New official cross section picture of prometheus ship

[T Dog]

I'm glad that the fire proof wind-screen  probably means that Janek doesn't die in that collision in the trailer.

On the other hand, if he does, f**k those advertising c***s.

[Deuterium]

I wouldn't have described it as "down to Earth."  It enters an atmosphere yet it has no aerodynamic qualities.  B5's Thunderbolts are atmoshere capable Star Furies, and you can see all the design changes made to make them work in an atmosphere.  They've even got sweet little fins that rotate out.  The little cult TV show put enough thought into this minor ship, to give it wings for atmospheric flight, but tuck the wings back in towards the center of mass when in space so it can roll better, and they found an elegant way to do it.  They made it look cool and functional.

In Prometheus we have the star vehicle of a Hollywood A movie with a big budget, and you can see that they just didn't care.  It's a few odd shapes and greebling.  All that greebling doesn't create hot spots that burn holes in the ship and cause it to explode.  It has a complicated engine rotation system that better not malfunction because they're sure not repairing it without a space dock. 

Currenty, the functional shape of vehicles designed for human re-entry is to use atmospheric drag to slow down the vehicle by translating it's enormous kinetic energy into heat.  Crewed capsules use a blunt-body lifting shape.  The Space Shuttle used a delta-wing body shape.  These vehicles are subject to significant heat flux, which is created by intense atmospheric compression (not friction) ahead of the vehicle.  Thermal protection is achieve by either using ablative material (e.g. Apollo capsules) or a thermal protection system (e.g. reinforced carbon-carbon and ceramic heat tiles on Shuttle).  Technically, both types are classified as "lifting re-entry", as their re-entry trajectory is non-ballistic.  The controlled angle of rentry allows for a slower re-entry and high lift to drag ratios, even for the blunt-body capsule shape.  A completely "ballistic" re-entry assumes only drag forces (no lift).  Direct, ballistic re-entry is not typically survivable by a human crew, especially at the speeds of the Apollo return capsule (25,000 mph), due to the high sustained g-loads.

However, advanced futuristic spacecraft in the science-fiction genre do not generally make either a ballistic or lifting entry..and are not subject to the same thermal and dynamic stresses.  Most sci-fi entry and landings employ some method of powered flight, which can greatly reduce entry speed and minimize thermal and dynamic loads.   Thus are those pretty greeblings saved! 

[bioweapon]

To me it's pretty self explanatory

Prometheus
http://www.fona.de/mediathek/foto/B_5_4_1_Schiffe_teaser.jpg

Nostromo
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1234/1029847825_a5c83e0d66.jpg

Sulaco


Love the designs I've seen sofar from Prometheus - all of them 

Bingo! Nice work.

Prometheus


Nostromo


at the end, is the same question. did you feel real or do you feel like wanna play videogames. No matter how cool or clean or grunge, if its cgi human eyes can notice. There so few cgi out there who really blow mind and pass like a real thing.

Prometheus is not.

at this pace this kind of guys would be extinct


so this one

[JKS1]

To me it's pretty self explanatory

Prometheus
http://www.fona.de/mediathek/foto/B_5_4_1_Schiffe_teaser.jpg

Nostromo
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1234/1029847825_a5c83e0d66.jpg

Sulaco


Love the designs I've seen sofar from Prometheus - all of them 

Bingo! Nice work.

Prometheus
http://www.creativecrash.com/system/photos/000/115/202/115202/big/Cruise_ship_02.jpg?1327992039

Nostromo


at the end, is the same question. did you feel real or do you feel like wanna play videogames. No matter how cool or clean or grunge, if its cgi human eyes can notice. There so few cgi out there who really blow mind and pass like a real thing.

