All 3D applications have there various pathologies. Carrara is no exception. I use it because, for the money, it's a really, really robust application. Carrara does so much so well that I have a hard time legitimetly saying much wrong against it. Terrains, multi-res meshes, spline modeling, cool light effects and enhanced shaders over RayDream make this a gotta have tool in my arsenal of 3D. Like the Adobe suite of products, the controls from Bryce, Poser and now Carrara all function pretty similarly so blending the uses of the programs is relatively easy. Hope you make the choice that's right for you. Mark