Customer Reviews

Real World Bryce 4 (3rd Edition)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The manual that accompanies this newest version of Bryce is barely useful, full of errors and inconsistencies bound to mislead and, in particular, frustrate the beginner. Fortunately, there is a place where you can turn to learn the intricacies of the program, "Real World Bryce 4." Comprehensive and, for the beginner, daunting in the sheer scope of its information, I suspect that this will become the Bible for Brycers everywhere, whether just starting out or already familiar with earlier versions.

With such praise, why have I given it only four stars? Because not all the chapters are written with the same clarity as others (for example, Chapter 3 on Camera and Scene), and at times it is apparent in the exposition that a presumption exists that the reader has used earlier versions of Bryce, or has some familiarity with other 3D programs. This assumption at times makes the description of working within 3D space, various tools and instructions less than immediately accessible for the beginner, and is bound to lead to some temporary confusion on the part of the first time user. One might wish there was a 3D reference that learned from the example of Adobe's "Classroom in a Book" series, and provided more comprehensive tutorials and instruction. Though the latter are provided here, it is doubtful they are extensive enough to satisfy the needs of those just beginning to use the program. Fortunately, there are a large number of websites maintained by Bryce enthusiasts who are willing to share their knowledge and experience, and the authors themselves maintain such a site where additional tips are provided. My final quibble is that before I was even halfway through the book the binding had begun to fall apart, and as I suspect anyone purchasing this book will find themselves referring to it time and again, if for no other reason than that it is impossible to assimilate all the information present in a single reading, you may want to set aside some sturdy tape.

Nonetheless, this is an important resource for anyone intending to use Bryce, and, as I noted earlier, will surely set the standard of reference for anyone wishing to explore or use this extraordinary program.

I've been a Bryce user for about a year, and have loved the program from day one. However, I always felt that the Bryce documentation glossed over certain areas, and another book I've read on Bryce was not very good.

I received Real World Bryce three days ago, and haven't put it down since. It's very well organized, has a lot of really good examples and TONS of useful information. I've been reading it non-stop, (it's 900 pages!) sitting at my computer with the book on my lap, and I have a whole new appreciation for what Bryce can do.

The accompanying cd-rom and website are great. You can view a ton of QT movies that let you see changes take place in front of you. And the animation examples are mind-blowers.

This is a great book.

Len Kaltman

The best way of describing "Real World Bryce 4: Industrial-Strength 3D World Creation Techniques" is in this fashion:

If you need to lookup how something is used in Bryce 4, use the delivered User's Guide. If however, you want to really learn how to use Bryce 4, "Real World Bryce 4" is the only way to go.

Susan and Victor do an excellent job of taking you step by step through the use of the tools and discussions of objects in the Brycean world. The book contains caveats about things that are suppose to work but don't as expected, and tips and tricks to help the new user optimize design and render times. It is absolutely, an indespensible resource for all things Bryce. It's only shortcoming is it's extreme length. The reader is often times forced to wade through sideline commentaries that are scattered throughout the book. One wonder if this is to add more pulp since some of it was little real value in boosting one up the Bryce 4 learning curve. It's a small nit, but one that kept me from giving the book a perfect 5.

The buyer should also be aware that Corel released Bryce 5 in July 2001. The Sky and Materials Labs interface has changed from that in Bryce 4 ... some may say for the better, other seasoned Bryce may oppose. Additionally, there is a new Light Lab, Tree Objects, and Metaballs objects that are new to Bryce 5 that are obviously not in this book. Not withstanding the software differences, "Real World Bryce 4: Industrial-Strength 3D World Creation Techniques" is still a good starting point for learning even Bryce 5. I hope Susan and Victor are on the heels and currently working on a new book.

Painful rhymes aside, this book has been in the works for several years, and eagerly anticipated within the large online community of Brycers. To say that it was worth the wait would be to damn this book with faint praise. If you have Ms. Kitchens' first Bryce book, "Real World Bryce 2" then you know what you're in for: seemingly every possibility, every undocumented keyboard shortcut, and every trick that is available to the Bryce afficiando. Needless to say, much has changed since version 2, and this massive tome reflects that. Animation, the Deep Texture Lab, the Sky Lab -- all are covered in detail. And this detail is excellently presented, neither brain-twistingly confusing nor painfully obvious. I cannot overstate that, even in the seemingly most basic areas, such as camera manipulation, Kitchens and Gavenda are able to provide you with important, easily usable information. Kitchens was one of the writers of the most recent manual for Bryce, and her expertise shows. This also allowed her unparalleled access to the programmers -- many of whom are no longer working with Bryce after its, ahem, rapid divestiture from Metacreations and purchase by Corel.

This is, quite simply, one of the best computer books I have ever purchased, and one of the few that I actually felt like I got my money's worth -- and then some. Whether you are playing with Bryce for the first time, or a seasoned veteran, you will appreciate the huge amount of work that has gone into this book.

Bryce exists in the duality as one of the most loved/hated pieces of software available. Bryce die hards will go to incredible lengths to create gorgeous vistas, while others condemn its non-standard working paradigm. This discrepancy is illustrated most clearly in the user interface, which is as eccentric as its creators. Clumsy as it is elegant. Beautiful raytrace rendering engine is unsuitable for most kinds of realistic production deadlines (this is why powerful albeit free-for-download raytracers such as POV-Ray and Gritz' BMRT have been free for download for a long time). It is as easy to make something look cool as it is difficult to make something preconceived. What else would one expect from the person(s) who gave us a 4-dimensional fractal plug in for Photoshop? Why, for the love of God, it hasn't adopted a multipane interface after five generations is beyond me. The fact that it has survived over the years is testament to the accessible power of this software, and the fact that those early years was originally available on Mac only, a platform known for putting all but the strongest 3d programs in the graphics graveyard (swivel 3D, Infini-d, etc.) makes Bryce more than worthy of any 3d professionals attention.

