True . . . but frankly I don't think it has anything to do with the system. I've read the same horror stories from people with systems all across the board. The ironic thing is that a guy I know simply downloaded a hacked Vue from a P2P network, and it works perfectly. On the other hand, I spent my hard earned money on this thing, and it doesn't work for crap. Oh well......live and learn.

It's not an 'Uncle Sai Chong' special. It's actually a reputable brand. But anyway, I checked the BIOS, and it's running PIO mode 4, DMA mode 2. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so any more suggestions? The system is WinXP SP1, Intel mainboard, P4 3.0 Ghz, Ati 9800 Pro. Rock solid in all other programs.

Well, that's probably it then. I am using a DVD-CD combo drive, but it's pretty new (purchased in 2003). That's something I never would have thought of. Thanks.

I knew I wasn't going to get a reasonable answer on this piece of crap . . . pity.

It craps out randomly. Is that vague enough for you? Switching off OpenGL is nice, but I've read that people with systems all across the spectrum, from high to low end, have had serious stability problems. Why should I have to switch off a feature that I paid for with my purchase of the program? The build is 4.2, latest patch, bla bla, yada yada.

Vue 4 Pro? . . . which I suppose costs a bundle to upgrade to?

I see something for blur and focus, but nothing for aperture. It seems like I have to jack around with the focus forever to get it right. Too bad there isn't a way to automatically set the focus to an object like in Bryce. How do I get to this "backroom" section?

I find that it helps a lot with the positioning of objects and such, but that's just me.

Thanks dude . . . I remembered it being something weird like that.

Cool . . . Thanks for the links. There must be something I'm missing though, because I've doodled around in UF a little, and nothing in there bears any resemblance to the high quality fractals in the gallery.

I use both Bryce and Vue, and have found that when rendering complex scenes both programs are slower than hell. However, the deciding difference is image quality. At least with Vue you get a decent image after waiting for a 36 hour render.

If you want faster renders, get a faster computer. If you want decent images without having to do a lot of post-work, get Vue.

Very cool. I've always liked abstracts. You should post a high res version on here.

Yeah, I suspect I'm misunderstanding what it's supposed to do. I miss the ol' Bryce days . . . lol. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the reply. I tried setting the property to 'hidden' under that icon like you suggested, but it doesn't do anything. It says it's hidden, but in the working views it's still there. Something to do with my video drivers?