Questing for 3DS Max...

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:54 pm

I've been really getting into modeling and texturing more as of late, and I'm looking into equipping my computer with the tools needed for such endeavors.

Well, I downloaded the 3DS Max 30-day trial, which I thought I would be able to prolong through unseemly means, but this method seems to be impossible, so I've been looking into the possibility of purchasing the student edition (since spending $3,000 on a program is simply out of the question for me now.) Does anyone have any suggestions for me, such as good resellers, extra discounts, etc.

I'm also looking into buying the student edition of Adobe Photoshop CS2, which is 285 bucks. (USD) For textures and stuff. Yeah.

Well, if you guys have any info, I'd really appreciate it. And note: I don't wanna here any explicitly illegal suggestions, partly because it's against forum rules, and partly because I don't really like getting illegal software. It doesn't give me the sense of closure that buying software gives me for some reason.

Thanks!

--the NEENJA

Post by **Haplo** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:03 am

Well, blender is always a free alternative to 3D Studio Max (many prefer blender), and the GIMP is always a free alternative (and just as powerful, some prefer it to PS) to Photoshop (of any version)

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:07 am

Well, yeah. I used to use (er... try to use...) Blender. I like 3DS Max more, even though I'm sure if I spent enough time, I could learn to use it. I haven't used the GIMP, which I've heard of, so I'll check that out.

--the NEENJA

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:14 am

Hey, guys, what about Maya? I was looking around, and apparently you can get a May personal learning edition for free, as long as you don't use it commercially. It sounds like it's not time restricted, so that's cool.

Would there be any downsides to using Maya instead of Max? And still, is there any easy cheap, legal way to get Max? (I know, I want it all.

)

Thanks guys

--the NEENJA

Post by **ko2fan** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:18 am

Maya is mainly used in the film and animation industry, whereas 3dsmax is the preferred choice in the games industry. It depends what you want to do with your skills in the modeller, use them as a hobby or get a job. Both are more than adequate for modelling any objects needed for a game mod.

There are lots of other free or cheap modellers out there, including XSI, milkshape, wings3d, and art of illusion. I have even seen exporters for google sketchup for doing buildings quickly and easy.

--
garfield

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:48 am

Maya is mainly used in the film and animation industry, whereas 3dsmax is the preferred choice in the games industry.

I was under that impression. So, can you make game models with Maya? Like, is there a .nif exporter for it? Anyways, thanks Garfield.

Also, I was able to find a student edition of 3ds max somewhere for $379.85 (wtf?) That's pretty cheap compared to the 3000 price tag. It's here: [url]http://www.campustech.com/c/campust/51382.html?id=e9JTZPD6&mv_pc=330[/url]
Has any one else heard of CampusTech? Is it good? Is it reliable?

Anyways, thanks everyone.

--the NEENJA

Fairwater · Post by **Fairwater** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 3:29 am

Find a room mate who has it. Trust me it works wonders to be living with to someone with alot of software.

Morgoth · Post by **Morgoth** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:52 am

If you've got the money, there's absolutely nothing like the old one-two punch. Photoshop, and 3ds Max. Which versions depend on your funding, of course. Also, you could try getting student discounts, works wonders.

I will say this, if you've ever used Photoshop, the GIMP feels like it came straight out of the stone age. Clunky interface, terrible tool menus. Bad. It sucks.

But, for free, you really can't beat it.

Also, I've heard some really great reviews for XSI, especially for gaming uses. I know Morden swears by it. That's worth taking a look.

Edit: Does that version have a time-limit? I got it for a year for somewhere around $150.

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:08 am

Well, I think I've got about $900 sitting in the bank right now... If I get both 3DS Max and Photoshop at educational discounts, that would come to a total of $669.70.
Hm...
I hardly ever buy stuff, except for the occasional video game and major purchases like this. I have the money. But I always like to be somewhat thrifty, so before I jump into this, I think I'll look around some more, especially at XSI.

One question I have for texturers out there, do you think Photoshop CS2 is really better for texturing than elements? I have Photoshop Elements 2.0, it's always worked well for what I needed. But what do you think?

