The project has been established, but it's still the planning team's job.
Before the development team can officially begin work, there is one very important thing that needs to be resolved.
Its carrier.
Such a massive and ambitious project is absolutely beyond the capacity of the current CD format.
If we were to compress it to 650MB, we would likely have to sacrifice a significant amount of detail.
That wasn't the outcome Lin Lixin wanted.
But that's just how things are.
I'm not afraid of encountering problems; I'm afraid of not knowing where the problems are.
Now that we know it's a capacity limitation, solving it might not be that complicated.
With Sam's swift coordination and Lin Lixin's comprehensive patent technology Support, the new CD drive head and new CD are already under development in the laboratory.
Since it was a hardware project, the project manager sent by GAMENOVA was naturally Mark Cerny.
Upon seeing Lin Lixin arrive at the laboratory, he took the initiative to explain his recent achievements.
"Lin, if backward compatibility is a must, we should probably adopt a dual-laser architecture, with a 780nm laser and a 650nm laser."
The specifications of lasers vary so much that it's difficult to design coatings and objectives using the same light source.
Lin Lixin nodded noncommittally.
Developing optical disc drive heads is definitely the most important project this year.
This is crucial to how far they can go on the path of independent development in optical disc drive technology.
The more independent technologies a company has, the less it can reduce its dependence on Sony and Philips ' technologies.
But it's by no means a simple matter.
The biggest technical challenge lies in materials science.
Materials science will always be a field where you can only rely on luck.
Just like drawing cards, you never know which cloud will bring rain.
The materials used for the new discs and the disc drive head all need to be completely reconsidered.
The research and development investment involved here is enormous.
Fortunately, as a time traveler, Lin Lixin at least had a general idea in his mind, which greatly narrowed down the scope of the process of elimination.
"There's no problem with the glass substrates from Corning; we can currently produce the corresponding specifications. The laser units are a major challenge at the moment."
Cerny said, showing several verification reports.
These are materials lab projects resulting from collaborations between engineering teams from Lam Research, Motorola, Gamenova, and Lockheed.
"Currently, the best performing component is AlGaInP, which performs exceptionally well in short-wavelength laser diodes, but we are still searching for the right ratio."
The main research and development goal is to control the wavelength to 650nm or even shorter.
Although the difference between 780nm and 650nm is only about 100nm, it is enough for optical discs to undergo a complete generational iteration.
When light is focused by an objective lens manufactured by Corning, it becomes a very, very small spot of light.
The shorter the wavelength, the smaller the light spot.
Correspondingly, its optical resolution will naturally increase exponentially.
At a microscopic level, there are actually concentric tracks along the disc, covered with countless tiny pits.
This is the principle behind how optical discs store data.
When the light spot hits the pit and is reflected back to the CD drive head, the CD drive knows that the data here is 1; otherwise, it is 0.
Ultimately, computer files are all stored in binary format.
The higher the density of the orbitals, the smaller the light spot and the higher the resolution, and naturally the larger the file that can be stored.
Of course, this is only a macro-level perspective.
Lin Lixin also left Sony with a truly unexpected and wonderful gift.
However, now is not the time to reveal that technology.
A higher-density optical disc will suffice for the time being.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Does the lab have any rough estimates? What size can it be made in mass production?"
This is what Lin Lixin truly cares about.
This will affect the development plans of the project team.
"Hiss—if we follow the formula, substituting 650nm into λ/NA—the optical resolution can be improved by over 50%."
"So?"
"Minimum capacity: 900MB; theoretically, with process optimization, it could even reach 1GB!"
At this point, Cerny's face finally broke into a relaxed expression, revealing an excited smile.
That's 1GB!
GAMENOVA might have the opportunity to become the world's first company to produce optical discs with a capacity exceeding 1GB.
This will definitely go down in history.
"1GB----If we also use our hidden tricks, hoho----"
Lin Lixin grinned, unable to contain his excitement.
This thing will definitely give Sony a little technological shock.
It's worth noting that when the PS1 was first released, it used a standard 2x speed disc drive, and the discs were of standard CD capacity.
Although it has not yet been put into actual production, GAMENOVA has already successfully taken the lead in this field.
"Very good. Tell DuPont to pay more attention to the disc substrate and optical adhesive we need; this is a goldmine."
