JPH1031410A - Three-dimensional simulator equipment and information recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a three-dimensional simulator equipment capable of realizing a real representation of falling state of a falling object without much increase in a processing load. SOLUTION: Falling objects 20, 21, etc., are constituted by three-dimensionally locating falling bodies 30-34, 35-39 in a space. A state of snow flying down to the ground is represented by letting the falling objects 20-28 fall in the space with a given direction and speed of rotation. The falling objects link together to form ring-shape chains in an area partitioned by planes along the falling direction. Based on a field of view and a falling speed, moving directions of the falling objects in a viewpoint coordinate system are determined. A speed, its direction, and the number of the array are varied based on the positions in the object space and time information. This makes it possible to represent a side wind varying in place and time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a three-dimensional simulator and an information storage medium capable of synthesizing a view image in an object space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a three-dimensional simulator apparatus that arranges a plurality of objects in an object space, which is a virtual three-dimensional space, and synthesizes a view image from a given viewpoint position. Are popular, and are popular as a player can experience a so-called virtual reality.

In this type of three-dimensional simulator, a more realistic expression is required in order for a player to experience so-called virtual reality. For this reason, for example, when realizing a simulation device for skiing, snowboarding, and the like, it is desired to realistically express the manner in which snow falls on the course.

[0004] However, if it is attempted to faithfully represent the state of falling snow in the real world, it is necessary to display a large number of independent snow grain objects on the screen, which increases the processing load and processing time. As a result, the real-time processing required for this type of device is prevented.

If the snowfall does not change regardless of the position in the object space or the passage of time, the visual field image seen by the player becomes monotonous, and the virtual reality perceived by the player becomes insufficient. There are also issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to increase the processing load of a realistic expression of a falling object. It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional simulator device and an information storage medium which can be realized without any problem.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method in which a plurality of falling objects each formed by spatially arranging a plurality of falling objects in a three-dimensional manner are rotated by a given rotation. A falling object moving unit that falls in the object space while rotating at a given rotation speed in a direction; and a unit that synthesizes a view image including an image of the falling object.

According to the present invention, a plurality of falling objects are each formed by spatially arranging a plurality of falling objects in a three-dimensional manner. These plurality of falling objects fall in the object space while rotating in a given rotation direction and rotation speed. Thereby, for example, a state in which snow flutters and falls can be expressed with a small processing data amount and a processing load. It is desirable that the arrangement position of the falling objects, the type of the falling objects to be arranged, and the like be the same among all the falling objects in order to reduce the processing load, but it is not always necessary to make them all the same.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the falling object moving means drops at least one of the plurality of falling objects in at least one of a rotation direction and a rotation speed different from each other. In this way, it is possible to more realistically express the state of falling snow and the like. In addition, even if control is performed so that the rotation direction and the rotation speed are different from each other, the processing load does not increase so much. Therefore, according to the present invention, a more realistic expression can be achieved with a small processing load. It is preferable that the rotation direction and the rotation speed be different between all the falling objects for more realistic expression, but it is not necessary to make the rotation objects and the rotation speed different between all the falling objects. You can do it.

In the present invention, the falling object moving means may move an area including at least a part of a view area specified by the viewpoint position and the line of sight to first to m-th areas in a plane along the drop direction. In the case of classification, the first ₁
~ The first N ₁ falling objects, it is dropped in the first region as a first _one falling object to the next first N ₁ falling object is located, the first _two to fall object of the N _2, the next second N ₂ of the falling objects as first _{and second} falling object is located is dropped in the second region, falling objects ... first _m ~ a N _m, dropping of the N _m It is characterized in that the object is dropped in the m-th area so that the 1 _m-th falling object is located next to the object. By doing so, the falling objects can be arranged only in a part of the view area, and the number of falling objects falling in one area is limited, so that the processing data amount is reduced and the processing is simplified. be able to.

