Is it me or is Bryce just considered a beginners 3D app?

Let me explain.... 
Most things for sale (in this catagory) are for Vue which is considered to be the professional landscaping app and Bryce simply as it's poor mans older brother. Every time I see something in the marketplace that i'd like to use for Bryce, it's in Vue format only. I even contacted a few of the vendors over this and their reply was that it is easier to use their products in Vue than it is in Bryce.
So why is Bryce seen as a toy compared to the likes of Vue?

Bryce might be outdated as far as Vue is concerned, when it comes to 'Eco systems' but Bryce can create art (in my opinion) as good as Vue. And the fact that Vue is years ahead of Bryce only proves that Bryce (in it's day) is better than Vue.

AND... i'm just really pissed that even Daz3D falls short of properly supporting Bryce.... they have dated stuff in their marketplace, nothing that really takes advantage of Bryce 6... even the tutorials. I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped Bryce and cancelled version 7 through their lack of interest.

So many Bryce forums and websites on the net are alomost dead..... interest seems to be just for the die hard fans, and Bryce has turned into a cult landscaper/modeller.

What do others think about this, Am I the only one?

Some apps just dont get taken seriously as others.  Its the same situation in DAW's (Digital Audio Workstation) Software.  Some music recording software are the 3D Studio Max and Vue's of the Music world... and yet some of the very capable music recording software dont get the support or get taken seriously.

dharma makes interesting points. (and gets a provisional Cardinal status) But my reply is, how long was Pink Floyd just a cult band? OK so I'm a diehard Bryce fan. But then I don't need or have the time to learn something like 3Dmax. Bryce does all I want and if I want something extra then there's always SILO - another 3d app hanging on by a thread in this great scheme of things.

Clever marketing could improve Bryce's ranking in the world and in time attract many more users, but so long as we have arrogant so-called 'professionals' in high powered jobs sneering at Bryce and its users, Bryce will always be regarded as 'entry-level'.

It's up to people like us to promote and support Bryce and ALL its capabilities. Only now is it becoming clear to the masses that Macs are nolonger the 'industry standard' in computing and that pcs have so much more to offer in the professional world. I personaly know of at least one professional who has said that after moving to a post that uses only pcs he would never take up a position at an office that only uses Macs.

The world is an ever changing place, guys! We just have to stick with it!

And as a word of warning, the next guy who condiscendingly suggests that if I want to 'get serious' about 3d I should learn 3dMax he or she will get a serious mouthful from me.

There are few Bryce-only purists out there. Those that still consider Bryce everything they need receive my appluase and good wishes. When it comes to the rest of us, though, Bryce is only as good as certain of its features. To say that I'd render an HDRI in Bryce compared to Carrara is like saying I'd rather take a shower through Chinese water torture rather than through a decent shower head. Yes, there are certain features of Bryce that are still worth the time and effort to learn, and if you still feel comfortable with it, you should certainly use it for years to come.

When it comes to DAZ.. I'm not exactly sure what to say, it seems that they have no overarching strategy for their applications. What is most troubling is that they concentrate on Poser content and are trying to integrate everything into it to some degree. Bryce, in this sense, isn't exactly up to par with Carrara or even DAZ Studio, because it's a native scene modeller. The fact that you CAN use it for anything isn't really up for discussion. So it's all up in the air.

To be perfectly honest, ever since I've bought Carrara 5 I haven't really opened Bryce up much. But that's just me. And, frankly, it should in no way curb your enthusiasm towards a fun and easy-to-learn app. Just remember that it's limited in certain aspects (modelling, most importantly) and that no serious artist - again, aside from a few purists who do amazing work, really uses a single application for their 3D needs. So spread your senses :)

m

Bryce's ease of use and short learning curve does make it attractive as a ‘beginners app’ and it is true that Vue and Carrara have advantages over Bryce in some areas. But the things that can be created in these apps can also be created in Bryce with just alittle more patience and time as evidenced by some of the first rate artists using Bryce today. As far as finding content to use in Bryce, Renderosity does have a large offering and another place that has an even larger offering is 3dcommune (www.3dcommune.com). I go there quit often looking for mats and textures.