Prometheus is not.

at this pace this kind of guys would be extinct
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/18ryjay.jpg

so this one
http://www.hrgiger.com/images/maske.jpg

This nails it for me

The problem I have with the Prometheus is not the aesthetic design of the ship itself but that the external shots, at least almost all the ones weve seen in the trailer so far, look like obvious CGI - it just doesnt look like it actually exists in 'real 3D solid space'

Whereas The Nostromo did look like it existed in 'real 3D solid space'

And thats it

Even today with the so called advances in CGI tech, model ships still look more real, believable, solid and 'there in reality' than any CGI rendering

Same with Avatar, the flying craft and those battle robot things all looked like what they were....CGI

I just wished Ridley and co went old school when portraying the external views of the Prometheus, with an actual model, and then enhance this model with a little CGI tweaking here and there where necessary

[ChrisPachi]

at the end, is the same question. did you feel real or do you feel like wanna play videogames. No matter how cool or clean or grunge, if its cgi human eyes can notice. There so few cgi out there who really blow mind and pass like a real thing.

Prometheus is not.

at this pace this kind of guys would be extinct
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/18ryjay.jpg

Ironically, I thought that the battle cruisers in Starship Troopers were done in CGI, until I watched a 'making of' feature. The point is that I couldn't tell the difference, so ultimately it doesn't matter how it's done as long as it works.

Some people just cannot accept CGI effects as looking real when they know in advance that it is CGI they are looking at - my brother is one of them, so is my wife. Thankfully I don't have this problem and can suspend my disbelief regardless. The marketing render of the ship looks pretty in a video game kind of way (ie. horrible) but in the film sequences it looks bang on IMO.

[JKS1]

at the end, is the same question. did you feel real or do you feel like wanna play videogames. No matter how cool or clean or grunge, if its cgi human eyes can notice. There so few cgi out there who really blow mind and pass like a real thing.

Prometheus is not.

at this pace this kind of guys would be extinct
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/other/18ryjay.jpg

Ironically, I thought that the battle cruisers in Starship Troopers were done in CGI, until I watched a 'making of' feature. The point is that I couldn't tell the difference, so ultimately it doesn't matter how it's done as long as it works.

Some people just cannot accept CGI effects as looking real when they know in advance that it is CGI they are looking at - my brother is one of them, so is my wife. Thankfully I don't have this problem and can suspend my disbelief regardless. The marketing render of the ship looks pretty in a video game kind of way (ie. horrible) but in the film sequences it looks bang on IMO.

Dont make silly assumptions

I was hoping before I saw any trailers that for the Prometheus exterior shots theyd be using models

I had no idea what theyd be doing

Then I saw the trailers and it was only once I saw the trailers that it became obvious that theyd gone and done what I'd hoped they wouldnt and used CGI almost entirely

Am not an insider or obsessive geek following the ins and out of this production so how would I know in advance whether or not theyd be using CGI ??!

What I see onscreen is CGI and it just doesnt look real

[SM]

Some people just cannot accept CGI effects as looking real when they know in advance that it is CGI they are looking at

I agree.  With the proliferation of behind the scenes stuff these it's very easy to find out in advance how an effect will be achieved, and no matter how good it is, they won't buy it.  And even if they do, some will still be contrary and moan.

Thankfully I don't have this problem and can suspend my disbelief regardless.

So can I generally.  Some stuff is a giveaway because you know that the effect could not be achieved in any other way - Transformers for example.  No matter how crappy the storyline, I totally bought the robots.  Same with Avatar.  I saw the trailers and thought "Oooh, that looks terribly fake".  When I saw the film thought I did an about face.  The visuals were very convincing - and it was the script that was kinda fake...

I've yet to see a shot in a trailer that stood out as fake.

Even though it - set, model or pixel - is ALL fake.

[ChrisPachi]

Some people just cannot accept CGI effects as looking real when they know in advance that it is CGI they are looking at - my brother is one of them, so is my wife.

Dont make silly assumptions

I wasn't talking about your good self, just other people that I know (see above) - obviously you are different, no problemo. I can't see the 'fake' in the trailers like you say - the technology stuff looks great IMO - apart from maybe the Jockey in situ shot.