Farbs
Currently obsessed with how 2/3rds of the screen in OutRun is just sky.
Sep 21, 2023 at 3:25amWeb
Show threadFarbsSep 21, 2023

Interestingly, none of the polygonal 3D follow-ups seem to do this. They all peg the horizon line to the middle of the screen.

(Virtua Racer, Scud Race, Daytona, OutRun 2, OutRun 2006)

Show threadgrapefruktSep 21, 2023
@Farbs what's your bet, fill-rate hack or aesthetic choice?
Show threadFarbsSep 21, 2023

@grapefrukt Definitely aesthetic, which is amazing given it compresses the gameplay into a smaller area.

There are hills where way more of the screen fills, and I didn't notice any slowdown on the vids, the hardware was probably fine.

Also, Adam (Atomic) pointed out the likely influence of a Hiroshi Nagai who did a whole bunch of album covers around that time, often with big blue skies and low horizons (image cropped very low to show the car, expand for proportions)

Show threadFarbsSep 21, 2023

@grapefrukt "So is this part of a cultural trend?"

Well, I'm glad you asked! :P

It turns out Japanese art tends to have consistently _higher_ horizon lines than North American or European art. However, this particular movement was producing idealized depictions of Western concepts, so perhaps extrapolating towards it and overshooting is how they ended up with such stark imagery and big big skies.

Show threadgrapefruktSep 21, 2023
@Farbs excellent stuff!
Show threadDan Cassidy 🦌Sep 22, 2023
@Farbs @grapefrukt a lucky aesthetic choice for all the studios that had to port it to home computers, though!
(I always assumed it was for fill rate, but you make a persuasive case.)
Show thread🍂Evan Balster🍂Sep 21, 2023
@grapefrukt @Farbs por que no los dos?
Show threadErik SvedängSep 21, 2023
@Farbs the way mastodon cropped this image (around the dog) made me think it was maybe a tad too much sky, but the actual ratio is *nice*
Show threadErik SvedängSep 21, 2023
@Farbs wait, where did I see a dog? I thought the people in the car had a dog next to them 😂 Oh well...
Show threadFarbsSep 21, 2023
@e_svedang Now _I'm_ seeing the dog!
Show threadDan Cassidy 🦌Sep 22, 2023
@e_svedang @Farbs making a mental note that if I ever make an outrun clone, there will be a dog in the car.
Show threadAsbjørn UlsbergSep 23, 2023

@whimsy Will it be a Dalmatian by chance? I see a Dalmatian.

@e_svedang @Farbs

Show threadDan Cassidy 🦌Sep 23, 2023
@bitbear maybe! I see a beagle.
Show threadTom WalkerSep 21, 2023
@Farbs This does explain why that sky is so memorable
Show threadBox of BugsSep 21, 2023
@Farbs it’s how I would imagine it would feel to drive in a convertible: just open sky, wind.
Show threadZack Sep 21, 2023
@Farbs there was always a wait for this one in the arcades.
Show threadPunch's Videogamezone Sep 21, 2023
@Farbs The perspective projection feels more convincing with a lower horizon, or maybe that's just me.
Show threadJake in the desertSep 21, 2023
@Farbs "back in our day, top notch graphics didn't matter. Hell, most of the screen was SKY. And this was so you could concentrate on things like flipping yourself and the blonde woman out of the car repeatedly.."
Show threadKen WilsonSep 21, 2023
@Farbs I seem to recall road rash was the same
Show threadJoel BernsteinOct 7, 2023
@Farbs It's all about the ground you don't draw