Bryce is called a beginners app or at least a low-end app. And i think that really is right, because a lot of people start out in 3d using bryce, and a lot of serious brycers start to take up other programs as they get more experienced.
This doesnt mean that amazing things cant be done with bryce, but fact is, bryce is just really not up there with the rest in terms of technological advancement. And technological brilliance is the driving force behind the 3d software industry. Games push technology ever further, graphics cards get ever faster, heavier more accurate and versatile renderers keep popping up all over the place, movie industry keeps pushing boundaries.
Dispite the work of guru´s such as Rochr, you only have to put bryce next to the latest pixar movies or pirates of the caribean or lord of the rings to realize, bryce is at the beginners range of 3d software.
Yes certain aspects of these movies can be created in bryce, I´ve seen the famous skelleton army renders and the PRO RENDER discussion inspired experiments with realistic lighting techniques, but if you look at it objectively, it becomes clear bryce was never meant for such things and, more importantly, it has never been anywhere near reasonable for such things in terms of efficiency.

And yes, bryce can do many things vue can, but no it cant do all of it, and even more so, it cant do them as efficiently! Bryce doesnt have a vegetation system as far advanced as the one in vue. Bryce doesnt have the volumetric technologies used for those realistic volume clouds seen in some vue renders (yes bryce has volumetrics, but its far behind on vue's volumetrics, which just plain are better). And then im not even mentioning the eco-systems! Yes bryce can do many trees, but no its not comparable to eco systems.

Ah yes, 3D Commune, the place where one can't be a member unless one uses an email supplied by the ISP. I simply refuse to use an email addy that requires outlook express or other 'user friendly' email client. I use yahoo because I prefer itle.
Thanks for the replies so far... good reading.

Oh, and that ' provisional Cardinal status' Bryster, does that come with any privilages mate. :D

I started using Bryce when it was version 2, and created many mountain/sea reflection scenes and even tried a little animation in the process. I then gave it a break to concentrate on composing music, another one of my hobbies, and along the way tried to get to grips with the likes of Lightwave, 3DS, Blender and Metasequoia....the latter I did get to grips with, but like Bryster, don't have the time. I'm 50 now and my brain feels more like 70. I'm having difficulty learning Swedish since moving to Sweden 2 years ago, and my poor brain just wants to concentrate on something easy... Bryce fits that bill, but i'm still pissed that not many people take it serious.
If you create masterpiece art with Bryce and show someone, they might say, thats fantastic.... and ask you if you used 3DS etc. but you say Bryce, and you can hear the laughter from here to the door slamming!!!
You are correct though Bryster, clever marketing would improve the status of Bryce... with the inclusion of more uptodated tools of course to bring it on par with the ground breaking additions like Eco Systems TM... just my little joke there Haha! But, I don't think Daz3D are capable quite honestly.

I guess it is also right that we should promote it more ourselves. If only there was a place... like Renderosity that had all the talent known to Bryce (and just Bryce) at it's helm. I'm sure we could make something of it. What say you >Captain Bryster. :)

Dharma:
*If only there was a place... like Renderosity that had all the talent known to Bryce (and just Bryce) at it's helm. I'm sure we could make something of it. What say you >Captain Bryster. :)

*If I haven't the time to learn 3DSmax I certainly don't have the time to start a Rendo type place just for Bryce. But thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm 52 btw, so I'm in much the same boat as you.

*Oh, and that ' provisional Cardinal status' Bryster, does that come with any privilages mate. :D

*Certianly does! You get to pay my bar-tab, plump up the cushions on the comfy-chair and suggest new ways of torturing heretics that I haven't heard of!

Quote - If I haven't the time to learn 3DSmax I certainly don't have the time to start a Rendo type place just for Bryce. But thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm 52 btw, so I'm in much the same boat as you.

