Why is it that every popular 3D app out there is being updated and improved on a timely, regular basis except Bryce?  Something strange is afoot, and I have some theories:

1. Bryce was created by a genius so smart that nobody today can figure out how to succesfully update the program.

2. Bryce was actually created by an extraterrestrial, and no human has the knowledge of how to succesfully update the program.

3. Bryce updates are being suppressed by competition through the use of bribes or threats.

Whatever the case may be, I'm not happy, and if something positive does not happen I may just pack my bags and go back to painting with acrylic.

Bryce's code is old and was already quite a mess to begin with, as we've been told by Doc Mojo ( = Ken Musgrave = one of bryce's creators = creator of Mojoworld).
Bryce has seen long peroids of abandonment through the death of Metacreations and the downfall of Corel.

By the time DAZ programmers got their hands on it, you can imagine the sourcecode was not just a mess, as Doc Mojo described, but also an ancient mess! While competing software packages have been born later then bryce or continuously updated, and in the process have had their sourcecode restructured, optimized and enhanced numerous times, this was not the case with Bryce. So bryce didnt only fall behind feature-wise, but also its inner mechanisms were by far not up to todays standards.

Then there's the fact that DAZ's programmers team for the bryce project was rumoured to not entirely consist of dedicated DAZ staff, meaning programmers might well not have had full dedication to the programs development.

Furthermore, after all those years, i doubt any of the original programmers moved along with Bryce through its multiple ownership transfers, thus the current programmers had to familiarize themselves with its source code before being able to really do anything significant to change it. This is a complicated task, especially when you do not have the help of any of the original programmers to give you a heads-up on how things work.

And then there's the fact that a lot Bryce's inner workings dont entirely make sense mathematically. Doc Mojo has stated in the past that the DTE contains some serious mathematical nonsense and was even theorizing it should be replaced entirely for something more presentable.

And finally there's bryce's user base. It's large, but its also largely amaturistic, and consists of many people who dont exactly have deep pockets compared to the normal type of price-tags in the world of 3d application prices. This constitutes a serious dilemma considering the large amounts of work that need to be done to take bryce to the next level, versus potentially little income for each sold copy.

1. DAZ is too busy working on Bryce 6.1.13.1.2.15.4.3.6.11 (to fix bugs related to D|S 1.16.1.7.25.4.2.9.3) to be bothered w/ Bryce 7 right now.

Hit the nail on the head there Rayraz, but i'm quite happy in the sense that I have to be more creative to produce something that Vue would be proud of just using Bryce6. Blowing my own trumpet?, no.... blowing Bryce's trumpet. Get with the creativeness Max, every new project opens more avenues for me.... just takes patience.

As for Bryce 7, to make it worthwhile, they would have to completely rewrite it from the ground up. If however they just add a few new effects and call it number 7, wild horses wouldn't be able to prise any money out of my wallet to pay for it. But if they do make it a rewrite from the ground up, I would be very curious indeed, and would be willing to wait for it.

Another thought though, it's the unique interface that makes it such fun to play with, if that changed, one might as well get to know any other landscape/object creator, than wait.

For me, actually it's the GUI that has always ticked me off. I got used to the M$ style interface to use Imagine3D on a pc, [I'm originally an Amiga user but jumped platforms for obvious reasons] bought a broken version of Bryce2 off the Mxxx Computer shelf and never did get it working till I dl'd the free version and patch from Computer Arts mag so was ticked off to start with and then I ran head-long into that confusing interface with friggin' easter eggs instead of icons...well I gave up for quite some time till the free ver. 5 came along and I found a more stable app with a great commuity here, which i volunteered to Moderate, but still that interface that hates my wacom tablet for some reason so I wind up mousing around a lot...Don't get me wrong...it's render engine is amongst the best I've rendered with, and does a bunch of my favorite images here at Renderosity, but jeebuss, what I wouldn't give for a M$ styled interface. Betcha Bryce would get a lot more popular if it looked a lot less Kai-ish...feel like I loaded Power Goo or something sometimes when I fire it up...LOL...

