Kimi K3.1 Pro vs Opus 5.5: Roadster launch animation
Same six-step prompt for a Three.js Roadster launch animation: Kimi cost $2 and Opus 5.5 $15, and the author preferred the cheaper result.
I asked Kimi K3.1 Pro and Opus 5.5 to animate the Roadster Elon just unveiled. Same prompt, same steps. Kimi spent $2 and 160K tokens. Opus spent $15 and 600K. The $2 one looks better. The rule, as always: never ask for "An animation of the Roadster". One piece per prompt. Step 1 -> A Three.js scene, a camera, a dark pad. No car yet. Step 2 -> The Roadster as a parametric model: body, wheels, the glass, the lights. One prompt, then rotate it until the proportions stop looking wrong. Step 3 -> The launch structure: a vertical ramp with scaffolding and clamps. This is where Opus started burning tokens and Kimi just built it. Step 4 -> The sequence: clamps release, the car tilts up the ramp, thrusters ignite, lift-off with exhaust and camera shake. Step 5 -> Lighting last. Headlights, thruster glow, a bit of fog. Opus did this step first and the headlights ended up bright enough to interrogate God. Step 6 -> Each model reviews its own render and fixes its own timing before I touch anything. The split: > Three.js: scene, camera, the ramp. > GLSL and tween code: written by the models, every line. > Kimi K3.1 Pro: a detailed launch structure, a vertical ramp, thrusters that fire. > Opus 5.5: a car and a very expensive flashlight. > Me: play the sequence, decide which one gets posted. Speed and cost are the whole story. Kimi on the high-speed version returned each step in seconds and finished at $2 against $15, roughly 7x cheaper for the better animation. Commit after every step that works. A bad prompt costs seconds, not fifteen dollars.
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