Well, well, well!
It looks like we have all been given our first piece of hard information about what Poser 5 is going to include.

Thanks Steve. It reassuring to know that the most constant wishlist request, that for a kick-ass rendering system, will be addressed.

Soulhuntre makes some interesting points but forgets that the single biggest cohort in the Poser customer base is that of people that do not own, use or have access to Max, Lightwave, Maya or any of the other high-end tools and are probably unlikely to go that route.

The most common use for Poser is for still or single frame artwork. Animation has always been a minority interest in the Poser customer base (my opinion).

Now while it is nice to expand the customer base (and make more money) no company should ever lose sight of where its' core revenues come from and are likely to continue to come from.

It was the almost unheard-of loyalty of the Poser customers, the unique and amazing nature of the Poser community - spread among the various Poser web sites - and the sheer drive and innovation of many of its members with their discoveries and experiments in the areas of joint control morphs, transparency mapping etc. that helped to sustain and grow interest in the product during the dark days after Metacreations.

That customer base and its wishes should always be paramount in the product development and I believe CL understands this very well and indeed appears to be responding to this. Giving ordinary users the ability to produce top class renders will deepen and sustain the customer base and product loyalty.

Targeting high-end software users can be easily achieved through plug-ins as CL has already demonstrated with the Pro Pack. This is a very fine business model that allows the company to gradually grow a high-end customer base without making the ordinary customers pay for it or alienating them. Long may it continue.

Now I want more insider tips, come on Steve lower the guard a bit and tease us a little more. :0)

Regards
STORM