Hey Matt.
Thanks for the input, btw I checked out your program, it's beautiful. You must have put alot of hard work into it. Still,

I think I'm gonna learn shaders. Here's why, I'm a major geek (mathmatically endowed), so it's not the math that bothers me, i's the language thats foreign to me. Also, as an aspiring game designer, it's always best to have your "ducks in a row", you dig?
Again, great job with sphere,
P.S I'd be interested in seeing any game demo's you have out, got any links?