bryce is the cheaper of the programs and often looks better than WB, terragen and vue so why is it frowned upon by the 3D mags -can of worms or what

isn't terragen free?

Registered version of Terragen is around $80 I think. You can check out the main site from the Terragen forum page. Most use the unregistered version which is free. I hadn't realised it was frowned upon but its probably because of the lack of realistic lighting and a few other things like that. Bryce is great for objects in a scene, rather than the scene itself. Bryce 5 now has good looking vegetation so the complaints about that should die down....Bryce has a bit of everything not being master at anything...just what I like about it!!!!!

I don't have a problem with realistic lighting in Bryce, depends on what you're trying to acheive I reckon.

OK OK - ;) I like Bryce lighting but I have a few friends who knock the living daylights out of it so I know that's why they wouldn't use Bryce. Clay, you don't have any trouble creating ANYTHING you want! ;) oh Bryce master you!

Take any software, learn the hell out of it, and it won't matter. Agent Smith

It is true that if you go to some of the max forums or higher end ones and mention bryce youll at best get ignored and worse reminded of how you should start using a real program. I use bryce for the enviorment mainly myself though, i model outside and import in later. Just got cararra today, a low end option but has what appears to be alot of what max can do. Even got pretty little buttons on the left similiar to bryce. Ill admit though, i tried to learn how to model in bryce only and gave up. Mind you, some of the stuff done purely in bryce is beautiful so goes to prove if you learn it throughly, you can make excellent work.

Metacreations old line's UI takes the learning curve awards when masters get behind thier render engines. I've seen Bryce renders that rival photographic quality. The super high end apps., when coupled With as seasoned a professional, render still perspectives of future promise, but that still look back to the former MC lineup in retrospect. Bryce has a very nice render engine, the only reason it is'nt held in as high a regard as you or would think it should be in on its own right is because Poser and Carrera are part of its price tag. = )

...are'nt part of it's price tag! = )

Over the past few years, Ive been to many different forums looking at posts, and I swear I've seen over 50 posts saying "I modeled and textured this in insert high end proggy here, and rendered in bryce", and "scene setup was done in bryce due to render quality". I am sure there are more I've missed. I'm just saying that there are alot of closet bryce users out there too that wont admit it, cause they have a rep to maintain in the industry. (maybe ego is a better word). Bryce is powerfull enough for many things, and used in conjuction with other programs, can yeild outstanding results. I started with bryce, researched a ton of info into possibly going to a higher end program, played with a few demo's, and went back to bryce cause its fun, easy to use, and everything you can do in bryce is very tweakable. There are a ton of hobbyists out there that are not 3d professionals, and cant afford things like max and lightwave. On the other side of the coin, there are a ton that can afford that stuff, and are still just hobbyists. You'll find that those are the ones who use bryce as well whatever thousand dollar program they ended up with. (my definition of a hobbyist is someone who doesnt try and make a living from 3d), now I know there are alot of people that sell poser stuff, and make very professional images, but I would say they dont make most of their money from these sales. (some of em make a good amount though).

Bryce 5 is an extremely good program and I use it all the time, but it is not the cheapest out there. Bryce 5 costs almost $280. Even the upgrade from Bryce 4 isn't cheap, which is $139. I agree with all of you on that Bryce 5 is an excellent program but it isn't cheap it all.

I tend to worry how much of a differance there is between say Bryce 3 and Bryce 5, for an avid hobbyist or budding ameteur! = )

anything is expensive when you don't have a lot of money. I got the full version Bryce 5 for $72 off the net or I couldn't have afforded it. But even at full price it is still less expensive than some other apps out there IMHO and I'm having the time of my life learning it!

Bryce bugs the hell out of high end users because it produces very high quality still pics, and on the net the majority of people don't look at movies(where hi-end app's excel), so it gives the immpression that a good bryce user is better than an average, say max user. Another annoyance for hi-end users is that the majority of brycers users are using the software of thier choice, with total control over thier work, where most max/maya/xsi users are producing someone elses ideas on the software thier boss has told them to use! --hope no hi-end boys read this, they might think I'm another uppity brycer! ;)

I think the mags, basically look at one element when comparing Bryce to the other 3,( Vue, WB, Terr ) not it's render quality but it's render speed. I have never tried WB, but I did try Tarragen and Vue for a day before I took them off my computer. Both did seem to render faster then Bryce. True ( IMO ) Bryce's render quality is right up there with ( if not better then ) some of the high end apps. But when your getting paid for work, time is money. ( don't say network render, cause all the high end apps network ) What will take Bryce a week to render out, will take most high end apps a day or less. When it come to character animation Bryce is basically useless, ( please don't tell me about Susanna, it gives you no control over anything ). Even basic animation in Bryce is very tricky and time consuming. As far as some people calling Bryce a toy app, I guess when some people shell out 2 to 10 gran for a program, they feel it gives them the right. Hey I have some high end apps, but I say, what ever gets the job done. I still consider myself a hobbyist. I make some money doing 3D but it's not my sole source of income. Bryce and Amorphium Pro will probably always be my favorite programs.

and was it acan of worms - many thanks for everybodys contribution

You think you can call Bryce a Can-O'-Worms? I'd guess again! I use Brycr religiuouslty! I was just stating a fact that you can get much of what's in B5, in a free(Magazine) copy of B3, because it's been a wonderful application since version 3! = )

I am what you might call a "hobbyist" was fortunate to be given Bryce 5 couldn't have afforded it my self ...I get enormous enjoyment out ot using this programme and though only just beginning to scratch the surface I can see what potential there is for complete creatable magic...I am hooked!

