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Nintendo's 3DS - first impressions
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Author name (Administrator) 2011-04-03, 13:58 #1
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Member since May 2011 · 2201 posts · Location: Brisbane
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Subject: Nintendo's 3DS - first impressions
I had a chance to play with a 3DS today, and it's a very attractive piece of hardware.  It's incredibly well built, as you'd expect from a modern Nintendo product, and the 3D works amazingly well.  I can imagine that most of the sales are based solely on the incredible effectiveness of the 3D.

'Cause when I think about it, the rest of the package is not at all compelling.  Nintendo's network isn't finished, so some of the selling features - like downloadable GB and GBA games - don't exist yet.  The library of 3D titles is very, very small so far, and too many of those are re-releases for my liking.  Nintendo's online friend system is rudimentary as well, more akin to Sony's half-assed system than Microsoft's robust connections.

The 3D screen is interesting.  I wondered how they managed to turn the 3D on and off, and present a different degree of 3D-ness to the player, and it took about four seconds of looking at it and adjusting the slider to figure it out.  I might try to break it down and draw some diagrams later just to prove how clever I am.  =)

So I didn't end up getting one, 'cause I don't really need another DS in the house gathering dust, especially one without any must-have games that's region-locked, expensive and poorly supported.  Maybe once Nintendo gets their shit together, or some games I actually want to play come out...

Or until I get tired of sitting here looking at this 2D monitor and cave in to the geek pressure my less rational side is putting to me.  Damn, but that screen looked great in 3D.
BLEARGH
Author name (Administrator) 2011-04-07, 20:42 #2
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I've been trying to work out the best way to explain how the 3DS screen works, and I think I figured it out.  Most of us have seen those ridged 3D pictures, right?  They were popular as postcards, as kids' books etc.  It's called a lenticular image and basically it uses a ridged plastic layer to direct different parts of the image to each eye.

That's the secret to all 3D: each eye needs to see its own image.  Polarized glasses, anaglyph (red and blue) glasses, active LCD glasses like on new 3D TVs (and old game consoles), they all accomplish the same goal in different ways. 

[Image: http://nfgworld.com/grafx/games/DK-lent-4.jpg]
For the original 3DS buyer's advice from VGCats, click here

Here's a CD I found kicking around, it's the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack:

[Image: http://nfgworld.com/grafx/games/DK-lent-1.jpg]

You can't really tell at this size, but it's got a 3D cover.  The jewel case cover has lenticular ridges on it, and the cover image looks 3D.  When you tilt it side to side, you can make the characters shimmer back and forth.  It's a bit of a gimmick, but it mostly works.

[Image: http://nfgworld.com/grafx/games/DK-lent-2.jpg]

This is a close-up of the cover itself, without the ridged plastic layer.  You can see how it's printed with a rather coarse vertical striping, with some parts of the image (the tip of DK's lip for example) much clearer than others (DK's eyes). 

This is how the 3DS screen works, with the obvious difference being the LCD screen behind the lenticular layer instead of a printed piece of cardboard.

What's very interesting is the 3DS 3D slider, which controls the 3D effect (on or off, and the apparent 3D depth when it's on) really only has two settings: on or off.  When the 3D is turned on the software controls the apparent depth.

[Image: http://nfgworld.com/grafx/games/DK-lent-3.jpg]

This is what a lenticular layer looks like close up.  It's just a bunch of ridges, basically, but when you align it with an LCD screen you get 3D magic.  There's nothing to stop manufacturers from doing this with computer monitors, except that some fucker's probably patented it.
BLEARGH
Author name 2011-04-07, 23:11 #3
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User title: 21st century digital boy
Member since Sep 2007 · 17 posts · Location: Cambridge, UK
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I suspect using this on fullsize monitors wouldn't work simply because they're much bigger than a DS screen. On the DS, the screen is so small that as you hold it, each eye will only see one side of the lenticular prisms (which are basically /\ shaped), and thus only one image. On a larger screen, this instantly falls apart - if you sit in the center, it works as long as you don't look at the side of the screen, where both eyes can only see one side of the prism and will thus see the same image.

This is also why there's a relatively narrow window of "optimum distance" for 3DS 3D to work. If you hold it too close, it breaks because you won't be able to see different sides of the prism with either eye, and if you hold it too far you can see both.

It's really clever on the 3DS that way. It wouldn't work on a bigger screen, or one that's much closer or further away from your eyes than about half an arm's length.
"Hell is a pretty rotten place. Not only is it damn hot, but its inhabitants also have a rather deranged sense of humour." (R. Karsmakers)
Author name 2011-04-07, 23:33 #4
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Actually it should work on a larger monitor as long as the viewer's position is taken into account.  Adjusting the spacing or angle of the grooves closer to the edges is not difficult.  In fact, that's how the microlenses on a camera sensor work to capture off-axis light farther from the centre.

It's not a trivial problem obviously, there's gonna be a mighty steep penalty for straying from the sweet spot, but it's not impossible.
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This post was edited on 2011-04-07, 23:36 by Unknown user.
Author name 2011-04-08, 08:58 #5
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User title: 21st century digital boy
Member since Sep 2007 · 17 posts · Location: Cambridge, UK
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Aye, it's just that logically I assume the bigger and further away the screen, the smaller the area your eyes need to be in for it to work. It's unworkable for cinemas for obvious reasons, and I'd guess the positioning for use in TVs or even big monitors would have to be so precise it may not be worth bothering with.
"Hell is a pretty rotten place. Not only is it damn hot, but its inhabitants also have a rather deranged sense of humour." (R. Karsmakers)
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