industry, and helped launch several key arcade franchises of the 90s, including ''[[Daytona USA]]'', ''[[Virtua Cop]]'', ''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'', ''[[Dead or Alive]]'', ''[[Virtua Striker]]'', ''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On]]'' and ''[[The House of the Dead]]''.
 +
 
 +
The Model 2 was engineered with help from GE Aerospace (acquired by Martin Marietta in 1993, now part of [[Lockheed Martin]]), who designed the texture-mapping technology incorporated by the Model 2. The Model 2's development was led by famed game designer [[Yu Suzuki]]. The Model 2 arcade board debuted along with ''[[Daytona USA]]'', a game which was finished, copyrighted and debuted at the JAMMA arcade show in 1993.{{ref|http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/13/139866/2721164-electronic_gaming_monthly_051_-_1993_oct_222.jpg}}
 +
 
 +
There four versions of the system: the original Model 2 and the Model 2A-CRX, Model 2B-CRX and Model 2C-CRX variants. Model 2 and 2A-CRX used a custom DSP with internal code for the geometrizer while 2B-CRX and 2C-CRX used well documented DSPs and uploaded the geometrizer code at startup to the DSP. The Model 2 was succeeded by the [[Sega Model 3]] in 1996.
 +
 
 +
==History==
 +
It was a further advancement of the earlier Model 1 system. The most noticeable improvement was [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture mapping]], which enabled [http://www.giantbomb.com/polygonal-3d/3015-1430/ polygons] to be painted with bitmap images, as opposed to the limited monotone [http://www.giantbomb.com/flat-shading/3015-2277/ flat shading] that Model 1 supported. The Model 2 also introduced the use of [[wikipedia:Texture filtering|texture filtering]] and [[wikipedia:Spatial anti-aliasing|texture anti-aliasing]], [http://ign.com/articles/2009/04/21/ign-presents-the-history-of-sega?page=8] as well as [[wikipedia:Trilinear filtering|trilinear filtering]].{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}} It was the most powerful game system in its time, equivalent to the power of a [[wikipedia:PC|PC]] [[wikipedia:Graphics card|graphics card]] in 1998, five years after the Model 2's release.{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}}
 +
 
 +
Designed by [[Sega AM2]]'s [[Yu Suzuki]], he stated that the Model 2's texture mapping chip originated "from military equipment from [[Lockheed Martin]], which was formerly General Electric Aerial & Space's textural mapping technology. It cost [[wikipedia:United States dollar|$]]2 million dollars to use the chip. It was part of flight-simulation equipment that cost $32 million. I asked how much it would cost to buy just the chip and they came back with $2 million. And I had to take that chip and convert it for video game use, and make the technology available for the consumer at 5,000 [[wikipedia:Japanese yen|yen]] ($50)" ($84 in 2014) per machine. He said "it was tough but we were able to make it for 5,000 yen. Nobody at Sega believed me when I said I wanted to purchase this technology for our games."{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20131113174154/http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1}} Suzuki stated that, in "the end," it "was a hit and the industry gained mass-produced texture-mapping as a result." For ''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]'', he also utilized [http://www.giantbomb.com/motion-capture-animation/3015-5882/ motion capture] technology, introducing it to the game industry.{{ref|http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/228512/Yu_Suzuki_recalls_using_military_tech_to_make_Virtua_Fighter_2.php}}
 +
 
 +
There were also issues working on the new CPU,{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20131113174154/http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1}} the [[wikipedia:Intel i960|Intel i960-KB]], which had just released in 1993.{{ref|http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/Intel/mXqwttu.pdf}} Suzuki stated that when working "on a brand new CPU, the debugger doesn't exist yet. The latest hardware doesn't work because it's full of bugs. And even if a debugger exists, the debugger itself is full of bugs. So, I had to debug the debugger. And of course with new hardware there's no library or system, so I had to create all of that, as well. It was a brutal cycle."{{ref|http://web.archive.org/web/20131113174154/http://www.1up.com/features/disappearance-suzuki-part-1}}
 +
 
