SEGA Holosseum /Time Traveller Cabinet question...

[Kitsunexus]

OK, so we all know about SEGA's Time Traveler, a laserdisc game made by Rick Dyer and only notable for the special cabinet which used a mirror to make the game look holographic. We also all know that after the laserdisc players failed rapidly to inadequate cooling and shock absorption, it was replaced by Holosseum, a game that ran on the System 32 hardware.

What I don't know is how the mirror works, like, how does the hardware have to flip the image for it to show up correctly as a "hologram"?

Would anybody know the answer/know where I could find said answer?

Because if I can figure out the answer, we're talking great things. We're talking HOLOGRAPHIC TEMPEST 2000. HOLOGRAPHIC TURRICAN 2.

So please help me out! ^.^

[Tatsujin]

maybe you can find some answers in the documentation below. all what i know is, that this is a kind of concave mirror which reflecs the light in different ways and tricks the brain to believe it's 3D. therefore you only can see the whole picture when you look straight into the cab. similar technic was used with star blade α from namco.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sms/Pixel.pdf

[Kitsunexus]

That was a fascinating read, but it tells me nothing I don't already know.

What I need to know is, does the video signal need to be flipped in some way to display properly on the outside?

If so, I can have a cheap (under $200 , perhaps free) solution ready to go, if not, even better.

Lemme explain:

Problem: I want to play the original Jaguar Tempest 2000 on the Time Traveler cabinet. (You can argue that the real problem is getting the Cat, the cart, and the cab, but I think I can swing it).

What I've found is that the "projector" is nothing more than a 20' CRT TV that projects into the mirror you are talking about, the speakers are RCA capable, bla bla bla...

Solution 1: If it doesn't need to be flipped, then oh joy, oh rapture I simply plug in the Jaguar. Sorry for the anti-climaticism.

Solution 2: If it does need to be flipped, I can use a computer to do this. I've seen a Dell WebPC (one of these little guys, the Celeron 466MHZ version)that runs XP for $200 at a pawn shop, I can pick that up and use the built-in Intel utilities to flip the screen. After that, I can get a video capture card to run the Jaguar through, and replace the TV in the cabinet with the monitor of the computer, and there we go.


So basically, I need to know if I even need to buy this other computer or not. That's my question.

[Tatsujin]

the flipping of the picture (on the crt side) is only because the operator of the game will watch the picture on this holo-mirror which natuarly flips the picture (same as for the gunner games like terminator 2 etc.).

if you don't mind to play the game on revers (since you can't flip the screen on the "Cat" side), then there is no technical barrier between your intention to combine tempest into the cab. maybe the controll have to be adjusted.

[Kitsunexus]

the flipping of the picture (on the crt side) is only because the operator of the game will watch the picture on this holo-mirror which natuarly flips the picture (same as for the gunner games like terminator 2 etc.).

if you don't mind to play the game on revers (since you can't flip the screen on the "Cat" side), then there is no technical barrier between your intention to combine tempest into the cab. maybe the controll have to be adjusted.

OK, so I DO have to flip the picture. Alright (and yes I can flip it from the Cat side, technically the computer with capture card side). Thank you! ^.^

[Tatsujin]

i hope it works like that, since i only assume how it works in the real. please let us know your investigations on that matter

[Black Tiger]

I always wanted to play a 3D Robotech game on that machine so it'd be just like the game the pilots play at the arcade in the cartoon.