Greetings and Salutations one and all! First let me say that although I am not new to the 3d world there is a lot I still do not know. My first taste was Poser 2 and Bryce 3D. I got all the way to Bryce 5 before feeling it was just to complicated to do what I wished to do and switched to Vue 4. I could not have been happier. It is a wonderful program that does everything I would have liked to do in Bryce only much simpler and is a less expensive program. The major selling point for me was the integration for PZ3 files. I was very disappointed when Bryce 5 came out and there was no support for this. To have to export to OBJ and then remap everything in Bryce - What a nightmare! I bought it right here at Renderosity (is there a reason why the marketplace does not offer Mover?) I've had one issue so far with Vue that Steve was very good about helping me with. It more or less resolved itself, but Steve stuck with me the whole time! So, my initial contact with Vue has been a positive one. When posting here to this community, I've gotten some great help and thank you to everyone here for your support. I've recently skimmed through the September postings and here are my questions and statements. Is there a ballpark time frame when the Vue/Poser 5 compatability upgrade will be available? Are you anticipating before end of year? I realize that problems can arise which can cause a delay, but are you shooting for end of year, or first quarter next year? I noticed some folks are successful with the import now, but I would prefer not to have to uninstall Poser 5 and reinstall as my Runtime folder is very large and even backing it up will be a massive pain where I sit. (if this has been asked and answered prior to September, forgive my asking again) Also, with Christmas around the corner and saving for my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary (I still can't believe these two have not killed each other yet ;-) ), the upgrade to Vue Pro at this time is very much out of the question, however some of the features seem like they would be really nice. I've noticed that Vue Pro and Vue (which apparently will be going by the name Esprit) are going to be two separate apps with two different price sheets. At this time I do not use any higher end apps as they are too unafordable and for what I do, not needed. What would be nice to see from E-on is what there commitment will be to both apps. If E-on were to come out from an official standpoint and say Esprit will have X, Y and Z and realeased late next year and it didn't happen that way then, yes, that would be shooting yourself in the foot. However, if E-on were to come out and say, we are committed to supporting both a hobbyist line and pro line and even a general outline for what they are thinking about doing for the next incarnation of Espirt, it would be nice. This does not need to be done immediately, IMHO, but by year end would be nice. A statement to the effect of "We are in disucssions for the next incarnation of Esprit and these are the features we are considering adding", maybe even getting some requests for features from the community, would be a nice gesture. I would also like to see the next incarnation of solidgrowth and planet editor seems a logical step as well as the wind feature. Expanding the Atmosphere features and editing would also seem a natural step to take. I would say that expanding the animation features would probably go to Mover 5? I have not done any animation in Vue and I do not yet have Mover so I really can't comment further on this in an intelligent fashion. So, I guess to simplify the 3am ramblings of someone on cold medication, at what point is E-on at with regards to the next incarnation of Esprit? Discussions? Planning? Not going to think about it until after the first of the year? Thanks for listening. At this point the cats are wondering what the hey I am doing out of bed at this hour as I am robbing them of body warmth and being scratched so, I'm heading back to bed before I get in real trouble.

Also, if the features that are in Vue Pro are not going to be in Esprit, then a reoffering of the upgrade price of $299 to go to Vue Pro sometime in the Spring would be a nice gesture for those of us who cannot jump on the bandwagon now, or who wish to wait and see what E-on's commitment will be to Esprit. Thanks!

First off I'd like to say thanks for posting some questions I've had but have been hesitant about asking. I'm interested in knowing when the Poser 5 Patch is to be released, esp as I've done a few Vue 4/Poser 5 images. I also find it interesting to hear you find Vue better and easier than Bryce. I'm noticing the same thing. I started out of Bryce 5 but recently as I've been getting more adept I've found Vue 4 to be easier to use but with similar if not better results. I still like Bryce though I've got go say, but Vue for me is an easier to use interface with equally outsanding results. I'm waiting on answer to your questions with baited breathe :o)