I am looking at getting a copy of pyware and curious what everyone's experiences were with it... good or bad? Quick research didn't really reveal any programs with similar capabilities.

Anyone know of any great deals or educational discounts out there on purchasing it?

There's a little bit of a learning curve, but it's the best you can get at this point.  There is only one other reputable app out there (Field Artist), but it only runs on PC.  Pyware is pretty much the only realistic option, unless you're running Parallels or Fusion.  Anybody who uses it would swear by it, so you won't be disappointed. 

$350 seems to be the going price for the basic version from most wholesale discount stores.

Speaking of the basic version, is it worth dropping the money on the full version with all the bells and whistles?  As it stands right now, I'm not the drill writer for my program, but I'd like to have the software to be able to receive and do simple edits of the Pyware file, and maybe learn enough to eventually be the drill writer.  Any thoughts on this?

Thanks Bryan... it certainly couldn't be worse than writing by hand, and the animations end up being well worth any hassle in learning it.

@Keith - I know that the floor cover plugin is nice for winter staging design, and most people who do that sort of thing pop the extra money for that plugin.  I don't know much about the other plugins, but it seems that the Basic version with that floor plugin would be plenty.