My best response is only this; find a modeler that is suited to making real time game models. (Eg Milkshape 3D or wings3d)
The reason for this is that they'll display the object in a way similar to the way a game would, so you can tweak it till it looks right, and be fairly confident it will look that way in Irrlicht.
The thing with high-detail modelling programs like Maya, 3D Studio, etc, is that they're geared toward high-detail pictures and movies, and use different rendering techniques, to acheive levels of detail and special effects that can't be done in real-time yet. And even though a lot of special effects done in those high-detail modlers are appearing in real-time games (bump mapping, fur, etc.) they will never look quite the same, since they use different methods of rendering those effects - sacrificing quality for speed.
Some high-detail modelling programs (like Maya or 3D studio) have parts of the program geared toward game modelling, and you can use them for that.
But while I've never used or seen Strata, it sounds like it isn't for real time game modelling.
(Arras mentioned this sort of thing earlier.)
And to answer your question, NO - Irrlicht is NOT doing raytracing.
If you do a search on www.google.com about the specifics of raytracing, you'll see how intesive it is, and why its used for high-detail rendering, and not real-time rendering! So to sum up - you need the right tool for the job. Strata is for rendering high-detail pictures and movies - you need something to create real-time game models.
(MilkShape3D or Wings3D)
