Well, in all fairness, this is a pretty big announcement. Bryce, Poser, Canoma, and what is now Carrara all started in the same place, and there was much to do about bringing them together, and this very forum and many of the others owe their existence to Bryce. Today, yes, it can be pretty underwhelming. It is an "old" program that lacks a ton of the features it's comeptitors now have. It's languished in development hell forever, pretty much forgotten by the owners who have abandoned the users that made it the number one software of it's kind. oh, wait, that's Poser... Nm. There's long been a dream among the older folks of combining Bryce and Poser. The two programs have very loyal users and can achieve incredible effects. The Bryce materials room is pretty damned incredible in what it can create. It was one of the first programs to offer procedural texturing, and it revolutionized much of the way folks looked at 3D art by itself. The two programs have very complimentary features, as well, so it really has been a sort of "dream match" to have them interchangeable. There is little question that Vue generates better plants and with Mover it has the ability that Bryce lacks (developed, in fact, specifically to give it that ability) of complete scene movement. Bryce's animation capabilities are actually pretty good when you get into using it -- but they are a bit cumbersome, and Bryce does not have bones. Terragen is a better overall terrain system, and it comes closest to the texturing capabilities of Bryce. Lastly, ever since Corel released Bryce 5 and found out they hadn't quite done what they needed to do to it (which was essentially finish up work done before they acquired it) to make it competitive, it has sat there. Dead. So the hope, of course, really is that it will return Bryce to its one time glory. And if they do merge the two apps, then things will get even more interesting. But this does require faith in DAZ as a company. Faith which I, for one, find myself lacking in the proper quantity. I don't think DAZ is the Poser equivalent of the Evil Empire (there is one, but I shan't name it :P ), but neither do I think they are all sweetness and light. They will announce it tomorrow. Let's see where they go with it. (Not what they say, mind you, but rather, what they do.)

thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)