I'm not at all pleased that my dissatisfaction with Vue 6 appears to be a widespread feeling.

I've been a Vue user since Vue 4, going on through Vue 5 Infinite, and finally to Vue 6 xStream (Hoping futilely to take advantage of not only Vue 6's admittedly attractive features, but also Vue 6 xStream's ...er... as they term it..."integration" with Cinema 4D - which in fact seems to be only by the broadest possible interpretation  functional for much of anything useful.)

Unlike many, I had few enough complaints about Vue 5 Infinite - the usual bugs I put up with, and being relatively inexperienced with other complete package 3D applications, I sort of assumed that they were simply par for the course when dealing with the largely hidden technical complexities of 3D work. This is hardly the case, I've discovered, after purchasing Cinema 4D v10 Studio - itself considered "buggy" by long time C4D users, a program which I've only managed to crash when doing things which are inconceivably stupid. Maybe some day I'll stumble across these oft complained about bugs in C4D. That I haven't found these notorious bugs in C4D says a great deal about Vue 6, which as often as not, for me, at least, and others, apparently,  terminates itself with a lockup or crash.

So, at this point, from time to time I check e-on's site for Vue 6 xStream updates and try to keep it current - which is largely the limit of my interaction with the program. It pretty much occupies space on my hard drive as its main function.

Purchasing Vue 6 xStream may not be the most worst mistake I've ever made, but it is certainly the mistake that is most unquestionably a total mistake I've ever made.

That I've jumped ship from Vue to C4D certainly does not mean that I'm trying to convince others to do so. Not at all. C4D, for a program touted as "professional," and "high end," entirely lacks anything resembling Vue's very cool and versatile ecosystem feature, and its only DOF option is an entirely unacceptable post-render depth map based DOF, much like  Vue's quick and cheap depth map DOF option, but without the admittedly slow, but lovely and subtle ray traced DOF which is an option in Vue. Compared to Vue, Cinema 4D is pricey. The most basic version, sadly lacking many of the features which make for a complete 3D program is more expensive than anything in the Vue Infinite series. Cinema 4D Studio, while not as costly as Maya or Max, is very, very  expensive indeed.  But no more so than a good HD TV system, and since I can find no good reason to spend large money on &%$#@ TVs, I can justify its purchase to myself, at least.

I'll most likely return to my installation of Vue 6 when the desire to create a landscape strikes me. This may be a while, however, as I seldom do them. If there is something for which I absolutely require an ecosystem, thousands of little rocks or something, I guess I have little choice. The spectral skies and cloud systems are certainly impressive, and I'll keep that in mind when I need spectral skies or impressive clouds. But for everyday use, nah. E-on's lost me. Perhaps someday they'll understand that cool features don't really make up for a frustratingly unstable application.

"La meta es el olvido. Yo he llegado antes."
Jorge Luis Borges,Un Poeta Menor,Oro De Los Tigres