Not much of a learning curve at all. The templates already included can get you doing some cool stuff without having to dig in deep. Should you get the Rapid version? Depends on how much customization you want to do. I got the Pro version, but that was before Vegas 8 came out. If you get Heroglyph mostly just for fast productivity and don't have time for tweaking, the Rapid is probably all you need. If you want to do really intricate stuff, maybe Vegas 8's titler is the way to go. (I can't say, though, because I haven't really explored V8's titler yet).
I have the complete Heroglyph it is not hard at all to learn, and easy to get around. with rapid I think that there is some templates missing that are in the complete package.
I have both and can't see much difference between them. I bought Rapid first and upgraded because their copy protection system only allows you to install their software on one computer. Upgrading got me a second license so I could use one install on each computer.
From what I see, the extra features of the full version are somewhat redundant with features Vegas already has. For instance you can do photo animations with the full version, but I would much rather do it with Vegas's tools.
I bought it before Vegas added the new titling tools with version 8. I still use it because it is easier, but if I was starting from version 8, I'd probably just use the Vegas 8 titler.
I bought Rapid first and upgraded because their copy protection system only allows you to install their software on one computer.
Laurence, I actually contacted Heroglyph reg. this matter, and I was told I could install on more than one, and I just requested one more license file from them by sending in the data by email.