hello i need an eviorment creation type software for my projects but the only problem is my money is EXTREMELY limited, i was wondering if anyone might know of a free or cheaper alternative to software like vue 6 easel, being that i was going to get that software in the first place…or if anyone is willing to sell theirs for around $50 i would be more than happy to buy it from you…so anyway, any thoughts?
i WOULD use bryce 5.5 but the only problem with that is it doesent let u export the entire scene that u create in order 2 use it with other programs such as lightwave and poser 7…vue 6 erasel on the other hand…DOES
any more help? i really need this…please help! 
Terragen…you have a free version and a beta version…
www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
it sounds like you are looking for more than just terrain, in wich case I doubt you will find a solution outside of vue…blender is more powerful though.
you might want to look at using Terragen and exporting the render to HDRI/OpenEXR then using that for IBL. you can also download planetgenesis for creating terrains. you can use arbaro/ngplant for creating plants. combining these may give you a bit of the feel of vue.
Edit: There is a free edition of Vue (the personal learning edition) which you can use for free (noncommercial) with watermarked imagery.
Yeah Vue 7PLE (same as Vue 7 infinite!) is free to use as long as it’s non-commercial and you can find all the free video training you could ever want on how to use vue at http://www.geekatplay.com/tutorials.php