The interface would have to change to some degree... At least it should size up to make use of a larger screen area. Not just by maximizing it, but my actually using this screenspace for something better then "a big D|S button".
Also, if we do want some significantly new features, these will need significant new interfacing also...
Doesnt mean the actual overall style of the interface has to change thou. Even the easter-egg-like navigation here and there isnt really a problem if it were extended to new interface elements. It's all up to making some proper documentation manual to point out where the features are..

*"proper documentation manual to point out where the features are.."

Indeed that would really help a lot as I've spent a fair bit of time lost since coming back to the fold.. ...

Well I believe I've got documentation from 5,5.5 and 6 here..and anyone is welcome to a copy.

Actually it was the Brycetech Learn Bryce 5.5 1 DVD that really helped me out.

If they change the interface too much - which for me is what makes Bryce useable - I'll.... do something really bad... like... (trying desperately to think of something)

Well really really bad!

(sits in a corner, frustrated)

LPLPLPLPLPLPLP...........KNOW YOUR TOOLS

If I ever get an urge to spend on a larger pricier bit of software, first will be Photoshop CS3, Then I'll consider another 3D program.

Maybe there is no incentive to Re-UP Bryce, but for now I'm content.

(interface IS highly cruise-able)

For me, I'm easy to please now that I'm rather accustomed to the Bryce GUI. However, I love being able to toggle back and forth to full screen with [ctrl] + [tab] as can be done in B5. B6 can't, and that is the only reason why I still use B5... to do the layout... then I switch to B6 for the final renders.

For B7, that nano-render preview thing at the top of the GUI needs to be resizable. Moveable menus would be nice too. But what I really, truly crave, is improvements to Bryce Lightning.

DAM: 
yes That nano thing - It's the only way you know what  you got before you render so it's gotta be large enough to give a decent preview. Why they didn't do this in Bryce 3D I'll never know. 

Bobby:
...  according to a reliable source who seems to have deleted himself from the matrix, that Kai guy was 3 pixels off (if you get my drift. - if you don't I'm talking in the litteral sense;  not casting aspersions. ) 

gotcha bikermouse...had also heard similar elsewhen....no loss really to me, His apps came partially installed[crippleware] when I got something years ago and I guess I never got over it...LOL.. ...

Well how about this?   Dump the "old, messy"  Bryce code in the trash, then take the modern Carrara code and mould a Bryce intrerface on top of it so it behaves just like Bryce, and call it Bryce 7. 
    And to have new, advanced features does not require a complex interface.  Example:  you can add a small button for snow, which opens a small window where you set the snow depth and snow drift, then press the 'make snow' button and voila!... every uncovered vertically facing polygon grows a layer of snow.  Now a simple feature like that would propel Bryce to fame and fortune once again.

It just seems like innovation, motivation or inspiration have all died. 

Actually, Bryce 6 just got a shiney new code rewrite.
Carrara's coding is much older (it's really very antique, as computer programs go). I'm not going to rant about Carrara (unless goaded by cheerleaders  ); but it has a lot of very bad problems that will be hard to fix.

Quote - Actually, Bryce 6 just got a shiney new code rewrite.
.

 
Just? So where is the update then? Or did you mean 'just' as in when 6 was released?

I know, questions, questions, questions, but how is an amateur Bryce user to know? :biggrin:

Yes  'just' as in when it was released. That's why theres bugs all over the place that didnt use to be there.
The logistics behind rewriting a complex program are intense. It's tough to get it bugfree! Especially if you're re-writing someone else's code...
I hope they ended up making a properly rewritten version, not a half-arsed attempt in order to save time.

As for taking the cararra code, and slapping a bryce interface on it. I wouldnt that just give you facelifted carrara rather then a new bryce?

If you ask me, they should try to merge the applications, take the best of both.

As for the snow option... simple as the interface might sound, the technical implementation is highly complex ;-)

Quote - > Quote - Actually, Bryce 6 just got a shiney new code rewrite.

.

 
Just? So where is the update then? Or did you mean 'just' as in when 6 was released?

