As for rendering issues, and since superfly is relatively new on the scene, I always just try a test superfly with a low pixel sample setting (around 6 or 7) just to get an idea what it will do. When I tried that kind of test on the drapes, it didn't seem as though it would work, but I didn't try any adjustments, or, like you mentioned, checking the directions...haha. Superfly is great for hard surfaces...glass, polished metals, paint....but things like hair may have different results....it will appear thin in a superfly render...which is why there's a newer approach to hair now...I think in Studio it's called fibermess or something like that...it's thicker, so it can stand up to iray rendering. It happens that I do a lot of cars, and polished metals...and I like doing glass....so I do enjoy superfly rendering.
This is an example of how car renders used to appear in Studio and older versions of Poser...like the example you showed yesterday using Kena I think it was. Notice the custom license plate...haha. If I remember correctly this render was done in an early version of Studio....all of my Studio renders are dark, since I have trouble controlling the lights.
Then around about Poser 9 and 10, folks were creating better firefly mats with their models...so this was just a firefly render done of this Camaro. I actually had one that looked like this....how sweet it was
Then I discovered that the materials that come with Schurby's cars at Rendo work well on other vehicles...so I starting applying those to older models with pretty good results. Again, this is still just a firefly render....but it's all in Schurby's car paint, chrome, and glass materials, and lighting. His burgundy paint renders wonderfully, and I tend to use it a lot.
The same Schurby paint and chrome materials applied to a motorcycle
So that's my "secret sauce" for doing vehicles.
Schurby's vehicles are at Rendo, and I use the '65 GTO, the '58 Impala, and the '73 Nova on all my stuff....which includes the paint, the chrome, the glass, the mirrors, and even the tire rubber and trim.