Attached Link: http://virtualtoybox3d.com

Vue has its bugs - so does Bryce and any other app. Wouldn't want to knock anyone off a fence ;o) but since : o Poser files can be imported via Konan's dirt-cheap-but-great NaturalPose w/ all tex adjustments done on-the-fly o Bryce is beautiful but slow and idiosyncratic o Vue is almost as beautiful but fast and straightforward ...I'd go with Vue (speaking as owner of both Bryce and Vue).

heyas; you can find one of those free copies-w/a-magazine of vue 3, which is much more stable. doesnt have all the goodies, and you have to import poser stuff manually.... but hey, it's free, and it works, and it can tide you over 'til v4 improves.

Actually, with the 4.03 update (and Windows XP), I don't really have any major problems with Vue 4 at all. A lot less than I did with Vue 3 and Win98. And the Poser import in Vue 4 is a HUGE boon to those of us who are just too damn lazy and lack the ambition to manually set up a Poser figure. SNAP! And it's in and textured...and may I say looks better than Poser figures do as .obj imports. Much smoother. I love it. I have Bryce 5 too, and I hate using it. Some folks really have a way with it tho. Laurie

I've been using Vue since version 2 (which is now available free) and it is extremely easy to use, much easier than Bryce (I've got Bryce, too, but it is so awkward to work with, I never use it.) Of course, your mileage may vary. There are a lot of Bryce-users who have tried Vue but stuck with Bryce. To each his own. If you've worked with the demos of both programs, it will give you a better idea of which is best suited for your particular tastes. As thip mentioned, all software has bugs. When Vue 4 was first released, it had a lot more problems than anyone expected (even E-on!) but the customer service can't be beat. They've been working on it diligently and the 4.03 has cleared up most of it. :)

OK, I'm convinced. Thats it, I've folded, I'm getting it. I'm going to see if a store around here sells it (even though the probably don't), but if not, I'll just do the online order thingy. Three days to mail it huh? Damn thats a long time.:-)As much as I use P4 w/ PPP, that should keep me busy enough till I receive it, and I'll always have Bryce4 if I get the bryce itch again. Thanks again for all the replies, this is a great group. I'll let ya know when I receive it.

taliahad....good choice ;o). I'm sure you'll love it! Laurie

Cool! I don't think you'll be disappointed, but there is one major thing you ought to know, since you use Poser alot: For alot of people, myself included, the .BUM file format for Poser bump maps won't load into Vue 4. For some people it will, for some it won't, and nobody knows why. Fortunately since the advent of the PPP, Poser no longer needs to make that ridiculous (and enormous!) .BUM format out of image files and the bump channels from a PPP export (Vue 4 will also import compressed PPP *.pzz files) import into Vue 4 just fine. So hopefully soon the .BUM format will become a thing of the past. But that's no good for all those .bum files you have no jpg or bmp equivalents for, though you can change the extension on a .bum to .bmp and open it in, say Windows Paint, to make it a grayscale and then save it as a jpg for Poser. Not as good as the original, but workable... But, aside from that, the Poser import is a VERY cool thing, and the Poser models seem to look alot better when imported as a pz3 or pzz than as a .obj or (shudder!!), .3ds. Textures, transparencies, etc, all import correctly. Another cool thing is, if you have a magnet deformer attached to a Poser figure, the figure will import with the way it looks in Poser, meaning that you don't have to spawn morph targets prior to saving. The magnets themselves actually import into Vue along with the figure, but they can just easily be deleted. When you get your Vue 4, make sure you get the 4.03 patch right away. if you have problems with the patch, it's easily undo-able, but the patch is very stable and good now, after a rocky adolescence.... Welcome! :) -Mike

Ah you found the light I see ! Ya Vue 4 blows the competition away even with the occational glitch. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I was a bit unsure about Vue4 because of problems with the demo (on a win ME machine), but the only problem I have had since I got my copy (about one week) is memory. If Vue 4 crashes, so far, I have been able to trace it to the swap file eating up the remaining disk space on C: This is a major improvement over the demo version, and I haven't any regrets for the money I spent. Good luck!

