I didn't mean to make it sound like it was a bad decision at all. I have a lot of respect for Maya. It's a powerful program - they strive to make it 'the best', and for that reason it's one of the programs that comes out with truly innovative ideas. I have seen some truly awesome images come out of Maya. The only problem I have with Maya is the price tag. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] I think it's way over-priced. Same with Softimage. Both programs, in my opinion, should be down around the price range of LightWave and 3D Studio Max (well, a bit more if you include all of Maya's plugins). It also frustrates me when others get the impression that an application that is made untouchable by its price is 'the best' simply because it holds the highest price tag (I feel the same way about PhotoShop).

But, even with it's price tag, I don't feel that people who purchase Maya are 'suckers'. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] Heck, most people who read my posts probably get an idea of how much I love LightWave - if NewTek decided to raise their price tag by 10 grand, I'd still try to squeeze out the upgrades. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Just out of curiousity, what versions of 3ds and LightWave did you try out Gary? I tried version 3.5 of 3ds (I believe). It was about a year ago...I was utterly clueless in that program (and found I didn't have the patience to learn a whole new one).