Although I'm part of the KT Team and people thereby might disqualify me for replying here, I give it a go anyway...
To answer your first question:
No you're not dreaming... KT is a really good and stable render...
And perhaps most impressive... One of the few render applications, where you can take advantage of both biased and unbiased render methods...
But since it's free, you can easily test and check it out yourself and be your own judge...!
Some users find KT difficult to use, while others adapt the techniques very quickly...
The same can be said about any other render application...
I recommend that you download and read the Getting Started tutorial, which will guide you through the application enabling you to get started...
In our Tutorials section of our Download area, you can find many useful tutorials... Even some of the older tutorials might help you crasp things better...
As a final word regarding how to make a good render, I will take a very wise quote by Pete (aka Solo):
@unknownuser said:
...you must realize having the tools does not make one a carpenter, meaning that there is a level of artistic talent and desire needed in order to set up a scene, composition, lighting, texturing, modeling, and so forth that requires one to have a genuine interest and find much enjoyment in what one is doing in order to succeed...
I hope this can help you further...!?
