Since Vue is now subscription based, what are the alternatives? Bryce is dead, Terragen seems alive, are there others?

As good as Terragen is, it is No Vue! It doesn't seem to be able to handle the amount of different content that Vue does and/or as easily. I have used both for years and while Terragen has come so very far, I have yet to produce an interior scene worthy of that Vue can with little effort. Terragen with the last iteration may have surpassed Vue ability for Environment capabilities, it still can not handle 200 or 300 different objects in one scene. Not even with my super powerhouse computer. This will probably garner some negative attention, but all you have to do is go to the Vue and the Terragen Gallery and see for yourself.

Thanks. I'm mainly using Vue for environments these days, more as prototyping for my paintings. Not upgrading is of course always an option.

Terragen also offers a subscription or purchase plan.

Does Terragan import 3D models (DAE, FBX, OBJ, etc)?

If you've mostly prototyping paintings in 3D, Aeilkema, the free DAZ Studio might worth a look. It now has a _ lot_ of preset landscapes on the DAZ Store, and plugins for easy depth haze and similar. No ecosystems, though. It's free, so no harm taking a look. Scene Optimiser is a DAZ plugin that makes iRay renders feasible for those without a chunky graphics card.

Personally I'll be sticking with the last good version of Vue, Vue 2016 R5 (before the UI started to get messed with), and pairing it with Poser 11 Pro as they work seamlessly together). I guess Poser 12 will be the next to go to a subscription model (sigh).

How about Carrara? Is DAZ still developing it?

I'm considering Blender 2.8. Luxrender or Kerkythea - both are free. Not sure how they handle landscapes though...

Thanks Bart. Carrara? Daz stopped working on that not soon after they acquired it. For them it was all about the tech and know how, not to keep the software alive.

Houdini has been improving their terrain tools in H16.5 and the recently released H17. Houdini is more technical than artist focused and has a steep learning curve but it has a free non-commercial version and an indie license for limited commercial use. Houdini can also generate terrain, sky, clouds, water that can be physically simulated to interact with the terrain, and hierarchical scattering of nodes on terrains.

I wouldn't agree that Bryce is dead as such. It's still a great modeller and landscaper.

Why is no one mentioning The World Machine?

Actually, aelikema, a useful alternative for you might be to go crazy and experiment with the various gaming engines. Microsoft's free Lumberyard, or the free Unreal. Both of these have been used in architecture renders, so we know they can produce good-looking renders. And there are tons of free objects, including landscapes and plants for them. Plus characters. Neither one of these has an excessive or burdensome learning curve. There are free tutorials, too. Although making scenes and renders certainly is not their intended purpose, they can be used this way, and they're kind of fun to play around with once you get the hang of it.

And they're cheaper than Houdini.

Agree that Bryce is not dead!

Why the need for alternatives? I'm using 2015 Infinite and had already decided to stop there as the upgrades, to me seemed pointless. Mostly new features that I don't need or use. Just because it's now subscription only doesn't mean that you can't continue to create in your current version. As they have stated, it's yours, you own it - the licence to use it at very least. The only possible problem may occur if at some future point, your new OS won't support it. Although for me, I would like to continue using Win 8.1 untill I falls off me perch.

The whole point being, why change just because you can't get the shiny, new "latest" version? If it works, why change ??

aeilkema posted at 10:07AM Thu, 06 December 2018 - #4341294

Thanks Bart. Carrara? Daz stopped working on that not soon after they acquired it. For them it was all about the tech and know how, not to keep the software alive.

Daz in fact issued several version updates for Carrara, with new features added.

Quadspinner's GAEA is worth a look. Quadspinner used to sell some of the best VUE add-ins (now open source/free), so I am watching developments here closely. At this time, it is purchase not subscription.

I agree that Carrara, particularly with the excellent plug-ins, is still a contender. It will also run just fine on my older render hardware (non-AVX) with GRID.

I have not given up on VUE just yet, but no way I am paying $75 a month for what appears to be the equivalent of the old VUE Infinite just for hobby use. One of their Tech Support folks stated that you could subscribe to Creator ($20 per month) and switch your subscription to Pro ($75 per month) for a month or two to export and stuff, then switch back. That does not seem so bad (although I do not like subscriptions!), except I can't actually find that option anywhere on their site. Keeping a close eye on all this.

gillbrooks posted at 12:45PM Thu, 06 December 2018 - #4341322

Why the need for alternatives? I'm using 2015 Infinite and had already decided to stop there as the upgrades, to me seemed pointless. Mostly new features that I don't need or use. Just because it's now subscription only doesn't mean that you can't continue to create in your current version. As they have stated, it's yours, you own it - the licence to use it at very least. The only possible problem may occur if at some future point, your new OS won't support it. Although for me, I would like to continue using Win 8.1 untill I falls off me perch.