 +
In a late 1998 interview, Read3D's Jon Lenyo, a former employee of GE Aerospace (later Lockheed Martin), stated that Sega's development for the Model 2 can be traced back as early as November 1990, when he and other GE Aerospace employees visited Sega and demonstrated the trilinear texture filtering and shading capabilities of their technology. As Sega was already working on the [[Sega Model 1]] internally, they eventually incorporated GE Aerospace's technology into the Model 2.{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}}
 +
 
 +
Despite its high price tag of around $15,000{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}} (equivalent to $24489 in 2014), the Model 2 platform was very successful. It featured some of the highest grossing arcade games of all time: ''[[Daytona USA]]'', [http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=713] ''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]'', ''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On]]'', ''[[The House of the Dead]]'', and ''[[Dead or Alive]]'', to name a few. Sega sold 65,000 units of the Model 2 annually,{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}} and eventually sold over 130,000 units by 1996, amounting to over $1.95 billion revenue from hardware cabinet sales (130,000 units{{ref|http://archive.today/XN3rz}}{{ref|http://tinyurl.com/nyb7y3s}} at $15,000 each{{ref|http://www.thg.ru/smoke/19991022/print.html}}{{ref|http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?47028-Early-concept-of-Daytona-USA-at-Summer-CES-1993-Not-on-Model-2-but-Compu-Scene}}), equivalent to over $3.18 billion in 2014, making it one of the [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Arcade_game#Best-selling_arcade_video_game_franchises best-selling arcade systems] of all time.
 +
 
 +
==Technical Specifications==
 +
;Main [[wikipedia:Central processing unit|CPU]] (central processing unit)
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 +
*Main CPU: [[wikipedia:Intel i960|Intel i960-KB]] @ 25 MHz
 +
** [[wikipedia:Fixed-point arithmetic|Fixed-point arithmetic]]: [[wikipedia:32-bit|32-bit]] [[wikipedia:Reduced instruction set computing|RISC]] [[wikipedia:Instruction set|instructions]] @ 25 [[wikipedia:Instructions per second|MIPS]] (million instructions per second)
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** [[wikipedia:Floating-point unit|Floating-point unit]]: [[wikipedia:Single-precision floating-point format|32-bit]], [[wikipedia:Double-precision floating-point format|64-bit]] and [[wikipedia:Extended precision|80-bit]] operations @ 13.6 MFLOPS ([[wikipedia:Mega-|Mega-]][http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Instructions_per_second FLOPS], or million [[wikipedia:Floating point|floating-point]] operations per second) ([[wikipedia:Whetstone (benchmark)|Whetstone]])
  
==List of Sega Model 2A-CRX Games==
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;[http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit GPU] (graphics processing unit) [[wikipedia:Video card|video]] [[wikipedia:Graphics pipeline|hardware]]
 +
 
