I've had this program ever since they first came out with the MAC version. I was at the MAC Expo many years ago and saw it demonstrated and immeadiatly pulled out my wallet to get it., But it got shelved for a very long time. But now since the upgrade, I've decided to start working with it again. It is not the easiest program to learn, but not the hardest either. So I'll be hopfully working with it agian. IT really has some fantastic things that it can do. But even in the image you have shown, tou'll notice the blurry edges. This is due to vertice painting which does not translate well to render in other programs. There is a work around to this in one of their MANY tutorials. Though I'd bring that up. And I have to add. As for "how many other companies have active participants in the general user groups?...and the creator himself?" You WILL notice that DAZ and Curious Labs take a very active part in this forum. Very active, did I mention very? ;-) James