Oh how sad, you seemed the ideal candidate as well.

Quote - *
*Certianly does! You get to pay my bar-tab, plump up the cushions on the comfy-chair and suggest new ways of torturing heretics that I haven't heard of!

Ok, i'm on it.

Bah, hum bug!! 

I started with Bryce because it was very inexpensive.. the price was right for something I was unsure about. Now, if let's say Maya was under $50 and that was the first 3D app I would get exposed to (intead of Bryce) then probably I'll do doing Maya stuff instead of Bryce.

My point is I've been works from Rochr, Orbital, AgentSmith who can make Bryce do things simply too amazing to even find the words to describe. A beginner's app could probably be any app if the price is low enough, and not from the app's ability.

D_a_M, you're right, but it's also a matter of postwork... at least those three know their Photoshop :)

Bah. I'm still using Bryce 5. And will do so for the next few years, until I can afford anthing differnt. Or until my camera dies... Its a great app for beginners and veterns.

scoley, stay tuned... something tells me carrara 5 will become freeware soon :)

Quote - scoley, stay tuned... something tells me carrara 5 will become freeware soon :)

Yes.. something tells me that as well... the fact that they just released a Light Version of Carrara for $20... means Carrara 5 will be freeware and Carrara 6 will be %50 or %60 off and that is when I will upgrade to version 6. :)

Quote - Bah, hum bug!! 

I started with Bryce because it was very inexpensive.. the price was right for something I was unsure about. Now, if let's say Maya was under $50 and that was the first 3D app I would get exposed to (intead of Bryce) then probably I'll do doing Maya stuff instead of Bryce.

My point is I've been works from Rochr, Orbital, AgentSmith who can make Bryce do things simply too amazing to even find the words to describe. A beginner's app could probably be any app if the price is low enough, and not from the app's ability.

There was a special free edition of Maya that I used for a little while, but it was a professional app all the same, and the learning curve to me was like a saw tooth. Bryce's learning curve was so much easier however. My point is Bryce is seen as a toy compared to the likes of Maya. 
All the tools are there in Bryce, and if used to it's fullest, can produce almost anything. It has nothing to do with being cheap, I just wish all 3D apps were as easy to use.

Take Blender for instance..... please, please take it LOL!. I found that software to be totally unintuitive.... the same goes for Terragen, I was simply hopeless at that too. 

With Bryce I feel in control of what i'm producing..... Terragen is like being at Bingo (and no, I don't go to bingo LOL, i'm not that long in th tooth yet) you never know what you're going to get till you render it.

Quote - scoley, stay tuned... something tells me carrara 5 will become freeware soon :)

Carrara is like Frankensteins monster, made up of all types... including a little of Bryce in there too. If it had the feel of Bryce I wouldn't hesitate.
I think what Daz3D should do is to take all their knowledge of 3D apps and make Bryce even better instead of wasting time with Carrara.

Bryce was my first Love,
And it will be my last,
Bryce can build the future,
Also re-create the Past.

To Live without my Bryce App
would be impossible to do.
Even with its file save troubles
Bryce will always beat that Vue.

with apologies to John Miles: 
Bryce took my Cherry way back at version 4 when i found it on a free cover disk, At that time to achieve something the High-ends could do, you became creative and with friends on the forums learnt work-arounds. 
It is still that same old tool, like a favourite brush or chisel and i see no reason to change. If they stopped upgrading it, i wouldnt stop using it - Its not a competition, its what feels comfortable - some people use pastels others use watercolour. 
Use the tool your happy with.
I make my pictures with Bryce - Several thousand years ago we were using burnt wood and fruit dyes on cave walls. Is anyone waiting for Charcoal V6.1?

I've been a brycer since version 2 and it has a special place in my heart, after using povray and defining all your scenes by manual math and definition, bryce seemed incredible. That said I'm tending to use blender and final renders in indigo at the moment :(, but bryce will always have space on my PC.

