Looking Back

I have been rewatching
“Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles” and “Babylon 5”.

I always loved “Roughnecks”  and was impressed by the quality and quantity of the animation.    Just was a well done fun show.  I pretty much don’t complain about anything in it.  Because after all it was a weekly tevlevision series for lack of a better word a cartoon.  Well thats how it was viewed.   And being a  Lightwave user at that time I knew what went into the show.  Although people through around the words dated alot now days I think it holds up well.  

“Babylon 5” which also gets battered with harsh critisms of bad or wooden soap opera acting,. cheap set, make up  and dated CG.  All reasons I couldn’t get into the show at the time.  Even though I loved the ship designs.  The Starfury being one of my favorite all time ships.   The show just didn’t work for me.  I wanted it too sense it was done with lightwave. 

As far as the CG with the show I think people don’t get that it was 1993.  Lightwave was on 3.0 and 3.1 and still on Videotoaster.     Lightwave made its first official pc version in 1995 Lightwave 4.0.   So in 1993 program and computer memory issues limited what could be done.  There were so many features that had not been introduced yet.  No UV mapping.   Image maps had to be small.   No radiosity.  Render times were crippling.   We could go on and on. 

I’m watching  it now and plan on watching the whole series and the movies.   I’m enjoying the show.  Yes it’s dated.  Yes the CG is overlit.   There is plenty wrong with the CG.  Looking at it through the eyes of 1993 it was impressive.    I still love the watching the CG space scenes.   

It does inspire me to play with the Babylon 5 universe in Lightwave.

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105946/    Babylon 5

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190198/     Roughnecks