In the present invention, the falling object moving means may determine whether the falling object is to be moved downward or upward in the viewpoint coordinate system in the first to m-th areas by referring to the information relating to the view area. And the information on the falling speed of the falling object. In this way, even when the viewpoint, the line of sight, and the like change, and the coordinates of the falling object in the viewpoint coordinate system change, a realistic expression closer to an event in the real world becomes possible. It should be noted that the information relating to the view area includes at least one of information such as a viewpoint position, a line-of-sight direction, and a viewing angle.

Further, the present invention provides a method for determining at least one of the speed, speed direction, rotation speed, and rotation direction of the falling object, and the number of falling objects when the falling objects are arranged in the falling direction, according to a simulation situation. It is characterized in that it includes changing means for changing the temperature. In this way, it is possible to realistically represent a state in which a falling object falls while being blown by a cross wind whose strength, direction, and the like changes depending on a simulation situation. Further, for example, the amount of snow falling can be changed according to the simulation situation.

Further, according to the present invention, the changing means changes at least one of the speed, the speed direction, the rotation speed, the rotation direction, and the number of arrays based on at least one of location information and time information in an object space. It is characterized by.
In this way, it is possible to realistically express a state in which the falling object falls while being blown by the crosswind whose strength, direction, and the like changes depending on the location in the object space and time. Also, for example, the amount of snowfall can be varied depending on the place and time. The change means specifies the location information based on the position of the moving object moving in the object space or information obtained based on the position, and changes the change information stored in the given storage means in association with the location information. It is desirable to change the speed, the speed direction, the rotation speed, the rotation direction, and the number of arrays based on the information. In this way, for example, it is possible to effectively use the place information used for specifying the rank, whether to extend the time, and the map height.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the principle of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the present embodiment, the falling objects 20 to 28 are dropped in the object space in order to express the state of falling snow and the like. Here, the falling object 20 is configured by spatially arranging the falling bodies 30 to 34 three-dimensionally.
The falling object 21 is configured by spatially arranging the falling bodies 35 to 39 in a three-dimensional manner. The same applies to the other falling objects 22 to 28. Here, the falling object is constituted by a polygon, a curved surface, or the like. In the case of representing snow particles, a hexagonal falling object is expressed by using two quadrilateral polygons.

In this embodiment, the falling objects 20 to 2
8 is dropped in the object space while rotating at a given rotation speed in a given rotation direction (for example, at least one rotation direction around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis). By doing so, it is possible to represent a falling body such as snow particles falling while fluttering, and it is possible to realistically represent a state of falling snow and the like. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the falling object is constituted by a plurality of falling objects, the data amount of the falling object can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the falling object is constituted by one falling object. In addition, in order to represent a falling object as a single falling object and to express the state of falling snow, control of the movement of the falling object becomes complicated. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is possible to express a manner in which snow flutters simply by dropping a falling object in a given rotation direction and rotation speed. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the processing load and the increase in the processing time associated with the expression of the falling body of the falling body, and to secure the real-time property of the processing required for this type of device, Realistic expression of falling becomes possible.

When the falling object falls, it is desirable to drop the falling object while making at least one of the rotation direction and the rotation speed different between the falling objects.
By doing so, it is possible to more realistically express the state of falling snow. In addition, even if the control for changing the rotation direction and the rotation speed is performed, the processing load does not increase so much.
Realistic expression is possible with a small processing load.

In order to realize a more realistic expression, it is desirable that the rotation direction and the rotation speed of all falling objects be different from each other. However, from the viewpoint of processing load, reduction of processing data, and simplification of processing. Therefore, the rotation direction and the rotation speed of at least two falling objects may be different from each other.

It is desirable that the type and spatial arrangement of the falling objects be the same for all the falling objects in order to reduce the processing load, processing data, and simplify the processing. It may be. Further, for example, the precision (the number of polygons or the like) of the falling object constituting the falling object may be made different depending on the distance from the viewpoint.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the three-dimensional simulator device according to the present embodiment. Here, the operation unit 12
Is for inputting operation information from the player, and the operation information obtained by the operation unit 12 is input to the processing unit 100. The processing unit 100 performs processing for setting an object space in which a plurality of objects representing display objects are arranged based on the operation information and a given program or the like. And a memory. The image synthesizing unit 200 performs a process of synthesizing a field-of-view image that can be viewed at a given viewpoint position and line-of-sight direction in the set object space. And a memory. Image synthesis unit 20
The visual field image obtained by 0 is displayed on the display unit 10.

