When I teach Carrara classes, I suggest Basic as a learning tool which can be upgraded later if need be. The components which are shared between the two packages are essentially identical which means the metaball modeler in studio is the same as in basics. I would suggest that you're probably interested in the higher ended rendering engine which is available in Studio (that's just a guess based on the fact that you want to go to Vue). I'm also guessing that your bend on wanting a vertex modeler coupled with a metaball modeler makes me suspect you're not a casual user and would like more power. This again leads me toward suggesting studio. The most frustrating thing when I teach people who are basic users is the lack of some of the more simple tools which make the renders a lot better (light cones are a simple example). I think you'll like studio better. -Kix

-Kix