What do we assume the new UI will look like, MC's smooth baby or the mechanical Corel's? = )

All I can say is that this is NOT the current state of Bryce5. Can't go any farther than that.

where'd ya get these screenshots?

Doesn't look like a ton of new features, but the existing ones are rearranged in a more friendly UI. That's a good thing. I hope there's a better brush selection. Getting tired of the choices of round, round, or round. Matisse in Gray works well for that, so does photoshop, but why work with 256 grayscale when you can work with 65500ish. Imported bitmaps to the editor just aren't the same. Ok, whatever Corel offers, it does seem to be a great improvement and I'm in.

Is Corel EVER going to release ANY information on Bryce 5 or do they just expect to release it and have everyone buy it without knowing a damn thing about new features etc. until AFTER they open the box? Every other software package I've ever heard of had some advertising stuff and promos released ahead of the actual software release, to get people's attention and increase their interest in what goodies are to come. NEVER have I seen such secrecy about EVERYTHING relating to it. Why all the paranoia?

My bet is: they know there's a lot of Brycanatics out there. This is their first release since acquiring the software, and they want to make sure they do it right. God knows, after the various disasters like CorelDraw 6, they have every right to be concerned they might screw it up. And to Wolfie (and all the other beta testers out there), please spare us the "I can't talk about it". We know, okay? It's stupid and it's paranoid and it's absurd, but trust me: we know.

We have to say that or the onslaught of "well tell us more" emails come unabated. Look, we don't like being muzzled either. Early in the dev cycle it makes sense, late in the dev cycle, it doesn't. Doesn't matter what WE want to do, it matters that we entered into an agreement and we are bound by that. So stop coming down on the testers, dammit we want to tell you ALL the cool stuff. Until recently we couldn't even post images made in Bryce5 so be thankfull you are getting a look at ANYTHING surrounding Bryce5.

hi wolfie :)

Thanking the gods... = )

How does one...become a Beta volunteer? Cain~ = )

Exactly.

Depth of field, soft shadows, true Radiance, Gamma correction as part of the render, Motion blur during animation choosing the number of rays per pixel and a whole host of other new features will make this a worthwhile upgrade in my opinion. as a Lightwave 6.5 and Bryce owner i must admit that i will enjoy seeing the sarcastic smirks wiped off the faces of many of my Snobbish bretheren who dismiss bryce as a "toy" Mocap

Oh!! and lets not forget network rendering with "Bryce client" that will come with this release. time to buy that second machine!!! Mocap

I think its those smirks that Corel is going after as a market. Thats just my personal opinion though. A lot of us are very happy that some renders now don't have that "Bryce" look, furthering the "Smirk wiping" cause :)

Well..how does one Beta? I looked at the corel site, but did'nt locate any DL links. Cain~

There aren't any. We are all sent CDROMS. You sign up for a program and if accepted, you will be sent materials and an agreement (Non Disclosure Agreement) to sign etc. That I know of, there are no open programs at Corel at present.

Hi Wolfie, I don't think anyone is "coming down" on the Bryce testers. Perhaps there is some frustration but it is aimed at Corel rather than the testers. Since ver 3 I have always thought the appearance of Vue's render was superior to Bryce's for some types of imagery. As it happens, I prefer the "Bryce look" for my style. In looking at the various B5 images posted I was mildly worried that the old look might be a thing of the past and I hope this is not so. Oh well, if it is at least I will still have B4 which I have yet to fully explore.

No, the Bryce look is not gone..Its just an option now ;)

Where was the sign-up? = )

There was a link on thier main page or one of the sub pages. Its gone now. When they start another beta, the link will be back. Sorry, but you have to check back later. There isn't anything there to look for right now.

Thanks. = )