Attached Link: http://www.scotttucker3d.com/intro_galframes.html

I've been using Bryce since version 1.0 and I am constantly amazed at the way the mags and some pros put down Bryce. They say: It doesn't render fast enough... It isn't a good modeler... It can't do vegetation (have they ever USED Bryce 5)? Bryce has always traded speed for beauty and is not meant for a production workflow. Bryce does have some of the most gorgeous renders on the planet. Bryce was never meant to be a modeler, but people bring their modeling skills TO Bryce and do amazing images with it with primitives, terrain models and imports. With patience b5 makes some awesome trees and plantlife. Bryce has the most loyal following of any 3d app out there and probably has the biggest amount of users. Who cares what they say - if you use it and enjoy it then you GET Bryce and that is all that matters. I use some of the midrange and the high-end apps, but I always come back to Bryce - Bryce has soul - it just feels right. The other apps can't say that.

I have never come close to making an image like this in any of the other apps - I think that speaks to the soul of Bryce. It just feels right when you're in there : )

I wish I'd read these articles, I's of put thier authors i thier place with The Quickness! }|> )

Attached Link: http://www.digitalblasphemy.com

/DELURK/ Well, I have been with Bryce since 3D and I love it. It is really easy to use. I use Poser too and just import that into Bryce.

As for World Builder and Lightwave Ryan Bliss's site is the best example that I can think of. He uses exclusively those programs. He is a professional though as he makes a living off of his wallpapers.

So, there is a lot to say about the higher end modeling proggies, but first and only love will be Bryce and Poser!
/LURK/

I've used Bryce since it first came out. I have done the same with Poser. I've never had any trouble bringing a Poser model into Bryce, and Bryce usually works fine for me (especially now that Clay led me to the autokey fix). I agree that it renders a bit slowly, although on a MAC G4, it is tolerable.

I'm on a MAC, and I don't see much available at a price similar to Bryce on the Mac end of things. Sure, I'd love a high end program, but worry that I'd never be able to figure it out, and after all that money--well, it gives one pause to reflect! An expensive, high-end program may have tremendous capability, but it also needs to be learnable. Sitting alone in a room struggling with a manual isn't much fun. Bryce isn't too bad on the learning curve. I was able to use it when I first bought it to make primative scenes following their tutorials right away. But, when I find I can go to a place like the Renderosity forums and find help and tips and tricks that take the program to the limit...that tells me it is a good program because so many talented people enjoy it and share what they have learned.

I have Strata 3-D Pro (similarly priced), and it IS a better modeler than Bryce, but I find it much harder to work with for complete scenes, and it doesn't render faster than Bryce. It has MANY strengths, and I have found the best solution is to use it to make models of objects I need and bring them into Bryce for composition. This way, I have the best of both worlds. I am much more comfortable in Bryce for composition and animation (although animating in Bryce can sometimes be extremely frustrating). I think it's what you like working with. And, of course, as it seems is so often the case with software, one does need several programs to get the job done. (Where would we be without Photoshop?)

One thing I must say is that much of the work I have seen posted by artists here on Renderosity for both Bryce and Poser has sometimes completely blown me away for excellence! I have seen Bryce forests that almost come alive, Poser characters with real "character", and combinations of the two programs to make images that are truly inspiring. Then there are the incredible tutorials with amazing tricks and tips that people post and share with others. It's humbling to see such things, and inspiring to learn more and do more.

I don't know if reviews of a program take into account the effect that a program has on the people who use it. I think they should, because that tells a lot about the value the program has. Based on what I have seen here in Renderosity and around the Net, Bryce (and Poser) has a strong and loyal following of highly talented people. Therefore, the program must have value.

And, I can actually use it... which I can't say about some other programs I have never been able to figure out!

You know with a can of worms you can catch a lot of fish:-D Bryce is a great program. The only qualm I have with it is its rendering speed, and lack of better environment control...dynamics with water and wind..etc would be nice. But I have heard those are in the works. I would love it if character animation was included in Bryce, but I realize that isn't its main purpose..but I like the interface and design so much that I wish everything was included in it. If plug-in ability becomes available..which I think it will..then who knows what we will see... so many things are possible, and the vast amount of users out there..could make who knows what! I am hoping to upgrade to Bryce 5 but I am wary of whether I should I still have Bryce 4, and I've used Bryce since 2, a vast improvement since. You should see what the original poser was like..haha...it was nothing really..basically all it could be used for was making a reference drawing for artists. But anyway...thats my two cents... Cheers, Brian

I have Truespace and I love making models in it but making scenes no way. It drives me nuts. Want a list of textures the way Bryce does no way. Gotta open each texture file to see whats inside. Want to save your view position? No can do. Have to move your view around to make sure that things are aligned properly. There is a plugin that will save your view position but it only saves one. Too bad the Truespace developers did not look at Bryce for some ui ideas.