Virtua Racing

Virtua Racing was Sega's first "Virtua" game (by AM2) and the one of the select few games at that time to use polygons. Based on Sega first 3D hardware (Model 1), Virtua Racing's popularity was unmatched, largely due to the massive advance in graphics, force feedback and realistic sound. Many of todays popular arcade racers lend much to the success of VR and as a result it has earned it place in arcade history.

Virtua Racing is set in a Formula One scenario. It has 3 tracks in 3 difficulties: easy, medium and hard.

The game was released in three different cabinets:

1. A twin-player sitdown
2. A sinlge-player upright
3. A one-player sitdown deluxe that looks like a racing car and actually moves

Sega went to General Electric Aerospace (who made the first 3D simulators for NASA in the 1960's) in 1991-92 for assistance to develop a CG platform architecture for their new experimental 3D system, which later became known as Model 1. Virtua Racing was the game being written to find out how viable hardware 3D games were, it was never designed to be released, but it was such a success internally they decided to actually release it. Unfortunately, seeing as it was so expensive to manufacture it was never a stunning financial success for Sega, but it did cement their place in the history books as the world leader in 3D arcade technology, a title which they still hold to this day, and it led to possibly the most popular platform ever, Model 2.

The deluxe version boasts a large Formula One style cockpit with pneumatically-controlled force feedback steering and seat. It is the only VR version that has a 16:9, 36 inch widescreen.

As with the upright and twin versions, the deluxe model can be linked with up to 7 others (Deluxe/ Twin/ upright), via a fibre optic link.

Specifications:

• Hardware: Sega Model 1
• Main CPU : 32bits RISC NEC v60 uPD-70616, 16Mhz (2.5 MIPS)
• Graphics Co-Processor: Fujitsu TGP MB86233 FPU 32bits 16M flops
• Co-Processor Abilities: Floating decimal point operation function, Axis rotation operation function, 3D matrix operation function
• Sound CPU: 16bits 68000 @ 10Mhz
• Sound chip: 2 x Custom 28 channel PCM chips, 1 for Music and 1 for Effects (Can access up to 8meg sample rom per chip)
• Sound Timing Chip: YM3834 @ 8MHz (only used for its timers)
• Video resolution: 496x384 in 65536 colors
• Geometry: 180,000 polygons/sec, 540,000 vectors/sec
• Video: Shading Flat Shading, Diffuse Reflection, Specula Reflection, 2 Layers of Background Scrolling, Alpha Channel
• Display: 36" 16:9 widescreen CRT (EGA) Audio : Two channel Stereo
• Feedback systems: Nuematic force feedback seat and steering. Two button control pnematic adjusting seat.
• Multiplayer: Master/Slave link system with Fibre optic link cable. (1 master 7 slaves max.)
• Power: 220-240v 800-1000W