Alternatives to 3Ds Max

ray_MAN

ray_MAN

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My parents are no longer willing to shell out the big bucks fo 3Ds Max. They say, "We can't spend that kind of money. Buy it yourself." I am now looking for a massively cheaper way to get a good quality 3D modelling program. If you can find any alternative please post them here.
 
Originally posted by ray_MAN
My parents are no longer willing to shell out the big bucks fo 3Ds Max. They say, "We can't spend that kind of money. Buy it yourself." I am now looking for a massively cheaper way to get a good quality 3D modelling program. If you can find any alternative please post them here.
Click to expand...

gmax

check PC mags, usually throw in full versions of ok 3d apps.. Nothing great though, need to spend a lot for the good stuff

Try ebay for old versions of Lightwave, most can still be upgraded cheaply to recent versions, then offered as part exchange for other programs, I think Softimage and Alias did or still do have some part exchange scheme, and Lightwave can be legally resold. Check its the legit versions though, if your lucky you should find version 4 going cheap and I think that can still be upgraded for a few hundred dollars to version 7.5. Or try Newtek Europe, Can't be certain but they may have a deal on right now for LW cheap, £600 or something

Then there's the early versions of Cinema4D, Truespace and 3D Studio 4. Those can be picked up cheaper these days but aren't really supported anymore

Blender, thats supposed to be an ok app, just weird if your not used to its methods

If your on an official course you might be able to get an educational licence of some of the high end programs
 
Well I had gmax but, it no longer worked because I installed the new Windows Hotfix patch.:flame: Is Rhinko any good? I am looking into that, for it is $150.
 
I am now looking into Lightwave. Can anyone tell me if it's any good? I found a good price.
 
I really like Lightwave for polygon modelling. There's not much you need to low poly modelling that Lightwave doesn't provide. The built-in renderer is also excellent, although at times it can be slow. The simple layer system used in Lightwave is also a plus, although it is hard to transfer it to some other programs, such as 3dsmax, due to the use of objects instead of layers. I believe you can get the student version of lightwave for around 400 dollars, that is a very good deal if you ask me. Also, you could try looking for a student version (if they have them) or a used 3dsmax. Since Max 6 just came out, Max 4 and 5 should be pretty cheap. I would recommend 5 if you can get it for a good price, since the new rendering engine is much better. That's my 2 cents.
 
ray_MAN, i am impressed at your enthusiasm, but i mean, you've only just started modelling, you may find its not your thing later. i wouldnt even consider shelling out 1000s of pounds on Max at the stage i am at. and also, if you are still going to spend the money, make sure you do a lot research into what you are buying. you dont want to end up with some amazing software, and no utilities to export or no plugin ability.

and also, if you're gonna get your moneys worth, id wait until you find what you want to do with 3D. explore 3D art more, the different directions you can take. you're about 13 or something, youve got ages, like me, im only 15 and im really into Max and all that, and im pretty certain that i'd be very happy in a life of 3D Art, learning how to use a product fully, making shorts and animating your own characters.

one more thing...
i got a bit :flame: when you posted a picture of a gun, which was modeled in Game Space. you dont want to spend a load of money and just use your wonderful new program for making guns for the rest of your life.

PS. that sounds a bit mothery, but its not sposed to put you off, just my two pence.

anyways, sorry for a lecture, but i just was a bit shocked when you, a boy of 13 were asking your parents to buy you a £2000 3D modeling program, used by some of the best in the business.
 
Originally posted by random.hero
ray_MAN, i am impressed at your enthusiasm, but i mean, you've only just started modelling, you may find its not your thing later. i wouldnt even consider shelling out 1000s of pounds on Max at the stage i am at. and also, if you are still going to spend the money, make sure you do a lot research into what you are buying. you dont want to end up with some amazing software, and no utilities to export or no plugin ability.

and also, if you're gonna get your moneys worth, id wait until you find what you want to do with 3D. explore 3D art more, the different directions you can take. you're about 13 or something, youve got ages, like me, im only 15 and im really into Max and all that, and im pretty certain that i'd be very happy in a life of 3D Art, learning how to use a product fully, making shorts and animating your own characters.

one more thing...
i got a bit :flame: when you posted a picture of a gun, which was modeled in Game Space. you dont want to spend a load of money and just use your wonderful new program for making guns for the rest of your life.

PS. that sounds a bit mothery, but its not sposed to put you off, just my two pence.

anyways, sorry for a lecture, but i just was a bit shocked when you, a boy of 13 were asking your parents to buy you a £2000 3D modeling program, used by some of the best in the business.
Click to expand...

Man I agree so totally, it's like you stuck your hand in my brain and pulled the words right out, that's why I suggest going with cinema 4d if you want an official 3d app.

about lightwave, yeah it has a great modeling engine, but the UI is really something you have to like. ( I don't ) :)
 
Well, I found a price for $125 for Lightwave 7.5 and I can't find any good prices on 3Ds Max. It's not the guns I want to model man. I just posted that because it was amazing. It looked realistic. I thought you guys would like it. If you guys can, please help me find prices near $200 for 3Ds Max. It would rock.
 
Max comes at a fixed price doesnt it, i dont know of any half half versions. some guy i know went to art college, and they paid for a student version, if you can wait 'til then, you'd be better off.

ray, sorry bout seeming angry, i wsnt really, it just seemed like you were jumping in with both feet ...did i just make that up ? or is it a known saying ?

*edit* hehe i just read your post Incitatus...i present to you...my patented 'Brain Picker', no need to think for yourself ever again, just steal what other people's thoughts.

yay for the brain picker :bounce:
 
Dude I have a student price at like $500 but my Dad won't shell out the $$.
 
xsi free

there is a free version of xsi. xsi exp its called. it pretty much does everything except export and it saves in a weird format. its not 80 bones.
 
ok from my experience:
Lightwave: t is very good at polygonal modeling, but is lacking a lot(IMO) on other points.
XSI: My personal favorite...the only thing it doesn't do GREAT is simulating, but in everything else, it's just smashing :)
3DStudio: it's good, but a lot of othr programs are doing a lot better. This is actually good all around, but it doesn't really have that extra to be perfect.
Cinema4D: i find this very hard to work with, but if you lear it, it's good i guess, but i just use the demo to do some snazzy renders :)
Rhino: meh, you can find better programs....and if youre into free stuff, i would recomend the program Blender.
Maya: Well this is one of the most used programs in the gaming/film industry, and this is really the forward, but i just find it so damn hard to learn, but who knows...maybe you'll like it.

Can't think of any other programs atm, but my advice would be to go to www.3dbuzz.com and check out some of the free videos for each program, and see what you dig :)
 
I want to download the EXP and I have already registered at Softimage.com. I filled out the form and clicked "GO", but I got a message, "This Page Cannot Be Displayed". Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Does anyone know how to solve this problem?
 
Why is no one mentioning Gamespace? I tried using this and seen the gallery pictures of what can be done. This is the kind of thing used by profesional game modelers in modern direct x 9 games...
 
You guys could try out Zbrush. I haven't used it too much. I've seen some real nice stuff made with this. It's a bit different from, say, 3Dsmax. But it's definately kickass.

If I remember correctly, the demo is semi-free. You have to keep renewing some key every month or summin. And I think you can't export to other formats. You can always crack it ;) .

Zbrush Demo Download link:

http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=1

Zbrush Community Forum: (some nice stuff here)

http://pixologic.com/download/cdownloadfr.html

I can't understand why people would shell out a crazy amount of money buying a 3D app that they use just now and then.
 
You messed up the links. But, thanks I will try it.
 
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