Wow thanks Pyke for the detailed answer,
I was actually assuming you were using the other technique (i.e. static images that you then cleverly manipulate in the engine), for example that the sliding door was a static image of a door that you animate the coordinates of,
but indeed you would then not get the floor/console reflecting the change as a door opens, something which I didn't conciously notice (until now) but may indeed be why everything felt more real than a simple trick.
Sounds like a technical-art-nightmare and like all those video-files might make for a big download-file, but it sure does make it look pretty!
