"That kind of comparison is as meaningless as saying oil paint beats it over watercolors." Well, in direct response to the quote: "You can't get HDRI QUALITY rendering like in Vue 5 anywhere else, for the price." I say, yes... you can. That's not saying other features aren't better/worse for each individual user, just the fact that HDRI isn't anything new in the world of 3D really, and there are other "low-end" solutions that can do it just as good, if not better, than Vue (Carrara, XSI Foundation). Vue certainly didn't invent anything in the way of HDRI that hasn't been out there before, at various price ranges. "I know that many users of higher-end, more EXPENSIVE 3D softwares are somewhat STUNNED at how good Vue has become as as a VALUE." I still say XSI Foundation is a better all-around "value" in terms of rendering than Vue (it uses Mental Ray for god's sake), unless you need to create near-instant 3D environments. However, you can build environments from scratch in XSI if you so desire. HDRI has certainly increased Vue's potential, but in reality, it's not a life-altering enhancement to what essencially is still a landscaping software. I would have taken realistic weather FX and particle dynamics to HDRI any day. I'm waiting for Vue Pro 5 to see if any of these features exist in there.

---

Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.