It's true that professionals should do what they're good at.
Just as the hardware sector is home to numerous America industry giants, Lucas certainly has a wide network of connections in the arts.
It's more accurate to say that he has extensive connections in various industries.
He's a well-known independent producer in Hollywood, and he has countless influential figures in the industry.
Over the course of a few days, a large group of researchers were invited to Skywalker Ranch.
"Internal voices? Ah, I guess you mean Broca's area in the brain. In fact, we should thank Mr. Lin for his efforts in this area."
The speaker was a neuroscience researcher.
After hearing that Lucas had mentioned the mystical spiritual system behind the project, I joined the team without hesitation.
"I?"
Hearing him say that, Lin Lixin felt somewhat uncomfortable.
After all, this flattery was a bit too over the top.
However, the other party's words were clearly not unfounded.
"Yes! To be precise, it's the Photosensitive Epilepsy Research Fund you founded. The University of California has always been dedicated to researching ways to treat epilepsy."
He said, "We recorded the subjects' brainwave signals through extensive microelectrode testing, and guess what?"
"Have you captured the inner language?"
"Exactly! So when I heard about it, I rushed over immediately."
"----Okay, then you should thank Sam, the world's first patient with Photosensitive Epilepsy."
Upon learning the full story, Lin Lixin burst into laughter.
I never expected that this matter would still be connected.
In any case, having a group of professionals involved can certainly inject a lot of fresh blood into the project.
"So—you're the new art director?"
Lin Lixin turned his head slightly, leaned down a little, and looked at the 82-year-old man sitting in a wheelchair.
"This is Mr. Francis Bacon, a great artist from Ireland. We met at an art exhibition in Madrid."
Lucas offered to introduce them on their behalf.
This old man is a master in every sense of the word, and also the most controversial master in the art world.
His paintings are filled with restlessness, ruggedness, chaos, and intense violence and nightmarish imagery.
Various distortions, deformations, and blurs are frequently seen in his paintings.
Despite his exceptionally high level of painting skills, the outward manifestation of his mad inner world in his works led to his rejection by the mainstream art world.
Even Mrs. Thatcher once commented on him in this way:
The person who painted those horrible pictures.
These deeds make it easy to see what kind of unconventional master he was.
When Lucas heard Lin Lixin describe that absurd dystopian world to him, the first person that came to his mind was this master.
"Hoo-ho," Bacon murmured in his throat.
Clearly, at his age, his physical functions are no longer up to par.
It's like a body that's constantly decaying.
A faint, almost imperceptible tearing sound emanated from his lungs, yet it was clearly transmitted through his body to his brain.
" Revachol ----"
He muttered a term that only people on the project team knew.
This is the name of the city where the game map is located.
Tell me about Revachol.
"0h----Of course, Mr. Bacon, I think you'll like it."
Revachol, a complex city.
Once a world capital that amassed enormous Fortune, the city underwent monarchical rule and scientific communism, international colonization, capitalist alienation, riots, and wars, and was ultimately razed to the ground by nuclear bombs.
Chaotic ideological conflicts, religious clashes, economic depression, and all sorts of destabilizing factors have been integrated here.
In the aftermath of the war, people generally turned to alcohol and drugs to numb themselves.
"Ah---- Revachol, so charming."
Bacon muttered, struggling to lift his head to look at Lin Lixin.
GAMENOVA is to the gaming world what he was to the art world in his younger days.
They don't adhere to tradition, but freely express what's hidden in their inner world.
"Do you have any art supplies here? I already have an idea—"
"Uh, Tim, go to the library. I prepared something for the old man."
Lucas immediately called out.
As for preparation—well, there was no time to prepare.
Who would have thought the old man would have such refined tastes, improvising on a whim?
Despite his advanced age, he still has the same youthful energy and drive as when he was young.
Such people might unexpectedly be a good fit for their projects.
Of course, given the old man's current state, it's impossible to let him be fully responsible for drawing all the materials.
If they outlive this old man to death, that would be a real spectacle.
Just like Saul Bass did with " Mirror's Edge," Francis Bacon's role will naturally be that of art director.
What matters is his ideas and his style.
"Let me think—we need a high-precision, large-size CCD scanner to input Mr. Bacon's paintings."
Hmm... we'll probably need the help of Cedars-Sinai's medical team.