I am one of those that likes to Render in just one app.

Now, I have been known to make a landscape in Bryce (5.5). And I have an old copy of VistaPro (4.0) that cam with a full CD of DEM files. For some reason, Vue will not read them, but I can load them in Bryce, and export them to Vue for use.

I also have Ray Dream for creating objects, several assorted programs for viewing 3d objects and converting them to other formats, and Poser of course :)

And a little off topic, but if you are looking for a great collection of 3d objects, keep your eyes open for an old program called Tri-Gallery. I have all 4 of the sets. They have a large collection of all kinds of 3d objects, complete with textures, that can be exported in many 3d formats. The 3ds format imports perfectly into Vue complete with texture mapping. I got the set of 4 from eBay for $20.