Here, the processing section 100 includes a falling object moving section 110, a changing section 120, a change information storing section 122,
Moving object information calculation unit 130, object space setting unit 14
0, including a spatial information storage unit 142.

As described above, the falling object moving section 110 performs a process of dropping a plurality of falling objects each composed of a plurality of falling objects at a given rotation direction and a given rotation speed. is there. Information on the falling object obtained by this processing is output to the object space setting unit 140.

The changing unit 120 determines at least one of the speed, the speed direction, the rotation speed, the rotation direction, and the number of arrangements of the falling object based on the change information (crosswind data and the like) from the change information storage unit 122. Is performed in accordance with.

The moving body information calculation section 130 calculates, in real time, position information and direction information of a moving body such as a virtual player operating skis and snowboards based on operation information from the operation section 12 and a given program. Is what you do.

The viewpoint calculation section 132 included in the moving body information calculation section 130 obtains a viewpoint position, a line-of-sight direction and the like which follow the movement of the moving body based on the position information and direction information of the moving body.

The space information storage unit 142 stores an object number for specifying an object to be displayed, position information and direction information for specifying the arrangement of the object. However, if it is only necessary to specify at least one of the position information and the direction information, only one of them needs to be stored. Then, the space information stored in the space information storage unit 142 is read by the object space setting unit 140. In this case, the spatial information storage unit 142 stores the spatial information of the frame immediately before the frame (1 frame = 1/60 second). Then, the object space setting unit 140 obtains space information in the frame based on the read space information, the information from the falling object moving unit 110, the information from the moving object information calculating unit 130, and the like. Such processing is not necessary for a stationary object because the spatial information does not change.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show examples of view images synthesized according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3A, a display object representing the virtual player 40 riding on the snowboard 42 is shown. In addition, a display object representing a snow surface, a landscape, and the like are also displayed. And in this embodiment,
In addition to these display objects, display objects such as snow particles 44 and 45 are also projected on the screen. Here, when the virtual player 40 is stationary, these snow particles fall straight down, for example, from top to bottom, and when the virtual player 40 travels, the snow particles blow down in the direction of the virtual player 40 or the viewpoint of the player. Furthermore, the size of the snow particles increases as they approach the virtual player or viewpoint. Therefore, the player can feel as if he / she is actually running in the snow, and the virtual reality of the player can be enhanced.

In order to further reduce the load of the process of displaying a falling object, it is desirable to reduce the data amount of the falling object used during one frame.
For this purpose, in the present embodiment, various processes described below are performed.

First, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a region (at a region close to the viewpoint) including at least a part of the viewing region 54 specified by the viewpoint 50 and the line of sight 52 is defined as a surface along the falling direction. (A plane along the Y axis) into regions R1 to R33. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, it is divided into a grid on the XZ plane.

In each of these areas, falling objects arranged in the falling direction (Y-axis direction) are dropped in the object space. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 showing a cross section in the YZ plane, the regions R1, R2, R3, R4, R
5 and R6, respectively, the falling objects FO11 to FO8
1, FO12 to FO82, FO13 to FO83, FO14 to FO8
4. FO15 to FO85 and FO16 to FO86 are arranged. Note that the number of arrays of the falling objects does not necessarily have to be the same in each region, and for example, the falling objects may be arrayed only in a portion surrounded by a thick line in FIG.

When the viewpoint 50 and the line of sight 52 do not move, the falling object is moved downward in the viewpoint coordinate system. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the falling objects FO26 to FO86 are shifted downward and the lowermost falling object FO16 is shifted.
To the top (above FO86). As described above, in the present embodiment, the falling object moves in the falling direction such that the FO16 is located next to the falling object FO86.

