Check these out!
The FS source code was released awhile ago but we are just now using it to it's full potential!
This is a link to the game's site (now dead), you can get some screenshots of the out-of-the-box game for comparison:
www.freespace2.com
Here's the thread with SPECULAR HIGHLIGHTING! (shiny ships ):
http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/for...?threadid=16686
And here's something for all you anime dudes...some rudimentary cell shading!
http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/for...?threadid=16893
Last, but not least, the first mega-campaing released for Freespace 2....Inferno. Be afraid, for it is coming for you (this mod is compatable with the specular highlitghting exe, so try it out! ):
http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/inferno/
Featuring at least 100 new ships (I don't have the official count, but only ONE SHIP remains from the original FS2), new weapons, new effects, and an awesome story, this campaign will, quite simply, rock. your. world.
EDIT: Stay tuned for the upcoming releases of the next two chapters in this campaign! I don't know what the third will be, but I know one will be told from the Special Operations Command viewpoint!