 +
* [[wikipedia:Geometry pipelines|Geometry Engine]] [[wikipedia:Digital signal processor|DSP]] [[wikipedia:Coprocessor|coprocessors]]: 6× [[Fujitsu]] TGP MB86234 (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 2× [[wikipedia:Analog Devices|Analog Devices]] ADSP-21062 [[wikipedia:Super Harvard Architecture Single-Chip Computer|SHARC]] (Model 2B-CRX), or 2× Fujitsu [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit TGPx4] MB86235 (Model 2C-CRX)
 +
** Coprocessor abilities: [[wikipedia:Decimal floating point|Floating decimal point]] operation function, axis rotation operation function, [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Three-dimensional 3D computer graphics 3D] [[wikipedia:Matrix (mathematics)|matrix operation]] function
 +
** Floating-point unit:
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*** Model 2/2A-CRX: 32-bit operations @ 16 MFLOPS ×6 (96 MFLOPS)
 +
*** Model 2B/2C-CRX: 32-bit & [[wikipedia:Extended precision|40-bit]] operations @ 120 MFLOPS ×2 (240 MFLOPS)
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** Fixed-point arithmetic: 32-bit & [[wikipedia:48-bit|48-bit]] instructions @ 80 MIPS (Model 2B-CRX)
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* [[wikipedia:Render output unit|Hardware Renderer]]: Sega-[[Lockheed Martin|Lockheed-Martin]] Custom [[wikipedia:Rasterization|rasterization]] & [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture mapping]] hardware (Model 2), or 2× Fujitsu MB86271 AGP (Model 2C-CRX)
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** Fixed-point arithmetic: 32-bit & [[wikipedia:64-bit computing|64-bit]] instructions @ 240 MIPS (Model 2C-CRX)
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* [[wikipedia:Z-buffering|Z-Sort]] & [[wikipedia:Clipping (computer graphics)|Clip]] [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Transform%2C_clipping%2C_and_lighting Hardware] (2× Fujitsu MB86272 Z-sorter in Model 2C-CRX)
 +
* [[Sega System 24]] [[wikipedia:Tile engine|tilemap engine]]
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;[[wikipedia:Sound card|Audio hardware]]
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* Sound CPU: [[Motorola 68000]] @ 10 MHz (Model 2), or Motorola 68000 @ 12 MHz (Model 2A/2B/2C-CRX)
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* [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Sound_chip Sound chip]: 2× Sega 315-5560 Custom MultiPCM (Model 2), or [[Saturn Custom Sound Processor|Yamaha SCSP]] (Model 2A/2B/2C-CRX)
 +
* Sound timer: [[Yamaha]] [[YM2612|YM3834]] @ 8 MHz (Model 2 only)
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* [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]] channels: 56
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* PCM sample [[wikipedia:Read-only memory|ROM]]: 16 [[wikipedia:Mebibit|Mbits]] (Model 2), or 68 Mbits (Model 2A/2B/2C-CRX)
 +
* PCM quality: 16-bit [[wikipedia:Audio bit depth|depth]], [[wikipedia:44,100 Hz|44.1 kHz]] [[wikipedia:Sampling rate|sampling rate]] ([[Compact disc|CD]] [[wikipedia:Sound quality|quality]])
 +
* SCSP features: 128-step DSP, 32 [[wikipedia:Frequency modulation synthesis|FM synthesis]] channels, 32 [[MIDI]] channels, 32 [[wikipedia:Low-frequency oscillation|LFO]] channels
 +
 
 +
;[[wikipedia:Random-access memory|RAM]] (random access memory)
 +
 
 +
Total RAM: 9776 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 18,388 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
 +
* Main RAM: 1152 KB (9 Mbits) (1024 KB work, 64 KB network, 64 KB serial)
 +
* [[wikipedia:Video memory|Video memory]]: 5984 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 14,596 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
 +
** [[wikipedia:Framebuffer|Framebuffer]] [[VRAM]]: 1024 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 1536 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
 +
** Coprocessor [[wikipedia:Data buffer|buffer]] [[wikipedia:Static random-access memory|SRAM]]/[[wikipedia:Synchronous dynamic random-access memory|SDRAM]]: 64 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 8228 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
 +
** [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Texture_memory Texture memory]: 4096 KB SRAM/SDRAM
 +
** [[wikipedia:Luma (video)|Luma]]: 128 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 64 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
 +
** Other: 672 KB (32 KB [[wikipedia:Digital geometry|geometry]], 576 KB [[wikipedia:Tiled rendering|tiles]], 64 KB colors)
 +
* Audio memory: 576 KB
 +
* Backup SRAM/[[wikipedia:Non-volatile random-access memory|NVRAM]]: 16 KB
 +
* Extra RAM: 2048 KB
 +
 
