Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=403252&Start=1&Artist=EMC&ByArtist=Yes

I don't know when 4 is coming, but I should imagine sometime in the fall-- it won't have any significant advances in any of the things your talking about (I think). The only reason I said you might want to wait, was because it sounds like you don't really think you need it, and if you don't, it should be cheaper to buy the one than to upgrade twice within half a year. Would you get the difference in cost out of having Studio half a year earlier? If you would then buy it.

Global Illumination is excellent. The gist is this: in the real world light bounces off objects. If the sun is shining in the window, the ceiling is partially lit. This is because the light coming through the window is bouncing off the floor, and lighting the ceiling.

When you use the GI renderer, it will do all the calculations as to what needs to be lit by this bounced light. I might also add that caustic effects (light intensified though a lens, for instance), can be done with the GI render. If you want to do anything photo-realistic, the GI render comes in handy.

Smarmy means: sleek, or unctuously or fulsomely flattering-- sorry, I just sort of enjoy words like that...

The link is to a render I did a while ago, when I was starting to play with the GI renderer-- the middle one is probably the best.

EMC