Apology accepted, perhaps my statement was a tad unclear, it was based on the business idiom of most resources for least cost. Blender still falters on some more comprehensive features compared to the industry players, however I do believe that this will be overcome as the Blender community pushes to develop more tools under O-Source which would meet the deficit in the future. However it is interesting to see the comparison for Blender actually doesn't fall that much behind in many areas to Blender or 3Ds max yet these tools are extremely expensive I am curious as to why Maya for example comes in at around £8000, any ideas? I have used Cinema 4d quite a lot, and its quite a strong tool, especially the latest release (9.5?) yet it comes in at around £1000 tops (though some additional costs for the extra modules) this, whilst expensive in comparison to blender is still affordable for many individual users or hobbyists.

Not if Blender continues to ignore interface requests from non-Blender users. This isn't to start a flame war although it generally does but the #1 complaint about Blender seen on non-Blender forums is UI. Lack os some specific features such as ngons will be a set back too unless they get added. I'm sure if these things continue to get ignored, Blender will still be around and probably still gain in popularity but, taking over the low-mid end by 50%, not likely IMO.

depends on what industry (Animation industry?, Illustration?, Games?, CAD? Product visualization?) and what you mean by standard.

I think for low to moderate end users (truespace, lightwave, cinema 4D) it could become totally dominant (50% + marketshare) within 5 years.

For high end professional users and for niche markets it really is unpredictable, maybe 10 years maybe less, maybe never.

LetterRip

"ATI Radeon 9600. I know Open GL is going to be worked on but, IMO the million poly claim is a little over the top."

Also the poly count includes virtual polys, ie subsurfed mesh. If you still think it is high, I'll lower it though.

LetterRip

please keep this forum for related constructive discussion, this is my personal opinion from my experience, and from a cost effective ease of use perspective, which in this present case depends highly on what the intended use of such software is to be. In this regard I have no qualms in stating the tools I get for 0 cost compared to for £8000 Blender outranks them. If this is not a shared opinion that is completely acceptable, but it remains my own personal belief and opinion. I would appreciate restraint from such rude criticisms in such a forum!

ATI Radeon 9600. I know Open GL is going to be worked on but, IMO the million poly claim is a little over the top.