I'm still fence sitting, but don't want to be out of the upgrade loop.

Worth the upgrade? Enough enhancements?

Also, can you do things like caves easier now that you can ecopaint on any surface? (I'm thinking an ecosystem or stalgtites and stalagmites might be fun for cavern renders.)

So, what's the jury say? Thumbs up, or down?

That question has a different answer depending on the value each user gives to the new features. I don't think there's a universal answer. The value for money for each feature depends from person to person.

If you have lots of money, it's worth it. If your cash is limited and you can live without the new features, don't upgrade. In the middle there's a big grey area.
In my case it was worth it because of the new clouds and the new infinite terrains and the water editor but only because I had some available cash to spend. If I hadn't, I could live happily with Vue6 for a few more years...

You may also want to consider the distance in terms of Money when Vue 7.5 comes out. It will probably be less expensive to upgrade from Vue 6 to Vue 7 to 7.5 than from Vue 6 to 7.5 counting the current upgrade price. Just a thought!!!

If I recall, if you buy v7I, you get 7.5 as a free upgrade, right?

I've got the money.. that's not the issue, really.. but what is, is if the new festures justify the cash outlay.

For instance, if I only do 20 renders, that comes out to a lot of cash per render.

I'm most interested in the add on plants (the number of additional plants alone would be quite a bit of cash), and the new ecosystem enhancements. Course the faster render engine wouldn't hurt either.. ;)

No, if you buy 7 with a maintenance plan, you get 7.5 free, provided 7.5 is released during the maintenance period (1 year), otherwise 7.5  will not be free.

Keep also in mind you got many new plant species with the update. I never had so many trees before. And you get a $15 voucher for cornucopia (where I purchased another tree :laugh: ). For your cave project is the new perspective window useful. You can lock the main camera and paint in perspective view real-time in all 3 Dimensions.
Definitely +++ :thumbupboth:

Mazak

ANOTHER damned $15 corny coupon? It took me ages to use the last one! LOL!

Those Lush products do look killer though!

Absolutely! Seriously worth the upgrade price. Both the new plants and the new displacement materials are worth more than the upgrade price, by themselves. 

There are a few bugs, but significantly fewer and less consequential kinds of bugs than when Vue 6I was first released.  Gives one a lot of hope for this package.

It looks like you have to buy th ev7i upgrade, and the main plan from another section.. is that the case?

I'm surprised they didn't offer the upgrade to v7I with the maint plan as well.

I think the upgrade was well worth the money, just in trees alone!  The new features plus the increase in render speed is great! 

We have already had our first patch, and yes there have been some problems with Macs.  Plus - the Vue 7 Pioneer through Complete have not been released yet, so you may want to see what oppertunities those versions offer before making a decision.  Infinite is great (I could not go without it), but many people upgraded to Infinite only because of eco painting.  Complete will offer this, and at a much less price.  Even Pioneer users for $49 will be able to move up, module wise and get the modules they want.

I would check the comparision list and see what you really need, I am waiting for Vue 7 Complete personally

Jon

Complete doesn't come with all the extra plants though, and odds are the difference in price would be made up by purchasing them.

Has antialiasing really improved as promised? Is it faster now? Does Vue renders faster now?If yes, it would be worth upgrading for me .

Everyone has reported MUCH faster render times.. I think 20% or more seems to be the norm.. maybe someone else with it already can give us a realistic view about that?

I have a lot of the plants and I always thought the Vue should have come with more plants than it did considering the price so I don't really see that to be a plus.  A lot of people have had increased render times but a few have also had a lot slower times.

For anyone considering Vue I would definately recommend waiting for the PLE version to come out and then see how it suits you.

Jon

Quote - It looks like you have to buy th ev7i upgrade, and the main plan from another section.. is that the case?

I'm surprised they didn't offer the upgrade to v7I with the maint plan as well.

I believe they kept it separate for a reason - the maintenance plan is really for small studios/businesses that can afford it.

It's faster on some scenes, mainly those using radiosity.  Others it's slower and some say slower with the beta update. Some have noticed differences between Vue 6i scenes and renders in 6 versus 7, usually longer. It seems to depend on your settings. Things have to be adjusted for Vue 7i as it's a newer render engine that does a few things differently. Those using 64-bit seem to be having fewer issues, and those with 64-bit tend to have more robust systems with more memory and faster processors/more cores, so that factored together may also help some render times. I haven't quite figured out why some render times vary on test scenes using different settings... some make sense, others don't. YMMV

But, I've liked the results I've seen so far.

This may sound stupid, but where are the new trees??? All I seem to have are links to cornacopia's site for trees. The new trees was a big selling point to me.

Attached Link: http://market.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2754548&page=3

Mazak