On the other hand, when the viewpoint 50 and the line of sight 52 move, the falling object is moved to the viewpoint based on the information on the field of view (the viewpoint position, the direction of the line of sight, the viewing angle, etc.) and the information on the falling speed of the falling object. Determines whether to move downward or upward in the coordinate system. When the line of sight 52 moves downward at a speed faster than the fall of the falling object, for example, as shown in FIG.
The falling objects FO16 to FO76 are shifted upward, and the top falling object FO86 is moved to the bottom (below FO16). Even in this case,
The falling object moves in the falling direction so that FO16 is located next to the falling object FO86.

In the manner described above, it is possible to express the state of falling snow and the like using a finite number of falling objects.
Realistic expression is possible while reducing the load of the process of displaying the falling object.

In this embodiment, in addition to the above-described processing, processing for changing at least one of the speed, speed direction, rotation direction, rotation speed, and the number of arrays in the drop direction of the falling object in accordance with the simulation situation is performed. Is going.
This process is performed by the changing unit 120 in FIG. Specifically, the speed, speed direction, and the like of the falling object are changed based on location information, time information, and the like in the object space.

For example, the virtual player 40 shown in FIG.
Is different from the position in FIG. 3A in the object space. In FIG. 3A, the virtual player 40
Is located near the top of the mountain, which is the starting point.
In (B), it is located at a place slightly down from the top (Fig. 3
(See 46 in (A) and (B).) Also, the course direction is different between FIG. 3 (A) and FIG. 3 (B). In the present embodiment, FIG.
A stronger cross wind is blowing. This allows snow particles 44,
45 will be swept away by the cross wind stronger than the snow grains 47 and 48. In FIG. 3A near the top, FIG.
The amount of snow falling is larger than in (B). Furthermore, the direction in which the cross wind blows is made different depending on the direction of the course, the presence or absence of obstacles, and the like. Thus, the direction of the cross wind in 3 (A) is different from that in FIG. 3 (B).

In order to express different cross winds and the like depending on the places as described above, in the present embodiment, change information (speed, speed direction, rotation speed, rotation direction, rotation direction, (Information for changing the number of arrays) is stored in the change information storage unit 122.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in this embodiment, the course map in the object space is divided into, for example, course blocks C0 to C35. In FIG. 7B, it is determined whether or not the virtual player 40 (or the snowboard 42 or the viewpoint), which is a moving body, is located in the course block Cj based on the arrangement information of the lines 60 and 62. In this embodiment, the order of the virtual players 40, the possibility of extending the time, and the like are determined based on the determination result.
For example, a virtual player operating by the first player and running at the head is located in the course block C18, and the second virtual player chases it.
When the virtual player of the player is located in the course block C17, the rankings of the first and second players are respectively
Judge first and second. In addition, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed, for example, the course block C10 within a given time, and if it has passed, the play time of the player is extended. Further FIG.
As shown in (C), in the present embodiment, each course block is divided into a plurality of polygons, for example, triangles, and it is determined in which triangle the position of the virtual player (or snowboard or viewpoint) is located. Then, the coefficients of the plane equation of the plane including each triangle are stored in given storage means, and based on the position of the virtual player, the coefficient of the plane equation specified by the position, and the plane equation, Find the height of the course map at the player's location. Here, the map represents a surface shape such as a terrain including a mountain, a ground, a sea, a lake, and a river.

In this embodiment, as described above, the process of making the crosswind different depending on the place is realized by utilizing the information of the course blocks used for determining the rank, the possibility of extending the time, the determination of the map height, and the like. ing. That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, the crosswind strength VWj and the crosswind direction θj are stored in the change information storage unit 122 in association with the course block Cj. Similarly, VWj-1 and θj-1 are stored in association with Cj-1, and VWj + 1 and θj + 1 are stored in association with Cj + 1. Course block information indicating in which course block the virtual player or the like is located includes a ranking,
It is already required in the above processing for determining whether or not to extend the time. Therefore, the crosswind strength VWj and the crosswind direction θj stored in association with the course block Cj where the virtual player is located can also be read out using the already obtained course block information. Next read VW
Based on j and θj, for example, calculations shown in the following equations (1) and (2) are performed. Xn = Xn-1 + VWj.times.cos .theta.j (1) Zn = Zn-1 + VWj.times.sin .theta.j (2) where Xn and Zn are the X and Z coordinates of the falling object in the nth frame of the course block Cj, and Xn-
1, Zn-1 are the X and Z coordinates in the previous frame (n-1) th frame.

