hi
is it true that when you use subsurf modifier the vertex selection for the displacement modifier goes crazy and starts to bleed insanely in to the neighbor vertex groups?
wouldn’t know… hasn’t happened to me, but again, with some installations blender loads .psd and .gif files fine, and with some other installations it doesnt, might be the same with that 
Hi,
Could you describe the problem in a little more detail? The subsurf modifier interpolates vertex groups for the new vertices it creates, is this what you’re talking about?
Thanks,
Artificer
you have three faces next to each other.
only the center face has the displacement assigned to.
when you turn on subsurf the displacement covers the complete object while it fades out at the edges of the object.
when you turn on subsurf it just subdivides each face.
when you apply the vertex group to one face the selection should only be limited to that face and thus also only to the subsurf faces created from this face!
this would keep the displacement where it should be.
but it bleeds into the neighbour faces and their subsurf faces!
Hm, ok. Vertex groups are applied to vertices, rather than faces, so the two faces at the edges of the object you describe actually each have two vertices which are part of the displacement group.
The problem you describe comes from the subsurf modifier interpolating vertex groups across faces as it subdivides. To me, this seems like the most consistent way for subsurf to behave, since everything else is interpolated. What would you suggest?
Artificer