 +
;Graphical capabilities
 +
 
 +
* Monitor [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Display_resolution display resolution]: 496×384 pixels, 24 Hz [[wikipedia:Horizontal scan rate|horizontal sync]], 60 Hz [[wikipedia:Refresh rate|refresh rate]], [[wikipedia:Progressive scan|progressive scan]] (non-interlaced)
 +
* [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Two-dimensional Color depth]: 16,777,216 ([http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_RGB_palettes#24-bit_RGB 24-bit] [[wikipedia:True Color|true color]])
 +
* Graphical features: [[wikipedia:Flat shading|Flat shading]], [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|texture mapping]], [[wikipedia:Texture mapping#Perspective correctness|perspective correction]], [[wikipedia:Texture filtering|Texture filtering]], [[wikipedia:Spatial anti-aliasing|texture anti-aliasing]], [[wikipedia:Microtexture|microtexture]], [[wikipedia:Diffuse reflection|diffuse reflection]], [[wikipedia:Specular reflection|specular reflection]], [[wikipedia:Alpha blending]], [[wikipedia:Transparency (graphic)|transparency]], [[wikipedia:Rasterization|rasterization]], [[wikipedia:Mipmap|mipmapping]], [[wikipedia:Level of detail|level of detail]], [[wikipedia:Z-buffering|Z-sorting]], [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Transform%2C_clipping%2C_and_lighting T&L (transform, clipping, and lighting)], [[wikipedia:Trilinear filtering|trilinear filtering]]
 +
** [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|Texture map]] resolution: Up to 1024×2048 pixels
 +
** [[wikipedia:Microtexture|Microtexture]] size: Up to 128×128 pixels
 +
** Model 2C-CRX: [[Gouraud shading]], [[wikipedia:Hidden surface determination|hidden surface]], [[wikipedia:Z-buffering|Z-buffering]], [[wikipedia:Nearest-neighbor interpolation|point sampling]], [[wikipedia:Bilinear filtering|bilinear filtering]]
 +
* [[wikipedia:Frame rate|Frame rate]]: 60 frames/sec
 +
* [[wikipedia:Digital geometry|Geometric]] performance:
 +
** Model 2: 300,000 textured [[wikipedia:Polygon mesh|quad polygons]]/sec to over 500,000 textured [[wikipedia:Triangle mesh|triangle polygons]]/sec, 900,000 [http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Vector_graphics vectors]/sec
 +
** Model 2C-CRX: 490,000 textured [http://www.giantbomb.com/polygonal-3d/3015-1430/ polygons]/sec (with clipping, lighting and [[Gouraud shading]]) to 900,000 textured triangle polygons/sec (with Gouraud shading)
 +
* Rendering [[wikipedia:Fillrate|fillrate]]:
 +
** [[Pixel]] fillrate: 1.2 million pixels/sec (Model 2) to 120 million pixels/sec (2 million pixels/frame) (Model 2B-CRX/2C-CRX)
 +
** [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|Texture]] fillrate: 36 million [[wikipedia:Texel (graphics)|texels]]/sec (500 pixels/polygon) (Model 2C-CRX)
 +
 
 +
==List of Games==
 +
===Model 2===
 +
*''[[Daytona USA]]'' (1993)
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*''[[Daytona USA Deluxe '93]]'' (1993)
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*''[[Desert Tank]]'' (1994)
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*''[[Virtua Cop]]'' (1994)
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 +
===Model 2A-CRX===
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
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*''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]'' (1994)
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*''[[Manx TT Superbike]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Sega Rally Pro Drivin']]'' (1995?)
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*''[[Sky Target]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Virtua Cop 2]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Baseball]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Baseball]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
*''[[Manx TT Superbike]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Motor Raid]]'' (1997)
 
 
*''[[Pilot Kids]]'' (1999)
 
*''[[Pilot Kids]]'' (1999)
*''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Sega Rally Pro Drivin']]'' (1992?)
 