The whole point being, why change just because you can't get the shiny, new "latest" version? If it works, why change ??

I agree, I decided to set a couple of machines up for hardware dual boot (Win 7/Win 10 with two physical drives so I just swap plugs), and others Win7 only (Win 10 compatibility a bit iffy). Hoping to keep VUE 2015, Plant Factory, Carrara, and probably Bryce, running on Win 7 (on machines built from cheap surplus server parts) for years to come. When I am running Win7 there will be no connection to the internet for those machines. The money for hardware was already spent, and I had extra copies of Win7, so why not?

In the meantime, I will see what develops.

Thanks everyone, some interesting things to check out for me. Why alternatives? I'm seriously afraid that sooner or later, E-On, due to disappointing sales, might pull the plug out of older versions in the hope to drive new sales. That wouldn't surprise me at all. In all honesty, they should get rid of the old version activation, we'll be at their mercy and for how long?

RHaseltine posted at 3:00AM Fri, 07 December 2018 - #4341324

aeilkema posted at 10:07AM Thu, 06 December 2018 - #4341294

Thanks Bart. Carrara? Daz stopped working on that not soon after they acquired it. For them it was all about the tech and know how, not to keep the software alive.

Daz in fact issued several version updates for Carrara, with new features added.

Many years ago, last major update is 5 years ago, some minor ones after that, nothing since 2015. That's a dead horse by now.

your lucky my 2015 Infinite stopped working i have too sub now gillbrooks posted at 5:07PM Thu, 10 January 2019 - #4341322

Why the need for alternatives? I'm using 2015 Infinite and had already decided to stop there as the upgrades, to me seemed pointless. Mostly new features that I don't need or use. Just because it's now subscription only doesn't mean that you can't continue to create in your current version. As they have stated, it's yours, you own it - the licence to use it at very least. The only possible problem may occur if at some future point, your new OS won't support it. Although for me, I would like to continue using Win 8.1 untill I falls off me perch.

The whole point being, why change just because you can't get the shiny, new "latest" version? If it works, why change ??

I've been looking at Bryce again in depth. If all you want is to prototype paintings, as you say, and to get a 'base with atmosphere' for overpainting, then Bryce seems the way to go. Also, Bryce interfaces with DAZ Studio via a native bridge plugin, so you get access to all Poser/DAZ content in your runtime. Bryce 7.1's fast Preview render gives a somewhat painterly look, suitable for overpainting. It's no longer free, but only costs $20.

HartyBart posted at 1:20AM Fri, 25 January 2019 - #4343647

I've been looking at Bryce again in depth. If all you want is to prototype paintings, as you say, and to get a 'base with atmosphere' for overpainting, then Bryce seems the way to go. Also, Bryce interfaces with DAZ Studio via a native bridge plugin, so you get access to all Poser/DAZ content in your runtime. Bryce 7.1's fast Preview render gives a somewhat painterly look, suitable for overpainting. It's no longer free, but only costs $20.

Bryce? Haven't used that in years, not since I've switched to Vue 10 years ago, leaving Bryce behind. Not planning on going back, wanted to move forward. I've still got my Vue 2014 license, just haven't installed it on my new machine yet. For now my main interest is something that's alive and doesn't need a subscription. Quadspinner's GAEA looks interesting and some of the game engines as well.

gillbrooks posted at 8:17AM Fri, 25 January 2019 - #4341322

Why the need for alternatives? I'm using 2015 Infinite and had already decided to stop there as the upgrades, to me seemed pointless. Mostly new features that I don't need or use. Just because it's now subscription only doesn't mean that you can't continue to create in your current version. As they have stated, it's yours, you own it - the licence to use it at very least. The only possible problem may occur if at some future point, your new OS won't support it. Although for me, I would like to continue using Win 8.1 untill I falls off me perch.

The whole point being, why change just because you can't get the shiny, new "latest" version? If it works, why change ??

For me, it's because I have a random bug that deletes all the texture maps and/or makes them ignore lighting. It's an issue that E-on was made aware of relativity early on when 2015 was released. I was not,in fact, the first (or second) to report the bug. E-on either was unable to, or couldn't be bothered to, fix it. The only current cure is to delete the Vue 2015 folder in Local/Apps/Roaming and redo all your preferences. And resign yourself to the fact that unless you had recently saved the file under a different name, however many hours of work you've put into this scene have been wasted. It's obviously not a minor bug that can just be ignored.

I had intended on upgrading to 2016 after Christmas, only to find that E-On changed pricing so that instead of $595 to own the software outright, I could instead pay $795 for a single year. Unless I can find someone who is willing to sell me 2016, I'm done with Vue.

And for the record, I'm not blindly opposed to a subscription model. In fact, that's how i finally managed to score Photoshop. The difference being that Photoshop costs $11 a month and I can install it on any two computers (and in fact, can bounce it back and forth between computers so long as I only have it on two computers at any given time).

