3DSMAX is good but Maya is the industry standard for games and motion picture effects teams. I have a copy of Maya PLE (Personal Edition) on CD-ROM that I got with an issue of a 3D Animation/Modeling magazine. It's ok but like someone else here said, it places watermarks on your renders, disabling you from using them in actuall projects. 3DSMAX is the cheapest I think. Maya, the FULL version (Maya Unlimited) is approx. $6999.00!!! But, the alternatives are the (1) Black Market or (2) Kazaa! Cheap but hey, it's free! I have 3DSMAX, FULL version, on CD-ROM that I downloaded. It works great but it's not compatible with my current computer which has Windows XP. Good luck to you!


Pod Buster

P.S. Don't worry about the demo cd for 3DSMAX! It shows you what the program is capable of doing. You can't actually work with it. It's mostly video sequences. I sent away for mine and it took about 6+ weeks to get to my house. Discreet consists of a bunch of a slow-@$$ people!

[edited by - podbuster on October 21, 2002 5:38:52 PM]

LMAO @ PodBuster, now there is a man who isnt afraid to tell it to you straigt.

NeoStorm: Consider this your first time hearing about XSI

quote:Softimage XSI is expensive. More expensive than 3DS I think. Maya is cheaper, plus it also seems to be the more streamlined out of the three, so you don''t really need huge hardware for modelling at least.

Softimage isn''t actually more expensive than Maya. Most people assume this due to the almost impossibility of find any hint to the price online. You need to email for a private quote to find out how much it would cost you for a license.
I managed to get the student version of XSI2 Advanced for about £500 (of which my college paid £200). If you''re a student, you may be interested in this... http://www.softimage.com/Products/XSI/v2/promo/Rule_the_School/

It''s not widely used in the gaming industry at all, which I''m somewhat surprised about, as having used Max (not since version 2.5 though) and Maya(4), I''ve found XSI to be more intuative and far easier and faster to use.

Maya is aiming for the gaming industry right now because Alias|Wavefront know that in Maya''s current state, it will lose a battle against XSI3 for the animation/production industry. Its render engine is terrible (where XSI comes with MentalRay as standard), interface is clunky and awkward, and XSI vastly helps improve workflow, just due to its superior design, NLA, and basically, the fact that it''s been designed from ground up with the Artist in mind, which maya failed to do.
XSI is also looking at the gaming market as where the real money is too. Indeed a large game developer (Konami? I forget which) has recently ported over to XSI entirely.

A lot of indie''s haven''t bothered even considering XSI, assuming it''s way out of their price league, or that it''s inferior to maya. Neither are true. If you can afford maya, you''ll be able to afford XSI. Hell, if you can afford max, you''ll probably be able to afford XSI.
If anyone hasn''t already sent off for the demo cd (it is just a demo, not a learning edition. You can''t save or export) I suggest you do. The vidoes show you just what is capable with it, although you can''t really get much done with the demo.

Roble: There is no actual 3dsm demo, but there is always GMax. I''ve never tried it, so I''m not sure of what it''s capable of.

Anyway, there''s my rant about XSI. One thing I''ve learned is, once XSI digs it''s claws into you, you''re a loyal user :D...I''ll defend/promote it at any available opertunity

Andru™ a registered trademark of the Globex® corporation.

If you are a student, you would get student price on most package. I am talking about the commercial version. XSI is quite a bit more expensive. I am not sure if they are going to drop the price with XSI 3.0, they might. Well Softimage used to be quite a bit more expensive, I think in the $50,000 range.

According to their homepage, and their adds, company like Sega (Shenmue) and Psygnosis (Wipeout) uses Softimage. Though they don''t used XSI, but the older version Softimage 3D, which I still reckon a far superior version compare to XSI. And Softimage 3D, is also quite cheaper than XSI. Softimage 3D is more streamlined, XSI is bloated, with features, which to some of you maybe a good thing, but it made it quite a bit slower.

According to them, SW Episode 2, is also model using Softimage 3D.

As for renderer, yes Maya renderer isn''t the best, but its sufficient, anyway if you want renderer, normally, you just go with Pixar''s Renderman. Or you can also buy MentalRay. Or write your own renderer. But if you are game developer especially indie, you''ll be using it for real time stuff, maybe render a picture or two.

quote:3DSMAX is the cheapest I think. Maya, the FULL version (Maya Unlimited) is approx. $6999.00!!!

Yes, that''s why there is Maya limited, which you can get for $2000. You don''t need the feature of Maya Unlimited, if you are Indie game developer. Sub-Division surface modeling, can be emulated in Maya limited.