Ah man, I see them now, cheers Ted!!!

Right, I'm off to have some fun with this, and actually, I think I might have already confirmed something vital even before starting, just through reading the opening pages of that manual. I used to think that Firefly was cursed with what I call the plastic look. But then again when I see it in the hands of people like yourself it loses that look. Raydream Studio (Now Carrara) also seemed to suffer from it unless it was is capable hands. I'm pretty sure now more than ever, that it has something to do with Fresnel. It's as if there is a calculation not getting done unless the user specifically 'nodes' it in.

Whatever it is, Bryce does it automatically, but Carrara/RDS and Firefly seem to handle it differently.

I've been tempted to ask you about it quite a few times now, but held back cause I was so bloody determined to work it out. But definitely, reading the description of Fresnel in that user guide made me think the same again, it must have something to do with Fresnel. Anyway, off to have some fun now, much appreciated!