Greymom posted at 8:30AM Fri, 25 January 2019 - #4341337

gillbrooks posted at 12:45PM Thu, 06 December 2018 - #4341322

Why the need for alternatives? I'm using 2015 Infinite and had already decided to stop there as the upgrades, to me seemed pointless. Mostly new features that I don't need or use. Just because it's now subscription only doesn't mean that you can't continue to create in your current version. As they have stated, it's yours, you own it - the licence to use it at very least. The only possible problem may occur if at some future point, your new OS won't support it. Although for me, I would like to continue using Win 8.1 untill I falls off me perch.

The whole point being, why change just because you can't get the shiny, new "latest" version? If it works, why change ??

I agree, I decided to set a couple of machines up for hardware dual boot (Win 7/Win 10 with two physical drives so I just swap plugs), and others Win7 only (Win 10 compatibility a bit iffy). Hoping to keep VUE 2015, Plant Factory, Carrara, and probably Bryce, running on Win 7 (on machines built from cheap surplus server parts) for years to come. When I am running Win7 there will be no connection to the internet for those machines. The money for hardware was already spent, and I had extra copies of Win7, so why not?

In the meantime, I will see what develops.

2015 "works" in Win 10. I put works in parenthesis due to the bug mentioned in my previous post. Pretty sure i had the same bug with Win 7,although it's possible I didn't buy 2015 until after I upgraded to 10. In any case, according to E-on, 2015 is compatible with 10.

Well, I just found an alternative, someone posted it in the Poser forum, It looks promising, FlowScape I'm going to give that a try as soon as I've figured out what the system requirements are. Yes, I know this is just for fun, but it looks interesting.

If you have a working Vue, just keep using that.

I just came across this but not sure of render restrictions. Ihaven't bought it yet. https://pixelforest.itch.io/flowscape

Hey everyone with suggestions......Thanks. For over a year I tried to get a reply from Eon on buying anything. All I got from their sales team was ads.

Ospar, you could email Walther.Beck@bentley.com Walther is really helpful employee of what used to be e-on Love esther

BTW i bought https://pixelforest.itch.io/flowscape for making quick backgrounds Love esther PS no restrictions on selling the render with their assets in the rendered scene

With pixelforest,can you import Poser and DAZ figures into it to use along with the environments? Cheers

No. You can only make screen caps. Of the software generated landscape.

Since the beta of Blender 2.8 came out, I have been giving more serious consideration to it as a platform. It seems to me with the right add-ons, it could duplicate what I use Vue for the most.

Hi i am new here, I use Vue 2014 complete and even though it is very enticing to subscribe to the new Vue and plant factory I am planning to stick with Vue 2014.

I have been using Vue for many years and create game art packs with it on a regular basis.

The biggest issue Vue has is no GPU rendering, even with path trace now, I do not find the hybrid rendering to be on par with say Blender, using same High-end graphics cards.

I have tested the new Vue with my Sapphire r9 390 ( 8 gb vram) and there are no speed changes, also path trace doesn't allow to use dynamic ecosystem or procedural materials.

If I stack two of my graphics cards for blender, they will double the speed of rendering.

Hate Vue for rendering speed, you cannot make an animation with it without render farms, For that I use iClone.

2014 does not even support my high-end graphic card,

But all said and done Vue is amazing with what it can do. There is no other software like Vue. Period.

It is one of the tools I use with Blender and Zbrush and iClone.

If you do not want to subscribe, get hold of an older version of Vue and keep using it till your windows can support it.

I create game art packs with Vue every day and till I can earn enough with it, I am not going for the subscription.

Some of my Vue works:

PixelForest FlowScape with a Nvidia card that supports Ansel can make high resolution images greater than 50K FlowScape by itself can make 8K images. FlowScape Super-Resolution 2019.07.19 - 22.14.31.72.jpg Original image was 19k

The Ansel panel in FlowScape

The Amadine produsts ( https://amadine.com) made my life such easier, it's simple, but has a fulpack of tools and its cheap. Try it.

I have seen some interesting renders from Flowscape, however I have yet to see any that don't have a dated look compared to todays renderers. Fun to play with but by no means a direction anyone should follow professionally IMHO. Realtime renderers are the thing now and this will increase over the following years. Coming from and old skool render guy it kills me to say that but its true. Unity, Unreal and Terrascale are are the future. The fact they have massive gaming backed budgets means that they can afford aggressive development that other softwares cannot. They integrate seamlessly with standard production tools (Max, ZBrush, Substance, Maya, Houdini etc) and don't require processing time. How does one compete with that? Real time is where you should be directing yourself if you want to stay professionally relevant. Hobbyists & general artists obviously its a personal choice that is defined by your eye and wallet. We are all taking a hit with the subscription based movement aka robbery that is going on. Not happy about it but .....