From maa### [at] anthrosphinxde:
> Amazing attention to detail! Not sure if many viewers will actually
> notice that the wings on the spacecraft respond to the load that's
> caused by the thrusters...

The movement on the close-up is rather obvious, and was fairly simple
to build into the model.

From mar### [at] ulethca:
> Very nice concept and nicely animated.  A few picky suggestions.  The
> horizon of your space launch is kind of non descript (perhaps some
> distant trees or clouds in the sky).

I might be adding mountains in the background, or something.

> The ship could have used a bit more detail (perhaps some good
> bump maps to highlight the blue patterns).

The blue pattern is simply paint...

> The ship exhaust was well done-looked bunsen burners.

This is the first flame that I'm really proud of.  The new media
is very nice.

> The texture on the earth was a bit lame - there are better ones out
> there.

It's a procedural, and if you look closely isn't really earth.

> The tread animations are well done except for the last scene when the
> speed and distance the robot travels doesn't match up with the
> tread - or maybe that is just that it is going so fast it illustrates
> that optical illustion of slowing down, I have seen in the real world
> as well.

The problem is that the frame rate and the rotation of the wheels
match exactly, leading to a wheel that doesn't look like it's moving.
Motion blur would definitely have helped.

From tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom:
> It's quite a nice piece but seems a little empty. There's not as much
> of a plot as one normally finds in a Rusty animation.

Time constraints drove me to drop the last few shots of Rusty's dream,
in which his shuttle docks with the ship, and he arrives on the
bridge and is greeted by the captain.

> The interior of the spaceport seems a little too small and empty,
> where you'd expect it to be crowded.

True.

> And also the launch pad seems to be next to a pale blue wall, rather
> than out in the open.

The clouds move, albeit slowly.

> Other than that, the design of the spaceship is nice, and all the
> elements that are always in Rusty animations are as nice as ever.

Thanks.

> I also like the view of the planet, which looks very cartoony.

One guy likes it the other guy hated it.

From maa### [at] hotmailcom:
> Pity about the unoriginal space aspect (during this round of the
> competition),

True, a lot of people did space trips.

> but I like many things about this animation: the sharpness and
> crispness (no nasty mpeg issues) and the excellent engines of the
> space craft, quite impressive.

I got the idea from my recall of "Lilo and Stitch," in which one
of the ships has engines that move slightly when thrusting.  Not
hard to do, really.

From jps### [at] yahoocom:
> Two for one, an interesting journey though space and the
> imagination.

Yep, although the idea of Rusty waking up at the end of the animation
has done a bit more than need be.

From cle### [at] dholorg:
> Interesting that Rusty imagines more humanoid future 'bots.

They were in a prior entry; they're characters from his favorite show.

> Nice short story despite the old "dream" ending.

Thanks.

> Design is pretty good, but the stargate could have been a bit more
> spectacular.

It isn't a stargate.  It's a ship.  My October 2002 entry uses it.

> The crawlies on top of the ship wing were a bit irritating.

The writing on the top of the wings is viewed at a very shallow angle,
which causes aliasing problems when they are moved slightly.

> Why did the ship go past instead of through the gate?

Because that's not a gate.  It's another ship (the rings are 200m
in diameter).  Flying a shuttle into the ship's reactor would be
bad for both...

Regards,
John

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