There's an myth with Bryce 5, regarding reflections on transparent materials that have no reflective property set. This is something that members see as a problem caused by the use of TA (True Ambience). However, the reality is that it's not actually a problem, and it's presence is not caused by TA. The cause is actually refraction, as my test strip above demonstrates. OK, two rows of images, the top row is PRO-RENDER using True Ambience, and the bottom row is standard Bryce 5 (No TA). Also, please note that EVERY image uses 0% reflection and 100% transparency. First, take a look at 3 and 6, a reflection is clearly present (Refraction = 153 (Glass)). Now look at 2 and 5, and you'll notice the reflection is starting to disappear (Refraction = 101 (Mild Refraction)). Finally look at 1 and 3, and you'll notice a complete absence of reflection (Refraction = 100 (Air/No Refraction)). So there you have it, some might find this rather strange, but in reality it makes perfect sense. Just imagine a real world situation, if you had a perfect sphere, totally transparent, no colouring to define it, no reflection of it's surroundings, and no refraction to define it's density, how on earth would you expect to see it? The fact is that you won't, as demonstrated by image 1. I hope this has clarified the myth, as well as give some food for thought regarding real-world-to-CG physics. ;-) Len.

The wait can be horrific, but the outcome can be worse - pumeco 2006