I guess it all boils down to like what rochr, AS etc actually showed. that it'not just how easy the application isit's also how YOU use it to create images. Yeah sure, I won't argue that Maya, studio max, alias etc are way up there (i just tried converting .max into 3ds in studio max and I died) and bryce is way down there... but if you can create fascinating images like they can, using bryce, and a bit of postwork in photoshop, i don't see why we have to put it down as a beginner's application.

Make the best out of its simplicity.that's what it is all about

Yup...though yes, I'm afraid of bryce's future. How long will it last? especially with it pitted against all the other apps. Will it profit Daz to keep it alive? or will everyone go straight in for the other apps?

I'll die a brycer... I don't mind learning cararra or vue, but bryce has it's own charm

well i certainly don't think bryce is a toy and i  hope  have proved just what it can do with the models i have made using it  

though i will say daz  does need to improve its export feature  to get the title of must have app right now that part of it is a big pain in the butt and a bit of a hit and miss, at the end of the day though i think its not what software you have its how you use it that counts

I've been using Bryce for few years now and I really love it!! Simple to learn the basics but still so much to discover and I can't wait to have my new PC. Maybe then I could finally use some more detailed lighting and so and improve my renderings:) In school we started to study 3Dmax now because it'll be our primary tool. And within this few weeks I've been using it all the time I miss Bryce:) Max seems so difficult and... boring? But I can't deny that it's much powerful in some areas than Bryce. I personally love Bryce because I want to create more epic scenes and landscapes... I don't have patience to model fork&spoon vertex by vertex, polygon by polygon:) With Bryce I think you really need to know some photoshopping.. but then you can create still images as good as with any other apps. But it's sucks that everyone basically laughs at me because I'm the only brycer in my class:P Oh God.. give me strength to carry on on my chosen path!

Riquelme8: Printout some of the Bryce renders on this forum and see how many of your school buddies can reproduce them in 3Dmax.................

I know.. I've been trying and I'm not giving up:)

I think the problem is that Bryce is considered to be 'Lego' compared to 3DS's 'clay'..... 
One could spend longer creating a similar scene in 3DS than it would take in Bryce, so maybe 3DS user think we only have to push a few buttons and there is a masterpiece, whereas they have to build it up vertice by vertice or whatever the jargon is.
Just remember that it's the final result that counts, not how you get there.

A good point...

Years ago when I was studying machine code or assembly language as it is also called, I spent an hour working out the code to print my name up on the screen 20 times. I finally got it to work and showed the misses. her reply was.... is that all it does. She jsut didn't comprehend how much I did when writing that code. Of course I could have used 'basic' which was the easy programming language in my youger days and achaive the same result, and, only take a few seconds.
So as I said, doesn't matter how you get there. It doesn't make it any less of a piece of art than if it was produced in a package that costs  $1,000's

For me, the community behind Bryce is important.     I rarely run Bryce now, but I still check the forum each day to see what you guys are moaning abou and I still keep an eye on the gallery.   Maybe I'm sheltered, but do the "big" apps have that kind of community behind them that realise that Brycers are out to have fun, or are they just full of perfectionists that will take great pleasure in pointing out the tiniest of errors?

I think that depends on the particular forum, there are a couple that I can think of that the majority of users seem to take great delight in any imperfection and others that most users offer helpful advice.

But even if you have a 'big app'  on some sites you'll still get a load of my app is better then yours...

OK,.......here's my 2 cents worth,........or 2 pence, depending on where you live. Firstly, Bryster, we here at the Bryce Forum don't use "torture" we prefer to kidnap suspects and turn them over to foriegn forums for "enhanced interogation" . Secondly,..........I am learning other apps (C4d, Rhino, Zbrush) but I find myself going back to Bryce and still use it as my main mode of artistic expression. It's ease of use and versatility are the main factors at play for me. As far as being able to produce superior images, one needs only to look at the work of former Bryce artists such as Rochr, Flak, drawbridgep, woodhurst, beton and a host of others. And now that Bryce has IBL and multi-threading capabilites (primitive as they migtht be), it is a bit more maliable so to speak. As far as Daz,.............yeah,..........I dunno what to say. They kept Bryce alive anyhow,........that's should count for something in the larger scheme of things. Don't you think ? Even if the vast majority of new users do see it only as a platform for naked Vickies and SOW's.  Anyway,.............that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Hee, hee, hee, hee.

