Attached Link: I hope this isn't too long, but I feel that they need to hear this.

Hi. My name is Michael. I started getting into 3d in earnest last year when I purchased Poser 3, and liked it well enough to get version 4, also. I figured Bryce 4 would make a good addition to my collection, and though I know you it isn't your product I'd like to use some examples from it to take a few (ahem) moments to point out some things that I feel would really help your product line, purely from a customer's standpoint. But you should also know that I've been working with computers since 1984, done some programming, and now work as a computer technician for an ISP, so I don't let hype or opinion sway me very much. I like to see performance, first and foremost. I'm in the process of forming a multimedia venture with some other individuals, and the guy who will be mostly directing the audio/video department on our first project asked if I could put some animation and special effects in there. I told him yes but..... This leads to my first round of comments, and please realize that I'm not ranting exactly, but I'm sure you've been made aware of this before. First thing, I know that the programs that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, e.g. 3D Studio Max, Light Wave, Maya, etc. are expected to offer alot more in the way of "basic" and "advanced" features and utilities. I've had the privilege of "tinkering" with these programs with the help of people of greater means. But one thing I notice about their interface is, they just don't "feel" right. (Well, I'm starting to get comfortable with Max, but Carrarra really looks nice.) I don't have fun trying to get results out of them. I like to have fun with my projects. Now Poser on the other hand is fairly intuitive. I use mostly dials to move the things, and I can get decent results but....Yes, here it comes. I feel that if you are hoping to have good market success, (and I don't mean letting guys who know nothing about using the program trying to "market" the thing,) you would do well to listen to your customers on a few basic issues. Some of which are listed below: Basics Knee/Elbow/Neck/Ankle/Shoulder Joints. Hm....pay a few hundred dollars so my basic models become mutated when I bend their arms and legs past 90 degrees when a real, average human being can bend arms and legs past 160 degrees with no problem? Am I making a good investment? Clothing crotch/fitting problem. Rotate a model a bit and watch the mesh deform. Click on conform and if the model has been given more musclature in the legs, arms or chest, you get skin and breasts sticking out all over the place. Doesn't seem to conform very well. Shoes are also very bad about this. Is this a professional program or an expensive toy? Eyes: A very practical solution: One more dial/morph target that controls full 360 degree rotation. Or make an invisible "third eye" on the head that controls this. I still can't believe that in 4 versions no one has put this in. Hair: Wow, 2 whole choices: Your standard spray-on plasticky or your dred locks, perfect for any race. Shadows: Realistic options.....Click on one thing for overhead shadow...or click on another for real-time shadow based on lighting. If the light comes from the right, make a shadow that falls toward the left. Simple, practical, very necessary to add to certain scenes. Walk designer. You ever try to make an with 4. or more legs walk correctly in Poser4? Show me please. The walk designer should not LIMIT a figure to only walking forward. Martial Arts is popular. Soldiers sometimes walk or run sideways......A "scared" figure may walk backwards out of a doorway. You could have the Walk Designer to have an independent effects zone for each set of limbs. Does Poser have it? Sigh........ Imagination and innovation people, that is what sells a successful product and keeps customers loyal. I've read that 3D Studio Max has literally HUNDREDS of plug-ins available for artists to just go crazy with their design ideas. I realize that you may be shooting for a different demographic, but you must realize something here. Poser has the potential to gain a great share in the market if for nothing else, the Ease-of-use factor, despite its shortcomings. But, you must also realize, that in order to keep the Poser Community coming back and buying your products, you must remember that there are a LOT of people out there who desire to buy a more COMPLETE product that doesn't leave their figures looking like they have flaws, and having to create more illusion than is necessary to hide the flaws. If your serious about the product and having people produce positive results, here are some things that you could either implement, or make sure that third-party SDK groups are able to make plug-ins that enhance the program. Figure Duplicate/Mirror Image/Match movement If someone wants to make soldiers marching, or a group of people in a crowd, or 50 balloons of different colors to