Wow -- good responses, it's nice to see a "they are all tools" type stances. I am a long time Bryce user, I've had lonewolf design up for several years now (lonewolf.tierranet.com). I love Bryce. I recently purchased Vue 4. As for Bryce, I can definetly agree that the metals are better, and can add: wood. There is just more presets to choose from. I think Bryce has a much larger user base than Vue. So just comparing web galleries may not be too accurate. Check out Eon's image of the day gallery -- I think many of them are very photo realistic. As for indoor scenes, hmmm, not sure if I agree with it being easier in Bryce, but that may just be preference. I think Vue 4 and Bryce 5 are huge counterparts. I love doing abstract work in Bryce and it would probably be easier in there. The terrain editor is a bit better, too. But Vue's interface, as a graphic designer, hands down is better than Bryce. To constantly have to switch views in Bryce drives me mad. Vue also has poser imports, which is a big plus for me. The lighting, in my opinion, seems more realistic, and I like the lens flare editors, planets, etc. Vegetation is closer in this release, I like that with Bryce, you can have much more control via the Tree Lab. However, I think I still prefer the vegetation in Vue for the robustness it offers. If I need a really specific tree to match my scene, I will Tree Pro and import it, whether it be Bryce or Vue. If you've mastered Bryce's DTE than Vue will seem a little more limited. If you've always been baffled by it, you'll probably enjoy Vue's approach -- it may not be as powerful, but because of the way it works I find that I can get better results (meaning less random) by fiddling in Vue than I did with Bryce. But that's because I haven't mastered the DTE. As for atmospheres. Hmmm ... tough one. Neither can do stars very well. I'd have to give the point to Vue -- I like Bryce's interface, and I know it better, but the unlimited cloud layers in Vue, with additional planets, makes it pull out ahead IMO. I think the tools compliment one another well. To be honest, I see Vue taking over as my favorite tool in the collection soon. But this is just my opinion... -Brian