With the above arrangement, it is possible to realize a process for making the crosswind different depending on the place. That is, VWj and θj to be stored are different for each course block. This makes it possible to make the speed and speed direction of the falling object different from each other for each course block. As a result,
A state in which the falling object is swept away by a crosswind that varies depending on the location can be displayed on the screen.

In the above equations (1) and (2), VWj, θj
VWj · cos θj, VWj · sin
θj may be stored. Also, the above equation (1),
In (2), the X component and the Z component of the speed of the falling object are changed, but the Y component (fall direction) can be changed. Further, the rotation speed and the rotation direction of the falling object may be changed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the amount of snow falling can be varied depending on the location in the object space.
In this case, the number of arranged drop objects arranged in each of the regions R1 to R33 in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, in a place where it is desired to increase the amount of snow falling (see FIG. 3A), a place where the number of arrangements of the falling objects in each area is increased and the amount of snow falling is desired to be reduced In FIG. 3B, the number of arrays of the falling objects is reduced. In this case, the array number of the falling objects is stored in the change information storage unit 122 in association with the course block information as the location information, similarly to the crosswind strength VWJ and the crosswind direction θJ. By doing so, it is possible to make the number of arranged fall objects different for each course block, and to make the amount of snow fall different for each course block. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a realistic expression closer to a real world event such as a lot of snow falling near the top and a smaller amount of snow falling as going down from the top is possible. Becomes

The location information may be specified based on the position of the moving object, or may be specified based on information on the viewpoint obtained based on the position of the moving object.

Next, a detailed example of the processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The flowchart of FIG. 9 will be described first. First, a course block where a moving object (or viewpoint) is located is specified based on the position of the moving object (or viewpoint position or the like) (step S1). The information of this course block is one of the location information of the object space. Next, based on the course block information, the order of the moving objects, the possibility of extending the time, and the height of the map are determined (step S2). Next, based on the course block information, change information such as the intensity of the crosswind and the direction of the crosswind is read from the change information storage unit 122 (step S3). Next, the speed, speed direction, rotation speed, rotation direction, number of arrays, and the like of the falling object are changed based on the read change information (step S).
4).

Next, the flowchart of FIG. 10 will be described. First, the rotation angle of the falling object is calculated (step T1). At this time, the rotation angle of the first falling object is calculated by the following equations (3), (4), and (5).

RX1n = RX1n-1 + VRX1 (3) RY1n = RY1n-1 + VRY1 (4) RZ1n = RY1n-1 + VRZ1 (5) where RX1n, RY1n, and RZ1n are rotation angles of the first falling object in the n-th frame. , RX1n-
1, RY1n-1 and RZ1n-1 are the rotation angles of the first falling object in the (n-1) th frame. On the other hand, for the second falling object, the following expressions (6), (7),
In (8), the rotation angle is calculated.

RX2n = RX2n-1 + VRX2 (6) RY2n = RY2n-1 + VRY2 (7) RZ2n = RZ2n-1 + VRZ2 (8) where RX2n, RY2n, and RZ2n are rotation angles of the second falling object in the n-th frame. , RX2n-
1, RY2n-1 and RZ2n-1 are the rotation angles of the second falling object in the (n-1) th frame. As is clear from the above equations (3) to (8), in this detailed example,
VRX1, VRY1, VRZ1 and VRX2, VRY
2, VRZ2. Accordingly, at least one of the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the first and second falling objects can be made different, and a more realistic expression of the falling snow can be realized.

