Game system and data processing method thereof

• US 5,755,620 A
• Filed: 01/31/1996
• Issued: 05/26/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Inventors: Shiozaki, Satoshi, Yamamoto, Kenichi, Hayashi, Shinobu, Yamamoto, Sohei
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US08/593,333
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 463/31, 463/32, 463/33, 463/34
• US Class Current: 463/34
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/577 using determination of contact between game characters or objects, e.g. to avoid collision between virtual racing cars
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/643 by determining the impact between objects, e.g. collision detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying

Abstract

There is provided a game system in which a virtual object such as a car is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display. The system comprises an input device for providing from a player operating information concerning an expected motion of the object and an element for simulating the motion of the object in response to the provided information and in consideration of interaction forces between the object and the surroundings. The interaction forces are operated at least two positions of the object. The simulated results of the object Is displayed on the screen of the display.

Claims

1. A game system in which a virtual object is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the object in response to inputted information concerning an expected motion of the object and in consideration of interaction forces between the object and the surroundings, the interaction forces being operated on at least two positions of the object.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the object is a car realized by performing a program implemented in the system.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least two positions are at wheels of the car.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising means for virtually suppressing the motion of the car simulated by the simulating means.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the simulating means includes a means for determining a collision caused on the screen between the car and at least one other car, and

wherein the car and the at least one other car have an oval shape.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the simulating means includes an element that calculates a parameter value representing a special effect with regard to the simulated motion of the object, and the displaying means includes an element that displays the calculated special effect on the screen together with the simulated motion of the object.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the object is a car realized by performing a program implemented in the system.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for providing the inputted information from a player; and

means for displaying simulated results of the object on the screen of the display.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for virtually suppressing the motion of the object simulated by the simulating means.

10. A game system in which a virtual object in the form of a car is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the car, realized by performing a program implemented in the system, in response to inputted information concerning an expected motion of the car and in consideration of interaction forces between the car and the surroundings, the interaction forces being operated on at least two wheel positions of the car; and

means for virtually suppressing the motion of the car simulated by the simulating means;

wherein the simulating means comprises first means for calculating forces applied to the wheels; and

second means for calculating the motion of the car including a yawing motion on the basis of the forces calculated by the first calculating means.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the suppressing means has a virtual damper suppressing the yawing motion.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the second calculating means is a means that calculates at least one of a yawing angular velocity and a slip angle of the car as a parameter concerning the yawing motion.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the virtual damper is a damper virtually producing an attenuating force suppressing at least one of the yawing angular velocity and the slip angle.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

means for providing the inputted information from a player; and

means for displaying simulated results of the object on the screen of the display.

15. A game system in which a virtual object in the form of a car is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the car, realized by performing a program implemented in the system, in response to inputted information concerning an expected motion of the car and in consideration of interaction forces between the car and the surroundings, the interaction forces being operated on at least two positions of the car,

wherein the simulating means includes an element that calculates a parameter value representing a special effect with regard to the simulated motion of the car, and

wherein the parameter is at least one of a spray of sand, a spray of water, and a spray of snow, each representing an attribute of a virtual running road on which the car runs.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

means for providing the inputted information from a player; and

means for displaying simulated results of the object on the screen of the display.

16. A game system in which a virtual object is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the object in response to inputted information concerning an expected motion of the object and in consideration of interaction forces between the object and the surroundings, the interaction forces being operated on at least two positions of the object

wherein the simulating means includes an element that calculates a parameter value representing a special effect with regard to the simulated motion of the object.

18. A game system in which a virtual car is moved in virtual surroundings on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the car in response to provided information; and

means for virtually suppressing the motion of the car simulated by the simulating means,

wherein the car is realized by performing a program implemented in the system,

the simulating means comprises first means for calculating forces applied to the wheels and second means for calculating the motion of the car including a yawing motion on the basis of the forces calculated by the first calculating means, the second calculating means is a means that calculates at least one of a yawing angular velocity and a slip angle of the car as a parameter concerning the yawing motion, and

the suppressing means has a virtual damper virtually producing an attenuating force suppressing at least one of the yawing angular velocity and the slip angle.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

an input device for providing from a player operating information concerning an expected motion of the car.

