Have you been on the fence about Vue? Well now is the time to look at the software again! E-on Software has a 30% off sale until October 10th, 2016. If you purchase Vue 2015 before that deadline then you qualify for an automatic upgrade to Vue 2016 when it is released. So far some of the new developments which have been hinted at, sound very exciting!
Why Vue? Vue is a fantastic environment and landscaping software. And it is good value for the dollar! There are different versions depending upon the user's needs and you can add on modules to the lower versions to make it more complete. If you are a serious artist, my personal opinion is to go straight to Complete or higher. Vue Complete 2015 is currently on offer at $419 USD.
I've prepared a chart to compare the two software that I'm most familiar with, DAZ Studio Pro and Vue 2015 Complete and some of the features which are included or which would need to be purchased. Both come with content starter packs. The DAZ Studio starter pack is more oriented towards character rendering and includes the Genesis base figures (1-3) along with some basic clothing and hair. There are also some props and shaders included. Vue 2015 (Esprit to Complete versions) also include a content starter pack with architecture, props, objects, plants, vehicles, low resolution figures, some animals and more.
| FEATURES | VUE COMPLETE 2015 + | DAZ STUDIO PRO 4.9 + | ADD ON COSTS FOR FEATURES OR TOOLS |
| Terrains | Terrain Editor & Terrain presets |
Some landscape props |
$10.95 (single terrains) and up |
| Water (seas, etc) | Water Editor and water materials | Not included | $9.95 and up |
| Atmospheres & Skies | Atmosphere Editor & 160 presets | Not included | $12.95 and up |
| Clouds & Mist | Yes (Cloud layers and MetaClouds) | No | $24.95 (different versions for 3Delight or Iray) |
| Lighting | Light Editor, multiple light types and settings (includes photometric, global radiosity, etc) | Basic lighting (3Delight) Environment Maps, Basic lights (can be converted to photometric, Sun & Sky (Iray) | $24.95 (Light Manager Pro) |
| Rocks | 70+types & extensive material library | No | $9.95 (per type) and up |
| Plants | Plant Editor & 70+ species | Some | $9.95 (per species) and up |
| Architecture, Objects or Props | 100+ (extensive) | Some | $9.95 and up (single prop or object) |
| Materials or Shaders | Material Editor and 550+ presets | Some | $9.95 and up (per type) |
| Modeling | Primitive, Boolean, Metablobs, Hyperblobs | Primitive, D-Former | |
| Roads & Paths | Spline Editor and materials | No | $19.95 and up (road props) |
| Particle System | Included | No | $39.95 and up |
| Planets | Included | No | $13.95 and up |
| Text tool | Included | No | $9.95 (exterior tool for obj letters) |
| Scatter/Replicate instances | Included | No | $29.95 |
| Auto Save | Incldued | No | |
| Scene Snapshot | Included | No | $24.95 (saves scene incrementally) |
| Batch Rendering | Included | No | $19.95 |
| Exposure Filters | 6 | No | $17.95 and up |
| Post-processing image | Yes | No | |
| SPECIAL FX | | | |
| Godrays | Yes | No | $13.95 and up |
| Lens Flare | Yes | No | $15.95 and up |
| Volumetric Lighting | Yes | Difficult | $29.95 |
| Fog | Yes | No | $18.95 and up (different versions for 3Delight or Iray) |
| Wind, Rain & Snow | Yes | No | $24.95 (snow tool only, for Iray) |
This list does not even cover all the special tools included within Vue 2015 Complete such as EcoSystems, EcoParticles, EcoPainter or the Non-PhotoRealistic Rendering option. In plants alone you could be looking at $600 to get the equivalent in DAZ Studio of what is included in Vue's content starter pack. Note: the add on prices were taken from DAZ3D.com and may differ on other websites for similar tools.
To see a full list of what's included in Vue and a comparison between versions CLICK HERE
Have I convinced you yet? If so, head over to E-Onsoftware.com and get your copy today.
PS want a quick start to using Vue? Consider purchasing my book "Jump into Vue" which is available in Kindle format at Amazon or PDF at jumpintovue3Dbook.com.
Happy Renderings!
