Do any of you Brycers also use the registered version of Cinema 4D? If so, what are some comparisons and contrasts between the two apps? Also, can you transform a Cinema 4D metaball object into a polygon mesh to export to other apps?

Im still busting my but with the demo, but i think the biggest difference is the modeling part, and rendering speed. Anything else can be achieved in Bryce with some playing around...i think... :)

Well, I especially like the Dynamics module.

I've got a friend who has C4D. He found out that Bryce can't export or boolean metaballs, so he set 2 metaball beside each other so they were connected, booleaned it with a cube, so that the metaballs were cut out of it, then converted it to 3DS. Which he sent to me. From what I've seen of it, C4D is the most Bryce-like high-end app there is. It's got metaballs, boolean subtraction, and the most common high-end features. That means NURBS, a good object organizer, full export cababilities, a realistic render engine, and some other things that I don't quite understand, being a Brycer. I've only toyed with it a total of maybe 2 hours, just what I can get away with at my friends before he can steer me away to doing something else.

I have a free copy of C4D Version 5 on a PC Format cover-disc, but not the mag and therefore not the register number. I would love to try it but MATOX said the wouldn't register it because it was dated March 2002. Well nix to them! Hacked-off The bryster

I have cinema4d xL7 or somethin like that! I've used it a few times but it does my head in! I think i'll stick to bryce. :)

I have both Bryce 5 and Cinema XL8 plus Bodypaint. Sorry in advance for saying this on this forum..I really do not want to start any fights but Cinema XL is superior to Bryce in almost every feature they share. They are hard to compare because Bryce is just a fractal landscape program where Cinema is a high end Modelling,rendering and animation suite. Bryce is probably the best program for generating fractal landscapes for export. Cinema generates landscapes but nowhere near as good. Yes,Cinema can export metaballs as a mesh. When I bought Cinema I bought it to build models for import into Bryce but within a month I only use Bryce to build terrains for export into Cinema. I went from a Bryce nut to being in truth pretty underwhelmed by its features as an artists tool in a very short space of time. This happened to me because once I tried one of these high end programs and invested the time to dig into its huge feature set I realised what I was missing with Bryce. Still like Bryce by the way so don't hate me.I just realised that it was very good at a pretty small range of things.

Yeah, I know. C4D is like Bryce on steroids...

I have Xfrog 3.5 lite. The new version of Xfrog will be a plug-in for Cinema 4D. They are offering an upgrade to Cinema 4D and XFrog 4 for $599. They also are offering the bundle with advanced rendering for $799. My questions... Is the advanced rendering worth the extra money? If I want DOF, can I import to Bryce? How steep is the learing curve for Cinema 4D? Does it have decent documentations and tutorials? What other add-ons to Cinema 4D are "must haves"? That is one of the things that has kept me from going to these "high end" programs. You buy it, then find out you have to spend hundreds more to get it to do what good ol Bryce can do for $79. Thanks! Peggy

I'll most likely be buying the Cinema 4D studio bundle (everything!) in a week or two. I'm really looking forward to playing with dynamics in animation and using true HDRI. I have Xfrog and Xfrog Houseplants, so I'm also looking forward to more easily importing plants. My question about exporting models into Bryce was asked because my friend and I are starting a web site called creative3dmodels.com to sell 3d models and provide a weekly or bi-weekly free model.

Oh well I shifted from Bryce to cinema with no problem.The Cinema package, if you buy it is difficult to lift from the floor. Its this heavy because it is full of manuals.The tutorials are small but clear and good.The manuals are a model of clarity.The render module is worth the extra money.I do not think you can import DOF data. If you buy this you will probably end up rendering with Cinema's render engine anyway.'must have's''Well there are many free pluggins for Cinema and many that cost a small amount,They range from small modelling tools to entire tree creation systems or volumetric atmoshpere engines. Best is sometimes biggest. I would go for Bodypaint as an absolute essential.It is also cheep at the moment. Imagine a 3d photoshop inside bryce, paint on you're models in 3d in real time.I found the learning curve to be not steep,cinema is very well structured, but it is long. By this I mean there are lots and lots of things to take in. all understandable and well illustrated in the manuals(there are five manuals and a tutorial book in the XL bundle) but so much more to take in it takes a proportionately longer time to learn....the HDRI is jaw dropping. So is the soft IK and the SLA shader system...lots and lots of goodies

The point Peggy Walters has made about not buying a high end program because Bryce can do it for 79 dollars is an interesting one.What I am finding is that using one of these large programs is ultimately changing the way I work.I have found it to be a broader toolset that will lend itself to the expression of a broader range of ideas.I tended to work on projects that would work well within Bryce.I have more tools so more is open to me. For example I am thinking of biulding and animating a dinosaur, I know I have the soft IK system that will allow me to make its tail sway realistically,I could never have dreamed of doing this in Bryce.