I know, questions, questions, questions, but how is an amateur Bryce user to know? :biggrin:

Nobody rewrites the entire core code of a program for every version.
Subroutines get added and some of the existing ones get rewrites; but not the whole core coding.
It's been 14 months since Br6, with a couple .x updates. That might a little overdue for a new version number; but 18 months isn't unheard of. I think 9 to 12 months is about normal for most programs; but that varies from company to company and from release to release.

well yea usually that is the case, but dont forget bryce was years and years of partial rewrites away. an unheard of amount of rewriting might have actually occured...

Max- , you got some great points; I agree! For me it's a conspiracy (sorry Rayraz :-)  - THEY could have done sooo much with Bryce keeping the interface ideas but rewriting the engine  or creating a file converter for older files and so on.

The big problem (or a gigantic mistake ?) is that they didn't throw away the old trashy graphic engine; they tried to fix it with endless updates instead of creating a new (like the freeeeee Blender3D) and keeping the interface work flow with stylish improvements (without shining ball for ex.)

I even remember a guy who was privately working with CG people in order to save Bryce and he already made a new elegant Bryce interface...but then came DAZ.

Nowadays I just feel sick when I see how outdated Bryce is despite years of "work" by DAZ; they promised sooo much; it's hurts me to see what they are doing to this software; the only solution would be the thing you said: merging Carrara (engine) and Bryce (interface) asap; then I may forgive DAZ . :-)

Carrara's render engine sucks.
If Bryce gets that piece of junk, I'll probably quit using Bryce.

Didnt some of us fear a Cararra/Bryce merger just a little while ago when DAZ aquired Cararra? ;-) Opinions change fast :-/

Narrator: Oh how long can trusty cadet pauljs75 hold out? How can he resist the diabolical urge to press the button that could waste hours of his very existance? Will his tortured mind give in to his uncontrolled desires? Can he withstand the temptation to push the button that even now beckons him ever closer? Will he succumb to the maddening urge to render a scene? AT THE MERE PUSH OF A SINGLE BUTTON? The beautiful shiny button...  The jolly candy-like button... Will he hold out folks? Can he hold out folks? Can he hold out?

pauljs75: NO I CAN'T!!!!!!1111!!!onetyone11!!!lol!!! click

Ok, it's an obvious reference to a Ren & Stimpy classic, but you get the idea. I sorta like the Bryce interface. If they did anything that could substantially change the interface - they'd darn well make it optional. (Skins or themes or something like that.) But will Daz do more to develop it? Or are they going to only sit on it and hope it's useful enough to push their brokered content?

Well my hope is if they do anything to the inter face they stay away from the DAZ look.. ...

Quote - Didnt some of us fear a Cararra/Bryce merger just a little while ago when DAZ aquired Cararra? ;-) Opinions change fast :-/

Yep. I used to think merging the two would be a good idea...
Carrara is just a Poser wannabe . It could be a lot more than that; but everything that would make it more than that is broken or bugged such that you have to use convoluted workarounds. And it doesn't do everything that Poser can do; or do the things that Poser does do as good as Poser can do them.
Then too, DAZ did nothing to resolve any issues outside of content integration (which is not a bad thing, but also not the only thing).

As far as future Bryce development, DAZ already said that they make rigging manipulation controls native to Bryce 7 (you'd still have to load through D|S). And they said that there would be instancing, and an SDK released.
I'm pretty much of the mind that DAZ will only improve their program's content handling capabilities and ignore everything else. Maybe they'll prove me wrong...

It's so much easier to buy something thats already built and then add subroutines to it. Personally I can't see a new version of Bryce ever... just a few more bolt ons. :rolleyes:

I think maybe DAZ, saw an oppurtunity to get loads more customers through it's doors when it purchased Bryce. It had a huge user base back then, second only to poser, still has today but more experienced people have got fed up and moved on to Vue, Carrera, Cinema etc.
I don't think it will be worth DAZ pursuing Bryce financially, but realise they could lose a lot of customers and reputation if they admit defeat. 
I mean if they say no more Bryce, first up every Brycer will be outraged, second up most of us will then be looking elsewhere. I only hope I'm wrong, and maybe AS himself is involved and has gone on a personal crusade to save Bryce.

