Tech Review: Bryce 6.0

If you haven't heard of this 3D landscaping program before, then it is about time that you do. There are tons of other great 3D rendering programs out there, this one doesn't take their place. Bryce is an easy to use software to create your virtual world.

Bryce is incredibly easy to use; giving you the ability to create wonderful and beautifully scenic models in minutes. It is hard for me to continue writing this review without wanting to go and create more products. I am not particularly talented when it comes to 3D modeling, but Bryce 6.0 makes me feel like a pro.

Features:

Mac Compatible. The program has been around for years in various versions from DAZ Productions. The 5.5 version was the first one provided that was Mac compatible. The 6.1 version is now fully compatible with Intel-based Mac computers. The good news is that if you already purchased the 6.0 version, you can upgrade to 6.1 for free.

Real-World Lighting. With the use of HDRI (High Dynamic Range Images), you can now control the quality, intensity, and the effect of realistic lighting in your scene to create beautiful canvases. This option is available within the new IBL menu in the Sky Lab.

Animation Importation. Incorporating with DAZ|Studios, you can now import your animations into your scenery to make them come alive.

Terrain Editing. You can create your brushes with the Image Based Brushes. After building your custom library, keep them selfishly to yourself or share them with others. With your custom brushes, you can add your own little touches to your scenes.

Replicate Tool. Now, it is easier than ever to replicate any object on your screen and randomly place them in your scene. Want a forest, just create a tree and randomly replicate it.

Faster Rendering. DAZ Productions has added dual processor and hyper-threading support for faster rendering using the capabilities of your system.

Other Features. Along with the other things that makes this software great, add on mesh export of Booleans, moon textures, compressed scene files, mouse-over tips, 16-bit image support, improved preset managers, and an unconditional guarantee.

I like this program for many obvious reasons. The menus and tools are easy to navigate and instinctive. The real-time preview screens makes it easy to see your creation as you go. Preset options makes this program beginner-friendly. Of the people that I've talked to so far are more than pleased with this incredibly affordable software program.

Although it is considered a 3-D landscaping software, it can easily be used for more. Using it with the DAZ|Studios, you can great 3-D graphics with professional quality without the expensive costs of some of the other software programs.

This wouldn't be a realistic review if I didn't state the downside to the program. Although you can create amazing scenes, Bryce is pretty limited when it comes using shapes outside of the terrains. As a matter of fact, the shapes, along with the textures, that are available are primitive. The preview screen comes in handy, but it's size can be annoying at times; especially after staring at it for a long period of time. That is pretty much all I have bad to say about, and I still think that is pretty good.

Overall, I give it 4 stars for its ease of use and the powerfulness of it. The program can be purchased from www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/bryce/-/.