Bryce 5 free until September 6th
DAZ Productions is the latest software company to have been struck by the 'let's give it away for free!' bug, as they have placed a $0 price tag on Bryce 5 for both Mac and PC - but only until Sept. 6th. For those who are scratching their heads over this 'Bryce' business: it's a 3D design app which specializes in modeling landscapes and animations, and in the grand scheme of 3D apps, it's pretty simple to use. A number of content packages that offer pre-built models of things like scenery and people are available, including a free starter set in tandem with this offer.
Snagging a free copy is fairly simple: head over to DAZ Production's page which offers download links for either the Mac or PC version. Now before you ask: yes, this page states that Bryce 5.0 won't run under Tiger, however: the actual version of the Mac download is 5.0.3. I've tested this out myself already, having gone through the registration process, and it runs just fine. In fact, it's still a PowerPC app, but it zips along on my MacBook Pro (2.0 Ghz, 2GB RAM - YMMV); so much so that I had to use Scott's TUAW Tip to check whether it's Universal to be sure. Anyway, the first time you start Bryce 5 it will prompt you to log in and register (for free) the app at their site. You'll probably have to create a new, free account like I did, but once you're logged in, the registration link Bryce gives you will create your extra-lengthy registration code. After that, you're all set for having a grand ol' time in the world of 3D.
Snagging Bryce 5 is a $70 value, but if you're itching for the latest and greatest, Bryce 5.5 can be had for a mere $20 upgrade. Scroll down on the initial Bryce 5 for Free page, as there are details for signing up with their ArtZone community (which I believe is also free) and scoring the cheap upgrade. There may be a lot of signing up for free accounts and unchecking opt-in newsletter and 'special offer' emails, but these are small prices to pay for a free 3D app. Enjoy.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Casper said 12:41PM on 8-31-2006
Let's talk about it!
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D.J. Glisson II said 1:32PM on 8-31-2006
Well, I'm running a Powerbook G4 and Tiger, and unlike the Intels and their Rosetta trickery, I'm having trouble running this free puppy on the processor they had in mind. It lets me see the opening screen and allows me to head over and register and get my long serial number... but when I return to the program it locks up and crashes. No way to tell if it's the 5.0.3 mentioned prior to the crash however. Seems to go bonkers when trying to access the Bryce menu in the menu bar.
Am I the only old-skool power PC/new skool Tiger user having the trouble?
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Explorer said 1:54PM on 8-31-2006
I'm really hating the interface. It feels very un-aquaish.
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Gregory Wostrel said 2:07PM on 8-31-2006
Huh.
I have a MacBookPro (still call it a Powerbook - can't help it) 2.0 with 2gigs ram and I get the same result as poster #2. What gives?
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Gregory Wostrel said 2:50PM on 8-31-2006
Oh - now it seems to work - I was prompted to download the PreSets and a restart and now it works.
Cool.
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newswede said 2:50PM on 8-31-2006
Don't bother. How stupid! On the download page it states it will not work if you are running OSX.4 Tiger. Uhhhhh ok, so......
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Jon said 3:33PM on 8-31-2006
It's a great way to introduce people to Bryce in time for the new version that is obviously being released after Sept. 6th. I personally prefer Vue over Bryce but you can't beat that price.
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John H. Farr said 3:46PM on 8-31-2006
Arrghh... I have a 1.83 GHz MacBook, can't get it to work. How do you activate the app??? It just sits there and then crashes. I'm running OS X 10.4.6. Do I need to upgrade to 10.4.7?
How was Gregory "prompted"???
Duh.
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Jetty said 5:23PM on 8-31-2006
Tried several times. After jumping through all the registration hoops etc. It started crashing when putting in the registration number. After getting that completed, it crashes immediately, or after trying to open/do anything. I don't think it will ever work properly running Tiger. Oh well, it was free, but I would advise Tiger users not to waste their time on this one
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Jimmy Crackcorn said 5:58PM on 8-31-2006
Works fine for me on my 1.33 GHz iBook running 10.4.7.
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LeberMac said 9:02PM on 8-31-2006
OK, yes I know it *said* 10.4.7 wouldn't work...
Definitely does NOT work for me - running OS X 10.4.7 on 1st gen 1.8 GHz iMac G5 17". I can get a serial # but - the registration process crashes the Bryce App. Repeatable.
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Bryce, essentially because of Kai Krause and his interface.
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Bonobo said 8:33PM on 8-31-2006
They say on the site:
"NOTE: Bryce 5.0 does not run under Mac OS X Tiger (Mac OS 10.4 and above)."
Sheesh, what's "free" in an app that won't run on the current OS?!
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Liquidmark said 12:29AM on 9-01-2006
It works on my "17 iMac core duo.
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roadknightlabs said 2:12AM on 9-01-2006
This works fine on my late-model 12" PB.
1.5Ghz G4 CPU, 1.25GB RAM, OSX 10.4.7
I played with it for a few minutes.
It seems to be working okay. I was able to add/delete/manipulate objects and render them w/out problems.
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Darth Bajar said 3:16AM on 9-01-2006
I´m using 20" intel iMac (2GHz/2GB).
It´s wobbly but it´s working. It sent me off for registration and once back, crashed. I deleted the prefs and relaunched the program. It then allowed me to enter the registration and again sent me off for more presets. I then moved these to same folder where other Bryce presets are.
Now, here´s a funny part. You can do all the usual creating, texturing and rendering but when you try to save, you won´t see the dialog box. Or you will, if you control-tab to another app. It´s there but when you return to Bryce, it´s hidden again. However, you can write a name for the file blindfolded and hit Return and your image is saved.
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Spike said 10:48AM on 9-01-2006
OK, buggy as hell on my 1Ghz ibook (1.25Gb Ram) so i thought i'd check out the pc version. ditto. bugs galore, invisible menus, non-responsive, had to kill the process manually, it just seems to fall apart on any platform.
its not the machines. its not the OS. its Bryce 5
you can knock this stuff up in blender or Art of Illusion on mac and pc for free anyway.
however that does require some leet skillz rather than drag and drop and slider editing.
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Elaine Lombardo said 10:11PM on 9-02-2006
I'm on a powerbook (powerpc) running 10.4.7. The free version absolutely does not work. I was able to register and start it, but can't save, open, save as, or render to disk because the dialog box hides behind the main window. However, just as I had given up hope, this story posts here and I'm alerted that I can get 5.5 for $19.95 (a $100 discount). I ran to download it, I figured it was worth the money to at least test it. I'm so happy I did. It works PERFECTLY - including DazStudio. It's definitely worth the money, and now that I see that it works correctly, I'll be ordering Bryce 6 the day it's released. It's been so long since I was able to use Bryce because the OS incompatability, that being able to use it again has opened up my creative desires again. I know where all my extra time will be going to from now on! Thanks for the heads up!
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daqvil said 2:33PM on 11-30-2006
cool
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daqvil said 10:55AM on 11-27-2006
cool
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