Mario Kart 64 as You've Never Seen It Before - Low Poly - Episode 6
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 เม.ย. 2024
- I always wondered what exactly is going on model wise when playing Mario Kart 64. In this episode, my curiosity peaked, and I decided to check out the character models used in the game, and what other secrets the game holds. What I found was some insane resource management, and the technical wizardry of Nintendo.
A+Start with Andy
Please Like, Favourite and Subscribe if you enjoyed this episode and feel free to leave any questions or game suggestions in the comments below. Thanks guys! - เกม
Conspiracy theory: mario kart 8 models are also sprites only they're extremely elaborate sprites.
Theyre actually 3d models
@@jaquaviousquanwatchesprn no shit Sherlock
@@jaquaviousquanwatchesprn the j
@@jaquaviousquanwatchesprn r/wooosh
@@Creeps097 shut up
Hey guys, Andy here
For a year and half, I’ve been inundated with requests for new Low Poly, and this is the first of many planned. If you’re one of the hundreds of people who wanted this series to return, please support this episode by sharing it and liking it, show that algorithm we mean business. Thanks for the support guys.
Andy
Hey Andy! Glad to see more content from you.
Good this is back
YAY
You should do kingdom hearts 3 glitches
YEEEESSS I AM SO GLAD ITS BACCKCK
They didn't use sprites instead of models for space reasons. A model wouldn't have taken up more than all the sprites needed for one racer.
A sprite is less taxing on the cpu and can have more detail
Exactly what I was about to write. Sprites take way more memory than a 3d model, the "they used sprites because of memory limitations" doesn't make sense at all. It's all about performances and this game has a really really low polygon count
Yeah, models are actually very small because at their basic, they're just a collection of numbers. Like, a single vertex is basically just 3 numbers (its coordinates). Much smaller than a bitmap, where every single pixel is a number. Of course that doesn't include textures and animations, but generally sprites are more intensive in memory, but much less for CPU.
This - it had everything to do with fillrate limits and little to do with cartridge space - in fact, 3D models and some lower res textures that could be reused across carts would have arguably taken less space than elaborate sprites needing individual frames of animation, but of course the pre-rendered sprites looked smoother and more detailed and it's far less taxing to draw 8 sprites onscreen than 8 3D models.
@@ShinoSarna on the N64 it was a little more than just three numbers since vertex data also stored texture coordinates, alpha and either a normal vector or a color
@@xl2k2008 Although way less than a model and it's textures, these sprites probably didn't take up that much space (assuming some compression?)....but it was a huge weight off the processor to save the 200+ (x8) polygons required to show even the most rudimentary kart models with sprites for wheels, any frame bars, etc... then for characters, add to that the ~300 (x8 again) polys needed just for equivalents to that ugly low detail version of the Mario 64 model on top of it.
so 4,000 extra polys...and that's only IF you redesigned them with fairings......otherwise for 8 similarly-normal-looking karts, with all the intricacies, probably about a total of 10,000 extra polys needed (1,000+ each kart) absolute minimum....and they'd be ugly.
I remember being like 5 years old and actually noticing that every item, object and character in the game was like a cardboard plane that always faces the camera. Even though I wasn’t aware of any technical aspects I was impressed by the optical illusion
When I was five I was still trying to convince myself that purple crayons could be grape flavored
The 2D sprites actually take more cartridge space than if the carts were 3D models.
But the game wouldn't run as nearly as smooth (see Diddy kong racing)
that seems a little off, surely a low-def sprite slapped onto an 8 tri model would take up less than a higher-def texture uv mapped onto a model with a high poly count
The thing is that it's not one low-def sprite, it's 64 of em, per character.
@@BlueAizu_ That is simply because a polygon model and uv mapping are stored as just simple text files. You get rid of having a fully prepared sprite to render in exchange for asking the system to draw the model and texture every frame or so using that information. Out of all of the files for a model the texture itself would still probably be the largest space wise in that, far less than 64 separate drawings.
@@NotPython Each character needs a lot of sprites for the animations. So they take up more space.
Well they went with the tactics at the time. They nusnt have thought it through completely , and when diddy kong racing came up , they fixed it. Well thats my theory
*YESSSSS LOW POLY IS BACCKKKKKKKK!!!!!! I LOVE THIS SERRIIEEESSSS*
Also please do low poly on Link :D
What he/she said
Me too
Yes. Please.
yeah!! we need it!