Next, the display range of the falling object in the Y-axis direction is determined (step T2). In this embodiment, the display range in the Y-axis direction is determined as follows. For example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a point on the line of sight 52 in the region R6 where the depth distance from the viewpoint is the longest is Pc. A point above the point PC by (the height of the falling object) × 4 is defined as P1, and a point below is defined as P2. At this time, the height of the point P1 is defined as an upper limit height h1, the height of P2 is defined as a lower limit height h2, and a range between h1 and h2 is defined as a display range YDR in the Y-axis direction. In the present embodiment, a process of arranging a falling object is performed so that the falling object is located within the display range YDR.

Next, a process of subtracting the falling distance from the Y coordinate of the representative point of the falling object set is performed (step T).
3). This subtraction processing allows snow to fall in the Y-axis direction. Here, the representative point is set for each falling object set in each of the regions R1 to R33 in FIG. For example, in FIG. 5, the falling object group F011
-FO81 representative point, falling object group FO12-FO82
The representative point of the falling object group FO16 to FO86 is set. In the initial stage, the representative point is, for example, the center position of the falling object set (FIG. 11).
(The position of the point PC).

Next, it is determined whether or not the representative point has exceeded the display range YDR in the Y-axis direction (step T4). When the representative point Pr protrudes downward as indicated by E1 in FIG. 12A, the representative point Pr is shifted upward by (the height of the falling object) × 8 as indicated by E2 in FIG. (Step T5). On the other hand, when the representative point Pr protrudes upward as shown by E3 in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the representative point Pr (the height of the falling object)
Shift down by × 8 (step T6). As described above, the representative point Pr can always be located within the display range YDR. Next, a display range on the XZ plane is determined as shown in FIG. 4 (step T7). Next, falling objects are sequentially arranged upward with the representative point as an initial position (steps T8 and T9). And Y
When the object falls outside the axial display range YDR, the falling object is arranged at the bottom (step T10). For example, FIG.
In (A), after the process shown in E2, FO16 is first arranged with the representative point Pr as an initial position. Next, when the FO26 is to be placed on the FO16, the FO26 is displayed in the display range YDR.
Protrude, so that as shown in FIG.
Place O26 at the bottom. And FO36 ~ on FO26
The FOs 86 are sequentially arranged. On the other hand, in FIG.
After the processing shown in (1), the representative point Pr is set as an initial position, and
16 to FO76 are sequentially arranged. Next, put FO86 on FO76
When the FO 86 is to be arranged, the FO 86 extends beyond the display range YDR. Therefore, the FO 86 is arranged at the bottom as shown in FIG. The arrangement information of the falling object obtained by the above processing is sent to the image synthesizing unit 200, and the image of the falling object is displayed at the arrangement position.

Next, an example of the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the device shown in the figure, a CPU 1000, a ROM 1002, a RAM 100
4. Information storage medium 1006, sound synthesis IC 1008, image synthesis IC 1010, I / O ports 1012, 1014
Are connected to each other via a system bus 1016 so that data can be transmitted and received therebetween. And the image synthesis IC 1010
Is connected to the display 1018, and the sound synthesis IC 10
08 is connected to a speaker 1020, and the I / O port 1
012 is connected to the control device 1022,
A communication device 1024 is connected to the O port 1014.

The information storage medium 1006 mainly stores a game program, image information for expressing a display object, and the like, and uses a CD-ROM, a game cassette, an IC card, an MO, an FD, a memory, and the like. Can be For example, a home-use game device uses a CD-ROM and a game cassette as an information storage medium for storing a game program and the like, and a business-use game device uses a memory such as a ROM.

The control device 1022 is equivalent to a game controller, and is a device for inputting a result of a determination made by a player in accordance with the progress of a game to the main body of the device.

According to a game program stored in the information storage medium 1006, a system program (such as initialization information of the apparatus main body) stored in the ROM 1002, a signal input by the control apparatus 1022, etc.
000 controls the entire apparatus and performs various data processing. RA
M1004 is a storage unit used as a work area or the like of the CPU 1000, and includes an information storage medium 1006 and an RO.
The given content of M1002, the calculation result of CPU 1000, and the like are stored. A data structure having a logical configuration such as spatial information of a falling object, array information of a falling object, course block information, change information, and the like is represented by R
AM, information storage medium, etc.