y'know..I might be perturbed, except this is a perennial favorite  topic over at the Poser forum. For all their dominance of this web site, the Maya and Max folks give the same condescension over Poser that supposedly they do over Bryce...;)

I started with Terragen, back at the beginning of the 21st Century, so I could 'sorta' get landscapes out of it...;)

I have Gmax, just never figured out what I could do with it. Can't export in a format I can use, don't have 3d Max, so whaddaya do...

Call bryce whatever you want, it's still an important tool in my toybox!

Very much agree with Phil about the community too!

Yes, Bryce can easily be considered a beginner 3D software. It´s cheap and easy to learn and use. Unfortunatly these two things allow people to dismiss it easily, and imo the biggest problem is that most people never bother exploring the program thoroughly. 
They see a few shiny spheres images, a few nviatwas scenes, perhaps play with the software for a few weeks, create a few crappy drag&drop scenes, and believe they know its full potential.
Those of us that have used Bryce for a little longer however, know that they haven´t even scratched its surface.

To a certain extent, you can match the quality with the best apps out there, but it would probably never work as an industry app.
Even so, getting a nice job in the industry with nothing but Bryce images in the portfolio is not at all an impossibility. From my experience, most of the big people (the employers and heads of the studios), will not dismiss good work because it´s made with Bryce. In fact, usually they get that much more impressed, because they know that if you can pull of great stuff with a "beginner" 3D app, you can do wonders with something more advanced.

These days i mainly use C4D, but Bryce is still an irreplaceable part of my toolbox.

Nice to see one of the 'Gods' taking part in this discussion!

Quote - For me, the community behind Bryce is important.     I rarely run Bryce now, but I still check the forum each day to see what you guys are moaning abou and I still keep an eye on the gallery.   Maybe I'm sheltered, but do the "big" apps have that kind of community behind them that realise that Brycers are out to have fun, or are they just full of perfectionists that will take great pleasure in pointing out the tiniest of errors?

I dont think the bryce community is neccesarily more or less solid then some of the communities behind larger or more expensive apps. Its more a different atmosphere. On this forum we're more a family-like community where we dont mind talking about off-topic things.
Some communities with larger apps or more professionals in them do have this perfectionist nature which you talk about, but i dont think thats a bad thing per sé. The way some threads have people nitpicking about the tiniest errors in meshes are extremely educative and often times the person making the artwork that gets critisized becomes inspired to really push him or herself to go that extra mile. It can be extremely educative and a serious boost to grow and increase skills. I dont think such nitpicking would be accepted within a community if there isnt a similar level of respect and the feeling of being a real part of a group of artists.

**They see a few shiny spheres images, a few nviatwas scenes, perhaps play with the software for a few weeks, create a few crappy drag&drop scenes, and believe they know its full potential.

**This made me smile.... Whenever I see an official tutorial for Bryce, whenever I see Bryce galleries (to an extent), and whenever I see a review for Bryce, THE BLOODY SCEENSHOT IS ALWAYS THE BLOODY SAME... just as our friend above has described.
You never see anything decent in the circumstances that would suggest that it could do anything more.
Take a look at the following.....
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/macuser/reviews/109145/bryce-61.html
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/reviews/software/graphics/bryce_6.1 read the review near the bottom where it says "Overall Bryce remains more of a toy than a serious 3D tool" I sent an email to the review about that comment... haven't had a reply yet though and guess I never will LOL.

Can we review the reviews?

Quote - And multi-core support didn’t work on our test PC. Supposedly it’s been included, but in tests, processor use stayed pegged at 50 per cent.

