3DS Max Or Maya?
Author
Is one better than the other? Why is best for games and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
I find maya a bit easier to use and 3DS Max I haven't really looked at it very much.
I've a lot of experience in 3ds max but too less in Maya to compare them. However, I would recomend to check out Softimage XSI first. It's surely the best for character animation, interface is fine, easy to script for and offers cheap basic versions containing the necessary stuff for games.
3ds max if you plan on going professional. Almost every game development company uses 3ds max to make their models. Almost every movie company uses Maya though.
So if you're going professional games, get used to using max, if you want to go professional movies, keep learning Maya.
3ds max: Easy interface, self-explanatory tools, script, can do anything.
Maya: Easy interface(not quite as easy as max, I find), tools are basically the same as max except in the modeling dialogue boxes has a few more advanced options, I think it has a script, not too sure though, and since it focuses on modeling it can do quite a bit.
So if you're going professional games, get used to using max, if you want to go professional movies, keep learning Maya.
3ds max: Easy interface, self-explanatory tools, script, can do anything.
Maya: Easy interface(not quite as easy as max, I find), tools are basically the same as max except in the modeling dialogue boxes has a few more advanced options, I think it has a script, not too sure though, and since it focuses on modeling it can do quite a bit.
If you have to ask you probably cant afford either, try something like Milkshape3D or Blender first. (the first is cheap and the second is free)
How to Find the Right 3D Program in 5 Easy Steps
1) Rip a sheet of paper into three equal pieces.
2) Write XSI on one, 3DS on another, and Maya on the third.
3) Crumple up pieces of paper and place in a hat.
4) Close eyes, shakes pieces in the hat, and choose a piece of paper.
5) The program written on the piece of paper is the one for you!
Unless you are scripting or rigging, it doesn't matter which program you use, really. Whatever someone says about which has a better interface or workflow, its only because they've taught themselves how to use one program and have adjusted to that workflow and the other one seems 'clunky.' I use both Max and Maya extensively, and have toyed with XSI, they can all do anything, just choose one and go with it.
BTW, what KevinM says is wrong. Its impossible to classify the usage of the programs so easily.
1) Rip a sheet of paper into three equal pieces.
2) Write XSI on one, 3DS on another, and Maya on the third.
3) Crumple up pieces of paper and place in a hat.
4) Close eyes, shakes pieces in the hat, and choose a piece of paper.
5) The program written on the piece of paper is the one for you!
Unless you are scripting or rigging, it doesn't matter which program you use, really. Whatever someone says about which has a better interface or workflow, its only because they've taught themselves how to use one program and have adjusted to that workflow and the other one seems 'clunky.' I use both Max and Maya extensively, and have toyed with XSI, they can all do anything, just choose one and go with it.
BTW, what KevinM says is wrong. Its impossible to classify the usage of the programs so easily.
Quote:Original post by Professor420
How to Find the Right 3D Program in 5 Easy Steps
1) Rip a sheet of paper into three equal pieces.
2) Write XSI on one, 3DS on another, and Maya on the third.
3) Crumple up pieces of paper and place in a hat.
4) Close eyes, shakes pieces in the hat, and choose a piece of paper.
5) The program written on the piece of paper is the one for you!
Unless you are scripting or rigging, it doesn't matter which program you use, really. Whatever someone says about which has a better interface or workflow, its only because they've taught themselves how to use one program and have adjusted to that workflow and the other one seems 'clunky.' I use both Max and Maya extensively, and have toyed with XSI, they can all do anything, just choose one and go with it.
BTW, what KevinM says is wrong. Its impossible to classify the usage of the programs so easily.
Very true, 3dsmax have been used in a large number of movies and maya have seen quite alot of use in the game industry, i would still hold on to the claim that neither is suitable for indie developers or beginners (due to the high licence costs).
Currently 3dsmax 9 costs 41995 Kr (SEK) for a single licence (in sweden), which is roughly equal to $6000 (USD)
not exactly the kind of money you want to spend on a single tool as an indie developer.
A student licence is avaliable for 1200 kr or ~$170 but can't be used comercially and is only valid for 2 years.
Maya is a bit cheaper (roughly $3000 for a single licence).
