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Message: [QUOTE="RETRO-VETRO, post: 320925, member: 95464"] Totally fair to explore the “what if” scenario speculation is half the fun when talking about retro tech. And yeah, in theory, a system could pre-render a massive number of frames from a 3-D scene and store them for rapid access. With enough storage and clever indexing, you could simulate interactivity by jumping between frames based on input. It’s kind of like a supercharged version of Dragon’s Lair, but with more nuance. But the challenge isn’t just technical it’s logistical. The number of permutations needed to allow fluid movement, camera control, and responsive gameplay would be astronomical. Even with DVD or Blu-ray storage, you’d hit a wall pretty quickly. And once you factor in branching paths, physics, lighting changes, and player agency, it becomes clear why real-time rendering won out: it’s scalable, flexible, and doesn’t require pre-baking every possible outcome. So yes, it could be done in a limited way, and maybe a PC-FX with cutting-edge hardware could’ve pushed that envelope. But FMV’s core limitation is that it’s locked to what’s already been rendered. That makes it great for storytelling, but tough for dynamic gameplay. Still, imagining what FMV could’ve become if it had evolved alongside hardware is a fascinating rabbit hole. It’s a reminder of how many paths gaming history could have taken. [/QUOTE]

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