Yeah, for me it's great that Corona supports 3ds 2012... So I don't need to pay for Autodesk subscription.
And I pay for Corona with pleasure;)
(if anyone pirates Corona - he has to be real shithead-dickhead)
And yeah, as Benoit wrote in his article - Affinity Photo can be alternative for PS, Corona is great alternative for V-Ray, now I'm waiting for such alternative for 3ds max....
I know Blender pretty well... it's great tool, I am fanboy of Blender - but it's not there yet if you want to do Archiviz...
Funny thing - I have regular offers from Autodesk resellers to exchange my lifetime license for cheaper 3ds max subspcription...