And the Maya Personal Use Edition was free.

I can use it until Sep. 1, 2010.

--the NEENJA

Morgoth · Post by **Morgoth** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:49 am

Save some money and go with 7.0 instead. CS2 added some nice things, but not many of the additions are going to make a difference over 7.0 for texturing.

XSI and 7.0 would definitely lower your bill substantially, and you'd still end up with a very decent package.

skittles · Post by **skittles** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:36 pm

if you've ever heard of gmax it was also produced by autodesk and its alot similiar to 3ds max, but is free and also available at http://turbosquid.com/gmax . even does animation. check this out before you buy 3ds max.

ac3d 6.1 is also a great 3d modeling tool. user-friendly and you can make extremely detailed stuff with it. its only $70 too. i highly recomend it. though it cant do animation.

3ds max and maya arent the best 3d modeling tools. the BEST one that i could not recomend any more highly is CATIA. but it costs $15,000 USD. it edits to the ten-millionth of an inch. too overkill for a game. this is what those airplane companies model with. NICE program.

good luck with the quest of finding 3ds max at a good price.

Post by **Haplo** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 12:03 am

Because airplane companies use models and we need to model to any millionth of an inch, and all that.

I would definitely NOT recommend Gmax. It's honestly a laughing stock, IMO. Hell, even Plasma was better, and discreet took that off the market years ago.

The student discount edition of 3ds Max is less than 400, or around that, so get that if you can, but you'll need to have proof of requirements. Like... you have to be taking some CAD class at a college or university.

Another reason why I would recommend blender or 3D Studio Max is because everyone has it. You never hear anyone here say 'any good milkshape tutorials?' 'any good XSI tutorials?' 'anyone here work for an airplane company and use "CATIA"?'

You hear 'blender' and 'max' all the time, simply because they're the best due to all the resources available and the ease with which you can do anything.

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:55 am

Yeah, I'm leaning toward getting Max, and either sticking with Adobe Photoshop Elements, or going with Photoshop 7. Thanks for all the input guys, Hopefully I'll be posting some mad modeling pics soon!

--the NEENJA

worldslayer608 · Post by **worldslayer608** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:21 pm

i have 3dsmax 6, but i cant use the .NIF exporter, is there ANY other program that will export to .NIF? i cnat seem to find versions 3-5 of 3dsmax anywhere

PoHa! · Post by **PoHa!** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:58 pm

Do a search in this thread for the word "blender"

aro101 · Post by **aro101** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:45 pm

This is my first post on this site, and i have a few things to say. Firstly, to everyone, who used MAX, I know it's hard to learn even the basics of Blender, but it's worth, after few hours and some patience you will feel in Blender a lot better and see that it doesn't suck

and it's for free... also, I recommend you to download i file that makes blender a lil bit like 3dmax. It will help you. I don't remember where this file was... but i'm sure its easy to find. I can e-mail somebody it if you want (aro101@tlen.pl - is where you can contact me). I also have the nif scripts. The second thing is about GIMP, people who didn't do many work in photoshop really aprecieate this Program. It's really nice if you get used to it.

Parasite · Post by **Parasite** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:53 am

I would use Maya, a few people have recommended it to me, and it is sometimes used in the game creation industry. 3ds MAX is good aswell, i've actually tried that 1.

NEENJA · Post by **NEENJA** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:46 am

Yeah, I've actually decided to retry learning Blender. I figure that I can't buy Max until August ('cause of funds), and it would just make since to learn Blender. For one, when you use it to make money, you don't need to pay $3000. For two, you don't need to pay tons of money for every update. Those are my main reasons. After doing extensive research, I decided that Blender is better for me than max. I think I may start my own game company some day, and that's really why I wanted to learn max. But then I thought: "Dude, you can learn Blender, and financially, it would be better for business if you use Blender" That's $3000 I don't have to spend. Sounds like a good deal to me!

--the NEENJA

Tamriel Rebuilt

Questing for 3DS Max...

Questing for 3DS Max...

Hi Everybody!