With good reason , Popular Science magazine recognise theSegaDreamcastas one of the most of import and innovative products of 1999 . Impressive technical specifications , great games and an inventive advertising campaign heralded the arriver of the latest system from a company known for groundbreakingvideo biz systems.
In this edition ofHowStuffWorks , you will get a line about this phenomenal system , the revolutionary controller that it uses and the proprietary optical memory board method pick out by Sega . You will also learn about the VMS , a versatile pick that can be used all by itself !
Dreamcast History
An constituted leader in the colonnade , Sega accede the dwelling house market right on the heels of Nintendo . rename theSega Master System , the system known as the Mark III in Japan debuted in the United States in 1986 . The Sega Master System used an 8 - bitCPU , 128 K ROM - basedoperating systemand had a 128 K ofRAM . Games come on two case of cartridges : a large cartridge that could hold amegabitof biz computer code , and a minor cartridge that held 256 kilobits of game code .
In 1989 , Sega introduced the world ’s first 16 - fleck menage television plot system of rules , theGenesis . free-base onMotorola’s68000processor , the organization was technically higher-ranking to anything else on the market . But the sheer ascendance of Nintendo eclipse the Genesis , when the rival companionship debuted theSuper Nintendo Entertainment Systemlater that same year .
But Sega beat Sony and Nintendo to the clout with a 32 - second system . TheSaturnwas officially launched on May 11 , 1995 . Not only was it the first 32 - snatch organization , but it had two 28.8 megahertz 32 - fleck Hitachi SH-2 processor working in parallel ! Sega ’s Saturn was an awesome system with an incredible architecture , but quickly fall behind the other 32 - number system released that year , Sony’sPlayStation .
Code - namedKatana , the Dreamcast was liberate in the fall of 1999 , the first scheme to provide a construct - in modem and 128 - bit graphics .
Dreamcast Console
Army of the Righteous take a aspect at the components inside a Dreamcast , and what their capabilities are :
Processor: 64-bit Hitachi SH-4
central processor : 64 - morsel HitachiSH-4
computer graphic : 128 - bit 100 MHz NEC PowerVR 2DC
Geometry engine :
Audio : 45 MHz YamahaSuper Intelligentsound central processing unit
Memory:16 MB
operate system : Windows CE - based or custom Sega O
secret plan medium : ProprietaryGD - ROM(Gigabyte Disc )
Modem : 56 kilobits per second ( Kbps )
The Dreamcast is the first cabinet that has a build - in 56 Kbps modem . It was added to enableonlineplay over a phone line , allowing users to play games against each other across long distances . In addition to the built - in modem , Sega is solve on acableorDSLexternal modem . Broadband networks are being prepare that will take advantage of such a modem and enable truehearted online games for the Dreamcast .
Dreamcast Processor
Like theN64and thePlayStation , the mainframe in the Dreamcast is aRISCprocessor . RISC stands forreduced pedagogy set data processor , and means that the instructions and computations performed by the processor are simpler and fewer . Also , RISC chips aresuperscalar– they can execute multiple instructions simultaneously . This compounding of capabilities , performing more instructions at the same time and completing each teaching quicker because it is wide-eyed , give up the CPU to perform well than many chips with a much immobile clock speed .
To lower product cost , the graphics processor is combined with circuitry to manipulate the system through a singleapplication specific integrated circuit(ASIC ) . only put , this means that a custom chip is created to manage all of the necessary component part that would usually be cover by separate chips . The Dreamcast sound processor is another ASIC ; it combines a 45 MHzARM7CPU and a Yamahadigital signal processor(DSP ) . The ARM7 is a 32 - bit RISC cow dung that handles all processing of the compressedadaptive differential pulse code modulation(ADPCM ) audio information in real time . ADPCM is used tosampleanalog information , compress it at a ratio of 4:1 and store it in digital format .
The Dreamcast has several computer hardware essence that are handled by thePowerVRchip . They includealpha blending , perspective correctionandmip mapping .
Alpha blendinguses thealpha channelto add transparency effects to an target . This is a special art mode used by digital video , animation and picture plot to achieve sure look . fundamentally , 24bitsare used to define the red , green and blue amounts , 8 bits each , needed to create a specific color . Another 8 flake are used to create a grey-headed - scalemaskthat deed as a separate stratum for representing floor of aim transparency . How crystalline an object will be is mold by how obscure the grey in the alpha channel is . By making an area of the mask dark gray , you’re able to make an physical object come out to be very transparent ; by making it light gray , you’re able to create particular murkiness or H2O effects .
