What is the best modelling program?

[xtremetrooper]

What is the best modeling program? I heard that Milkshape 3d was the best. Any suggestions?

[scar3crow]

I know of many people who will speak up for Blender, which is free. I never got the hang of it, but many have, and have been quite successful with it.

[xtremetrooper]

I know of many people who will speak up for Blender, which is free. I never got the hang of it, but many have, and have been quite successful with it.

I heard that Blender is not that good for modeling on old engines such as Quake and Half-Life 1, that's why I didn't put it there.

[SamUK]

I use 3ds max 8 , Its a pain in the ass to export models but its worth it.

[xtremetrooper]

So far I know of gmax, Milkshape3d, blender, and some oldschool Quake and HL1 modeling programs that are free. I don't want to pirate anything to get the paid versions, but I mentioned these programs because I heard that they are pretty good for modeling, and they are free of charge.

[MeTcHsteekle]

i think milkshape is not free [but i guess has a good trial thing for it]

and i don't know how to get gmax from the site i have seen for it, something like "turbo squid"...makes me think of a squid with rocket boosters

[MauveBib]

gmax is no longer available. It required a free licence, which they are no longer issuing.

[r00k]

Free: Blender

Commercial: Autodesk 3DS Max

[MauveBib]

Free: Blender

Commercial: Autodesk 3DS Max

That's pretty much the crux of it, yes.

[leileilol]

I heard that Blender is not that good for modeling on old engines such as Quake and Half-Life 1, that's why I didn't put it there.

That's totally bull! Whoever you heard that from should be slapped in the face and more random acts of tcp-ip violence.

[MauveBib]

I heard that Blender is not that good for modeling on old engines such as Quake and Half-Life 1, that's why I didn't put it there.

That's totally bull! Whoever you heard that from should be slapped in the face and more random acts of tcp-ip violence.

Leilei's right here, blender is fine for such games, and probably a lot easier to export for such games than MAX is these days.

However, the blender interface is certainly not to everyone's taste.

[MeTcHsteekle]

However, the blender interface is certainly not to everyone's taste.

i find i try to work around it . when i do it works pretty good

[GiffE]

Leilei's right here, blender is fine for such games, and probably a lot easier to export for such games than MAX is these days.

However, the blender interface is certainly not to everyone's taste.

I agree, I cannot work my way around blender's interface for the life of me. Personally, I love 3ds Max.

Who says gmax is no longer available?
http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax

[Zylyx_]

I posted this on qukeone.com recently, so dont be mad at me :

For a good basic modeler that is easy to use, go with MilkShape 3D. Gmax is good, but it's hardly supported since discreet (now autodesk) dropped it a few years ago.

Also, most modern Quake clients like DarkPlaces support many different model file formats, many of which are far superior when compared to the old quake mdl file format (examples include: Quake 3 MD3 and Half Life MDL, although the later needs to be converted into a another file format to use with Dark Places, but I dont know for other clients).

A good basic setup combo for a beginner 3D artist (on a tight budget) would be:

Milkshape 3D - Good for modeling and exporting to many different file formats, bad for animation and UV mapping. Costs $35.

LithUnwrap (the free version, because Ultimate Unwrap 3D costs $50, I think) - Absolute must of any sort of UV mapping, doesnt do much else though

Fragmotion - Good for animation, has nice features like Inverse Kinematics, quirky UI though, in my opinion, costs $25.

CharacterFX - Free. Same as above, but more simpler and straight to the point

Gimp - Unless you like paying for Photoshop, try this. Free.

Blender- I hate the UI, but its free and many claim that it competes with the professional 3D packages. Has everything.

Photoshop - You might think about investing in this some day, a must for any serious 2D graphics work

Alternatively, if you want to be serious about 3D modeling, texturing and animation, then you need to get hold of any of these (either legally or otherwise ):

- Maya - You can get the PLE version for free, but it is pretty useless, in my opinion. Original Quake models were made with Alias PowerAnimator (the precursor to Maya), many many years ago. Most professionals use this, and it's thought in many colleges that teach 3D art.

- LightWave 3D - My personal choice. Good overall features.

- 3ds Max - Overall good software

- Softimage XSI - Same as above

- Huidini - Dont know much about it, but many pros calim that it is THE 3d app


And either of these two are needed for any serious high-polygon/high-detail modeling:
- Zbrush - Again, my personal choice. Best for organic hi-detail 3D sculpting
- Mudbox - Never used, but again, many pros use it


Finaly, get a graphics tablet if you can. It will speed up your workflow dramatically. If you have around $500-$600, get a Wacom one, otherwise, try the Trust ones (cheap but good, around $100 - $180). Make sure that is has atleast 512 pressure levels. Also, a scanner is not a bad idea either...

Good Tutorials (for beginners using the budget 3D software I mentioned first):

- http://www.planetfortress.com/tf2models/tuto.htm - Old, but helps with the basics

- http://www.psionic3d.co.uk - Also some good basic tutorials, including 2D art

- http://www.dosfx.com/tutorials.asp - More in-depth MilkShape 3D tutorials

- http://www.iinit.com/tutorial.cfm?source=2&tutorial=5 - Another basic MilkShape 3D tutorial

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[xtremetrooper]

Zylyx_ thanks for that. Very thorough list of the software available for use. Now I'm not sure if this forum supports illegal versions of this type of software, but I'm not really worried about that since I use the free programs in that list. If you're considering pirating, I would just use the free programs there, some of them are quite good.

I suggest adding the Quake Model Viewer, found here: http://qview.planetquake.gamespy.com/

Now there are many model viewers, but that one seems the best.