Quote - ...it’s possible to create professional images with Bryce, but high quality output needs high quality skills...

:tongue1:

well, now that I think of it, where are our fearless leaders; Agent Smith and zhann?...;)
Did someone kidnap moose?..;)

Been rebuilding my system after my C drive went Tango Uniform. Gone through all the Digit, 3d World, and Computer Art CDs over the years. Had a chance to download Cinema 4d, Amapi, Shade, Mojoworld, etc., but to be honest; before I even started on them, I loaded Bryce first...;)

maybe they have new "toys" :-P (beta B7 for AS maybe??)

Quote - Can we review the reviews?
Quote - "And multi-core support didn’t work on our test PC. Supposedly it’s been included, but in tests, processor use stayed pegged at 50 per cent."

Somebody never heard of task manager, have they? (Yeah, Bryce defaults to low priority so people could do stuff while it rendered in the background. Not to mention it was made when computers were slower and single core.)

I don't see Bryce as a toy. But rather as a tool of sorts. May not be as fancy a tool as other stuff out there, but if you learn to use it and apply it well - there's some vast potential with it. Where it really shines is where you need that detail and have a lot of things going on in the scene and the timeframe for production isn't an issue. Then you're more likely to run into limitations of your PC rather than Bryce.

Only real faults Bryce has have to do with time efficiency and animation. It's a ray tracer and does a lot of calculations compared to some other apps way of doing things. Which hurts it badly in a production environment where you need stuff done yesterday. Also since it never did bones or deformations/morphs, it really limits what can be done. With long render times and no decent animation features, Bryce does suck at doing animation.

As for myself? I use Bryce for two reasons: 1. Ease of use. 2. Cost. It would probably be in trouble if any Blenderheads would ever consider making a comparable GUI. And I wouldn't hesitate to take a look if there's any truth to that Carrara 5 rumor. Regardless, I still probably wouldn't give my Bryce up completely. For the few things it still does well, I can't find much that's comparable.

If Bryce can't create something, one can always use something else. I'm currently using Metasequioa to make an authentic tree stump for my next nature pic. Yes it works fine and looks quite realistic in Bryce.

Ooo, I wish I could get 'em for slander!  Bryce just a toy.. hah!!

I first discovered Bryce when I happened across Orbital's gallery here at Rendo. His series of pictures featuring a balloon (which have sadly been deleted) really touched something in me and I had to find out out how Joe had made these wonderful images  - hence my discovery of Bryce. So, I think Bryce chose me, rather than the other way around! I had no idea about other 3D rendering programs: Bryce was all I knew.

I was amazed it was so cheap to buy (V5.5) considering what it was capable off, so its always seeemed such great value to me. Should a 3DS Max, or C4D afficionado pick it up, they probably would dismiss it as just a toy, but for me, Bryce always amazes me. It can be incredibly intuitive in many ways (the main screen is so well laid out for example, like how an artist would work at a canvas), but frustrating in other ways (so many high end functions are hidden away such as how to selectively turn off anti-aliasing for a particular object). Bryce, I think, has grown organically, whereas more 'professional' apps have been designed from the ground up to be scalable and efficient....

....yet that is the very source of Bryce's appeal! (at least for me anyway) Through its very design as an application, it promotes creativity because it isn't restrictive - its easy to use and allows the novice to experience the joy of creating their own 3D worlds. It's this accessiblity which is at once both Bryce's power and its Achilles heel that has unfairly led to it being labelled as non-professional. I've tried Vue v5 Esprit, worked my way through the tutorials to learn and understand it (not that difficult as it operates in a similar way to Bryce in terms of its feature set), but yet for me, it just doesn't grab me, doesn't inspire or excite my creative passions in the way that Bryce does. Perhaps its the user-interface, perhaps its the traditonal menu/icon method of navigation, but Vue just doesn't 'do it' for me. I think that most professional applications are designed to produce product, yet Bryce, through its quirkiness, is still designed to produce art.