put in a clown's hand.... Volumetrics/Raytracing When you put a glass in a figure's hand, it should look like glass, and you can see through it, or metal, or wood, or whatever..... Particle Effects Explosions r kewl. Fire! Fire! It would be so nice to have a model whose meshes can be turned into these materials and animated....at least those of us who have already invested in powerful machines could get wonderful results. You can do all kinds of things in Bryce4 like that, even if it takes a day or 2 for a few seconds of animation. It is worth the effort. Or, if those of us who want powerful effects would be willing to pay per plug-in..... Products with working accessories seem to have a longer shelf life, and bring customer satisfaction. Take a serious look at how Bryce4 is done. Take a long look at Carrara. At the moment I'm considering purchasing Carrara, but alas, imagine trying to animate a Poser figure with one of those programs, and the figure is always "pasted" onto a pre-rendered background. Reminds one of many low-budget movies, where you can see that the actors are not really driving the car down a highway because the road behind them was filmed earlier. He won't really be "in there." And with all the functions that Carrara has, it blows Poser away with everything else for under $500. Bryce always makes results that look beautiful and it costs less. How many versions of Poser does someone have to buy before the aforementioned Basics are fixed? How many people do you think could afford or choose Lightwave, when they could get Carrara if it would do Poser figures, or Poser if it could do all the way-cool stuff that Carrara is supposed to do? I have gotten away from my programming background, so I'm sure the coding is a major task nowadays. But if your Poser group has the talent, couldn't you make something like Carrara or Bryce-in that same price range-that really showcases your talents in the area of building 3d environments? Or does your design team lack the talent/funding/direction/management...........something? Please bear in mind that I'm not making personal attacks on your organization, but it just seems that there is so much potential there, and now on the 4th version of this product, it well, frankly seems as though it is starting to stagnate. I and many others have seen nothing really astounding between 3 and 4, and I've been in forums like www.renderosity.com where many of use in the Poser Community are afraid that if a Poser 5 were to come out it would just be another 4 with some different models, and actually no improvements. No offense, but at least the guy selling watches out of a trenchcoat isn't putting on a front. I'm also not trying to tell you how to run your company, but think of it from the end user's point of view. Lets say a client wants me to do a CG character of an attractive female running her fingers through her hair....problem number one.....and of course the shot would be from the side so that when her arm comes up, we see that nice, freaky, mutant elbow thing there.......Do you think I'm going to win that client over by telling him I think that an skateboarder's elbow pad would really look neat there.....cough....cough...and that we can only do shots above the knees because the shadow will never look right in the scene otherwise? That's one lost project. Can I go to the video store and rent a movie that has a shot of a Poser character in there? If not, why not? Heck, the stormtrooper climing off the dewback on tattooine in the Star Wars remake looked a bit jerky. I'm sure that there are many Poser users who could have made him move a lot smoother. Think of the possiblilites....... By now you may be wondering "Why does this guy care so much about Poser?" Well, there are a number of reasons. I've recently been granted my first patent for a Virtual Reality simulation, and after having spent thousands of dollars on the process with marketing, attorney's fees and the like, I thought it was refreshing to be able to buy a piece of software so that I could use "ready-made" models to create a demonstration video to showcase what it is actually like to be inside my virtual universe. I also do custom graphic arts and I lke to have a model that's always ready when I am to stand there or move a little and look good ....mostly.....provided I don't expect too much of them. Having to make excuses to clients because of the limitations of my software isn't really an acceptable option for the type of work that I do. By the way, my web address is www.zalstudios.com and you'll see I use mostly Poser and Bryce for my projects. Poser still seems to be the logical choice, but I sure hope you guys haven't just taken our money and decided to leave us out in the cold to fix our poor Posettes and Poser Nerds on our own. Has the Poser Community been abandoned? Just Curious.......... Thanks for your 5 minutes, Michael D. Smith Computer Tech, Webmaster, Graphics Design Pro, Musician, Poser Supporter