Intels Open Arcade Architecture...
developer.intel.com
2.1 Goals of design
The system should yield the "best of both worlds"; both the PC's standardization, flexibility, and innovation and the arcade's high-speed immersive experience. It should provide:
- Open, non-proprietary PC-compatible architecture
- Investment protection through upgradability, reusability and reconfigurability
- Great graphics and video
- Realistic sound
- Flexible input device architecture
- Network Connectivity
- Simple and unsubvertable user interface
- Maintainability
- Low cost, low wattage
In detail, the above goals imply many facets beyond the current non-PC dedicated arcade machines:
- Open, non-proprietary PC-compatible architecture
-- Intel Architecture CPU, compatible with huge software base and many development tools, providing software developers a platform which will provide a huge consumer base for future home software sales.
1 - PC economy and media, with inexpensive interchangeable devices including
--- IDE drives, CD-ROMs, DVD, floppy disks
--- Microsoft Windows*95, Windows*98, and Windows NT* Operating System(s),
--- DirectX* Media API, and OpenGL* software infrastructures
2 - Investment protection through reusability, upgradeability and reconfigurability for various game genres
--- new game software applications
--- faster processors
--- multiprocessing option
--- reusable and reconfigurable control panels and peripherals
--- system RAM additions
--- graphics RAM additions, graphics card replacements
--- special-purpose cards, like video capture
3 - Great graphics and video
--High-performance high-quality high-resolution 3D graphics acceleration
--Optional MPEG-2 real-time video decode
--Large high-resolution monitor or TV display, perhaps multiple displays
4 - Realistic sound - 3D, multi-speaker, full-duplex, CD-quality audio.
5 - Flexible input device architecture
--- Interchangeable standard interfaces to I/O devices
--- RS-232 serial
--- Parallel port
--- PS-2 style mouse/keyboard
--- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
---Compatible with Arcade-quality Game Control Interface devices: arcade-style analog and digital controls, coin-mechanisms, and bill acceptors.
6 - Network Connectivity
---High-bandwidth, both Local (LAN) and Internet - multiplayer games, system
---management, convenient and secure SW updates
---Standard modem for internet access and remote service
7 - Simple and unsubvertable interface to gaming customers
---copy-protection to prevent piracy of arcade game content by arcade
---operators
---privilege-level password SW to prevent data or HW manipulation by non-administrators
---no need or ability for users to navigate the Windows GUI
8 - Maintainability
---Built-in diagnostics
---Remote service or software upgrade via network or modem
---Low cost, low wattage
---Built-in APM power management
2.2 Feature Summary
To implement the goals, the system should include:
Pentiumr II processor at 233MHz or faster
- 512 KB Level 2 cache support
- Low-profile form factor (NLX uniprocessor motherboard)
- System RAM 32 MB minimum, expandable to 256 MB of EDO or SDRAM
- High performance 2D and 3D Graphics acceleration
- 4+ MB graphics RAM
- ATI 3D Rage* Pro or equivalent 2D performance
- Must support DirectDraw version 5 or later, Windows 95, 98, and NT
3Dfx Voodoo Graphics* or equivalent performance - 181 ZD 3D Winmarks 1.0 recommended
- - 400+ Kpoly/sec sustained geometry processing rate
- - 45+ Mpix/sec peak fill rate for 3D bilinear-filtered Gouraud-shaded Z-buffered dithered 16-bit-color texture-mapped
- 4MB of texture memory
Graphics Options:
- TV output (NTSC/PAL S-Video) option as required to connect to large monitors
- MPEG-2 decoder HW
- Video Capture
- Multiple monitor support
- Stereo Enhanced 3D DirectSound-compatible Audio
- - 16-bit 44kHz Sound Blaster Pro* compatible
- - Dolby* Digital (AC-3) surround sound decoder (software or hardware)
- - (Optional) Hardware downloadable wavetable synthesis
Connectivity
- 100 Mbps Ethernet -- Intel EtherExpressT PRO/100B PCI LAN, or equivalent
- 56.6 Kbps internal modem, H.324 compatible; ISDN/T1 line preferred.
- Bus-master IDE controller with up to 4 IDE drives
- Supports "Ultra 33" synchronous DMA
- Optional:
- - 16x CDROM drive
- - DVD drive
- 2 Universal Serial Bus 1.0 (USB) connectors
- PCI 2.1 compliant with 3 PCI expansion slots
- At least 2 ISA expansion slots, 1 shared with PCI
- Optional copy-protection - via parallel-port "dongle" or "key"
...
2.6.5 MPEG-2 Video Decode
MPEG-2 video decode is recommended to handle encoded video streams for DVD-based applications. The decoder may reside on the DVD controller card, or graphics card, or motherboard. Higher-MHz systems may even decode MPEG-2 in software alone
The MPEG-2 decoder should meet the following requirements:
Must comply to industry standard MPEG-1 and MPEG-2
Must support throughput rates of 15 Mb/s at 720x480 resolution with 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios There is NO software solution that can do this!
30 fps video rate, 24 fps film rate
Synchronization between audio and video streams
Sub-picture and navigation support
Balanced CPU utilization to allow additional processor-tasking applications to behave in an acceptable fashion during concurrent use. |