So, Bryce is definitely not a toy, yet neither is it a professional level 3D production house, but its a tool for allowing the production of art. Its far from perfect, yet I love it anyway! :-)

A lot of the C4D crowd came from bryce at some point.

I bet a lot of people using other apps started with Bryce...

I started with Deluxe Paint and HAM on the Amiga and later PC Paint and Photoshop on the PC, which lead me to find Kai's Power Tools (Metacreations), I like their tools and interface which led me to discover Bryce and the rest is history.

I did at one point purchase a Student copy of 3D Studio (before it was renamed to 3D Studio Max) by the Yost Group which ran in DOS and came with a 600+ Page manual.  I just didnt get it.

*Quote - "...it’s possible to create professional images with Bryce, but high quality output needs high quality skills..."

*The same can be said for an artist with a pencil.

Quote - *Quote - "...it’s possible to create professional images with Bryce, but high quality output needs high quality skills..."

*The same can be said for an artist with a pencil.

Or any other app for that matter. There´s no such thing as instant excellence even if one uses $10000 software. Without practice and skills, you´ll more likely end up with $10000 worth of garbage, and i´m not sure that´s so much better. :)

Quote - > Quote - *Quote - "...it’s possible to create professional images with Bryce, but high quality output needs high quality skills..."

*The same can be said for an artist with a pencil.

 

Or any other app for that matter. There´s no such thing as instant excellence even if one uses $10000 software. Without practice and skills, you´ll more likely end up with $10000 worth of garbage, and i´m not sure that´s so much better. :)

Sounds like nothing that hasnt been put in a museum before ;-)

hmm... if one just plays with something, then it's a toy, no matter what name it has or how much you paid for it. If someone uses it to for a purpose (like expressing themself), then it's a tool. If it's something you use at work, it's just a millstone. ;) Would you believe I originally got Cinema to make objects for Bryce scenes? Would you believe I render out Bryce skies and trees to use in Cinema scenes? Still using B5, and wouldn't be without it.

"A lot of the C4D crowd came from Bryce at some point."

I started with Bryce2 I used to be a Die hard
 (remember the Sue kitchen's book??)
Dropped it  completely at version 5
I see alot of people mentioning MAYA/MAX et al but
 
if we compare Bryce to its Closest market competitor pricewise
VUE6 easel ( not infinate just easel), and you take away poser V-chicks etc.
and skilled modelors using other programs and stick purely to what comes
"straight from the box "
Bryce still falls short in the area of realistic landscapes,skies
plants and water in my opinion.
The vue renders just look better and more real to me
and Bryce still renders WAYY to slow.

JMHO.

Cheers

Quote - Bryce still falls short in the area of realistic landscapes,skies
plants and water in my opinion.

Take a look at my gallery and then say that. I think Bryce is quite capable at all those things. Just because a sky is a photograph on a flat object, it's no different from a texture, which is no different from a material..... one isn't stuck with 'whats in the box' a lot of the extra things that help Bryce shine can be collected quite easily without cost. 
Bryce is good, because it is easy to use.

I just saw a work by spacebones over at 3DCommune. A Thai landscape that was totally photorealistic and, according to spacebones, required no post processing.

I look at the work by Andy Simmons (Hobbit) and while he uses Photoshop a lot, he still uses Bryce for his primary work.

I hope I can get that good with this 'toy'. :)

***" Take a look at my gallery and then say that."

***Took a look .............Sorry,I stand by my opinion that vue  easel renders better and more realistic.
not here to argue about  it.

Anyone who like bryce should use bryce

But for me personally Vue is a much better Landscape program
More relaistc in every way.

Cheers

I have always had a passion for bryce, I think it has such an easy interface to use and the abstracts you can create with the program are so easy to create.

I think I have tried all the major players out there in the 3d graphic world and the main 5 programs I keep coming back to are :

povray (fantastic piece of software and the one I started out with)
bryce
vue
terragen
mojoworld

So bryce will always have a place in my toolbox, although am doing stuff with vue at present.

thanks