You could also try rendering in layers  or group foreground, middleground and background objects in separate groups and then render a group at a time and then composite them together in your 2d application.

Jedi Padawan,

 I think you just have to start deleting things from the scene and try to render again, see if it works etc.. So, you just have to try and isolate what the problem is. Is there a specific spot on the render where it crashes?  If so what is going on in that area may give you an idea as to the problem.

So I would render the scene as quickly as possible(low settings) and try and find the culprit by deleting things. Hope it goes well for you.

Mike

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?username=mmoir

  I use Carrara to do Architectural renderings and it works just fine for this, one thing I like is the landscape abilities it has  as well as being an all purpose 3d package.  I also model mostly in Carrara which some find odd but it feels comfortable to me, I also use Hexagon to model but mostly use Carrara.  For me it is a great package and would recommend it but I would try out the trial if you have not already done so.
  You can take a look at my gallery here to see images I have done with Carrara , my gallery shows my hobby type images only but it should still give you an idea of my work.  Good luck with your decision.

Mike

   Welcome to Carrara,

  What you could do is drag the shader from the browser right onto the object it self, the differenet shading domains should become active when your cursor is over different parts of the model. Make sure you have your model hierarchy expanded in the sequencer tray or list if your object contains individual objects instead of one mesh.

 Have fun with Carrara.

Cheers
Mike  

About  C5  working on an Intel Mac,  I don't know as I am not a mac person although I know C6 does.  With C6 you get displacement painting  as well which is a cool tool to create terrains with . 

Mike

 Carrara 5 Pro  has the surface replicator feature which is similar to Vues Ecosystems.  Carrara can replicate 1000's of tree instances which is something I miss in C4D, I am quite sure Carrara express doesnt include the Surface Replicator.   I would go for Carrara 5 Pro from the 3D world magazine, it is a full featured 3d app which is fairly strong in the landscape area.

Mike

Hey TOXE,
  I won C4D in a contest but it was the 3d app that I most wanted so it was nice that was the program I won.  So far the modeling is the  most difficult part of C4D , it just doesn't feel right yet, I seem to be fighting the program a bit.  The best thing about C4D so far has been Bodypaint that comes with it, I find having the 3d painting part of the 3d program an awesome feature. It makes creating textures alot easier and quicker  so I am looking forward to the day  when Carrara has 3d painting included. 
  So far I have heard great things about Modo's  super & fast rendering, is it as fast as they say. Whoever "they" are?   I do think Carrara will get an overhaul in the rendering area one of these days , hopefully C7.

Mike

Hey TOXE,

  It is good to hear you are updated to C6Pro and its sounds like you got it at a nice price too.  I think C6 was a pretty good upgrade with the NLA,Hair,displacement painting and a few new things in the vm with the Bridge tool being the best added modeling feature. 
  Look forward to some new C6 images from you in the future and I hope your brain isn't too fried from learning all those new programs. Learning new programs can be time consuming as I am learning C4D so I know what you might have gone through.

Mike

Hey Jeremy,

 Just looked at your plugins , great looking stuff . I just downloaded a bunch of them, thanks for your hard work on them.

Mike

 I forgot to say  in your first method you suggested I did run into problems or a bug but not the major problems you describe.  Are you on a Mac ?Just curious.

  If you haven't already I would definitely post this to the bugtracker. When you fill the 2 separate polylines with the Ctrl+F hotkeys , there is only 1 polygon when there should be a bunch of them.

Mike

Hey Nomuse,

 Well, there has been a bit of a paradigm shift in the way C5 models compared to C4 and it looks like you don't like it. The Vm in C5 does have its bugs but it is still a very capable modeler.
  Basically you can't connect 2 polylines using the "Connect" or "G" hotkey anymore, you will get that "cannot add edge in the middle of polyline mesh" error which is the one I think you meant in your post.  What you can try to do is Dynamically extrude each of the polylines in the same plane and then connect the 2 polymeshes  with the "G" hotkey to form your new mesh. You can connect two polymeshes with the connect tool just fine.
  So , I would do the following.  After you duplicated,flipped and welded your curves together, in Plan view(from top) I would select the outside curve dymanically extrude it (H hotkey).  Do the same for the other 2 curves and then connect them all together with the G tool . This should work for you and good luck with it. 

Mike

Hey Brycetech,

  I just finished watching all 3 parts of your animation, great stuff and alot of work I am sure.   My favourite character is Chomper or the little robot and the  special fx  in the last chapter are great.    The Captain is almost like the "Dowd" on one of Star treks episodes , looking forward to the last chapter and I must say you have done a great job.     

Mike

Hey TOXE, 

 Nice to see you here again.   Could you not join the Platinum club for just one month, I know this is an accepted thing to do  to be able to buy something like Carrara at a reduced rate.  I don't know the ins and outs of Daz but if Carrara is still on sale this should work.  Hey you could even ask Daz for a Competitive upgrade price from Lightwave.

Cheers,
Mike

The Group editor did what I wanted , thanks for the quick answers.

Thanks for the replies.  I am thinking there should be a way other than exporting each object individually, I will try the Group editor/Spawn props which looks like what I was after. I will let you know how it goes.