Over $450 dollars??? Wow. You might be remembering wrong, Hash has never sold for more than $299 (Correct me if I'm wrong) V8 was a bit buggy, but 'bugginess' in general was an issue for ALL 3D applications in that day(Anyone remember the notorious V9???)... Hash has committed many-many man-hours to the smooth operation of it's product, and the current V15 is quite stable, thank God! AND- at only $50 for the year 'script with an activation that requires no CD--- a bargain.