Me to
I remember realizing they were sprites back when I was playing this as a kid... still amazing how good it looked. It stood out b/c of the pixelated edges of the characters. I may have had it easier than most at the time in noticing it though since I had watched a Donkey Kong Country making of / Behind-the-scenes VHS tape which explained the technique. Pre-rendered sprites were usually much better looking than the extremely low-poly primitive 3D graphics available on consoles of the time (N64, PSX, Saturn).
I refuse to believe that people didn't know they were sprites back in the day.
Hey, I was like 3 when I played this game. Cut me some slack lol.
I suspected it but I wasn't sure, I knew before the video though
Hey, as you grow up, you learn more about your favorite video games. This is honestly cool tbh
In my defense, i only played it once at my neighbors house
I havent played this game back then, but Ive played enough games to know that there are always and will always be limitations in the technology to make/force/encourge ppl to create games in certain ways, but that was never something I was particular interested in as a child. So I don't think I would've cared even if I did notice, and it'd most likely end up being an afterthought that would last about a second or two.
Im more fascinated as to how ppl are getting all anal about this.
When Low Poly becomes literal.
Can you do Spyro the Dragon next? If you have the time?
Ooh, good idea!
it would be cool if he was able to compare the original models and the Reignited ones!
YEESSSS
Yeah, that would be neat since he changes designs so much. I really like is DOD design, I think it's where he looks the most like a dragon. All the cutscene's are in engine and so I would think it would be quite high poly.
I do wish there were more video game characters like Spyro. Ones who are quadruped and absolutely not human. I really like Amatarasasu from Okami for the same reason.
A-am I dreaming..? A new low poly episode?..
You're not dreaming this is reality :D
@@kirbypop-tart708 And another one!
*slap* YOU ARENT DREAING, SHIA.
4 poly
Oh boy this comment didn’t age well
I've known this for probably 15 years. I always thought Mario Kart was built off a DOOM type engine. The trees and piranha plants really gave it away.
late but doom type engines dont have slopes and doom type engines arent the only engines with billboarding. super mario kart or mario kart super circuit would work in a doom engine
@@missingno2401 you must not know anything about Sonic Robo Blast 2
@@MhxAir u right i don't
@@missingno2401 Basically a super old Sonic game coded in the Doom engine, and mods for it have Sonic Robo Kart and Sonic Riders. It has slopes. Mario Kart 64 could have definitely been done in the Doom engine, and has been proven possible by modders in the past.
@@MhxAir im sorry mate your right
Oh golly another episode of low poly!
Im really glad to see a new episode of this series.
Who didn't see that it was all 2D sprites?
I could tell that back in the day, they were a blurry mess even in old CRTs.
as a kid I had no idea how the technology behind it worked
Playing these games in the Wii era, I honestly didnt mind it since 3D games from the N64 looked dated anyways.
I already could tell they were sprites, but I've never seen them without interpolation. Thank you.
they honestly look much better without that gross bilinear filter, don't you think?
@@GraveUypo true. That's why I like those sharp pixelated PS1 games more than the blurry N64 ones. Even when I play Quake and... Why wouldn't I still play it, I disable filtering because those pixels are pretty!
@@AdamPajor If you don't care about playing ps1 games the way it originally look, increasing the resolution + bilinear filtering can make games look much better.
Case in point - imgur.com/a/nvNhwcS
Low Poly? I haven't heard that name in a long time.
Can you do a Zelda episode next? It would be really interesting
PLEEEEAAAASE
would be cool to see him look at a link between worlds.
I *need* a Link low poly
Ocarina! Er, maybe Majora because it was also in the trailer I think, but STILL. Bring it back to how it was with Crash, Mario, & Sonic! Oh well, bread & butter was ALSO in the trailer, but still..
@@lilac9346 Me too!
I kinda noticed the “Low Poly” Thing you speak of, as a child on Peach’s Castle Road , everytime I’m off the half bridge.. in the air the camera would have a *overhead look* but I actually can’t see no more detail over the characters head, theyjust remained flat
But amazing breakdown tho 💯
I don't know if anyone else is like me, but playing MarioKart 64 for the first time, I could instantly tell that it was using 2D sprites.
Me too. It was even more obvious when Diddy Kong racing came out WITH polygonal racers.
Same here, it was obvious to me.
Still the best Mario Kart in my heart, I love the drifting physics !
Yeah, it's one of the first things I noticed about it.
Same
Probably because they were blurry, and all sprites on N64 are blurry because of texture filtering. Polygon models, on the other hand, are nice and sharp.
