I agree with that.

I'm sure we'll start seeing a lot more interesting Octane renders once users start getting to grips with the materials. (But I can understand Aeilkema's "let's wait and see" position.)

And indeed, C4D comes with lots of excellent materials for inanimate objects. But nothing for skin and hair, and all the presets I've been able to snag here and there in the so called high end forums have been complete and utter rubbish - ha!

Fortunately, everything you need to "roll your own" is there in the software. I am now doubly grateful to BB, for he didn't just hand out fab shaders, but explained the way to make them. I find it reasonably easy to get what I want in the C4D material editor, precisely because I've got a decent understanding of the Poser Material Room. I suspect this will be exactly the same for users getting into Max, Lightwave, Octane or whatever.

I'm already getting hair that is much more realistic than anything I ever achieved with Firefly. I have some more work to do with skin (actually, I think EZskin may have harmed me, because I would just bung it on and everything would look good. I stopped thinking about skin shaders and now I have to start! Just goes to show what great work Snarly and BB actually did there...).