Improved vfx and models for S2

[Rahul]

It's great to see that the quality of the vfx have notably improved from the first season!

So much was already visible from the trailer for season 2. But with the first Short Trek "Runaway" we now have great comparison shots of the ship from the first season and the current version:

The camera swoop around the ship is almost identical to the introduction shot of the ship in episode 3: COntext is for Kings. Just in reverse!



Overall, it's immediately noticeable how less "cartoon-y" it looks. The lighting has improved a lot (although the image is still pretty darn dark).

The biggest difference I found in the model itself are the textures: They are a lot crisper and more detailed now, and not so washed out. The window boxes now all have depth, and the starfield background looks more muted as well. I think the overall hull color has changed a bit and become more metallic and less golden.

As for the model itself, I haven't found that many differences. They seem to have added a window row just at the bottom of the neck. You can now see into the blue dome at the top, and there are a few addidtional surface lights at the aft. But other than that, the model is still very much the same. Very box-y. All the flat surface areas and straight lines are still the same. It still looks like the NX-01 has more surface level detail, but the presentation is overall much, much more realistic now.

All in all, I can say I'm pretty happy with these improvements!

What's your opinion? What differences did you notice? What did I miss?

 

[Groppler Zorn]

It's great to see that the quality of the vfx have notably improved from the first season!

So much was already visible from the trailer for season 2. But with the first Short Trek "Runaway" we now have great comparison shots of the ship from the first season and the current version:

The opening swoop around the ship is almost identical to the introduction shot of the ship in episode 3: Just in reverse!



Overall, it's immediately noticeable how less "cartoon-y" it looks. The lighting has improved a lot (although the image is still pretty darn dark).

The biggest difference I found in the model itself are the textures: They are a lot crisper and more detailed now, and not so washed out. The window boxes now all have depth, and the starfield background looks more muted as well. I think the overall color has changed a bit and become more metallic.

As for the model itself, I haven't found that many differences. They seem to have added a window row just at the bottom of the neck. You can now see into the blue dome at the top, and there are a few addidtional surface lights at the aft. But other than that, the model is still very much the same. Very box-y. All the flat surface areas and straight lines are still the same. It still looks like the NX-01 has more surface level detail, but the presentation is overall much, much more realistic now.

All in all, I can say I'm pretty happy with these improvements!

What's your opinion? What differences did you notice? What did I miss?

Nice, thanks for these!

They seem to have toned down the Aztecking on the hull from what I can see - maybe a nod to the original enterprise hull?

 

[Rahul]

Nice, thanks for these!

They seem to have toned down the Aztecking on the hull from what I can see - maybe a nod to the original enterprise hull?

I think they completely re-textured the entire ship. The new Azteck has a lot smaller pattern than the original one, and toned the contrast way down. The new pattern looks IMO much more appropriate for the size of the ship now.

 

[Groppler Zorn]

I think they completely re-textured the entire ship. The new Azteck has a lot smaller pattern than the original one, and toned the contrast way down. The new pattern looks IMO much more appropriate for the size of the ship now.

Ah ok - im viewing them on my phone so the aztecking is barely visible!

Since the disco is about the size of the original excelsior I wonder how the hull patterning compares there? Either way these look to be positive developments!

 

[Tuskin38]

It still looks like the NX-01 has more surface level detail,

Smoother = more advanced

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Yeah, I definitely noticed a marked improvement in the quality of the VFX in the short versus last season's lackluster effects, which is a good sign.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

That's definitely a new aztec pattern with much smaller paneling. It makes the ship look WAY bigger and the specularity was toned down; a big improvement! The ship looks less stylized and more Star Trek-y now.

 

[Tuskin38]

The hull texture reminds me of that leaked test footage

 

[Rahul]

Smoother = more advanced

In theory, yes!
I very much like the look of the smooth saucer from above. Those are very kind angles of the ship.

My biggest problem is still with the box-shaped "belly" of the ship. They really can't change the overall shape anymore (that would change the whole ship), but I hope they add some points of visual interest to it as well. Little surface details, transporter emmitters, hatches, or just some hull markings or paint. It looks very... bare...without it. That is essentially still the exact same shape as in the Comic Con teaser:

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I hope they improved that area of the ship as well.
The "belly shot" always has been the weak part of this particular model. A few decals or negative spaces with greeble wouldn't hurt IMO. I'm very interested in when we will see this part of the ship the next time!

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Looks to me light someone just adjusted the brightness!

 

[Rahul]

I'm btw still pretty amazed how they used exactly the same camera movement to introduce the ship each time!
These stills are nearly identical, and they all come from the same two takes swirling around the whole ship! Just in reverse direction.

 

[Ronald Held]

Will these changes last into S2, or just come for Short Treks as an experiment?

 

[XCV330]

damn. Lorca was so villainous he even made them keep the ship's running lights on low.

 

[Tuskin38]

Will these changes last into S2, or just come for Short Treks as an experiment?

I can’t see them changing the ship texture just for this

Should go back over the S2 trailer and see if the hull texture is different there too

 

[Noname Given]

I'm btw still pretty amazed how they used exactly the same camera movement to introduce the ship each time!
These stills are nearly identical, and they all come from the same two takes swirling around the whole ship! Just in reverse direction.

Yes, it's almost like they were programmed and rendered from a digital computer using the same variables...oh, wait...

 

[Tuskin38]

More of the windows also appear to have depth behind them

 

[Rahul]

Yes, it's almost like they were programmed and rendered from a digital computer using the same variables...oh, wait...

They actually changed the angles of the camera a little bit.
But the path it takes around the ship looks to be the same. Reverse direction obviously. Pretty clever way of reducing effort, but still having a polished product.

 

[johnjm22]

The ship CGI is still sub par. It looks cartoony. I can't believe that with as much money as they've spent on this they can't do a better job. Most of the ship shots in TNG look more realistic.

And again, why does space always have to have to something extra in it? There always has to be some nebula, or planet, or space debris, or some color (in this case blue), or flare. We can never get a clean shot of the ship with the backdrop of space.

 

[Hey Missy]

Um sweetie, this isn't the 90s anymore. That's boring.

 

[johnjm22]

Um sweetie, this isn't the 90s anymore. That's boring.

What do you mean exactly?