Spend the money
Ahh I hadn't seen Matts anouncement about the free version being updated to the latest version, Great news !! Still limited in render size, max AA and max populations I think.You do know that once Terragen goes gold, (ie no longer in its beta testing phase) it will cost considerably more than it does now.
Also at the moment the free version is not nearly so optimised as the commercial version (ie slower) and has a number of other limitations as well.
I really would advise spending the money now.
Below is quoted directly from Planedsides website.
QuoteThe Free Non-Commercial edition has a number of limitations which are removed when you Pre-Purchase Terragen 2:
The Pre-Purchase includes:
* License for commercial use
* Render images larger than 800 x 600
* Render images with higher detail and anti-aliasing quality
* No hard limit on the number of object populations (the Free Edition is limited to 3)
* Animation and motion blur capabilities if you purchase the Animation option
All of the above benefits are extended through to the final release of Terragen 2, scheduled for completion in 2007, including any minor updates (2.x versions) beyond that at no extra charge.
Pre-Purchase options
Pre-Purchase Terragen 2 "Deep": $199 (upgrade from registered v0.9 for $100)
* Terragen 2 Technology Preview without feature restrictions
* License for one user and 3 additional render node licenses
*
* Free updates to Terragen 2 "Deep" edition final release and subsequent minor updates (2.x versions)
Pre-Purchase Terragen 2 "Deep" with Animation: $299 (upgrade from registered v0.9 for $200)
* Terragen 2 Technology Preview without feature restrictions
* Animatable parameters, motion blur, improved anti-aliasing for animations
* License for one user and 5 additional render node licenses
*
* Free updates to Terragen 2 "Deep" edition final release and subsequent minor updates (2.x versions)
* Free updates to Terragen 2 Animation module available upon final release and subsequent minor updates (2.x versions)
Happy rendering
Richard