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Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
#228129
09/17/08 20:10
09/17/08 20:10
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 119 Madison, WI
JakeL
OP
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 119
Madison, WI
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Hi everyone. I have used 3ds Max for years but am now looking to change modeling software. Our company has decided to switch.
Does anyone have any good advice on what I should try? Both Lightwave and Maya look good. Maya Complete lacks some of the features of the upper version like cloth and fur though, so I don't know. I am budgeted to spend less than $2500, hopefully $2000 or less. We kind of want to stay away from Autodesk.
Do both export well to Gamestudio, or other indie engines like Torque or Dark Basic? Are there other modelers that I should be looking into?
I am primarily looking for modeling software to do game assets, so exporting to a variety of formats is a plus.
Anyone with some sage advice? I’d really appreciate the help.
If you need graphic resources, or just want to see some of my work, check out our site AdenFall Software.
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Re: Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
[Re: JakeL]
#228130
09/17/08 20:18
09/17/08 20:18
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,875
broozar
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Posts: 4,875
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softimage/avid xsi -> many exporters, popular among game developers and the modding community (half-life 2 etc) newtek lightwave -> used for many films and tv series, 9.5 comes with decent exporters, takes some time to get used to, relies heavily on keyboard shortcuts maxon cinema4d -> features the excellent bodypaint3d that makes texturing a pleasure, great GUI, easy to use
if you are looking for an excellent modelling software only, have a closer look at zBrush, modo and silo3d.
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Re: Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
[Re: broozar]
#228138
09/17/08 20:41
09/17/08 20:41
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 119 Madison, WI
JakeL
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Posts: 119
Madison, WI
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Thanks Broozar! I'll check those out.
Anyone else have some personal experience with modeling software?
If you need graphic resources, or just want to see some of my work, check out our site AdenFall Software.
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Re: Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
[Re: MaxF]
#228141
09/17/08 20:49
09/17/08 20:49
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 133 Sweden, Stockholm
Enduriel
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Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 133
Sweden, Stockholm
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Maya is autodesk aswell so you better stay away from that aswell, and maya 2008 doens't lack Cloth/fur/hair.. Where do you base that information from :s?
Last edited by Enduriel; 09/17/08 20:52.
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Re: Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
[Re: Enduriel]
#228144
09/17/08 20:58
09/17/08 20:58
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 119 Madison, WI
JakeL
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Posts: 119
Madison, WI
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Hi Enduriel,
According to their website Maya Unlimited comes with all the things you mentioned, but it is over my budget $5000. Maya Complete does not come with those and is $2000. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm not totally against Maya, but I want some good reasons to get it.
If you need graphic resources, or just want to see some of my work, check out our site AdenFall Software.
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Re: Maya Complete 2008 or Lightwave?
[Re: JakeL]
#228228
09/18/08 09:41
09/18/08 09:41
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,121 Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Machinery_Frank
Senior Expert
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Senior Expert
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,121
Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
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Lightwave has fur / hair, physics and cloth-simulation included. Lightwave is a complete software for modeling, animation and rendering. It is very stable (especially compared to Autodesk products).
Maya is also a good software. The animation tool is told to be better than Lightwaves animation especially in terms of character animation. Both can do the same but Maya can be a bit faster in this area. In terms of modeling it is hard to say. Lightwave is very fast if you know how to use it. And the material editor of Lightwave is the best in the entire CG world. The price of Lightwave is only a fraction of Maya.
Exporters are available for Lightwave. There are exporters for Gamestudio (from Greenbriar Studios), for Torque (David Wyand) and two exporters for Ogre. I have no idea about Dark Basic. It can also export to FBX, Collada, obj and 3ds. There are plugins available for many other formats (e.g. X). I don't know about the Maya exporters.
If you want to do pure modelling then Modo is indeed a very good option, more modern than Lightwave, 3DS and Maya.
Models, Textures and Games from Dexsoft
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