Mip mappingis a cool process . It is a form of texture mapping in which dissimilar sizes of each texture map are made . In core , the processor put back the appearing of an object with a more detailed image as you move closer to the object in the game . Let ’s take a flavor at how Dreamcast use these function intrilinearmip map :
When a game is put in the console , the succeed happens :
Dreamcast Controller
As it is with other system , the controller is the primary user interface for the Dreamcast . The standard Dreamcast controller has 11 buttons plus ananalogjoystick . The button include :
Although each release can be configured to perform a specific and classifiable action , all of the button , except for the two analog trigger and joystick , work on the same principle . In essence , each button is a switch that completes a circuit whenever it is pressed . A little metal disk beneath the button is pushed into contact with two strip of conductive material on the circuit panel inside the controller . While the metal disk is in liaison , it conducts electricity between the two strip . The accountant senses that the circle is closed and sends that data to the Dreamcast . The CPU compares that data with the instructions in the game software package for that button , and triggers the appropriate response . There is also a alloy phonograph recording under each arm of the directive diggings . If you ’re play a game in which pushing down on the directing lodgings get the character to crouch , a interchangeable strand of connections is made from the time you push down on the inkpad to when the character crouches .
Theanalogjoystick and triggers work in a altogether dissimilar way from the buttons described above . The initiation each have a diminutive magnet attached to the end of the trigger arm . When the trigger is depress , the magnet is campaign toward a sensor go up on the controller ’s electric circuit control panel . Through the process ofinduction , the magnet creates resistance to the current passing through the sensor . On the bottom of the magnet is a layer of foam padding . Pushing harder on the trigger compresses the cushioning , which bring the magnet closer to the sensor . The nearer the magnet is to the sensor , the more resistance is induced . This varying resistance progress to the triggerspressure - sensitive !
The joystick also uses a attraction , along with four small sensors . The sensing element are coiffure like a range , with one at each of the cardinal points ( magnetic north , S , east , west ) . The al-Qa’ida of the joystick is shaped like a ballock , with tiny spokes shine out . The ball sit down in a socket above the sensors . Spikes on the socket primed between the radius on the ball . This allows for an extraordinary amount of movement without get the joystick twist out of alignment with the sensors . As the control stick is moved , the magnet in the base actuate closer to one or two of the sensors , and farther from the others . The system monitors the change in induction due to the magnet ’s move to direct the position of the stick .
The control has two expansion port wherememory identity card , shudder pack , Visual Memory System(VMS ) devices and other organization improver can be introduce .
A popular alternative is thetremor pack , which providesforce feedback . This feature provides a tactile stimulus to certain action in a game . For model , in a racing game , you might experience a jarring vibration as your machine slams into the wall . military force feedback is actually carry through through the use of goods and services of a very unwashed gadget , a simple electricmotor . The shaft of the motor hold an imbalanced weight . When office is supply to the motor , it spin the weight . Because the weight is mad , the motor tries to shift . But since the motor is securely mount inside the tremor pack , the wobble translates into a shiver quiver of the controller itself .
While standard memory cards can be used with the Dreamcast , the VMS units are unique to thisconsole . The VMS is actually a tinyPersonal Digital Assistant(PDA ) that fits into the upper elaboration port of the controller .
About the size of it of a business card , each VMS unit of measurement contains :
When the VMS is inserted into a Dreamcast restrainer , its LCD can be used to perform some unique social function . For example , in a football game plot , you may select swordplay without your adversary seeing what they are . In addition to serving as a memory card for the Dreamcast , the VMS can be used as a point of view alone equipment . Small games , as well as traditional PDA role like a calendar and phone directory , can be downloaded to the VMS and take with you .
Dreamcast Games
While Dreamcast games are similar to compact disc - ROM , the actual optical disc used is proprietary , and can hold up to 1.2 gigabytes of data . This is a quite a little of space – most games employ only a fraction of it for the genuine game . What can eat up up the space are the incredible full movement video intros and pause included in most Dreamcast games .
There is a noticeable delay while the biz is debase from the CD , which you do not get withcartridge - basedgames . Of course , the trade - off for faster cargo is a importantly smaller amount of storage on a cartridge . Most Dreamcast games use a customized version of MicrosoftWindows CEas their operating organisation ; but some use Sega ’s proprietary Dreamcast operating scheme .
Dreamcast CD are just as susceptible to scratches and intense heat as normal CDs . Even more so in fact , since a scratch on a plot CD can make it totally unusable .
The games uncommitted for the Dreamcast cover all thecategories , and its program library of games is increasing chop-chop . biz Mary Leontyne Price range from under $ 20 for certain preplayed titles to over $ 75 for some of the hot new games .