This may or may not be relavent to the thread other than an observation about trends in software users here at R'osity.  Browse the poser gallery.  Now browse the Carrara gallery.   There seems to be more nekid Vickies in low quality renders in Carrara than Poser. 

I think the Poser crowd buys a lot of stuff at Daz and they have been seduced into purchasing Carrara while there.

...back on subject...,  for this hobbiest,  there is a lot of things the other 3d packages can do that Bryce can't.  But, there is a lot of stuff that Bryce can do if you dig for it.  Now if it were only rock solid bug free and someone would publish a road map to DTE I would be happy for years to come.
Bryce is old (so am I)
Bryce renders are slow (so am I)
Bryce is cheap (so am I)
Bryce is beautiful (so am, oops)

Quote - .........
I mean if they say no more Bryce, first up every Brycer will be outraged, second up most of us will then be looking elsewhere. I only hope I'm wrong, and maybe AS himself is involved and has gone on a personal crusade to save Bryce.

If that happens I will certainly look somewhere else.  I mean, why  on earth would I want to struggle with Carrara when I could just as well struggle with XSI or Lightwave or Cinema.

Quote - It's so much easier to buy something thats already built and then add subroutines to it. Personally I can't see a new version of Bryce ever... just a few more bolt ons. :rolleyes:

Ever had a client ask you to change something that should be trivial inside code written by someone who shouldnt be let near any computers? ;-)

There are a lot of bugs between the 5.5 and 6 updates that have yet to be fixed. Most notable is animations and material animations are broken. If you try to bolean terrains the result comes out at a different place than you originally positioned it. If you wanted to make a 3d oakleaf by using it's outline and a rolling hills type texture you wind up with a mesh that has long drawn out triangle polys along the edges. 

I don't see much chance of all the problems being fixed without a version 7 upgrade and pumping more money into bryce development. I thought that was what version 6 was for but I guess I was wrong.

On the other hand for 5 times the price you can get Rhino that will model anything but has a basic renderer. For 50 times as much you can get maya or max and have full rendering with effects plus particles, physics, and lots of nifty commands like cage editing. You can get paint effects that lay down random trees and plants that respond to weather and export, the list could go on all day.

For $300-400 like Carrera you could finally get an unbuggy version of Bryce. For about $1000 you could get a version that has most or all of the wishlist items people post about. What are you wiling to spend?

Carrara, bug free? :laugh:

Speaking of cost,  if you sell 200,000 copies of a 3D program for $90, wouldn't that get you as much money as selling 20,000 copies at $900, or 2000 copies at $9000?  After all, software has virtually zero manufacturing and distribution cost.

For me Bryce UI  is one of the best UI (simpliest to understand from the moment you open the application first time). If you change Bryce UI , the Bryce will lost one of the its power.

Bryce needs more tools to make natural worlds. animated fluids, particles....

Rhino is a VERY nice app for its price tag from what i've seen created with it. But.. its more a product modeller then an organic modeller, considering it only does nurbs and such. Building creatures or humans with nurbs, while possible, is very tricky business and requires a long steep learning curve to get the hang of. It's well worth the money íf you're dedicated enough to spend time learning and if it fits your particular modelling wishes.

Cararra sounds more like.. the thing you buy when bryce no longer has enough tools at its disposal for you. It's not overly expensive, and brings nice bang for your buck. I think its a good app for anyone who wants to professionalize but doesnt have a very large budget, or for the enthausiast who's got the pockets to whip out a few hundreds for a piece of software.

Maya and 3dsMax are just great, but.. require u to have lotsa money to spend on it... They're powerful, but you'll have to dedicate yourself to getting to grips with the tools and very preferably, with the technology behind it.
Where its easy to just mess around in bryce and see what happens, apps like 3dsmax and the likes are really just 10 times easier to figure out when you're aware of significant background knowlege of the tools you get at your disposal.
As such, its pretty much mandatory to really study 3D practice and theory, either by yourself or by taking courses, in order to get the type of professional results you payed theprice tag for. If you're not going to put in serious dedication, its really just a waste of money because you're not very likely to reach a point where your creations will exceed the abilities of much cheaper apps.

