Now, this is new for me, doing a review of software. I remember using Vista on my trusty old Commodore Amiga 500, waiting half an hour for an image to render, then discovering a tree in the middle of the picture. I remember using it on my souped up Amiga 1200, bumping up the detail settings and resolution, and waiting an hour for an image to render, only to find the cool view I had carefully planned was mostly obscured by an unforeseen large hillock. I also remember the interface being exactly the same as it is now – which is the programs biggest stumbling point. User interfaces nowadays are (for the most part) streamlined, intuitive and functional – and unfortunately the UI in Vista Pro is lacking two of those three aspects.
Vista Pro 4.2.4 has a horrible 90’s look to it – compare it to something like ArtRage or Sketchbook Pro, and it comes off badly. It isn’t at all streamlined. It is ugly and clumsy, with many options leading to the same screens, and windows opening underneath other windows. This may have been acceptable back in those days, but it is not any more. It is not intuitive – even something simple like changing parameters is problematic, as it doesn’t follow the now-standard rules of over-writing a number that is highlighted with the number you press. It is, however, functional, and the engine beneath the hood is impressive. If only it were easier to do simple things like choosing colours, if only it were a bit more imaginative and dynamic when it came to interesting sounding jobs like choosing cloud formations, if only it were a little easier and maybe a bit more visually exciting to discern the levels of each hill, so when you set the sea level you felt like you had more control.
Almost as bad as the UI is the level of support. It is almost non-existent. Apart from a few unofficial forums, there is no support online at all, and no official support whatsoever. Any attempt at reaching the publishers online help and manuals results in a 404 error. As such, I am stumped at how to resolve my final complaint, my inability to export images. The main reason I purchased Vista Pro was to provide me with interesting backdrops for random art projects. I can save rendered images, but cannot load them into any other program than Vista itself. They just don’t show up when I navigate to their location in anything other than Vista, and that makes the primary reason for my purchasing the software invalid.
The second reason for my purchase was simply nostalgia, and on that front, it cannot be faulted. I’ve finally fulfilled a childhood ambition, and that was to create some lovely images in Vista.
With a bit of love, a re-arrangement of UI elements and some overall spit and polish, this could be amazing. As it stands… It’s not.
