From what I understand, VDP1 still draws foreground objects and sprites like PlayStation does: as billboarded polygons.
Surely VDP2 does hardware sprites though - but I’m finding it hard to see a definitive overview.
2 Likes
If you’re interested in a super technical deep dive, the original English language Saturn documentation is available online.
https://antime.kapsi.fi/sega/docs.html
From the docs, “the functions of the VDP1 include the drawing of parts (characters and lines), speci- fication of colors, color calculation of Gouraud shading, specification of clipping coordinates and local coordinates, and control of display by the frame buffer.”
Specifically, VDP1 is meant for
· Normal sprites
· Scaled sprites (with zooming)
· Distorted sprites (includes rotation)
· Polygons (quadrangles)
· Polylines (quadrangles comprising four lines) · Lines
VDP2 however:
“VDP2 has a scroll and priority function. The scroll function defines the scroll screen, moves the screen up, down, right, left, and rotates the screen. The priority function prioritizes the display of multiple scroll screens, sprites, and external screens. It also processes the images in operations such as color calculation and color offset.”
So it looks like VDP2 is primarily used for sprites and background layers whereas VDP1 is more general purpose and can be used for whatever you want. Polygons on the Saturn are quadrangles so there’s little difference between a single poly and a sprite anyway.
The reason why so many people recommend the Saturn port over the PSX port is due to the how nearly arcade perfect the Saturn ports where at the time (mostly). Although the Saturn could only output a 352×224 resolution and not the 384×224 CPS2 resolution like the Playstation could, for all of their Capcom arcade ports they still allowed you to retain the full play area via a toggle in the option menu that would allow the characters to walk past the boundaries of the visible play area. Yeah it would leave only about half of your character visible if you walked to the stages boundary but it would was the best they could do given the limitations.
Apart from this, the PSX ports ranged from decent to awful. Alpha 2 had missing animations for various fighters and the intro is an FMV that looks horrible today as opposed to the Saturn’s intro that is rendered on the console itself. This was fixed in Alpha 2 gold release. X-men Vs. Street Fighter had a horrible PSX port with long loading times and severely cut down animation and backgrounds as well as removing the tag team mechanic. That’s the worst case though, other ports like Alpha 3 or Darkstalkers 3 were generally decent and if you just want to play a version of those games that isn’t garbage, they were generally good. The Saturn versions were much better though even if, like you said, the Saturn couldn’t output the proper 384×224 resolution like the Playstation could due to retaining more of the animations and other details of the arcade version.
1 Like
Forgot to reply to this! Thanks for the info. Have bookmarked the post as a reference.
1 Like
Hopefully I haven’t uploaded this before. Short interview with AM3 during Saturn’s Sega Rally production. Always tricky trying to scan this mag. Pages are an odd size.
Anything about the Saturn version of rally is interesting to me. Really amazing how that game still holds up.
Thanks.
The Sega Rally home conversion is still the most impressive full-3D game on the Saturn for me, which is a remarkable feat given its early release. I think it comes down to the impressive draw distance and environment modelling, and the fact that that draw distance - especially on the ground - is all polygonal rather than VDP2-based (the likes of Bulk Slash and Panzer Dragoon Zwei use VDP2 in very clever ways to improve draw distance, but it does lead to flat horizons).
And it just feels so good to play even with the D-Pad, the physics are spot on even today, the way the cars slide on different surfaces, the way the cars jump off bumps. The closest thing to replicate that feeling in the generation to it for me is the superb Wave Race 64.
Got my Saturn 3D controller today!
This is my first time using one - can definitely see now where the Dreamcast controller design originated from, especially with the triggers at the back and the overall shape.
I find it interesting that the analogue stick isn’t a stick at all, but what looks like a grooved-top trackball with limited movement (no rolling). That does make it feel a bit too tight for large movements - more like a slide pad - but its sheer size makes it perfect for making fine adjustments which would otherwise feel twitchy on a stick. I gave it a go with Shutoku '97 Drift King and the fine adjustments you can make when turning are very impressive - even if large turns feel slightly underwhelming given the travel to stick-size ratio there.
What is an unsurprising revelation is NiGHTS. It says a lot that I was struggling to get B ranks with the D-Pad and mostly averaged C ranks, but with the 3D controller I got straight As replaying a world. Really does feel sublime under the thumb.
3 Likes
We need to talk and record stuff like how to score huge for each of the stages as well as tips for defeating bosses within a certain time…
EDIT
did a quick record of another Sonic Team game running in demo mode via the OSSC. Burning Rangers
1 Like
Heh, I’m looking forward to introduce my kid to fighting games and some notion of “deal with frustration” and “life is hard”, letting him play Goenitz of KOF96 or the GENERAL.
It builds character.
4 Likes
Love this pic, how wonderful!
2 Likes
Thanks @Peagles, makes me happy I bought all this stuff years ago. Seeing my boys having a blast is what it’s all about at this point, as my gaming time is quite rare! 
Yeah! I still get flummoxed by some of the bosses - the magician with the cards drives me mad sometimes! But I’ll get there - the beauty of the game is how it encourages replayability and curiousity through its setup.
Been playing some more this weekend - the race lap-like mechanics are just perfect for the level design, speed of the game and combo system. It’s great to have a game of this type not at all feel like an exercise in trial and error.
2 Likes
I mentioned on the pickup thread I think that I picked up a 3D controller recently - while it was definitely absolutely essential when used to play the wonderful NiGHTS I also hoped it could improve the racing games I have but I think they need a wheel now.
I’m actually a bit disappointed in that respect - I think it comes down to both the programming of the games I tried and the analogue nub (trackball thing!)'s low amount of travel for maximum input in-game.
In the games I tried (Touge Max 2, Drift King '97, Touring Car Championship, Sega Rally Championship) you don’t need to move your thumb much at all to reach full lock on the steering which doesn’t lead to a good feeling game under the thumb (though I have to say it’s sublime at being very precise with fine movements).
Sega Rally Championship Plus was probably the biggest disappointment because the analogue controls are just replicating the wheel, leading to extremely finicky handling even if you set handling to ‘slow’ in the options. I’m much worse with the 3D controller set to analogue than I am with the D-Pad - it’s a shame as the Saturn port of the game is superb in all other areas. But luckily it’s also something they fixed in the PS2 arcade port, which plays perfectly with the stick.
I have the wheel, didn’t like it one bit for Sega Rally. I was overall disappointed with what was akin to a cheap plastic toy in my hands.
Big Saturn fan here and I’d have to agree with you.
I think the official wheel is good for what it is, price, era, but with SEGA Rally it’s not that good.
It’s too touchy, and the lack of force feedback is detrimental for a game like that.
The conversion seems to have been designed for the pad.
I can still enjoy it.
For a better experience with the wheel I suggest Out Run, even if sometimes you have to actively take back the wheel for some quick maneuvers (edit : I mean not in a natural way).
Interesting impressions on the wheel, thank you. Explains a lot about Sega Rally, if they programmed it better there (and with the 3D controller’s analogue stick) it would be an even better port than it is right now. But having the PS2 version really does emphasise the extra control you get when cornering with analogue.
I got hold of that wheel especially when I got more Saturn driving games and particularly was hoping it would improve my driving/gameplay experience on that Initial D game.
Sadly I got to admit when a game sucks there’s not much you can do to make it play better