I bought the Deep Access module a few days ago and its already proving to be indispensible. One area I've found it makes a huge difference is being able to retexture rocks when they are used in an ecosystem and to me that already makes it worth the asking price.

That's what I'm doing too. I already had Lightune from Vue 5 and have so far added Ecosystems and Deep Access and will be adding Botanica and Hypervue as soon as I can afford to. Eventually I will upgrade to Infinite but I'm a long way from exhausting the possibilities of esprit/pro so there is no hurry.

I just found this on the e-on knowledge base:

If you get Vue 6 Esprit, plus the 5 additional modules, you'll end up with Pro Studio.
From which you'll be able to upgrade to infinite.

So apparently, by purchasing all of the modules, you do get the benefits of Vue 6 pro, including upgrade paths.

I doubt that its strictly legal to even post the re-rendered image. As far as I know they are only there to a) show what Vue is capable of and b) to be used for reference as a learning aid.

Woohoo - sign me up :biggrin:

I use the ecoware set all the time and have also used SeaVue quite a bit too, so I can't wait to get my hands on this one :)

That explains it then, I updated to that version as soon as I downloaded esprit and so far (touch wood), I haven't had a single crash.

Thats exactly what I did, it was too cheap NOT to buy. I would like to get my head around it more though as I think its one of the best programs around for abstract images, though I think that when it comes to landscapes Vue is definitely way out in front.

That part of the interface is fine, its the navigation that confuses the hell out of me, I never know what view I'm using. I also have a lot of trouble manipulating objects, more often that not I end up moving the wrong thing, it drives me nuts. I guess I'm just a lot more comfortable with Vue's 4 port system.

Pro Studio is simply esprit plus the extra modules I believe. Currently I only have the lightune module and mine still says esprit, so I'm not sure at which point it switches over :unsure:

Vue 6 esprit on an AMD X2 4400 w/ 2GB RAM.

I just created 3 groups of 20 objects with no problems at all and have created larger groups of trees when creating complex renders without any trouble at all. I also just tried rendering at 4000x3000 with user settings (46% quality) as a test and that was fine too. So it looks like its a localized problem with either your installation or your system.

Have you checked your RAM for errors with Memtest? Also, what OS are you using? Anything less than Win64 can only access 2GB of RAM so unless you are using a 64bit OS and the 64bit version of Vue then the extra RAM is not being used.

I think I would like Bryce more if it wasn't for THAT interface. Its a well featured program but its GUI is even more obtuse than Mojoworld. :blink:

I upgraded Vue 5 esprit to Vue 6 esprit and Bryce 5.5 to Bryce 6 and while there are significant improvements in both programs, I think by far the biggest leap was in Vue esprit. Sure, Bryce now has HDR lighting but it is still very slow to render, while Vue 6 esprit has sped up considerably from Vue 5 esprit. Add to that the amazing new feature set available to esprit 6 and it has to be a clear winner.

I have also used Vue 5 Infinite quite a bit and thought long and hard about upgrading esprit to Vue 6 Infinite but after comparing features I decided it wasn't really worth the huge outlay in my case. I don't use animation, I already had the lightune module, the included ecosystems are enough to get by for now and when I add the Ecosystem module I will pretty much have all I need and for an upgrade price of only $79 it was a no brainer to be honest.

I've used most 3D software and as far as I'm concerned Bryce has probably got the worst interface on the planet, although Mojoworld is a close second. The Interface of TG2 is not finalized and the one you are seeing now is basically allowing you to get to the metal. The final version will be more polished and hopefully bug free. Also, there are other versions than "Deep" planned and these will have a much friendlier, though less powerful and adaptable interface.

But I'm the original (LOL)

I agree with Veritas, if you want a full on, all bells and whistles landscape program now, then Vue 6 esprit plus the modules is the way to go. What my advice will be in 12 months though, I don't know, as TG2 final is due next year and with an optimized renderer, multi-threading and the rest of the goodies then it will be a much more difficult choice.

Once you get past the initial "Whoa!" when you see the node interface its actually not that steep a curve. You can create some very good renders without having to go too deep into the nodes and functions. You can build up the surface shader layers much like you did with TG 0.9.xx with the added functionality of a much better distribution system and various projection modes for the bitmap textures. Then on top of that you can add multiple populations, enabling you to add grass and trees, in quite remarkable numbers too.

I use Vue, Terragen 0.9.xx & TG2 plus Carrara pro and after a bit of practice the interface of TG2 is no more difficult than any of the others. A nice function is that you can project masks through the camera so you can limit populations to what you can actually see, thus cutting down considerably on the number of instances required. Speed wise, the render engine is yet to be optimized and made multi-threaded but both of those will be done prior to release of the final versions.