I have Bryce 5 and Vue 4 and between the two I think I like Vue best. You will also want to pick up the Pro Pack. I have Lightwave 6.5b but I'm spending a lot of time learning Cinema 4D....you might want to think about those instead of 3D Studio Max. The main thing is to do lots of research. Make a list of what you expect a program to do and go from there. Marque