I was at the newstand today and came across a new British magazine called "3d World". It was their first issue and they have included Bryce 3d as a bonus on the cd. Now I'm sure it's not as good as Bryce 4, but if you don't have that (and can't afford to get it) this will certainly be useful. Also, according to the magazine you will be able to upgrade to Bryce 4 at a reduced price. Was hoping to tell you if it worked well, but I took a look at it and soon realized that I'll have to get a manual at the store.

I'm now rather annoyed at te amount of money I spent on Bryce 3d and 4... LOL, thanks for rubbing it in!!! j/k :)

It may not be as cheap as I thought. The manual at the store will run about $65 here. Perhaps I can find a second-hand one

Well, that beats the $200 or so that I had spent on Bryce 3d when it came out (or was it more then that, I can't remember)

Actually the manual is on the CD.

I understand that this is version 3.0, the troublesome, too-soon 'retail - beta' release. You will need to update it to version 3.1 to have a secure, reliable program (some extra goodies in the patch, too). Apparently, the 3.1 patch works fine on this free version. Releasing earlier, fully functional versions of programs for free seems to be a consistent marketing strategy for some companies now, at least here in the UK. I can see why people might be upset by it, but on the whole I think it's a good thing. At the very least, it removes any 'justification' (read: excuse) for using a pirate copy of a program.

Yes, I've already patched it to version 3.1. Still haven't tried it yet though as I need to get a manual.

The manual will not tell you to much. It's better to get a after market book. I have one at home by Susan kitchen. It's for Bryce 2 but it will tell you lots about Bryce. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201694190/qid=964130691/sr=1-1/102-0531908-8874554

Yep, I figured I'd get the book by R. Shamms Mortier (already have his Poser 4 Handbook).