Back to the improvements...

We need to have a walk cycle editor built in, maybe similar to Poser's.

A tutorial manual really should be included, though NewTek Europe's inclusion of the Desktop Images DVDs is a major step in the right direction.

On the rendering side it would be great to add even more to the radiosity engine, maybe photon shading.

Really fast hard-body dynamics included in the main and integrated with the particle system better than third party software currently does would be great. Maybe a two-level system, one for simple geometry and one for complex geometry would be ideal. True gravity, mass, weight, friction and kinetic energy would make my day.

The interface methodology in LightWave works really well, so HyperVoxels combined with soft- and hard-body dynamics in the LightWave style would be great.

Improved Cloth. The one we have now is good for basic stuff, but it is extremely difficult having to bake a motion then adding clothes, then doing it again and again until it works well. It would be really good if it integrated with the IK/Bones system so you could use it easily with character animation. That said it works great for curtains and skirts etc., it just needs better integration.

It seems like a lot to ask for but I have never understood why LightWave hasn't been promoted by included feature list comparison chart, this would always put it in second or third place - never lower.

What spec machines do you use?

At home:
My LightWave Machine: a Sony Vaio, which is a 2.8GHz P4 with 1 GB RAM and a 128 MB PNY/nVIDIA Quadro, EIDE 120 GB hard drive, DVD/CD cutter and Lacie 20 GB external Firewire drive.

My Toaster Machine: (a little old now, but reliable) A Fujitsu Siemens dual 1.7 Xeon with 2 GB RAM and PNY 128 Quadro, 4 Ultra 160 SCSI hard drives at 36 GB each, one 120 GB EIDE, one 80 GB SCSI and an Adaptec 2940/Ultra 160 dual channel card.

Both the PCs use Eizo 17" flat panel monitors (the best we've found for TV colour accuracy).

I also have a Macintosh G4 for all music production and some LightWave work.

At the office:
We have loads of 2.8s with 1.5 gigs of ram and PNY/nVIDIA graphic cards. We are gradually changing over to Eizo 17" monitors here as well.

Are there any plug-ins you wouldn't be without?

Steve Worley has created the best plug-ins I have ever used for LightWave:

Sasquatch - We use it all the time as it is the best fur/hair generator I've used.

G2 - for those who don't give up easily it is truly stunning. It adds so much to the LightWave render engine and truly lifts it to the top of the pack, wonderful.

Taft Collection - there are parts of Taft I have never gotten into, like Sticky Front Projection, however Hoser/Tracer and Whirly Points are great and add loads to the animation arsenal.

We also use these by other folk:

Ozone 2 again an often overlooked plug-in by e-on software, the guys who brought the world Vue d'Esprit. An excellent atmospherics plug-in for LightWave that has a knack of getting it just right with fogs and mists, everyone should own a copy.

Pshelf Shaders everyone should have this, it saves sooooooo much time. I saw this shader library on Flay a couple of months ago and it's terrific. The rust options are perfect, along with all the aged metals, roll on Worms of Art, I cant wait to see their next set.

Should LightWave keep its interface separate or integrate it?

Tough one, I like having separate interfaces for Layout and Modeler, it's one of the things that makes LightWave so fast to use. The idea of more buttons in the layout worries me, especially for new users who often find the interface daunting enough. However integration will probably be the way forward, maybe a tabbed interface is the answer. Workflow and undo systems would be easier to program under a single interface, but I wonder if people want it because the other 3D systems have it. We should remember that LightWave has pioneered a large part of the 3D market along with Softimage and Alias|wavefront/Maya, I remember how difficult it was for both Softimage and Maya when they radically changed their interface, it took a couple of years to get it right. Do we really want that same nightmare now with LightWave? On the other hand, the LightWave team have always been amazing at adding masses of new features. I am firmly on the fence.