Further, this type of device includes a sound synthesis IC 100
8 and an image synthesizing IC 1010 are provided so that a suitable output of a game sound and a game screen can be performed.
The sound synthesis IC 1008 includes an information storage medium 1006 and a ROM 1
This is an integrated circuit that synthesizes game sounds such as sound effects and background music based on the information stored in 002, and the synthesized game sounds are output by the speaker 1020. The image synthesis IC 1010 includes a RAM 1004,
This is an integrated circuit that synthesizes pixel information to be output to the display 1018 based on image information sent from the ROM 1002, the information storage medium 1006, and the like. Note that a so-called head-mounted display (HMD) can also be used as the display 1018.

The communication device 1024 exchanges various kinds of information used inside the game device with the outside. The communication device 1024 is connected to another game device to send and receive given information according to the game program. It is used for transmitting and receiving information such as a game program via a communication line.

FIGS. 1 to 8B and FIGS. 11 to 12
The various processes described in (B) include an information storage medium 1006 storing a program for performing the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 and 10 and a C operating in accordance with the program.
This is realized by the PU 1000, the image synthesis IC 1010, and the like. Note that the image synthesis IC 1010 and the sound synthesis IC 1008
The processing performed by the CPU 1000 or the general-purpose D
This may be performed by software using an SP or the like.

FIG. 14A shows an example in which this embodiment is applied to an arcade game device. The player 1100 enjoys the game play by operating the buttons 1102, the board 1103, and the like, which are operation units, while watching the display 1104 on which the view images shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B are projected. An IC board 1106 is built in the apparatus, and a CPU, an image synthesis IC, a sound synthesis IC, and the like are mounted on the IC board 1106. Then, information for dropping a plurality of falling objects constituted by a plurality of falling objects at a given rotation direction and a given rotation speed, information for synthesizing a view image including an image of the falling object, a falling direction For arranging the falling objects in the area defined by the plane along the line, information for changing the speed, speed direction, rotation speed, rotation direction, and number of arrangements of the falling objects according to the simulation situation are included in the IC substrate. It is stored in a memory 1108 which is an information storage medium on 1106. Hereinafter, such information is referred to as stored information. The stored information is a program code for performing the above various processes,
It includes at least one of image information, sound information, shape information of a display object, table data, player information, and the like.

FIG. 14B shows an example in which the present embodiment is applied to a home game machine. The player enjoys the game by operating the game controllers 1202 and 1204 while looking at the game screen displayed on the display 1200. In this case, the stored information is stored in a CD-ROM 1206, which is an information storage medium that is
It is stored in cards 1208, 1209 and the like.

FIG. 14C shows a host device 1300,
An example in which the present embodiment is applied to a game device including the host device 1300 and terminals 1304-1 to 1304-n connected via a communication line 1302 will be described. In this case, the storage information is stored in an information storage medium 1306 such as a magnetic disk device, a magnetic tape device, or a memory that can be controlled by the host device 1300. Terminal 1304-1-1
When the CPU 304-n has a CPU, an image synthesis IC, and a sound synthesis IC and can synthesize a game image and a game sound in a stand-alone manner, the host apparatus 1300 can synthesize the game image and the game sound. Is delivered to the terminals 1304-1 to 1304-n. on the other hand,
If the synthesis cannot be performed in a stand-alone manner, the host device 1
300 synthesizes a game image and a game sound, and
The data is transmitted to 304-1 to 1304-n and output at the terminal.

The present invention is not limited to those described in the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the speed of the falling object is changed based on the location information in the object space is mainly described, but it may be changed based on the time information. For example, even in the same place, if the strength of the crosswind, the direction of the crosswind, and the amount of falling snow are changed over time, a more realistic expression can be achieved. Further, for example, when a moving object such as a train moves in the object space, the movement causes the strength of the cross wind,
The direction and the like may be changed.