If it makes you feel better good, I had the same feelings when I first heard about Vue, read the posts, got Vue and was still nervous, but people here convinced me to move forward, I did, and I am glad. Don't hesitate like me and waste anymore time, you will not crash, you will have a few, (very few) bugs, come here and people with the knowledge that they have will help you (if you have a bug or too), You will not regret it....REALLY!!!! Sharen PS: you'll love it. PSS: Like LaurieA said, Vue and XP, almost hand in hand

Are you finding that you like XP Sharen? I know you were really nervous about getting it ;). Does your Vue 4 work in XP as well as mine does? Gee...I never expected it to work as well as it does... Laurie

LaurieA, you were absolutely right, it works wonderfully, really does, had 2 crashes though, but I think that was my fault, I was moving fast and it was when I brought the new stable model into it. Not sure what I did, but I kept recreating the same error, and deep down I felt I was doing this and it pissed Vue off....LOL...anyway other than that, it is a dream and a pleasure to work with. I trusted your judgement and am glad. Thank you for speaking up. Sharen

LaurieA, one more thing, I became a grandma lastnight. Little boy I have to teach to be a fighter....LOL Sharen

Very interesting discussion. Gotta get Vue 4 as soon as it's available for Mac OSX. Should be out at MacWorld Expo in January, since E-On will show it at this fair. Can't wait to get my hands on it ;o)

SHAREN!!! That's SO great! :o). Congrats all around to both you and Mike! We'll be benefiting from his models in 15 or 20 years I'll wager if grandma and grandad have anything to do with it...LOL! ;o). TheWingedOne: You know, us PC users have been lobbying for a Mac version to E-on for a long, long time. Why? Because we want EVERYONE to share in the experience...LOL. I'm so glad they smartened up and finally did it. I hope it's a hit. ;o) Laurie

Oh, and if I still had my Mac, I'd get another copy just for it! ;o). But even tho it was a really nice PowerPC 9600, it was still probably too old to run OS10. Oh well :o). Laurie

LaurieA: I started working with a PC but during university I switched to the Apple platform. And I'll never ever get back to a PC... :o)))

TheWingedOne: Actually, I like both equally :o). Being a graphic artist by trade means that you can't likely get away from a Mac, because I've never worked for a prep house or magazine that doesn't use them exclusively. It was also the first computer that I ever used. There will always be a special place in my heart for the Mac. But I found that even when I had both my Mac and PC at home I rarely ever touched the Mac, mostly because all the software I had was pretty much for the PC. And then there was the problem of networking the Mac with our other PC's for broadband access. In the end, I decided to sell it because it got no use and I felt it could be of use to someone even if it was a little old. Turns out some music producer from New York City bought it so that he could run ProTools :o). So I know it got a good home...LOL. I still have my old Quadra 810 BTW, which did me pretty well in the last job I had. I could run Quark XPress 3.32, Photoshop 4 and Illustrator 7 on it, although not all at the same time ;o). And even at that, I usually had to reboot evertime I switched to another program just so that I had enough available memory to work with...hehehe. Who knows? Maybe I'll fire that up again someday :o). Laurie

Well, at this point I'm just waiting for the FedEx driver to arrive since it was only $10 bucks or so extra than UPS, and holiday driving can really slow a driver/flyer down:-). I even had my Vue2 S# (from the 3DWorld mag freebie) to get the extra $10 off from the 199, but they seemed to be quite confused over that part, so I blew that off. As good as things are starting to sound, my anticipation grows, and good software design teams deserve the money anyway, so they can HAVE the ten bucks(LOL).

I'll bet you're going to love it, too! :) As for the "$10", that Vue 2 upgrade deal was (as I recall) more like 10 and available in the UK only. But don't worry...you'll find that Vue is well worth its price. :)

My package arrived today! Couldn't beleive it got here that quick, but downloaded the veg file and upgrade to 4.03, and I'm on my way. Next stop, rendertown. Yeeehawww.