Wing Commander IV Storyboards - Scene 120 (November 17, 2010)

[Bandit LOAF]

Scene 120 is the end of Captain Paulson! I wonder if there was a separate storyboard to show the 'disabled' version of the initial CGI or of that was something clever that was developed at Origin.

These storyboard images were recovered from a backup CD containing materials belonging to Origin's web development team. They were dated November 17, 1995 and were likely planned for a never-completed web feature.

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Original update published on November 17, 2010

 

[LeHah]

Doesn't Seether dispatch Paulson differently in the novel? Kicking him out of the airlock or something?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

He slits his throat in both versions, but the book continues the scene and has him dispose of the body in the shuttle's airlock.

 

[Bob McDob]

He slits his throat in both versions, but the book continues the scene and has him dispose of the body in the shuttle's airlock.

Which leads to an amusing follow-up sequence at the end of the book's Peleus arc:

 Blair stopped. "What is that smell?
 "Smell?" Tolwyn replied.
 "Yeah, it smells like blood back here."
 Tolwyn sniffed. "I don't smell anything. Perhaps it's something in the filters." He indicated the airlock.

(249)

I wonder if there was a separate storyboard to show the 'disabled' version of the initial CGI or of that was something clever that was developed at Origin.

Isn't the primary point of storyboards to show camera angles, movements, that sort of thing? If that's the case, then even if that was an idea at this stage, there wouldn't be much point to drawing another storyboard just for that one shot - the only difference between the two scenes is the effects (Lexington's lights) and textures (not being blown to hell again). Everything else is the same - the list of the carrier portward, the angle and position of the Intrepid as she jumps out. I don't know how Maya-1995 exactly worked (I'm not even sure how Maya 2010 works), but it seems likely that the same base was used for both scenes, with the Lex-specific elements being layered or composited or however for that specific render.