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[Tesseract]

in sinclair's name

 

[a916]

Are we sure that OP isn't submitting this question from the past?

If so OP we have to stop messing with time, you might cause a singularity

 

[Dictator93]

Someone blur some of those SC shots, I bet you they end up looking more "cinematic".

here we are, cinematified

 

[ClaptoVaughn]

This is what happens what you don't compare two things with the same level of scrutiny.

The OP is forgiving of the blur and age of Babylon 5, yet highly critical of screenshots from today's games.

 

[Messofanego]

You can still tell thats a game though, you wouldn't use that footage in a TV show would you!.
That cgi style and look, we still haven't reached it yet INGAME imo.

You want a game to look like that tv show's cgi? Looks ugly as sin now.

 

[Kinthalis]

Ha! Yep, definitely looks more like CGI, but not "better".

Original:

 

[galvatron]

They have beaten it and have been doing it for a long time. Kind of mind boggling you think they haven't.

Agreed.

Baylon5 CG was laughable in its day, let alone now...it beat star fox, but it was in no way convincing.

 

[TheChaos0]

I want to watch some Babylon 5 now, OP. What have you done!? But seriously B5 cgi was pretty decent but pretty much looks better than it.

 

[Kasper]

All this thread does is make me want a Babylon 5 game.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

I guess the OP never played Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader 14 years ago?

 

[PaulloDEC]

Seems pretty clear that the OP is talking about IQ-type stuff, i.e. realistic motion blur, high quality AA, etc. Stuff that usually seperates the look of realtime visuals from pre-rendered visuals.

The Order is the first game I've seen that really blurs the line between pre-rendered and real-time computer graphics (not in the sense that it looks better than other games posted in this thread, but that it focuses a lot of energy specifically on that task), so I'm guessing it won't be long before similar visual tricks are being applied to space games.

 

[Ramenman]

You can still tell thats a game though, you wouldn't use that footage in a TV show would you!.
That cgi style and look, we still haven't reached it yet INGAME imo.

what ? "you can still tell that's a game" ? How does that compare to what you've linked ?

Do you think we "can't tell it's a TV show" ? or "can't tell it's CGI" ? This comment doesn't make any sense towards your point. I'm lost.

 

[WorriedCitizen]

Not sure what Op is smoking. Babylon 5 CG looked cheap even back then.

 

[MrCunningham]

Not sure what Op is smoking. Babylon 5 CG looked cheap even back then.

As much as I like B5, I have to agree. The CGI just wasn't very good looking, even back then.

 

[GoldenCrow]

OP that looks like Final Fantasy 7 with slightly better IQ.

 

[Hex]

Nostalgia goggles?
Nostalgia goggles.

 

[shockdude]

here we are, cinematified

Yeah I can see where the OP is coming from. The blur and artifacts do a good job of hiding the sharp edges and tricking the brain in general. If Babylon 5 was rendered at 1080p with no blur it'd look just as videogamey (and also much worse).
I'd prefer playing games with cinematic filters turned off, though I might use them to show off to other people.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

I came here to do a reasonable post, but I found this thread is bananas.

Is the OP a joke I don't get or something?

 

[Verilligo]

On a purely technical level, B5's CGI has been eclipsed by a country mile. But I agree with the OP in that there is something I always saw in the CGI that I have yet to properly see in recent games. It can likely be brought down to a lot of things that have already been said, what with lighting and shadows, increased AA, etc. Basically things that don't get put into regular gameplay because most of the time you aren't in a choreographed cutscene, which is essentially what B5's CGI was.

B5 did very well, though, at portraying a sense of scale. Large cruisers FELT like large cruisers, even if technical details of the modeling and CGI fell apart when viewed under a magnifying glass. With most modern space games, it feels like I'm looking at tiny plastic models rather than actual ships of war. The Star Citizen trailer posted earlier is a pretty good example of that for me, something about it seems too neat and clean.

B5 also tended to spend less of its attention on space scenes, barring the large battles where choreography made up for everything else. When it's a flash in the pan as a companion to the actual meat of the story, you tend to be more forgiving.

 

[Clear]

B5's CG was remarkably well-directed for its time, they were using fake-camera tricks like pop-zooms a long time before Firefly and the animation and scene composition was vastly superior to its contemporaries.

You don't look at B5's stuff for its image quality, even drek like Space Above and Beyond had significantly more detailed renders in its day, but for the way that it was the first show to really embrace what CG brings to the table in terms of motion and modelling. I mean specific designs like the Vorlon and shadow ships were shapes that were practically impossible to do as motion-control models.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Alright, back from work.

You want cool space backgrounds? Watch this distant nebula video. So many stars in that region too

Inside tour of the city found in the station canyons outside with flight assist off

Aint nothing like a cockpit blowing up in space and you have to go back to the station in a rush to survive Forgive the oculus resolution, but its one of the best moment i've experienced in gaming lately (i didnt make the video but it happened a few times to me so..)

 

[Fbh]

I don't even know why people post screenshots of Star Citizen.
I think even Rogue Squadron 2 on the gamecube looks as good as that CGI

 

[BlackLagoon]

Where is my game in BABYLON 5 universe?

In Activision's vaults sadly. Babylon 5: Into the Fire was supposed to come out in 99-00-ish, had new scenes filmed with the series cast, Newtonian physics for the space ships like the show... It got canceled by Sierra, but a few of the devs banded together and tried to put together a deal to buy the assets and complete the game. They almost succeeded, getting a publisher willing to fund it as an Xbox launch title, but Havas who had bought Sierra refused to deal with them, and by the time a fan campaign managed to get them to budge it was too late and the publisher had pulled out.

Yeah, I watched Babylon 5 from the get-go. CGI (in my opinion) never looked as good as ST:TNG's practical effects. It was cool tech though. I thought B5 was more impressive in it's costuming and makeup effects.

I remember finding the TNG's effects dreadfully boring in comparison. The models may look pretty, but they were far more expensive and limited in what they could do. So it seemed to be space battles in Trek were more about exploding computer consoles than actual space ships.

This is very true.
The loss of practical effects, especially when mixed with CGI, is really felt. ST Voyager was the pinnacle of TV special effects.

Funny thing, Voyager's CGI was actually done by Foundation Imaging, the same company that did the CGI for B5's first 3 seasons.