Bryce 5 for FREE!

[Bjornlo]

http://www.download.com/Bryce/3000-6677_4-10574334.html

This is the program Wyrmshadow used to create those 792 units for SOE, plus his 100's of other units.
It is the program I used to create my units, Hikaro, and others use it too..
I suggest you also get Truespace 3.2 which is also free.
http://www.download.com/TrueSpace/3000-6677_4-10298420.html
Truespace is a basic modeler which creates objects (props, entire units, etc) Bryce can import. You can do everything with just Bryce, but somethings are faster and easier if you use Truespace too.
Tip: Learn Bryce first.
Also needed:
A decent paint program. Photoshop is best. Paintshop is good. Gimp is nearly as good and is free.
Bryce can also be used as a format converter. It can export any mesh it imports into any other format it supports. And, it supports most formats.
There are 100's of gigs of stuff you can DL for Bryce. It is very simple to use, and gives very very good results.

Bryce arrives in a zip file, no installer, just unzip and run.

When you first run it it will ask for registration. It will open a webpage to give you your free registration number, but nothing will show up on the taskbar. Just Alt-tab to get it and enter it.

Truespace you DL for free and have to register on the caligari web site. They will send you goofy sales to try and get you to buy a newer version about once a month. But, in exchange you get a fairly decent and very easy to use modeler.

 

[Stormrage]

Thanks for the heads-up

 

[polyphemus]

bryce for free!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!

 

[Red Door]

Cool, maybe I'll make a unit now, maybe, just maybe.

Edit:I downloaded it, and they made me get a serial number, but the once they gave me doesn't work. How does that work out?

 

[Bjornlo]

It can also be used to make static images. Most of my buildings, tech icons, etc were made with Bryce.

A couple of leader-head specialists have used backgrounds I made in Bryce as well.

Very useful and easy program.

Hikaro has a tutorial here for it. And, Wyrmshadow has helped quite a few Brycers with tips and tricks as well.

 

[Red Door]

I got it to work now.

But, I've seen the tutorial, now I have an actual use for it.

 

[polyphemus]

i know...the tutorial has been for ages, now people will be able to use it...(im talking about the cheap ones like me)

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

I actually made an ENTIRE LH in bryce... It's the silicoid LH in the Masters of Orion LH pack I did last year. Everything in that scene is 3d, and was modeled, animated and rendered in bryce (took for-freakin'-ever I might add).

Also, all my LH backgrounds for early FF LHs (I.e. the ones from the 8-bit era where I couldn't get any decent BGs from in-game screenshots) were also done in bryce.

In addition, just about every building I've ever done was done in bryce as well.

 

[Bjornlo]

For those few who have been living under a rock, here is a basic sample of what can be done with this program.

click for larger image.

This particular image I whipped out this sunday. My mom came to visit and was curious what this 3d stuff I'd been talking about.

Do you have a fav Bryce image (must be entirely your own work)

 

[odintheking]

Nice find! I'll try this program, along with OpenFx and POV-ray... I'll make units someday!

 

[polyphemus]

thats the spirit, believe in yourself!!

 

[Partizanac]

where is my serial number?

 

[Red Door]

It makes a link on a new page, it took me a while to find it too.

 

[Bjornlo]

where is my serial number?

The installer opens a web site in the background. You have to alt+tab to get to the window. This web site is from Daz3d and will give you your free serial number and, as I recall, the link to DL the extra content directly from daz (also for free).

 

[Wyrmshadow]

I don't like tutorials very much. I never learned the technical terms for nearly everything in the program, I just discovered what they did on my own and made my own names for them. And most tutorials are 100% technobabble jargon and so completely bewildering to me, unless they follow on with images or even teaching movies. Those poeple that I have helped use the program, I actually walked them through in real time over MSN. I'd actually describe what each button looked like and where it was located and what it did and why you should do one thing and not another so you wouldn't SCREW everything up.(especially true for animation). I'm not great at writing a tutorial, I'm just a better teacher than a technical writer. Imagine teaching someone how to paint a landscape from 1000 miles away, and YOU can't see what your student is doing, you must picture it all in your mind.

You have to Alt-Tab when you work in Bryce5. For whatever reason it takes up the whole screen and you can't just click to open a new window. You also can't tell if someone is IMing you in real time in another window, you're completely oblivious when you run 5. Five point Five fixed this problem, but it screws up my textures when I save.

I will say this again. Bryce is originally intended to do very beautiful landscape pictures like what Bjorn just posted. It can do passable animation if you KNOW what you're doing, and know the limitation of the program. DON'T expect to hit the ground running at the start, but you will notice a much quicker learning curve due to the pretty interface. You CAN animate poeple and animals in bryce, it's just really really hard and almost not worth it.

 

[Partizanac]

yes yes I figured it out!
but is there tutorial for Bryce 5 unit making?

 

[Wyrmshadow]

yes yes I figured it out!
but is there tutorial for Bryce 5 unit making?

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=104183

 

[Spacer One]

Oh Boy...now maybe I can make the units I keep asking for...thanks for this Bjornlo

 

[Bjornlo]

There may or may not be a super upgrade to Bryce 5.5. There is a thing from DAZ called the platinum club. It costs around 30 bucks plus 8 bucks a year for a discount on all the stuff Daz makes (they make alot of Poser and Bryce content). The price was supposed to be 15.00 to upgrade to Bryce 5.5, but a number of people have said they "bought" the upgrade for free once all the newest coupons and such were applied.
There is also a discount which lead a bunch of members of some website called ArtZone to get it for free. I think the free 5.5 is an oops... but it might still be available.
The principal advantages of 5.5 over 5 is slightly faster render times, better openGL previews, better integration with DazStudio (a free Poser competitor) and more free content.
They are getting ready for Bryce version 6.0 later this year and are trying to stir up even more interest by increasing the number of people using older versions... which might lead to the sales of upgrades.
I can't say I'm certain about their marketing savy, but I dig the price.
It is a pity I already own 5.5

 

[TopGun]

D/L'd it last night... Looked into it and it looks very very promising. Buildings, aircraft, armored vehicles... gosh, all I need now is time, time, time!