20. A game system comprising a processing apparatus executing a given task at every specified interval, thereby displaying movement of at least two objects including a player'"'"'s object on a monitor as a game, the game system comprising:

means for calculating a current residual processing capability of the processing apparatus in synchronization with the specified intervals; and

means for determining a processing mode for the at least one object other than the player'"'"'s object on the basis of the calculated residual reprocessing capability, the processing mode being used in a next coming interval of the specified intervals;

wherein the processing apparatus comprises means for executing a data process of the at least one other object for the next interval accordingly to the determined processing mode.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the residual processing capability calculating means comprises means for presuming an amount of processing load of the processing apparatus for the next interval and means for estimating the residual processing capability based on the presumed amount of processing load.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the processing mode determining means is a means that determines the processing mode by referring the presumed amount of processing load to a table having correspondence between predetermined estimates of the residual processing capability estimated by the estimating means and the processing modes.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the specified interval is a display period of one frame in the monitor, the amount of processing load is an occupation time of processing occupied in the display period, and the residual processing capability is a remaining lime produced by deducting the occupation time from the display period.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the objects are cars and the game is a car race in which the player'"'"'s car competes with the at least one other car designated as an enemy car.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the processing mode includes a plurality of processing modes differentiated from each other in accuracy of processing the enemy car, and the processing mode determining means has a means that selects the processing having the accuracy in proportion to the residual processing capability.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the enemy car consists of a plurality of enemy cars, and the processing mode determining means has a means that assigns the processing mode having the higher accuracy to the enemy car nearer in distance to the player'"'"'s car.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing mode having the highest accuracy is a mode requiring a behavior estimation of respective suspensions of four wheels of the enemy car and a simulation of the enemy car in accordance with the behavior estimation of the respective suspensions.

28. A game system in which an object displayed on a monitor is moved on the monitor along a traveling path included in a background composed of polygons, the system comprising:

means for prestoring the polygons of the background divided into a plurality of areas along the travelling path;

means for determining that the object resides in which one of the areas;

means for specifying a number of displaying polygons used for display among the polygons of the background every time when the area is determined by the determining means, the number of the displaying polygons being within an upper limit; and

means for displaying the background together with the object using the displaying polygons of the at least one area picked up so as to satisfy the number of the displaying polygons.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the specifying means comprises means for adding in number the polygons of each area from the determined area designated as an origin of addition in sequence in a direction of traveling along the traveling path and means for comparing an added value added by the adding means with the upper limit.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the upper limit is changeable according to one of the areas in which the object resides.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the object is a car.

32. A game system in which an object displayed on a monitor is moved on the monitor along a traveling path included in a background composed of polygons, the system comprising:

means for prestoring the polygons of the background divided into a plurality of areas along the traveling path; and

means for instructing display of the background using the polygons of the areas associated with movement of the object.

33. A method of processing data handled in a game system in which a processing apparatus executes a given task at every specified interval, thereby displaying movement of at least two objects including a player'"'"'s object on a monitor as a game, the method comprising the steps of:

calculating a current residual processing capability of the processing apparatus in synchronization with the specified intervals;

means for determining a processing mode for the at least one object other than the player'"'"'s object on the basis of the calculated residual reprocessing capability, the processing mode being used in a next coming interval of the specified intervals; and

means for instructing the processing apparatus to execute a data process of the at least one other object for the next interval accordingly to the determined processing mode.

34. A game system in which a virtual object is moved in a virtual surrounding on a screen of a display, the system comprising:

means for simulating the motion of the object in response to inputted information concerning an expected motion of the object and in consideration of the interaction force between the object and the surroundings, the simulating means including an element that calculates a parameter value responding to a special effect with regard to the simulated motion of the object; and

display control means for displaying the calculated special effect on the screen together with the simulated motion of the object.

35. A game system comprising a processing apparatus executing a given task at every specified interval, thereby displaying movement of at least two objects including a player'"'"'s object on a monitor as a game, the game system comprising:

means for calculating a current residual processing capability of the processing apparatus in synchronization with the specified intervals; and

means for determining a processing mode for the at least one object other than the player'"'"'s object on the basis of the calculated residual reprocessing capability, the processing mode being used in a next coming interval of the specified intervals;

wherein the processing apparatus comprises means for executing a data process of the at least one other object for the next interval according to the determined processing mode,

the player'"'"'s object competes with the at least one other object designated as an enemy object,

the processing mode includes a plurality of processing modes differentiated from each other in accuracy of processing the enemy object, and the processing mode determining means has a means that selects the processing having the accuracy in proportion to the residual processing capability, and

the enemy object consists of a plurality of enemy objects, and the processing mode determining means has a mean s that assigns the processing mode having the higher accuracy to the enemy object nearer in distance to the player'"'"'s object.