Rather than add a bunch of new code to solve a lot of old problems, I'd rather see Poser remain in the same price range, and the program restructured to allow plug-ins for a lot of the wish list items. I think that alternate render engines, additional export formats, 3D modeling tools, animation solutions, and collision detection could be addressed by third party additions. The expandability of this type of architecture would be worth spending the $160 to upgrade. That way, for many of us who would prefer to use Poser in a more streamlined format, could continue to do so--adding or purchasing plug-ins as we needed them. The big difference between Poser 1 and 2 was the ability to add props, and the big difference between 2 and 3 was the ability to add figures, and radically customize the figures included with the program. Flexibility is the key to making a better program, not bloating it to accomodate every individual that has a copy of this program. I would be happy if Poser remained an inexpensive solution to modeling the human figure with the ability to grow as I needed it.

heya; you and me, both. i see people want this high-end 'maya' type stuff in poser and i think... they want that, but do we wanna PAY for it?? ouch! i think a lot of the 'first generation' tools that came with poser 4 need to be solidified before getting into too many more complicated things. (ie: magnets, waves, the grouping tool, the hierarchy editor, etc.)

E.g. general collision detection that people keep wanting, is EXPEN$$$$$IVE in run time!!!

The only problem with this is, I didn't see any third party companies creating these types of plug-ins for P4, why would they suddenly change their minds for P5? I personally want these things. If someone decides to create plug-ins to allow them, cool, but it's really better they come as part of the original package. Maybe they could create two versions.

northstar, It doesn't look like P4 was designed for plug-ins (Meta offers no SDKs for the product on their download page). The advantage to having plug-ins is that you don't have to wait for a new Poser release to enjoy new features. Plug-ins would allow the creators of proprietary 3D formats and rendering engines to create plugs for Poser without egi.sys having to pay licensing fees. Plug-ins would keep the cost down, and allow the user to increase the capabilities of the program to do what they needed it to do. I hate "lite" and "professional" versions of programs. It's usually ends up being a choice between "crippleware" and "bloatware", or worse (i.e. different licensing agreements for the two programs). I think that plug-ins would be a fair solution for everybody: those who want the bare minimum and those who want all the bells and whistles, and everyone in between. To put Poser out of the price range of its loyal users, or to offer us a "nonprofessional" or substandard version, would be a major insult to those who have supported this product.