Beautiful picture, Bast. It was a pretty nice day here, too. :) Cheers, Mike< enjoys art...hates politics :)

bloodsong, I also agree... well put, and very much in need of being said. I wasn't around for the PFO/Renderosity mess from last year, though, and I really wish I had taken my vacation this year right about now. Terrible situation, ain't it? It's amazing too, how quick so many people were to start jumping each other over it. I really don't think (anymore)that ANYONE ought to be jumped...well, maybe Edgenet, but then again I wasn't sitting in on the discussions, and so, the way I've tried to learn to look at things such as this is: "Who Knows?" Oh well, I just hope this place calms down soon. What really kind of makes me wonder though, is, "Will I too now get attacked for saying THIS?" It's happened to greater than me for lesser reasons! I'm reminded of a very famous quote from some unknown philosopher: "Shit Happens." Frankly, I'm amazed at how many people who arent' Ed or Jack or Jeff H, or Tim or Edgenet, or Renderosity have been taking this thing so seemingly personally. Do they get this angry all the time? Oh well..... Cheers! Mike< ducking for cover and wondering why

Hello people... It was SUCH a nice day here today where I live, I just HAD to get out and enjoy the terriffic weather. :) Cheers! Mike

Hi ari, beautiful work! And very nice of you to be thinking about us. :) So, this Plant Studio program is starting to get pretty popular, huh? Cheers, Mike

Man, I LOVE This place... this is great! Not only can I learn about Vue d'esprit here, but also I finally get the answer to a question I've been pondering for a while now, and that's: How well the free web translators such as Alta Vista do, when translated and then read by someone who actually understands the language it was translated into! I know enough German to say, "hello", ask you how you're doing, and tell you that the pen is on the table. LOL And then I can very politely say goodbye...and that's about as bilingual as I get. Actually, I'm almost kind of envious: Where I graduated from High School, I had to pass a foreign language. I chose German mostly because I had other friends who were taking the same class. I passed it, but that was 17 years ago, and I haven't ever had to use it...sure wish I had though... Below is the above paragraph, after being translated by Alta Vista into German, and then being retranslated back into English: Man, LOVE I this workstation..., which is large this! I know over d'esprit Vue to learn not only here, in addition, I finally receive the response to a question, which I for one while now pond ring, and which is: How well the free Web compilers/translators such as Alta Vista, as if translates and by someone then read, which really understands the language, she was translated into! I know enough German to say in order to explain " hello ", asks you, how you does, and to you that the feather/spring on the table is. And then I can say LOL very politely that it lives probably... and that is approximately so bilingual, as I receive. I am almost friendly really of envious: Where I graduated of the High School, I had to lead a foreign language. I selected German, mostly because I had other friends, who took the same category. Forwards I led it, but that was 17 years, and I did not have at all it to use had... safe desire, which I had..., Now THAT'S funny! LOL Sorry guys, I know this is OT.. I was just hoping to lighten this up a bit. But I DO wish the emphasis on learning foreign languages was as big of a deal here as it is in many other countries. I suppose it's different living in Europe and having so many different countries and languages so relatively close by. Living in Florida, though, I know alot of Spanish speaking people who speak English pretty well, in addition to Spanish. Cheers all! :) Mike PS Sorry, again, I just COULDN'T resist! ;)

Ditto from me on what Sacred Rose said. :) Cheers, Mike

You know, believe it or not, I actually prefer that not-so-perfect sort of rendering. I don't really like the "Broadcast" setting, but recently I've been making two copies of my stuff: One with the "Final" setting (with soft shadows), and one with "Preview", and both at the same size. Using Painter 6's "Soft Clone" brush to merge the two images, I've come up with some fairly cool effects that, to me at least, merge the best of both worlds, and make things seem just a little more "real". Actually, I think Vue's rendering is just a little TOO perfect, if that's possible. Things seem just a bit too sharp. I know there's a way to blur certain objects or selections, but hell if I know how to do it yet...I'm on a Material kick this week, and trying to learn this all systematically in due time.... unlike Poser, which I just jumped right into! Well, there I go again, talking for no reason ;) Later, Mike

It's truly amazing the way such a thing can put those who have no real stakes in the issue against each other ( maybe you do, but I don't know). Jack continuously speaks in terms of "community". I sincerely doubt that he wants to see the members of the community rallying against EACH OTHER, as a way to let out the angst this whole situation has created. Oh well... just my 2 cents' worth... I can't help but feel that this whole situation is gonna end up being some sort of virtual civil war. yes, Wizzard, I agree: sigh Cheers, Mike PS By the way, y'all were making me hungry with all this talk about restaurants and cooks and all...thanks , Jack, for bringing up Mc Donald's...that really killed the ol' hunger urge!

Bloodsong, Yeah, I think so... Like I said, I didn't know anything about them, and I have STILL not even really read the manual thoroughly. But, I tried the shadow setting in the World Browser, and once I saw what it made (that dotty stuff) in the render, I searched through the Render Options section and found the "Enable Super Sampling" heading which of course has a selection for Soft Shadows. Checking THAT box does seem to make all the difference. :) BTW, in case you missed it or forgot, even the Vue people recommend NOT using "Ultra" unless it's for high quality printing projects. They claim it eats up much extra time and doesn't deliver any profoundly better results than, "Final". Cheers, Mike

Thank you, picnic and Dagon... it almost seems as though the hair trans maps are just negative B/W versions of the texture...funny though.. it doesn't work so well when I try it! :) Cheers, Mike

What's this all about anyway? Renderosity? What's that... I never heard of it before.... Gotta go wash my hands now...seeya Tim. Sincere regards, Mike

Well doesn't this all just SUCK royally! For what it's worth, Jack, you can believe that I'll be anxiously waiting to see what you come up with. Cheers, Mike

thip, No problem. :) I love Vue, but I didn't mean to give the impression that I don't like Bryce 4. Thing is, I got them at about the same time, but Vue made it to my door first by two days. I just haven't messed with Bryce much, because I'm kind of confused in there, and Vue's alot easier, to me at least. So I can't really say anything about what Bryce 4 is or isn't capable of compared to Vue, but I can tell you this: I have a 600 MHZ Athlon CPU, and though I've made some fairly complex pictures with Vue, not one yet has taken more than half an hour to render... just something you might want to think about...Also,it'd be a damn shame if Bryce were allowed to simply die, because I do know at least that it's DIFFERENT from Vue...somehow, I think Bryce pictures seem just ever so slightly more believable, but then again I'm by no means an expert at either program. Vue's soft shadows do work well, though. To tell you a secret here, I didn't even know about the soft shadow settings until you asked this question here, so I have to thank you for causing me to look into it! Cheers, Mike

Thip, Soft shadows are possible... you have to select the sunlight icon and then you'll see a box for "softness" in the World Browser. It only goes up to 9.96, as far as I can tell. Then in Picture>Render Options, you want to choose, "User Settings", and under the heading of "Enable Super Sampling", check off, "Soft Shadows". This is the only way I know how to do it, but I'll bet bloodsong knows something better. BTW, Bryce is cool... I have Bryce 4, but I really haven't used it much at all since buying Vue Hope this helps you some.. Cheers, Mike

bloodsong, Have you got it figured out yet? if you do, I'd love to hear about it! The haze/fog stuff is really starting to get the better of me. Do you know of any tutorials "out there" for that stuff? Cheers, Mike