VB article UK Magazine

Jan 15, 2010 • 11:46

Just released UK Official Nintendo Magazine has an article on our lovable VB, they have made some glaring mistakes though.
Saying the single screen switches between left & right eyes!!!!
Where the info came from is beyond me, I mean how hard is it to find out the unit uses spinning mirrors and LED arrays, surely some site has this info on they could have found, oh yeah this one does……
I am not able to scan it just now but will do so when i get the chance.
There are a few screens shots for unreleased stuff, Mario, Goldeneye, Bomberman and Starfox, if my memory recalls right, it was last night i read it so data leak could have occured over night.

Viewing 18 replies - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)

18 Replies

Jan 15, 2010 • 12:13

KR155E

LOL, they wrote THAT in the OFFICIAL Nintendo magazine? 😀 I assume the screenshots are all already know, or is there anything new? What do you mean by data leak? Looking forward to the scans!

Jan 15, 2010 • 15:26

jzagal

Just a minor comment/question…. I thought the VB used oscillating mirrors. In other words, the mirrors don’t spin completely around an axis, rather they go back and forth. Well, at least that’s what it seemed like when I opened mine up!

Anyways, looking forward to the magazine scan! (and then we should send in letters to complain about the mistakes)

Jan 15, 2010 • 23:54

RunnerPack

This is just speculation, not having read it yet, but they could be referring to the fact that A) the mirrors for both displays are mounted on the same armature and, thus, move in opposite directions, and B) the displays are scanned in turn, rather than simultaneously. Of course, if they used the word “screen”, that is definitely a mistake.

Jan 16, 2010 • 01:40

e5frog

I wrote to them and complained – you do the same. 😉

Jan 16, 2010 • 12:07

Hedgetrimmer

KR155E wrote:
LOL, they wrote THAT in the OFFICIAL Nintendo magazine? 😀 I assume the screenshots are all already know, or is there anything new? What do you mean by data leak? Looking forward to the scans!

the data leak occurs while i sleep, usually work related, which i view as a bonus.

Quote from the mag: (scanner don’t work at home)

Because the Virtual Boys screen had to move quickly to give the effect of 3D (each frame displayed in a separate eye, and when shown quickly one after the other they gave the illusion of 3D)it had to have a clear, crisp display so the image didn’t blur when it moved. At the time the cheapest option available to Yokoi was red LED pixels-….

Reading it again it still make little sense to me.

The rest is standard VB fair, screen shots etc, we seen ’em all, got ’em all here for the world to view.
Does applaud the controller and apart from the ‘display’ issue a decent enough article.

Jan 16, 2010 • 13:57

e5frog

Well, I don’t agree that “the screen” moves quickly.

Yes, there are two oscillating mirrors… and a lens.

Does anyone have a link to the patent documents?
EDIT: Found links: http://www.goliathindustries.com/vb/VBProg.html

EDIT2:
Also found a nice picture:

This reply was modified 14 years, 3 months ago by e5frog.
This reply was modified 14 years, 3 months ago by e5frog.

Jan 21, 2010 • 15:48

KR155E

Scans are up thanks to Hedgetrimmer!
http://www.vr32.de/modules/articles/?s164001

Jan 21, 2010 • 18:21

jzagal

Yeah, it looks like the article got it totally wrong….

By the way, (sorry if it’s a stupid question), I assume the VB can have two separate images (one for each eye), right? Is there any demo out there where if you close one eye you see “A”, and “B” if you close the other eye?

Jan 21, 2010 • 20:39

HorvatM

No, but when you get to the adjustment screen (the one that says “VIRTUAL BOY” in big letters) in any game close one of your eyes and two of the squares in the corners of the screen will disappear.
When you get to the title screen, press left-B-down-A-up on the right D-pad and you will get to the alignment screen – close one of your eyes again and you’ll see.

Jan 21, 2010 • 21:27

jzagal

Yeah, I had noticed that.

So, it isn’t possible to create an image that only one eye will see, rather it seems that there is a (narrow?) “column” in the display that is only visible by one at at a time. (ie, column on the far left is only seen by left eye, column on far right only seen by right eye)

Jan 21, 2010 • 22:18

e5frog

What!?

… As a result, there were only two ways to play it properly: either lying down with your head on top of it or clamping it on the flimsy metal stand provided, sitting it on a table and resting your eyes in the visor. …

“Lying down” sounded ok, but “on top of it”? Sounds really uncomfortable – how would that be done?

Aching back after ten minutes is not a problem with the VB, I always sit with a straight back leaning forward into the visor – never had problems with back aches.

I tried lying down on my back lying the VB (without the stand) over my eyes, worked pretty well but a sturdier visor would have been better.

Sitting in bed leaning the stand is also quite comforable.

I was thinking about a harness like the one inside my bike helmet, it has an adjustable velcro band in the neck which gives it a real sturdy and comfortable fit – that would perhaps work…

Something like this:

Attachments:

images-1.jpg

Jan 22, 2010 • 03:49

DogP

jzagal wrote:
Yeah, I had noticed that.

So, it isn’t possible to create an image that only one eye will see, rather it seems that there is a (narrow?) “column” in the display that is only visible by one at at a time. (ie, column on the far left is only seen by left eye, column on far right only seen by right eye)

The VB can display a completely different image on each screen, but obviously it wouldn’t make sense, so it’s not done in any of the games. It’s the same technique that’s used to show create 3D from two slightly different images (rather than just using parallax to create “cardboard cutouts”).

DogP

Jan 22, 2010 • 07:26

KR155E

It’s a bit disappointing that an official Nintendo mag seems to have to compile their info from the net. I mean who else is closer to the source for new info and images?

I love the VB artwork, though. 😀

Jan 22, 2010 • 08:59

DogP

Heh, I just read it… pretty crappy article IMO. It read more like an article from a Geocities VG fansite or something 😛 . And apparently they can’t count either… Mario’s Tennis w/ 6 characters???

DogP

Jan 22, 2010 • 12:54

Dave_

You would think an official publication would fact check this sort of thing but I’m not too surprised errors crept in. I was however surprised to see them claim the Game Boy’s battery life was also only around seven hours.

Also it’d be good to one day read a VB article that doesn’t mention headaches.

Jan 22, 2010 • 14:39

Fwow13

While looking through this article, one of the glaring mistakes I saw was a screenshot of “Virtual Bowling” which is clearly a screen of Nester’s Funky Bowling. Looking closer at the image I noticed that the player’s name in their screenshot is PVB…

Did they seriously use an image from this site? If they did, how the hell could they have not done at least a little reading to get their facts straight?

This is ridiculous.

Jan 22, 2010 • 15:35

KR155E

Yeah, all screenshots and box images in this article are from PVB. At least a mention would have been nice… Well, I think in return I will just use their VB artwork for something. 😀

Jan 22, 2010 • 15:49

Fwow13

Given the poor quality of this article, one could make the argument that it’s a good thing this site wasn’t mentioned. I wouldn’t want them saying that they got their misinformation from this site and by doing so make Planet Virtual Boy look bad.

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