Looking forward to more Low Poly vids in the future. Keep up the great work!
LOW POLY IS BACK! I love this series so much!
Same here I thought it was done forever
I remember actually figuring out they weren’t 3D as a kid. I thought it was really neat how they did that even if I had zero idea what everything was back then.
I have never been fooled by the sprites. It was a good choice on Nintendo's part to keep things smooth and recognizable.
Good video.
I actually didnt know that. That was quite interesting. Also i kinda feel dumb now. Never played MK64 tho.
Your not dumb if you've never played
You gotta love pre-rendered sprites man!
I love this series! I've been subscribed for a long time for Son of a Glitch, but Low Poly has already taken it's place as my favorite series on your channel!
LowPoly, after 10 thousand years in development hopefully it will have been worth the wait
I’m really glad to see this series is back. An episode on Link would be amazing!
YES YOUR BACK!!! ITS BEEN SO LONG I MISSED LOW POLY VIDEOS!
(I know this one isn't requested as much but could you do mario kart ds? It was my childhood game)
Yay, love this series! So glad it returned, because never saw anything like it
Yeah, more depth on this please. Really enjoyed this, very inspiring.
Such an amazing and interesting series!
Thanks for the hard work. I would love to see how F-Zero GX holds up its framerate and speed with the number of polygons.
Nice to see the return of this series! I wanna see Luigi models next11!!!
Oh god I haven't seen a Low Poly video in a while!
Also you don't really think about how much brains and techniques goes into making good video games. Delving this far behind the scenes blows my mind and really makes me appreciate the hard work that Nintendo puts into making their games.
WOOOOO!!! my favorite series on A+Start. I never see videos like this anywhere else so I'm so happy to see you posting them again.
I've loved low poly and am very excited to see more of it.
1:05 30 fps is only possible on cartage? Lots of CD based games ran at 30 or even 60 fps.
3:31 Eight, not sixteen.
3:45 Sprites are used because of CPU limitations, not memory. These spires used in this game are actually fairly memory intensive.
3:48 Technical mastery? That is a very, very, very common effect. Nearly every game of the generation did this. No exaggeration: nearly every one.
4:49 I count seventeen.
Yeah, this is why people shouldn't take the work of some random TH-camr as gospel.
Woefully inaccurate video... plus who ever thought Mario Kart 64 used 3D models for the racers haha?
i see where, but it's apart of the triangle above it so that one is slight off on the x/z axis
He's right at 3:31 coz you double the tri count by adding a drop shadow - agree with your other points tho
Oh he's also right at 4:49, there are only 2 tris on the ropes, they're textured so it looks like 5
(Come on dude they're not even triangles)
Thanks for the video! You explained well-enough for my mother, who knows nothing about video games and still asks my help for basic computer stuff, was able to follow along. (We did have a bit of trouble, as we both heard 'wrong' instead of 'rom' at 0:49, which means we were thrown down the wrong train of thought and missed what you were explaining, alas. The subtitles thankfully have the correct word in there.)
It still amazes me how they made the sprites work in replays, with all those camera angles, they basically had to design every angle for 2D sprites.
Can you do Low Poly on Mario Kart Arcade GP series?
A Triforce Build of Dolphin can run Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 and 2
TeknoParrot can emulate the Japanese version of Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
5:10 No, games WERE made by wizards, not anymore. Any stories of how Donkey Kong or Doom or maybe that Resident Evil N64 port, etc, show how smart developers were under technical limitations. But nowadays developers don't care, they'll happily make you download a 40GB+ game and then another 20GB day one patch.
Let’s not forget ridiculous loading times...
I’m recently new, this is the first episode of low poly I’ve seen. I love this! Seriously please keep making more of these!
Series i've been waiting to return: Petscop 2 and Low Poly. Thanks!
"I could always tell they were sprites"
"Yeah I was 3 when I played the game for the first time but I still knew it, as I am a genius"
*when Andy is finally able to release a Low Poly video*
A+Start subs: GUYS!! Andy's coming!!!
Also A+Start subs: *they proceed to fall to the floor like inanimate toys*
xD
LOL
I'm so happy to see this series continued.
I was worried it was a dead one,
but somehow I found this video 6 months later and it's great :)
Love this series. So interesting to watch
I knew this was the technique used, is identical to the one in Super Circuit.
ALDO Nueve nope, mk super circuit uses mode 7, all the game was made with sprites
@@molo-molo5103 .............i was exactly talkin of the spirtes.......are exactly the same ones than Mario Kart 64......
