I am planning on getting a backround prog for my poser 4 but dont get the difference between these two.. anyone?

I have both Vue 4 and Bryce 5 and I can tell you that I love Vue. Bryce is ok but I found that the Vue renders are faster and it seems to be easier to use. I'm sure there are those who would disagree, this is just my opinion. I think you can download demos for them, you might want to do that to check them out. Marque

If you're willing to patiently spend time tackling the odd(but attractive) GUI, Bryce probably allows for deeper levels of control. However, I prefer Vue for the remarkable qualities of light, atmosphere and color that I can achieve with it. If you're planning on using one of these programs mostly for making Poser backgrounds, I'd suggest Vue. However, if you want to get deeply into using a landscape program as an end in itself, Bryce is probably slightly more robust.

As I understand it, to get the same render quality, Vue takes longer, but Vue has options for faster renders. I really like Vue's terrain editor, but prefer Bryce skies and materials. As Marque says, check out the demos. Note that in the Bryce demo, unfortunately, the render speed is drastically slowed down so you can't judge by it.

Vue, definatly.

I'd like to correct something: Bryce is definitely not just a landscape program. Yeah, you have all those terrain controls and everything, but you can do quite a lot beside landscapes, including setting Poser figures up in a scene.

If your looking for the lower end program that plays best with Poser? hands down, Vue dEsprit 4, Bryce dosent come close. Add Mover 4 to Vue and you've left Bryce in the dust. Doug Sturk Longtime Bryce user... Vue convert.

Oh, and I mean Poser4... Poser 5 doesnt play well with anybody yet.

Vue. I used Bryce at work on someone elses nickle, but when it came to spending my own money, I bought Vue for at home. Much easier to learn and use, plus it imports .pz3 scenes ready to go. jon

Vue is a lot more than a landscape program too. If I'm not doing something P5 specific, I ave the pz2 file and import into Vue. The renders there are beautiful.

Now that this conversation is started, I hope you all will indulge me some questions ... I've been using Bryce for about three years now and have wondered about Vue myself. Will Vue allow for really large renders, say 300 dpi, 7200 x 7200, etc., etc., the same way Bryce will,with options for default, regular, and fine renders? And does it have a material lab similar to Bryce? What kind of materials format can you use in Vue? Also, what's "Mover 4?" Thanks! Rhi

Attached Link: SturkWurk review of Mover4

I have both and prefer Vue, although there are times where Bryce shines. For terrain, vegetation, etc., Vue hands down.

VUE!

If you just want a background render program, try terragen, its free and fantastic for landscape/sky/water backgrounds. Other than that, I'm a diehard brycer.

Hey thanks guys!!!

I have Vue and Bryce both, but only use Vue. Vue will allow you to do a 7200x7200 (or greater) render at up to 600 dpi with complete control over the aspect ratio and level of anti-aliasing. It also renders to screen or to disk (get the free patch or the disk render might not work). Renders can also be farmed out to other machines on the network. Vue renders very well, especially with volumetric effects. You might want to look at the Vue and Bryce galleries here at r'osity.

Well, Bryce allows you to render any size you want to disk. I just tried (never do that otherwise) and it accepted 12 thousand by nine thousand pixels at 600 dpi, that is, 20 by 15 inches. You control the aspect ratio in Document setup, where you can constrain it, or leave it free-floating. Rendering to screen is limited to 72 dpi. Bryce can also render over network with the supplied network client. BTW, as I've said elsewhere, Bryce is quite easy to master, but difficult to be master in. There's more to Bryce than chrome spheres over water (Bryce equivalent of Vicky in a temple.) So, for the best results, be prepared to spend a lot of time in Bryce. But I think it's the same for any program. Except possibly for 3D Studio, where you have to spend a lot of time just to start getting something useful. :-) Anyway, you should take a look at the galleries.

Vue for exteriors, Bryce for interiors.