In general you can do just as good rigged and animated models using a free tool such as blender.
Though 3dsmax9 has alot of nice features that really save alot of time, and i would assume that Maya and XSI have aswell. The fact is that as a game developer you don't need all features those programs have to offer. (unless you want to create fancy cut-scenes)
Quote:Original post by Professor420
BTW, what KevinM says is wrong. Its impossible to classify the usage of the programs so easily.
I'm simply going by what the industry says. The majority of major movie companies use Maya, the majority of game companies use 3ds max. If you disagree with that I highly suggest you do some research.
Quote:Original post by KevinM
I'm simply going by what the industry says. The majority of major movie companies use Maya, the majority of game companies use 3ds max. If you disagree with that I highly suggest you do some research.
Is that what you stated?
Quote:Almost every game development company uses 3ds max to make their models. Almost every movie company uses Maya though.
So if you're going professional games, get used to using max, if you want to go professional movies, keep learning Maya.
The majority, maybe. But its nowhere near a cornered market. To say that game companies, a large slice of game companies, don't use Maya or XSI (AAA companies such as Infinity Ward and Valve), or that film studios don't use 3dsmax (many special effects houses, and shorts studios like Blur (which just switched to XSI)), is simply, flat out, wrong.
I suggest you do some research of your own, you can start with Wikipedia. Continue with looking at Artist Job Openings and look at what software they are looking for. You can also look at 3D game art books and look at what alot of studios are using (alot of Japanese companies seem to use Lightwave, believe it or not... at least they used to).
The idea that Maya=film and 3ds=games is a really old fashioned and wildly off the mark assessment that was perhaps true 7 or 8 years ago but hasn't been the case for a while now.
oh god.. another 3ds max vs. maya debate!
i'll explain once again as i did before in another similar thread.
it does not matter which one you learn!!! if you start with either max or maya and become proficient in it you can then easily move to the other app and be fine. ex. i start with 3ds max, become a good modeler in it, then my new job requires maya, i then spend aybe a month or two and make a very good switch over to maya.
however the decision on which one to start with is up to you and is mainly which one you feel most confortable with at the start. tryout the demos of each to make that decision.
as for how much market 3ds max has? it is nearly half and half with the industry, with 3ds max carrying a slight lead. but who really cares whther maya or max is on top?
i'll explain once again as i did before in another similar thread.
it does not matter which one you learn!!! if you start with either max or maya and become proficient in it you can then easily move to the other app and be fine. ex. i start with 3ds max, become a good modeler in it, then my new job requires maya, i then spend aybe a month or two and make a very good switch over to maya.
however the decision on which one to start with is up to you and is mainly which one you feel most confortable with at the start. tryout the demos of each to make that decision.
as for how much market 3ds max has? it is nearly half and half with the industry, with 3ds max carrying a slight lead. but who really cares whther maya or max is on top?
And hell, they're both owned by the same company now anyways.
I started out learning 3ds max, and now need to use Maya for courses I'm taking. It's a jarring switch, I couldn't do jack shit for the first week, but slowly you get used to it. All the same modelling techniques and principles apply to both. It's just a matter of finding where they hid the tools that both products have. It'll probably be weird to go back and start using max again.
But Maya does 10x more random crazy shit to me and the interface is arse. It's fine if you work with someone who really knows their way around it and they teach you all the tricks, but otherwise you are never going to find most of the helpful features because they are generally invisible and often not in the documentation.
Learning Maya without close instruction = clicking every goddamn pixel on the interface with every button combination imaginable to try and find all the menus.
I started out learning 3ds max, and now need to use Maya for courses I'm taking. It's a jarring switch, I couldn't do jack shit for the first week, but slowly you get used to it. All the same modelling techniques and principles apply to both. It's just a matter of finding where they hid the tools that both products have. It'll probably be weird to go back and start using max again.
But Maya does 10x more random crazy shit to me and the interface is arse. It's fine if you work with someone who really knows their way around it and they teach you all the tricks, but otherwise you are never going to find most of the helpful features because they are generally invisible and often not in the documentation.
Learning Maya without close instruction = clicking every goddamn pixel on the interface with every button combination imaginable to try and find all the menus.
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