AWESOME!! I can't wait to get it. I agree many of the new features in this latest version rival or surpass what some high-end software has! Then again, I recently downloaded the 3dsmax 8 demo version, and was blown away by all it can do. After a month, I wasn't even able to tap into half it's features, but it's node-based particle system had me hooked. Unfortunately, I could never afford the full version, so that's when I looked into getting Carrara. It was either Carrara or Softimage XSI Foundation. I picked Carrara, and I'm glad I did so far!