best modeling program?

O

-Omegaxvi-

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can any of you guys tell me what program is best for modeling for cs? i tryed milkshape but are there others?
 
wings 3d!


no but seriously, there is no "best" modelling program,, it just depends on which one works best with you

if you are a "clean slate" and havent really modelled before and want to model for HL2, then you might consider using XSI
 
That depends. If you have no experience from earlier, 3dsmax 7 is coming out these days and has an easy interface, lots of good tools and max is still the leading software for gaming (as far as I know. Could be wrong because others are relly eating their market)

Lightwave has a great ammount of tools. You model in sub-d so I don't know how well Lightwave handels gaming. I actually don't know the package well enough to say anything about it. All I know is that I really miss bandsaw in maya :)

Maya is a good allrounder and it's very complex. It's easy to model low- poly, high poly, whatever. But you have to install plug-ins to get all the modelingtools you have seen elsewhere. I seldom use the plugins because most of them tend to leave some quite annoying nodes (e.g. byron's) I use maya every day and like it very much. Maya has no limits when it comes to expanding. If you need something you can use maya MEL-scripting to get maya where people have never been before :)

You should also consider trying Modo out. It's developed by the original LW programmers so you'll probably recognize a lot of LW stuff in it..
Go here to grab a demo:
http://www.luxology.com/

And if you plan to do HL2 modding, you should also consider XSI as mentioned above. It has a HL2 exporter even if I'm not mistaking :) and of course it's easier to use the software the developers of the game you're modding used :)

Blender, Wings3d, trueSpace could be options...
 
crabcakes66 said:
I think mabey...just mabey you guys read the title and didnt read his question.


He does not need an advanced suite of proffesional software to bang out a few models for cs.

ok, but why shouldn't he learn some more to be able to mod for HL2 later ?;)
 
gmax and Maya PLE are essentially the same programs as their commercial bretheren

also you cant get models from maya PLE (and gmax as well I believe) into CS, you need the game developers to support it and make a plugin (like UT2k3 and maya PLE)... Price is a big issue, although you can get student licenses
 
whats the best to begin whit if you have no expirience
 
XSI is the best i have used... it is targeted at games. MAYA is designed for high poly work...
 
For aboslute simple basic beginner work I highly recommend milkshape 3D. It's cheap, it has support for MANY games and you will get a discount off Milkshape 2 which will have fancy boolean operators. Milshape 3D is primarily modeling by creating single vertices and making faces so high poly work is a bit out of the question (some good plugins will help) but it teaches you the basics of animation, modelling and textures. It was the easiet to learn from all I have tried.

www.milkshape3d.com

edit: just read you tried it, bah
 
XSI is clearly growing in user base exponentially.... its for a reason.

The workflow is second to none, and so are the modelling tools, not to mention its the leading animation package within the 3D biz..... And now, you can OWN a fully legit licensed copy for pleasure or work for about 500$, try to get max or maya for that.. they'll laugh in your face.
 
RMachucaA said:
XSI is clearly growing in user base exponentially.... its for a reason.

The workflow is second to none, and so are the modelling tools, not to mention its the leading animation package within the 3D biz..... And now, you can OWN a fully legit licensed copy for pleasure or work for about 500$, try to get max or maya for that.. they'll laugh in your face.

I totally agree, XSI would be the way to go.

As for Milkshape 3D - vavle won't release an exporter so what's the use?

Maya - I'm not saying it's not a modeler, I am saying it's more suited for high poly work, like that car. Try to get that car into half life, it's like 50'000 polys?

desty
 
desty said:
I totally agree, XSI would be the way to go.

As for Milkshape 3D - vavle won't release an exporter so what's the use?

Maya - I'm not saying it's not a modeler, I am saying it's more suited for high poly work, like that car. Try to get that car into half life, it's like 50'000 polys?

desty


I would not agree. Maya is as suited for low poly as any other package with polymodeling introduced.The package does not have anything to do with this. Sure, there are programs with tools designed for lowpoly and so on, but in the end it's not about the program.

On the other hand. XSI comes with an integrated exporter if I'm not mistaken (confirm anyone?) So it might take some time before you can export directly from maya.
 
Yes, XSI comes with the exporter.

You can model almost anything with any of those programs, but some are more suited for certain tasks. Even if the maya poly tools are good, which they are, they aren't the best. Maya has other strengths like NURBS. If someone was to ask what program to use for NURBS, I hope no one will reply 3ds max or XSI, because theyr implementation is bad, on the other hand, Maya and Rhino are perfect for that task. In the case of poly modeling, I would say maya isn't as good as XSI and 3ds max.

desty
 
desty said:
Yes, XSI comes with the exporter.

In the case of poly modeling, I would say maya isn't as good as XSI and 3ds max.

desty

I have to disagree again. I'm not trying to turn this into a flamewar :)

You have CPS, BonusTools, Byrons polytools, MJ Polytools in maya (external plugins) if you miss something from max/XSI. Although I use the biult in tools.
 
Im ganna agree with Mikemius about Maya. The only plug-ins I use, modeling wise, are bonus tools, and mostly not even for modeling but for gave developmoent tools such as pre-lighting. Maya poly tools are just as good as the next program, if not better. It seems that theres something stuck in your head thats making you just blatently ignore Maya (dont take this the wrong way). Maybe you should give Maya a chance.
 
Personally I use 3Ds Max 5 - looking to upgrade to version 7. I've used it for years now (teaching myself) and only now am I starting to scratch away at the surface of all that it can do.
But if you're interested in simply modding CS/ HL2 then XSI EXP (or whatever they call the Half-Life 2 freebie version) would be an good programme to start with - its very powerful for something thats... erm... free! 3Ds Max cost me nearly £500 - and that was just for a student licence...
As far as Maya goes - I wouldn't knock it - I'm just so used to 3Ds Max that it'd take a lot for me to change programmes.
 
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