Thanks for the input! I downloaded the demo and will see Cinema in action at Siggraph. Hope I can get my brain around this program. Still don't think I can get the XL bundle though. It's a bit over my budget. So far this is just a hobby. That is a good point tonyJ. I do find myself saying "no way" to ideas I have for a picture. Thanks! Peggy

Okay hope I have been of some help. Going to Siggraph? (radiates envy). Just a hobby for myself too.

I'm lucky enough to live in San Diego and XFrog gave us free tickets to the exhibit. Hope they have lots of cool freebies! Peggy

Attached Link: poser in cinema

Attached Link: 17 minute render time on 300MHZ machine

Attached Link: Cloth

Attached Link: SMOKESTACK

Attached Link: HAIR

I only use Bryce these day to render animated skies to map onto cinema backgrounds. if you are ready to give up ridiculous 74 hour render times just to get volumetric lighting or 5 second animations that would take years to render in Bryce then Cinema4DXL is your answer. :-)

cibnema 4d is way better than bryce... the difference is in the modelling.... and the renders... c4d has nurbs modelling that is so easy it shames other high end apps (i also had 3dmax and still learning to use it) the metaballs can be exported to other apps... i havent tried it yet... try this... model it... then click the covert to mesh button at the left thats looks like a 2 vase button... if it works exprt it (save as) 3ds, obj etc... mmmm better have my comp fixed and chaeck it soon

I tried the demo last night. Yikes! Looks like a lot of learning ahead. I will start with the tutorials, but was kinda disapointed. With Bryce, within a 1/2 hour you can start creating simple pictures, click a button, get a tree, play with the atmosphere, etc. After 2 hours with Cinema all I had was a few primitives on the screen and a headache. Granted, I read NONE of the documentation. I try to get a "feel" for the program by just seeing what things do. Warm and fuzzy it is not.

Attached Link: Fiat Lux

Notice that most of you talk about animations, and granted, Cinema is the best tool for that, but i still have to defend Bryce just a little... :) For still images, the difference still only lies in the modeling tools and the rendertime, not the render. Feel free to show an example (apart from the modeling), on a still that cant be done in Bryce with some tweaking. Also, and i speak for myself, fun, is a big factor, and so far, C4D havent gave me any WOW feelings, like Bryce did when i first started to use it. It will most likely grow, but ive already found some very annoying stuff. The viewpoint is one thing. No matter what i do, i cant move around the cam AND have the model/points/polygons selected at the same time. I have to choose one of them. The 4 pan view still sucks. Half of the time spent on a model, is to resize different views so you can see the stuff. Little, yet very important things. Still, i like the app, and want to learn more, but for me, its going to be a modeling tool. Bryce will still be my first choise for still renders, even though its slow. Simply beacuse the results are good enough. :)

I am sorry Rochr but I am not going to be drawn into a Bryce Versus Cinema or Bryce Versus anything else debate.I am not going to give links for examples or otherwise "show my hand" Whatever app or apps we love it is always best to go and make something with it. If you like Bryce above all else then that is fine by me.have fun Brother...info was sought, I fitted the bill that was asked for so I replied.I hope this puts an end to this thread in this forum. Respect to all TonyJ

No debate here TonyJ, Both are great apps, and both have their ups and downs.

Actually I hope this thread doesn't end. It's quite interesting.

Well you know I know that I sound a bit sharp and I appologise for being mister grumpy but I have seen so many threads degenerate into such pointless catfights. Not just on renderosity by the way.It makes me mad to see such pointless behaviour born of obsession.For me this one looked like it had the potential.

Nah. Brycers are fairly friendly. It looks like I'll definitely be ordering the Cinema 4D studio bundle in a week or two as well as a second pc for network rendering.

Good luck jasonmit you are in for a lot of fun.