@@ALDONueve No, he's talking about EVERYTHING being sprites... Not just the characters.
According to him, the whole track is a 2D sprite, same for the objects and stuff.
That's what Mode 7 means, the track is flat, but looks 3D because of a number of tricks.
Mario Kart 64 has actual 3D modelling though.
Okay, this is absolutely epic!
Fantastic ep! I love Low Poly! I would love to see even more!
I for one legitimately didn't know this! Super awesome perspective, and would love to see more behind the scenes for other games! Especially from the development point.
i knew they were sprites the entire time. theres a visual difference between sprites and 3D models.
Matthew Barabas
Yea it does looks kind of funky.
I remember being disappointed by the sprites after all the hype Nintendo trumpeted about its SGI technology. I was expecting something closer to the characters in Super Mario 64. It looked weird to me and still does. To me, Double Dash was the first "real" poly Mario Kart. It's interesting that the DS version of Mario Kart uses real poly models. Of course the resolution of that screen was lower...
Yeah same
I'm pretty sure most everybody knew.
Did anyone honestly think they were 3D models haha? Apart from the guy making this video apparently.
Mario: Let's a go
Luigi: Yahoo!
Yoshi: (Yoshi's sound)
Peach: Let's go
Bowser: RAWRGGH
D.K: (Gorilla sounds)
Toad: Yeehoo!
Wario: Waahaha
Yoshi: Yoshi!
D.K: auhehuaha
Wario: Doh I Missed
Toad when he crashes: auaouaouaoa
@@roninb4826 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂(sorry for the crying emoji)
Mario Kart 64 like we've never seen it before, and yet it's the Mario Kart that's been right in front of our eye for over 20 years. Great video by the way!
Been waiting for low poly to return :) thanks it’s awesome
How is this news? If you played Mario Kart 64 and didn't notice that all the characters were pre-rendered sprites, you clearly weren't paying attention. Also, you act like billboarding (rendering a flat model so it's always perpendicular to the screen) was somehow new or advanced tech, when games had been doing it for years by that point. Everything from Super Mario 64's trees to all of Doom's in game sprites were programmed to do something similar. It's not like they invented the technique.
It's news to people that only played the limited number of Nintendo stuff that used those techniques and never ventured out to any other system or computer.
it's news for these teenager youtubers though. we kinda forget there are people that were born AFTER the 90's. hard to believe, but they do exist.
GraveUypo I’m a teen, but I knew that they were sprites (well to be fair, spriters resource kind of gave it away for me before I actually played the game for real. Plus I’m a nerd for this kind of stuff)
Finally! I love your videos ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
I actually do enjoy the Low Poly episodes you do, I hope you continue this series
So happy this is back, was legit watching the sonic mania episode 3 days ago and hoping it would return.
YAY MAYRO KART LOW POLY THANK U SO MUCH
I knew since day 1 (in 1997) that they used 2D sprites. It's quite obvious.
huh, i really like this so i went to look at the older episodes. this one is REALLY different from all the others. i kind of hope you keep doing these kinds. it was REALLY neat!
Been busy glad to finally sit down and watch another episode of Low poly!
Even as a kid, on a CRT I could tell it's not 3D, many games in that time used similar techniques
The way they move too looks like animations you would give like a sprite especially when the camera turns around on a character
Like a good old youtuber said, they are not even convincing sprites, they are not well cropped out and the animation makes the gameplay harder for not being perfectly in sync with your movement contrary to DKR or CTR.
It was obvious back then, that the characters were sprites, when I was a kid... even with CRT.
obvious to you, but not everyone had that technical understanding.
Gameking read these comments lmao yes they did
Gameking Even as a Kid you can tell the difference between 3D and 2D. I mean it's flat vs not flat.
This is my favorite series! I hope this continues
Yessss, please keep Low Poly going. I love this series!!!
" A very blury CRT!" A CLOWN COMMENT !
At 2:57 If you look at the model a certain way it looks like Mario's head is rotating in the other direction
Wow that’s so creepy it also looks like Mario’s head has turned fully backwards
very excited for this series to come back! I've watched the old episodes too many times...
I'm glad this came back... honestly this adds a lot of spice to the gaming scene. Really hope we get more of this.. hopefully you enjoy making these episodes?
I always knew that the characters in the game were just sprits and not fully 3d models.
