A testament to how beautiful it was is that it is still beautiful. Relics designers have a real good eye for what matters. The engine trails in Homeworld 1 are

A testament to how beautiful it was is that it is still beautiful. Relics designers have a real good eye for what matters. The engine trails in Homeworld 1 are a really good example of design that is cheap (to compute), communicates something (speed, trajectory, size and amount of ships) and helps in identification (team color). Company of Heroes and Dawn of War have similar things, like weapons that are not necessarily realistic, but show an immediate visual and audible "feel" of what they do.