Ah I have a big contradiction

[vacantlook]

Yes, but they seem to be unique in their ability to do so. All the other First Ones are shown entering and exiting hyperspace in a similar form to the Vorlons. Which speaks volumes about how different the Shadows are from the other races.

Even though the Shadows, the Vorlons, and the other First Ones were all First Ones, I got the impression from things said throughout the show that the Shadows were the oldest of all the ones remaining in the galaxy (except for Lorien). Perhaps that has some part to the explanation of the differences in getting into hyperspace they have from others.

I believe that what was going at Lyta's mind was the Eye at Z'ha'dum, probably and anti-telepath technology more than a telepathic Shadow.

As I see it, that was the Shadows in their energy form, while the rest of the time we see them in corporal form. You see more of them in the Sigma system when Ivanova is using Draal's Great Machine to search for First Ones, in S3E05. Fourteen eyes aligned just as they are in the Shadow corporal form. And also 'it knows my name', as she says, indicating telepathy, and more, as "the eyes" manage to persuade the entire Whitestar crew to descend to Zha'ha'Dum, in season 4.

I'd say it's less them in an energy form and more of Shadows in long-distance telepathic communication. The Techno-Mage Trilogy details some of the discovery that Galen makes on a form of communication that Shadows have with one another across lightyears of distance. I'd say that Ivanova's contact with the Shadow eyes floating in space was her perceiving the Shadow's long-distant telepathy as they focused it in on her.

[Garibaldi's Hair]

Yes, but they seem to be unique in their ability to do so. All the other First Ones are shown entering and exiting hyperspace in a similar form to the Vorlons.

Not true ... on the occasions that we see the Walkers at Sigma 957, they are shown entering and exitting hyperspace in a way unlike either the Vorlons or the Shadows.

There have also been various discussions down the years (although nothing definitive from JMS, IIRC) speculating that the jumpgate technology in the hands of the younger races stems from the Vorlons originally, hence it makes sense that jumpgates, and jump points formed by ships of the younger races, would look the same as points formed by Vorlon ships, as they use similar tech.

[Raapys]

Not true ... on the occasions that we see the Walkers at Sigma 957, they are shown entering and exitting hyperspace in a way unlike either the Vorlons or the Shadows.

Not entirely. If you look in the episode Mind War in season 1, you can see them opening a jump point just like the Vorlons, although it has a 'electrical' theme.However, in, for instance, A Call To Arms, the jump gate at B5 is seen to have a very similar electrical theme.

Then again, after the big battle in Into the Fire, all the First Ones, except V & S, are shown simply disappearing into a bright dot.
I'd wager that perhaps they just didn't put much thought into that scene, though, and just let the other First Ones share the same exit.

[Kaleign]

I'm more inclined to believe that the differences in entering and exiting to/from hyperspace probably has more to do with the differences in the technologies used in each instance. For example, as mentioned, the entering hyperspace by the Excalibur may be different than, say the Whitestars, since the Whitestars are built along similar lines of technology as previous versions of Minbari ships. However, while the Excalibur was built with Minbari technology, it also included Human and Vorlon technologies as well. Perhaps it is the combination of the three races' technology or it is the advancement of select technology like the jump engines. Also, consider that the First Ones like at Sigma 957 might be a little different in technology on the very basis that they are millions (or more) years ahead of Humans in technology. And while the Vorlons' entering hyperspace may be similar to the younger races, it should be noted that the Vorlons themselves had built the Thirdspace Gate, which, I imagine would probably be widely different than any other race in and of itself

[Raapys]

I don't really think so. I think that the differences we see in the show, except those of the Shadows, has less to do with the ships' technologies than it has to do with some space-scene desginers for the show that wanted to try something a little different.(Or perhaps they just got a hold of some new 'special fx' and wanted to make it look better).

As Garabaldi's Heir said, all the younger races has built their hyperspace systems based on the existing gates, which presumably were built by the Vorlons. This means they all use the same hyperspace engines. Who knows how long, if ever, it would have taken them to discover it by themselves.

[Phil Harmonic]

So each of the first ones had different ways of entering hyperspace, but all the younger races use the Vorlon way.

The Shadow way seems the most .... efficient

[vacantlook]

I particularly liked the fiery burst of the last First One ship that Ivanova and Lorien found before joining Sheridan's fleet. Of course, we can't say with any certainty whatsoever that that fiery burst had anything to do with hyperspace, but it was still cool looking.