Yeah, I mean, even back when this game was new it wasn't hard for me to tell, and I was barely a teenager back then, it wasn't some brain-breaking moment to find out they were sprites.
@@Cyber_Akuma yeah it was obvious. there were other full 3d games you could compare it to.
You should do a Low Poly of Link in Zelda!
I agree entirely
Finally another episode of the best video series of the channel
I would honestly enjoy to see more episodes of low poly this series is very interesting
Okay but like can we get a low poly with comparisons between games again
I thought it was kinda obvious that everything was just sprites... Playing the GBA version helped me realize that lol
I was pleasantly surprised when I did a search on youtube for lowpoly for the first time in about a year to see if you did a new episode and Yes you did yesterday. about f****** time XD
Yes keep the series coming ;)
FINALLY YESS THE MOST INTERESTING SERIES THAT IVE EVER SEEN HAS FINALLY RETURNED TO ME!!!!!!
Can you make a low Poly Mario Kart Double Dash Please 💯🔝🤩👏🏼
Isn't MKDD a high poly game?
Aaahhh💡🤔
*we need every mario kart*
Yes💡👌👏🏼👏🏼🔝💯🔝
@@Jellykrop The character polygons look very low poly compared to other gamecube games like Super Smash Bros melee.
Ita funny to me because I already knew they were sprites since the old n64 days.
Thank you TH-cam for waiting 4 days to recommend me this even though I rewatched all the old episodes 3 times
I haven't seen this video in my sub box. Only seeing your post about it alerted me to this video. Sorry you're and the many whos videos aren't getting to their respective subs. Love your vids. So insightful and a unique way to look at video games.
4:41 “Luigi Circuit.” You know it’s called Luigi Raceway, right?
you ever heard of region specific names?
All Raceways are called Circuits in the Japanese version. Not sure about the European version.
Shut the fuck up, nerd.
Wow, who cares?
That's cool but it was hardly unusual and it is how DooM sprites work (though admittedly with way less frames)
i would love to see a full series of just level breakdowns, and have one day when a full game is covered and you can just binge watch it.
Thank you, ive always wondered the same and your conclusions are spot on. Great sir
Nice video. I love your low poly series so much! ❤️
and btw...
FIRST!
What does btw mean
stanio's adventure btw = by the way
TheZCGamer *Blue shell*
Please do the in-depth breakdown of all the tracks of MK64.
Yes, yes, yes. I'm so happy to see this series coming back. Must say though I'd be much more intrigued to see the character models of other franchises.
I thought these guys were 2d sprites for a while. Thanks for proving me right!
The sprites were for performance issues, not memory issues. The 64 frames are because 64 is the smallest power of two that looks smooth. It's why the N64 is called N64 as well. The N64 is 64-bit, and 64 is the smallest power of 2 that's efficient in a processor.
Edited, because these butthurt stereotypes keep misinterpreting everything I say.
that's total bs. Nintendo used a 64 bit mips cpu, ,which is why it is named that. not because they liked some random power of 2
@@dragontamer1341 ...and why is it 64-bit? Because:
2^3 = 8 bit
2^4 = 16 bit
2^5 = 32 bit
2^6 = 64 bit
POWER OF 2
@@skateboardhaver9493 what does it have to do with 64 being a power of 2? They could have used 40 frames and it would still work. 32 and 64 bit refer to the way the cpu handles data, with 32 bit only being able to have integers, memory addresses etc which are 32 bits wide. it also doesn't mean there are 2 32 bit processors or whatever other bs you think
@@dragontamer1341 Because powers of 2 make the most sense from a programmers perspective.
@@skateboardhaver9493 there you go, they didn't choose 64 because they just liked the number.
I knew that the characters were sprites for the longest time lol
Awesome! This is something that I recognized, even as a kid I was realized that the karts and trees were very different from any model on the n64, then I learned about "billboards" in 3d animation, but to see it live in really cool
It's a shame my subscription box failed me and I only knew about this video because of your Twitter, regardless I'm glad I watched it eventually! As usual, awesome video, glad to see this series back!
I always thought the character model/sprites looked really bad In Mario kart 64. It was always obvious to me it was a 2d cheat.
Dear Andy,
If you do Link next episode... I will make 50,000 different accounts to like that video.
Idk man, sounds doubtful.
@@Nov-5062 sshhhhh... im tring to convince him.
This is fascinating! And I'd love to see more Mario Kart. :)
I’m so happy right now, I should be sleeping but instead I’m watching an episode of a series that i never thought would come out!