As for bryce's UI, we do have to realize that part of its simplicity is due to its visual style, with clear icons and relatively uncluttered state.
There's also the psychological impact. Bryce's interface looks friendly and far less intimidating then a technical interface as found in many other applications. However, this does also prove a problem when integrating increasingly much functionality in it.
Bryce's interface style requires a lot of space for relatively few settings. I mean, take your average skylab screen. The sliders displayed in there on one entire screen could easily have fitted in just the left col of that same screen if a more technical interface style had been used.
This means that adding more tools will inevitably lead to the need for increasingly more 'labs' which will eventually start to impact workflow. Or the interface will have to change appearence rather significantly to facilitate a much more compact visual style.
Sticking to the current UI will limit the amount of functionality insertable into bryce.

Why doesn't anyone ever mention Blender in these conversations?
http://www.blender.org/features-gallery/features/

You just did... lol.

Anyway Blender's problem is it's not user friendly, it focuses on keyboard shortcuts to the detriment of usability - it is however a very powerful program.  I just wish I could use it...

Sigh...

"Sticking to the current UI will limit the amount of functionality insertable into bryce."

I believe you can add the most advanced features to bryce without ever changing the basic UI.  Just add a GRAVITY button on top, dynamic CLOTH and FUR  buttons in object/polygon properties,  RADIOSITY and AMBIENT OCCLUSION buttons in render properties, and a MAKE SNOW button in atmosphere.

And speaking of Blender... last time I tried it, it reminded me of a new car where the brake is in the glove box, the accelerator on the dashboard, the steering wheel in the trunk,  the radio on the roof, and you can't find the gas cap.   Now if Blender power was merged into Bryce, that would be exciting.

Quote -
Maya and 3dsMax are just great, but.. require u to have lotsa money to spend on it... They're powerful, but you'll have to dedicate yourself to getting to grips with the tools and very preferably, with the technology behind it.

That is very true. 3dsMax cost about 4,000 smackeroos, thus putting it out of the reaches of poorer hobbyists. Of course if you're a student or a corporation or someone with deep financial pockets, then getting 3ds Max is cheaper than retail.

Quote -
Where its easy to just mess around in bryce and see what happens, apps like 3dsmax and the likes are really just 10 times easier to figure out when you're aware of significant background knowlege of the tools you get at your disposal.
As such, its pretty much mandatory to really study 3D practice and theory, either by yourself or by taking courses, in order to get the type of professional results you payed theprice tag for. If you're not going to put in serious dedication, its really just a waste of money because you're not very likely to reach a point where your creations will exceed the abilities of much cheaper apps.

You know, now I am glad I took those courses in multimedia program at the 2 yrs college for the associate degree. At least I had the instructor to help me out with the practical theory and application of Max... Not so easy to do so on your own.Theories? Baloney shamoney! Who cares!?! I just want to learn how to move the objects around in virtual 3D world and create those same objects, regardless of the price tag.  Theories are for those going for their PH. D. and research. (which is fine and dandy).

:b_toocool:

Quote - Just add a GRAVITY button on top, dynamic CLOTH and FUR  buttons in object/polygon properties,  RADIOSITY and AMBIENT OCCLUSION buttons in render properties, and a MAKE SNOW button in atmosphere.

But you can't just have a button for something like fur or dynamic cloth. You need parameter settings too; lots of them; the more controls, the more functional.
AO isn't a one click feature either. You need control of colors (prefereably maps), spread, distance, fall-off, and so on.
It just isn't possible to introduce the type of complex features that you are talking about as check boxes or single buttons. There must be many parameters made available to make the features usable.