The object represented by the falling object is not limited to snow. According to the present invention, it is possible to express a state in which another falling object such as a leaf of a tree is falling.

In this embodiment, a snowboard game has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, skiing, motor boat, surfboard, water skiing, water bike game, tank game, racing car game, etc. It can be applied to various games.

The present invention also provides a game device for business use, a game device for home use, a simulator device for pilot training,
Large attraction equipment with many players participating,
It can be applied to various things.

The processing performed by the processing unit, the image synthesizing unit, and the like described in the present embodiment is merely an example in the present embodiment, and the processing in the present invention is not limited to these. .

[0068]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of the embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are examples of a view image displayed according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows regions R1 to R33 divided by a plane along the Y axis.
On the XZ plane.

FIG. 5 shows an arrangement of falling objects along the falling direction as Y
It is a figure showing on a Z plane.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining a falling object that moves so that FO86 is positioned after FO16.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams for explaining location information in an object space.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams for explaining change information specified by location information; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed example of a process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed example of a process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process of determining a display range in the Y-axis direction.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams for explaining an example of a placement process of a falling object;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration that implements the present embodiment.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C are diagrams showing various types of apparatuses to which the present embodiment is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 display unit 12 operation unit 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 falling object 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 falling object 50 viewpoint 52 viewpoint 54 view area 100 processing unit 110 falling object moving unit 120 changing unit 122 change information storage unit 130 moving object information calculation unit 132 viewpoint calculation unit 140 object space setting unit 142 space information storage unit 200 image synthesis unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] A given viewpoint position in object space;
A three-dimensional simulator device for synthesizing a view image viewed in a line-of-sight direction, in which a plurality of falling objects each constituted by spatially arranging a plurality of falling objects in a three-dimensional manner are given in a given rotation direction. A three-dimensional simulator apparatus comprising: a falling object moving unit that drops in the object space while rotating at a rotation speed of: and a unit that synthesizes a view image including an image of the falling object. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the falling object moving means drops at least two of the plurality of falling objects in at least one of a rotation direction and a rotation speed different from each other. Dimensional simulator device. 3. The falling object moving unit according to claim 1, wherein the falling object moving unit includes a first area, which includes at least a part of a view area specified by the viewpoint position and a line of sight, in a plane along the falling direction.
In case of divided in the region of the m, the first ₁ to N ₁ falling objects, is dropped in the first region as a first _one falling object is positioned next to the first N ₁ falling objects the first _two to fall object of the N _2, to the next of the N ₂ falling objects as first _{and second} falling object is located is dropped in the second region, ... first _m ~ falling objects of the N _m, 3-dimensional simulator apparatus characterized by dropping in the region of the as falling object of the 1 _m is located next falling objects of the N _m m. 4. The view area according to claim 3, wherein the falling object moving unit determines whether the falling object is to be moved downward or upward in the viewpoint coordinate system in the first to m-th areas. A three-dimensional simulator device that makes a determination based on information about the falling object and information about the falling speed of the falling object. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a speed, a speed direction, a rotation speed, a rotation direction, and an arrangement number of the falling objects when the falling objects are arranged in the falling direction. A three-dimensional simulator device comprising: a changing means for changing one of them according to a simulation situation. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the changing unit changes at least one of the speed, the speed direction, the rotation speed, the rotation direction, and the number of arrays based on at least one of location information and time information in an object space. A three-dimensional simulator device, characterized in that: 7. A given viewpoint position in object space,
An information storage medium storing at least information for synthesizing a view image viewed in a line-of-sight direction, wherein a plurality of falling objects each constituted by three-dimensionally arranging a plurality of falling objects are provided. Information storing information for dropping in the object space while rotating at a given rotation speed in the rotation direction of the object, and information for synthesizing a view image including an image of the falling object. Medium. 8. The simulation status according to claim 7, wherein at least one of a speed, a speed direction, a rotation speed, a rotation direction, and an arrangement number of the falling objects when the falling objects are arranged in the falling direction is determined. An information storage medium including information to be changed according to the information.