Gosh! Is anybody believing in that "wishlist"? Look at "Bryce 6" and you know what DAZ is going to make out of it: NOTHING! Hey, there is absolutely no improvement qualifying for a new version. Let's just check it out:

• Now we can import Daz-Studio figures! Wow! (Bryce 5.5 could do that as well but never mind ...)

• Now we can use HDRI-reflection maps. Wow! (Not that any other comparable program wouldn't be able to, but let's not really think about that...)

• Now we can buy "the frist name in 3-d landscapes" for just 6 bugs. ... Wow! ... Or rather: Ouch?

The truth is, everything that is "new" in Bryce 6 wouldn't be anything more than a free patch in any other program. And that's a sad truth. Neither does Bryce try to catch up with Vue concerning eco-systems nor does it try to get a grasp on generating organic landscapes as do Terragen or Mojoworld. Yes, once upon a long ago, Bryce was the no. 1 in landscape generation, at least concerning non-professional (i.e. affordable) software. But five or six years of complete neglection have made that a "once upon a VERY long ago".

I don't believe in any kind of inventive "Bryce 7". Sorry to say (because I was a Bryce-fan myself until I discovered Vue Infinite), but it's rather obvious that DAZ is just abusing the Bryce community to sell an outdated program and to promote their Platinum Club (and of course hoping to cheat you into buying outrageously expensive DAZ-figures for DAZ-studio which is just by chance included in so-called Bryce 6.) That is no fair trade. Any fair trade would be a free upgrade to features that are a natural part of any up-to-date 3D-landscape program.

Well, if you're using V5i (don't know whether it works with the other Vue versions as well), there is an ultimatively easy way: Double-Click on your camera to open the options menu, activate "post processing" and pull the "saturation" bar completely to the left. Et voila: black and white!!!

I don't think Vue's function editor is just something for math experts (although logical thinking can be highly helpful but that goes for every computer software). It's rather something for people who like to try and explore. I used the deep textures editor in Bryce for years and seeing Vues function editor the first time I was close to terrified. True, it looks complicated. Also true, once you figure out how it works - and once you do, it's amazingly straightforward and much clearer to manipulate than its Brycean counterpiece - it's a quick way to success. It's even fun because you have so much control about everything.

I started the very easy way into the function editor: opening it with materials or procedural terrains I liked and just looking at what exactly was happening there. Once you start playing with it, you really quickly achieve a high level of understanding. Wouldn't want to miss it!

Strange problem. If "point at camera" is checked, your sunlight will always follow your camera, but if it is unchecked, it stays where it is. I never experienced anything else. Are you sure your box is unchecked and it's really the SUN LIGHT following your camera? Maybe you're using several directional lights, and every one of them has the "point at camera" checker.

Anyways, the easiest way to stop your light from following your camera is to go to Frame #1, delete it (best with writing down its position and rotation) and then make a new one with the same data. Should not take you more than 15 seconds.

Quote - You may find Vue has old legacy code that can't be removed as it breaks the program. This isn't unusual in the industry as many old 3D programs suffer the same problem, be it 3DS Max, Maya etc.

Sorry, but I completely disagree. Crashes in V5I are not caused by "old legacy code that can't be removed". Most crashes are caused by the program trying to do too much things at the same time(background threading plus new changes).  Nothing would be easier than putting a short-term stop to the program when an user is bringing it to its limits. And what concerns other 3d programs: I can't say anything about Maya, but I've been knowing 3ds max since version R3 and comparing its stability with Vue can only be a joke. (Which, of course, it should be because there must be a reason while one program costs ten times more than another.)

If you want to compare Vue's stability with other programs, you have to look at similar applications on the market, e.g. Bryce. And in that case, Vue has very bad cards. I used Bryce for about five years before I moved on to Vue and I can't remember Bryce crashing just once (while I had at least three Vue crashes at my first day).

All this being said, I still prefer Vue to Bryce because stability is only one argument when working with a 3d program and there are more than enough plusses that outweight this one (with some tricks and experience avoidable) minus.

The problem with Vue crashing is really annoying but to my experience, there are only two reasons for crashes and they are both easy to avoid:

(1) 99% of all crashes result from working too quickly in Vue. Vue is a little like an old grandma: Rush her and she will fall. If you try to continue working on your scene while Vue is still recalculation your latest changes (new objects, new materials, eco-systems etc.), the program will lock up. Give it a little time, and it will be perfectly stable.

(2) Very rarely, you will import an object that is too complicated for Vues preview renderer. Disable OpenGL, and it will not crash any more (easiest way to do it: click "yes" when the program ask you whether you want to restart in Compatibility mode after a crash). Problem is that you will get your objects represented in simple boxes in compatibility mode which makes positioning and working with it almost impossible. Reducing the number of polygons will help greatly.

I do admit that treating a program like some feeble patient is quite annoying and I do not understand why programmers seem to be unable to solve the problem. This is definitely a drawback on the program. Yet, Vue has so many strengths that I still prefer it over most other 3d programs. And once you realize what causes your crashes and how to avoid them, it's amazingly stable!

JC, just tried to adjust fog and haze but they don't interact with starlight at all. I used several different settings (white fog/haze, black fog/haze, red, blue etc.) with different values of altitude and depth and it didn't change anything. Except for the foreground, that is. The only thing I can do is blending off starlight completely if I pull the fog up to maximum, but that blends off everything else, and that's not exactly what I was thinking of ... Even worse, I also noticed that starlight doesn't interact with clouds either. Whether I use a clear sky or one full with clouds, I always see the same number of white, shiny stars :o( Oh, and I'm using V5Infinite with the latest backups.