Quote - Theories? Baloney shamoney! Who cares!?! I just want to learn how to move the objects around in virtual 3D world and create those same objects, regardless of the price tag.  Theories are for those going for their PH. D. and research. (which is fine and dandy).
:b_toocool:

On the contrary, theory is just about the most useful general knowledge you can ever have about 3d graphics! Once you know why tools do what they do, which real-life effects are simulated by which channels in which materials? What does this mean for the general end result, how to keep the most control of seperate visual effects, how to work your way to matching a real-life material, or how to recreate that illusive visual effect thats in ur minds eye.

Which methods of interpolation are used on your subdivision mesh (does it force the object to stay inside the low-poly cage or not? how many vertexes does it utilize to calculate a single curvature? this can be very signficant to how your mesh will react under the subdivision algorithm, eventually allowing you to much easier anticipate the way the subdivided mesh will look, reducing time spent tweaking stuff)

How does your render solution, roughly, go about calculating occlusion and/or indirect light? what are the pro's and cons? the technical difficulties? strenghts and weaknesses? knowing this kind of information will allow you to construct the optimal combination of parameters to balance out speed and efficiency against quality.
It's all thigns we dont really have to worry about much in bryce, but can make your life SO much easier in more complex applications.

Me myself, I've been making sure i know theory and terminology and general technical workings of many 3d tools in general, regardless which software package offers them. When I finally got my hands on 3dsmax in school my teacher could hardly believe i had no experience with the program as i already seemed to know what tools did, where to find them or how to utilize them efficiently.
This was all really just because the tools connected directly to the background knowledge i already had. I read words, names, in the interface, recognize the terminology, realize the idea behind it, and before even touching or usin it, the general concept of the tool is already clear to me, thus easing the learning curve considerably.
Within 3 lesons the tables were turned and the teacher had to ask me how i made the things I made. Even thou the basic material channels in the material editor were just about the only things that resembled bryce.

Quote - > Quote - Just add a GRAVITY button on top, dynamic CLOTH and FUR  buttons in object/polygon properties,  RADIOSITY and AMBIENT OCCLUSION buttons in render properties, and a MAKE SNOW button in atmosphere.

But you can't just have a button for something like fur or dynamic cloth. You need parameter settings too; lots of them; the more controls, the more functional.
AO isn't a one click feature either. You need control of colors (prefereably maps), spread, distance, fall-off, and so on.
It just isn't possible to introduce the type of complex features that you are talking about as check boxes or single buttons. There must be many parameters made available to make the features usable.

Amen brother! B-)
It would be nice to have a layered approach to materials and shaders..

Quote - But you can't just have a button for something like fur or dynamic cloth. You need parameter settings too; lots of them; the more controls, the more functional.
AO isn't a one click feature either. You need control of colors (prefereably maps), spread, distance, fall-off, and so on.
It just isn't possible to introduce the type of complex features that you are talking about as check boxes or single buttons. There must be many parameters made available to make the features usable.

Actually you can.  When you press that little CLOTH button, a small menu pops open where you can have all the parameters you want.  The most complex actions can be simplified to absolute simplicity.  And that's what computers do well... and by the way, aren't computers supposed to simplify our lifeand not make it frustrating?

I guess it takes all sorts to make a world and obviously there are those people who can understand something without ever seeing it happen, but by just studying the rules for it.

These days more advanced teaching methods understand that some people learn best in this manner - BUT!  there are those of us who just cannot take things into their brains in a purely theoretical manner, we learn best by seeing what happens when we turn the knob. i.e. personal hands on experience.

It seems there are those who learn best by seeing the workings, those who learn best by hearing things described, and those who learn best by actually doing it themselves.  Most people use a combination of all three in varying proportions according to which suits their prefered learning method best.

For instance, I find that I learn best by following intructions step by step while trying each bit out for myself.  Or by discovering something for myself via trial and error.

But if I just read instructions - I either don't understand or my brain switches off or I just forget it very quickly, but doing it as well fixes it much more firmly in memory.

I have a friend who, if he once hears something described (how to do something) he will easily remember it and later be able to reproduce it perfectly - I have no idea how he does that.  Yet he has problems following written instructions.  Like I said different folks...

