Originally posted by Lightspeed
Yeah, the other solutions might be better. And about that last paragraph...
I'm proud that it is like that. The more 2D the game stays, the better it will play and look. Have you looked at any newer games with their '1337 3d explosions'? They look so incredibly bad compared to FS2's beautiful prerendered animations and are substinentially slower (as they have to be rendered from scratch).
Staying in 2D, things will not only be FASTER, but also LOOK BETTER, if done the right way. Just look at shockwaves. You can *never* recreate the detail you can put into a prerendered 2-D image/animation in a realtime 3D environment.
You can have an explosion in-game that took 6 hours to render on your computer, without any noticeable slow-down 
I've nothing against prerendered artwork, but when it's just plastered in without being mapped to a 3D mesh, it looks butt-ugly. Besides, even a half decent particle system is capable of creating the type of explosions currently in FS2, it ain't exactly like they're the top notch result of a good FX artist.
For one, the retail ones look unnaturally atmospheric (instead of vacuum). Plus they is clipped very visibly, the replacements sofar offered, bring down performance even more than a better than half-decent particle system...without looking half as good...
nebulaes look like they're wallpapered on the inside of a box.
Boy, I guess it's obvious I'm loosing interrest in FS2_open already...it's a pity to see all these great efforts go to waste on the majority of those that should still be able to enjoy FS2_open, but can't AAR of the growing uber requirements.
Example: I can have UT2K4 with all bells and whistles running like silk on my PII500 with just 384Megs in 1024x768, but FS_open just won't anymore, it simply dies...and this ain't exactly helping in growing a larger interrest in spacesims to such levels that, dare I say it...a triquel could be considered...and you know what's the reason?
Folks going overboard on detail and FX you will hardly ever see, simply because you don't get the time to come close enough or just busy staying alive and pushing missiles up someones tailpipe...or on itty bitty mesh details that no one is going to notice but the artist and those having drooled over the carefully posed screenshots, in that single one position in which the effect is visible...(out of a possible 360 degrees arc of viewpoints for every other direction)
and nice colours? well if that's your no. 1 prerequirement, I've still got a couple of sheets lying around from the flower power era, guaranteed to let you see colours you've never even seen in any game
come'on!!!
And that is the difference between you and me, you see FS_open as your artistical playground, to prove what you are capable of. Me, I am more interrested in seeing these same efforts and talents applied to show what FS_open could be capable of...as it is now, the game itself is being turned into something to show off nice GFX instead of gameplay...