Kitchens and Gavenda explain the program well. Susan Kitchens was actually part of the team that produced "Planetary Traveler", a movie made with beta versions of (an animatable) Bryce, back when the only way for the typical user to do the same was to plot out a camera's trajectory along an enormous number of scene files and hope that your graphing skills were up to par. Bryce has roots founded in a fusion of science and art, and the book begins with an excellent insight to the genesis of the program, which includes such contributors as Benoit Mandelbrot (founder of the fractal Mandelbrot set) and Ken Musgrave. The size of the book alone nearly justifies its price tag, weighing in at over nine hundred pages and containing a beautiful full-color section of tutorial examples and feature work by seasoned Bryce veterans. This along with a CD that, although seems hastily assembled at the last minute as per several duplicate scenes with minute differences and a few missing files, is chock full of QT shorts and helpful presets, etc.

The literature is invaluable. It corrects an unbelievable amount of erroneous information from the manual that ships with Bryce 4, and covers absolutely every corner of the software. Kitchens' in-depth knowledge of Bryce is so thorough, that the chapter in the manual that comes with Bryce regarding the Deep Texture Editor is based on the explanation she gives of it in her previous book, Bryce 2, back when it was a powerful undocumented feature. Those who want a thorough accounting of the documented and undocumented hotkeys and easter eggs will be pleased with this purchase.

Although the information is premiere, the way it is conveyed sometimes becomes deterrent. This is suspect from the opening chapter when in trying to convey the potential of Bryce, the information deteriorates into Quasimodo philosophical ramblings of ethereal brycean worlds (river chaos). Another problem is the tendency to refer to simple geometry constructions to far reaching real world counterparts, such as assembling small cubes on top of a wide larger cube and referring to it as a turret for a castle wall. Peppered with cute tongue in cheek puns and banter that is usually the feature of Kai Krause's instructional product literature (see "Ticks and Trips" sidebar to KPT 3 manual), but sometimes gets tedious. Sometimes overblown; instead of "this topic contains information beyond the scope of this book", you get quote "limitations of time and space prevent us from giving more than general outlines here" (p406). Words like "willy-nilly" and "nitty-gritty" are used somewhat liberally to create a homespun narrative you would expect to find in a basket-weaving manual, alongside sentences that end in punctuation other than periods ("Congratulations!"..."Cool, eh?" etc.) much in the tradition of "For Dummies" books. People who usually find this type of instruction irritating might not feel much better when reading it, despite the wealth of information.

Why I gave this book 5 instead of 4 is that the writing actually delivers exactly what you'd expect from the majority of the Bryce community; a kind of laid-back hobby para-professional don't it look cool tone. And for those who believe that this isn't the case, consider that while comparable midrange 3d programs have added true polygonal modeling, dynamics and global illumination, (new) Bryce developers thought it necessary to add a tree generator.

If your typical experience with Bryce consists of a semi-annual visit into the program to render out a picture of a default mountain on a default ground with preset textures, this book is probably not for you. Know that the beauty of software like Bryce is that adapts to the skill level of the user. That is why to create a rock you press the button that looks like a rock, and to move it around you use the tool with all the arrows sticking out of it, and if you wanted to, you can change the phase amplitude of a texture materials' procedural noise component within 4 mouse clicks. That kind of skill is developed by a dedicated study of the program with a guide like "Real World Bryce 4".

This book is amazing. It incorporates all aspects of the Bryce experience including terrain, sky, rainbows, haze, lighting, lattices, and more. I have Bryce 5, but this is still a great companion. Metaballs and trees (the big differences from 4 to 5) are pretty self-explanatory. If you're thinking about getting this..

STOP!!!!

Just get it.

If you really want to learn everything there is about Bryce, get this book. I've learned more from this in just a few days of reading it than I have in the last month pouring over the manual that came with Bryce. As you read it, you can't help but keep saying, "Oh, so that's how to do that."

This book will help beginners (that's where I am!) to advanced users. The included CD has lots of lessons to follow along with the chapters. All of the graphics are very helpful and give you tons of ideas for your own projects.

I've been using Bryce for a couple of years now, starting with Bryce 4 and recently upgrading to 5. This book is the essential reference for both, far superior to the Bryce 4 manual included with the program, and an important addition to the Bryce 5 manual. It's readable, exhaustively complete, and goes from easy tutorials to the mathematical theory underlying some of the texturing. You'll use it again and again, and not just for pressing leaves (it's a couple of inches thick). This is a lot of book for your buck; and you'll be able to get Bryce to do the work of much more expensive applications using the information presented in the book. And it's a fun read, too.

Real World Bryce 2 was THE book on Bryce for years.

Now, with Real World Bryce 4 finally arriving, Brycers everywhere can rejoice. Forget any other book on Bryce - this is destined to become a classic.

Every page contains a wealth of information - hints, tips, 'cooking instructions', everything you will need to create your Bryce dream worlds.

The color plates are fabulous, providing the reader with plenty of inspiration and giving you a good idea of Bryce's power when used correctly.

The only one annoying point about this book is how late it appeared. It was due to be released about 2 years ago! But, as they say, better late than never.

I ordered this book on the recommendation of several artist friends and was admittedly a little worried about the price. Within five minutes of receiving it, however, I felt like I had received the best bargain this year! Nearly 1000 pages on every little thing Bryce is capable of. The best review I saw on the book is stamped on its cover ...

"Wheeeeeeeeeee!"

Seriously. It's excellent. I am a beginner in Bryce and I have learned enough from this book to create some really nice things. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in the program. Without it, you are sure to miss a lot.