The two I remember people using were Terregen and Vue. Which is best and where do I find them? Thanks? Any examples would be great.

Terragen is free, but doesn't import OBJ http://www.planetside.co.uk/ Vue is working very hard to work with Poser. It will import OBJ, among other formats. You can download a trial version. http://www.e-onsoftware.com/

Vue is free on this months Computer Arts mag (UK only I think), it's very good:)

I have Bryce and Vue. I haven't really messed with Bryce much, or Vue for that matter but the Vue 3.1 seems to render a lot faster. I think there is a use for both. I think the cost of the Computer Arts magazine, (I just got mine this week, I live in California) is worth it just for the free version of Vue 2.1 Issue 01 of 3D World at www.3dworld.com has a free copy of Bryce 3D, you might be able to order it as a back issue. The url for Computer Arts is www.computerarts.co.uk Marque

Terragen is the most realistic of the bunch, but it doesn't have any sort of vegetation yet. The person who created it hasn't finished it, and expectes some time in the future to include plants and object import, but there's no speculation on when. The lighting and textures are the most photorealistic of them all, and it's great for barren landscapes of uncivilized places. It's also very easy to use. Melanie

Melanie, I just downloaded the trial of Terragen, I'm going to check it out a little closer now based on what you've said about it being more realistic. Marque

I agree with Melanie, Terragen can produce probably the most lifelike landscapes of all. Here's a render I made in about a half hour (shrunk by about 50% to save room). I believe the only real differences between the trial and the registered version are larger render sizes and a special high-quality anti-aliasing, so be sure to check the trial out.

Just noticed that Anton wanted a non-Bryce modeler, shows what happens when you are caffiene challenged. I'm checking that out, and I guess the registered version is only $79 Thanks! Marque

ned the url for terrgan. tia.

It's under wyrwulf's post http://www.planetside.co.uk/ Marque

There's a hell of a lot of qualitative difference between Vue 2.1 and Vue 3.1 Among the differences are: 1. 3DS and LWO import with full texture support 2. OBJ now has texture support 3. "Mover" animation plugin included as part of 3.1 4. Faster rendering 5. Improved transparency 6. Much larger library of "Solid Growth" vegetation In general, Vue has a very easy interface, and it's very easy to get great looking results just hours after installing it on your computer. E-On software (the makers of Vue) has a very responsive tech support department, and Vue has a user base of friendly, knowledgeble and helpful people. Of all the terrain programs out there, Vue has by far the best rendering engine. Fast and flexible, it supports such things as soft shadows depth of field, focus and motion blur. Every aspect of the render engine and be adjusted for the target medium (print, web, animation, etc.) Last but not least, Vue is very much a program on it's way up. There WILL be a Vue 4 with lots of new features, and E-On looks like a company that will be around for a while. The price is on the low side for this type of program ($189) What I really like about Vue is that the results don't look like every other program. It's also THE best match for Poser that you can find. This is something E-On has worked very hard to do. -SMT

Have to agree with you smallspace, I just suggested the free version so he could get a feel of what it's like. I like Vue best so far. Marque