I've had Carrara since version 1 - it actually got usable in version 3, great in 4, and pretty fantastic in version 5. Yep it has everthing and then some that Bryce kept letting us down on. Don't worry about the vegetation realism. They make good background trees and you can spring for xfrog plants for closeup realism. With enough random rotation and scaling (via the excellent surface replicator) you can make one tree or plant easily look like dozens. In C5 the replicators, translucency, subsurface scattering, microdisplacement, and ambient occlusion are what I needed to say yes to the upgrade. C4 already had HDRI, GI, and a bunch of other things we always wanted in Bryce. For Sci-Fi you can't beat the GI, HDRI, and volumetric light render speeds. btw - I also have Vue Infinite and even the Vue plants also break down and look cheesy for close-up renders. You can see the angles of all the leaf maps. Xfrog or TreePro trees are the only aftermarket trees that really hold up to that kind of realism. Hex2 is still way buggy but for $1.99 I have less to worry about. Hex1 is still good for me until they work out the bugs. Have a blast with Carrara. Scott