So for me that's why Bryce's interface suits me so well, and probably why Wings3D suits me too, since once you've followed some of the tutorials in the Wings manual you then know enough to try things out for yourself.
Bryce with its pictorial controls, like the tiny terrain button to add a terrain, a water button to add water, a sun button to control the sun - it is very simple to understand and does not require a mathematical brain to first understand theoretical principles.

Blender on the other hand requires a numerical memory to remember the keyboard shortcuts necessary to control the simplist manoeuvers, and is therefore a closed book to me.  To my constant regret.

If Bryce had Blender's power collected under a simple interface like Bryce has now - what you could do with it... wow! The universe would be your shelled organism of choice...

I was gonna bring up Blender, but about 30 people got there first..;) It's free, it has some useful tools, but any time I want to fuss about Bryce interfaces, I remember Blender (and Truespace, with the 'q-bert'-style menus...;) 

I use it for a very few limited number of things , like discombobulating (heresy by thought), and some occasional organic-style primitives (heresy by word and deed..;) 

What I wish (and don't a lot of us..;) was that you could just take a 'tray' of controls from another program (mojoworld, wings, Poser, whatever) and use those commands in Bryce, and vice versa...there'd be money in that...;)

Many years ago there was a movie called 'Lorenzo's Oil'.  It was about a child who had somekind of disease that paralized him. His father spent years researching medical stuff in order to help his son and eventually found the solution, but he needed a special kind of 'oil'.

A Pharmacutical(SS) company was asked to make the stuff, but they really did't want to spend loads of money on the process so they gave the job to on old guy who was about to retire. It took him six months but on the day he retired he left a big bottle of 'Lorenzo's Oil' on his desk and asked that it be sent to the little boy (now a teenager). The stuff did the trick - kinda.

So you lot are asking "WTF is that stupid from Mars going on about?"
Daz should hire a programming guy who is about to retire and give him the job of dragging Bryce into the 21st century. Give him the resouces he needs etc etc, but they shouldn't let him work on anything BUT Bryce!

I love the Interface. Yes, it has a lot of  empty space that could used to add features, but as it stands it's almost perfect. Yes, I think the Display Modes Icon is in the wrong place. Yes, the D/S button is all wrong. Yes, there are a million things we could wish for.

But how many guys can think of stuff they would change in 3Dmax, Vue etc?

I really hate apps that have 3 or 4 views on the screen at the same time. I think in 3D.
Bryce presents in 3D. I can see through it and all around it and there in lies its beauty.

You Guys often ask me how I have the patience to create the stuff I do. It's because I have patience that I can create that stuff. Bryce is more able to let you work at your own speed. Its slow render times mean long thinking times - I'm not taking about final renders - I'm talking about the time you have to create stuff. When you're rendering wips you have the time to think about what you're going to do if this pass or that pass doesn't turn out how you want it to.

Simply put, it works for me, and from what I've seen over the years, it works for you too or you wouldn't be here. And even if you don't like the next iteration of Byce you can always keep the one you already have.

Stop moaning and start working. We're supposed to be having fun here!

"I really hate apps that have 3 or 4 views on the screen at the same time." - that's why your the cardinal and I'm the heretic. 
I felt the same way about the 4 window GUI in C4D until I decided to custom it for what I want. I still run with 4 views, the three iso and a camera but tailored for my taste. Will post a screenshot tonight so you can see what i mean.

I say only one word : VUE
I gave it many tries and now I'm quite happy with it; it's a soothing and acceptable software for many Bryce refugees. :-D  (though now I rest from 3D for a while)

The interesting thing is that Vue is a better Bryce clone than Carrara; you have everything you really want (with a minus for stability problems)  and a nice work flow with great render engine and GUI...after using Vue I find it hard to go back to Bryce and render without the absolute necessary G.I. /G.R. effects..and I also pray that DAZ won't buy e-onsoft. :-)

The only thing I miss in Vue is the extremely pleasant look of antialiased wireframes//workplace.

I like the multiview idea.  Now where's my comfy chair ... and my pepper spray - that Fang guy, despite having the same name as my fourth cat, scares the whatchamacallit out of me!

Yes, watch out for Cardinal Fang! He's very sneaky for a guy who dresses up all in red.