SAMS3D - no, you can only export an object that was originally in another format and imported into Bryce, and as far as I know, you have to export it in the same format it was imported in - I've heard that Bryce crashes if you try to use it to convert to a different format. So - if you import a *.3Ds object, you can later export it as a *.3Ds, but not as an *.obj. And you can't export anything originally created in Bryce except a terrain or lattice.

Yeah, either do cylindrical or try object cubic. You'll then have to play with the texture scaling to get it where you want it. I think it depends a lot on what part of the object you want to be visible in the scene and have the material show best on.

You need to create a cloudless sky (in the sklab) and do your clouds by creating a volume cloud plane and assigning a cloud material to it, rather than by just selecting a sky in the skylab. Once you have your volume cloud plane(s) set up the way you want, you can put the planet above it/them. Also, when working with overhead planets in scenes, make it big and put it far away (e.g. at x = -2000, z = 2000), it'll look much more real than a smaller planet at closer range.

Maybe you could set up a page for the monthly Bryce challenge that states all the rules, and when somebody wins, that page would be where they would post the topic for the next challenge. That way in order to find out the topic, people would have to at least see the rules. (Whether they would actually read them is, of course, another matter.) That page could also be where you post the list of pics for voting and announce the winner, with a permanent link to it at the top of the Bryce forum like the FAQ. Just a thought.

Definitely chrisp2. Really well done - all around.

Thanks Yarp, you do great work and P3do is a lifesaver. How's the work coming on the Bryce-explorer you said you were going to do? I'm absolutly dying for that one to come out.

If I understand your question, you want to change the way it's shown in the already-saved view on the right. As far as I know, the only way to do that is to apply it to an object, go back into the mat library and save it with the new view, and then delete the old one. Paininnabutt, but I think that's the only way to change the one on the right, as that image is saved with the mat, obj, sky or whatever at the time it's added to the library. I've had the same thing happen, and now when I add something to a library, I usually try to fix the preview thumbnail right off so I won't have the problem.

Possibly because the render options are so much better in Bryce than Poser that exporting from B to P just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I wish it was possible tho, because I have some items I created in Bryce that I'd like to be able to export just to use to create a pose with a figure holding them accurately (after which I'd export from Poser to Bryce & do the rendering there).

If you are doing production work, then you are probably working for a firm that can actually afford a high-end program to do it on. For us mere ordinary working mortals who will never be able to afford to get anywhere near a copy of Maya or even Lightwave, Bryce is still heaven. Slow heaven, but heaven.

They seem to be still operating under the assumption that Bryce is automatically the final destination where you will do all rendering and that everything will be Imported rather than Exported. For some (like me) that's actually true, as I will never be able to afford the higher priced programs, but for a lot of others it just 'ain't so. Even for me, though I expect Bryce will probably always be my final destination where I compose the scene and render, it would be nice to be able to export something that needs changing so I could make structural adjustments to it in say, Amapi & then re-import into Bryce. Oh well, maybe one of these centuries they'll get it all right.

I keep all my preset library files no bigger thatn 50Mb. I have dozens of them and swap them in and out of the presets libraries in Bryce using the Bryce Librarian from wolfiesden.com. It's easy and you can swap whole preset files in & out of the User, Tutorial & other categories without leaving Bryce, by keeping the librarian open in the background. If you are still using B4 get it, it's a great program. I understand that for B5 it's not necessary, as you can have unlimited categories of user files and split them up however you like. I've posted other comments on threads over at 3Dcommune. Check the Bryce forum there & search for "Bryce Librarian" for more info about that if you are interested.

Looks like there's no label on that bottle, musta been one 'a grannys home-made. Good blobbing around, thanks for the preview.

It only works to export an obj or 3ds or whatever if the mesh was originally in that format and was imported into Bryce. I've had something that was a 3ds imported into Bryce and tried to export as an obj and that crashed too. And, if any part of it was created in Bryce, it won't work. The only things that can be created in Bryce and then exported are terrains and lattices. And, unfortunately, Bryce won't export mats under any conditions I've ever heard of. Basically Bryce is designed to be the end-point, into which you import whatever else you are using and do the rendering, as far as I can tell.

The cave kit was for Bryce, IIRC.

Note. I find that Poser4 exports an .mtl file along with the .obj. Make sure you keep them together in the same folder when loading into Bryce. If this happens in other contexts, then it's beyond me.