*''[[Sky Target]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Virtua Cop 2]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]'' (1995)
 
 
*''[[Virtua Fighter 2.1]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Virtua Fighter 2.1]]'' (1996)
 +
*''[[Motor Raid]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Zero Gunner]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Zero Gunner]]'' (1997)
 
}}
 
}}
  
==List of Sega Model 2B-CRX Games==
+
===Model 2B-CRX===
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
 +
*''[[Fighting Vipers]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Gunblade NY]]'' (1995)
 +
*''[[Indy 500]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Rail Chase 2]]'' (1995)
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*''[[Virtua Striker]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dead or Alive]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Baseball]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Baseball]]'' (1996)
*''[[Dynamite Baseball 97]]'' (1997)
 
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
*''[[Fighting Vipers]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Gunblade NY]]'' (1995)
 
*''[[Indy 500]]'' (1995)
 
 
*''[[Last Bronx]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Last Bronx]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Pilot Kids]]'' (1999)
 
*''[[Pilot Kids]]'' (1999)
*''[[Rail Chase 2]]'' (1995)
 
 
*''[[sonic:Sonic the Fighters|Sonic the Fighters]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[sonic:Sonic the Fighters|Sonic the Fighters]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Super GT 24H]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Super GT 24H]]'' (1996)
*''[[Virtua Striker]]'' (1995)
+
*''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On]]'' (1996)
*''[[Virtual On: Cyber Troopers]]'' (1996)
+
*''[[Dynamite Baseball 97]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Zero Gunner]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Zero Gunner]]'' (1997)
 
}}
 
}}
  
==List of Sega Model 2C-CRX Games==
+
===Model 2C-CRX===
 
{{multicol|
 
{{multicol|
*''[[Behind Enemy Lines]]'' (1998)
 
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Dynamite Cop]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Over Rev]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Over Rev]]'' (1997)
Line 46: Line 141:
 
*''[[Sega Touring Car Championship]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Sega Touring Car Championship]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Sega Water Ski]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[Sega Water Ski]]'' (1996)
 +
*''[[Wave Runner]]'' (1996)
 
*''[[The House of the Dead]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[The House of the Dead]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Top Skater]]'' (1997)
 
*''[[Top Skater]]'' (1997)
*''[[Wave Runner]]'' (1996)
+
*''[[Behind Enemy Lines]]'' (1998)
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
===Other===
 +
*''[[Ultimate Domain]]'' (unreleased) - Developed by [[Atlus]]. Previewed in ''[[Mean Machines Sega]]'' #51.
 +
 
==Gallery==
 
==Gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
Line 64: Line 164:
 
File:Model2c pcb.jpg|Model 2C PCB
 
File:Model2c pcb.jpg|Model 2C PCB
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
{{Sega_Consoles}}
 
  
[[Category:Sega Model Series]]
+
{{Sega Arcade Boards}}
 +
[[Category:Sega Model series]]

Revision as of 12:25, 22 February 2015

Model2 cpu.jpg
Sega Model 2
Manufacturer: Sega
Release Date RRP Code

The Sega Model 2 is an arcade system board originally debuted by Sega in 1993 as a successor to the Sega Model 1 board. It is an extension of the Model 1 hardware, most notably introducing the concept of texture-mapped polygons, allowing for more realistic 3D graphics (for its time). The Model 2 board was an important milestone for the arcade industry, and helped launch several key arcade franchises of the 90s, including Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, Sega Rally Championship, Dead or Alive, Virtua Striker, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On and The House of the Dead.

The Model 2 was engineered with help from GE Aerospace (acquired by Martin Marietta in 1993, now part of Lockheed Martin), who designed the texture-mapping technology incorporated by the Model 2. The Model 2's development was led by famed game designer Yu Suzuki. The Model 2 arcade board debuted along with Daytona USA, a game which was finished, copyrighted and debuted at the JAMMA arcade show in 1993.[1]

There four versions of the system: the original Model 2 and the Model 2A-CRX, Model 2B-CRX and Model 2C-CRX variants. Model 2 and 2A-CRX used a custom DSP with internal code for the geometrizer while 2B-CRX and 2C-CRX used well documented DSPs and uploaded the geometrizer code at startup to the DSP. The Model 2 was succeeded by the Sega Model 3 in 1996.

