Attached Link: http://shade.e-frontier.co.jp/en/index.html

I wish. And put very succinctly too.

Sadly the software houses' need for a "competitive edge" will always outweigh the real world demands of the users, be they pro or hobbyist. This holds in IT generally even where standards bodies exist i.e. the current wireles LAN IEEE 802.11g "standard" which the likes of USR and Netgear have "extended" to lock users into their products.

An alternative to the single format is one app written and updated to import and export to and from all the other major apps / formats. To simplify and speeed up workflow, I'd happily drop all the 3D apps we use currently and buy it. Speaking of which...

I'm watching the approach of the Japanese app, Shade, with great interest. If the Japanese can't spot and exploit the weaknesses of competitors, no one can.

Cheers,
Mark