History

It was a further advancement of the earlier Model 1 system. The most noticeable improvement was texture mapping, which enabled polygons to be painted with bitmap images, as opposed to the limited monotone flat shading that Model 1 supported. The Model 2 also introduced the use of texture filtering and texture anti-aliasing, [1] as well as trilinear filtering.[2] It was the most powerful game system in its time, equivalent to the power of a PC graphics card in 1998, five years after the Model 2's release.[2]

Designed by Sega AM2's Yu Suzuki, he stated that the Model 2's texture mapping chip originated "from military equipment from Lockheed Martin, which was formerly General Electric Aerial & Space's textural mapping technology. It cost $2 million dollars to use the chip. It was part of flight-simulation equipment that cost $32 million. I asked how much it would cost to buy just the chip and they came back with $2 million. And I had to take that chip and convert it for video game use, and make the technology available for the consumer at 5,000 yen ($50)" ($84 in 2014) per machine. He said "it was tough but we were able to make it for 5,000 yen. Nobody at Sega believed me when I said I wanted to purchase this technology for our games."[3] Suzuki stated that, in "the end," it "was a hit and the industry gained mass-produced texture-mapping as a result." For Virtua Fighter 2, he also utilized motion capture technology, introducing it to the game industry.[4]

There were also issues working on the new CPU,[3] the Intel i960-KB, which had just released in 1993.[5] Suzuki stated that when working "on a brand new CPU, the debugger doesn't exist yet. The latest hardware doesn't work because it's full of bugs. And even if a debugger exists, the debugger itself is full of bugs. So, I had to debug the debugger. And of course with new hardware there's no library or system, so I had to create all of that, as well. It was a brutal cycle."[3]

In a late 1998 interview, Read3D's Jon Lenyo, a former employee of GE Aerospace (later Lockheed Martin), stated that Sega's development for the Model 2 can be traced back as early as November 1990, when he and other GE Aerospace employees visited Sega and demonstrated the trilinear texture filtering and shading capabilities of their technology. As Sega was already working on the Sega Model 1 internally, they eventually incorporated GE Aerospace's technology into the Model 2.[2]

Despite its high price tag of around $15,000[2] (equivalent to $24489 in 2014), the Model 2 platform was very successful. It featured some of the highest grossing arcade games of all time: Daytona USA, [2] Virtua Fighter 2, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, The House of the Dead, and Dead or Alive, to name a few. Sega sold 65,000 units of the Model 2 annually,[2] and eventually sold over 130,000 units by 1996, amounting to over $1.95 billion revenue from hardware cabinet sales (130,000 units[6][7] at $15,000 each[2][8]), equivalent to over $3.18 billion in 2014, making it one of the best-selling arcade systems of all time.

Technical Specifications

Main CPU (central processing unit)
GPU (graphics processing unit) video hardware
Audio hardware
RAM (random access memory)

Total RAM: 9776 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 18,388 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)

  • Main RAM: 1152 KB (9 Mbits) (1024 KB work, 64 KB network, 64 KB serial)
  • Video memory: 5984 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 14,596 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
    • Framebuffer VRAM: 1024 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 1536 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
    • Coprocessor buffer SRAM/SDRAM: 64 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 8228 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
    • Texture memory: 4096 KB SRAM/SDRAM
    • Luma: 128 KB (Model 2/2A-CRX), or 64 KB (Model 2B/2C-CRX)
    • Other: 672 KB (32 KB geometry, 576 KB tiles, 64 KB colors)
  • Audio memory: 576 KB
  • Backup SRAM/NVRAM: 16 KB
  • Extra RAM: 2048 KB
Graphical capabilities

List of Games

Model 2

Model 2A-CRX

Model 2B-CRX

Model 2C-CRX

Other

Gallery


Sega arcade boards
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