Much ado about software. Software Vs. Software! Post your winners and loser here!

[Poenald Palen]

OK, tell us or show us why you hate one software or another! Then, whenever anyone has an argument you can simply post a link to this thread! I mean, people started arguing about weather rhino is used in engineering! I mean, I know CATIA might also be used...but Dessault has offerings used....I mean, Airbus doesn't do engineering! WOW, yikes...die hard Boing fan huh!!? lol. ;) WAIT, planes where made with freakin pencils and paper for crying out loud! The software shape modelling tools are only part of a larger workflow that has many other tools ect. and the decision to use one or another might have to do with what other tools they are using with the modeller and so on.

Having said that, you can use anything that makes a model that is importable into a software that exports for SL. SInce blender is free, anyone can use anything that exports a obj file and then convert it! So...heck, you can use strictly 3DCAD if you want to! No one is stopping you!! SO...what do you use, why and what was notable about the competition, just so we can see that maybe the other might work for us better OR at least be usable as part of a workflow.

 

I use one software for modelling. BUT, will soon maybe be adding more!

But so far this is it.

Winner: Blender.

Why?: Well, it is hard to learn lots of software, so I ended up focusing on one. I learned blender and it had sculpties. I find the less clickingness of it good to, the keystrokes work well enough to keep work clipping along for my slow self. One hand on the keyboard, one on the mouse does much work in blender! I like this and some of the reasons I didn't like some software is all I see is tutorials of slowely clicking on buttons, windows filling the screen and going back and forth...so,  I like the messy all in one workflow chaos centric interface that I pesonally see in blender. I can bounce back and forth and see many settings without having materials window take over the whole screen lol. Just me though. 

OK, I now for the challangers and what was neat about them or why they 'lost' vs. blender.

K-3D vs. Blender.

What was notable?:  Amazinlgy wierd tutorial system that was right there in the darn software! It would point stuff out and was all macro'd! You can see the power of macros if you know what they are AND if you have another you work with or love to teach you might be able to make some neato cool tutorials that are right there using the screen!

 

Misfit Modeller Vs. Blender.

What was notable?:Um, this one...I can't remember it! I guess it was unremarkable, but I do remember it was a very early version. So, now it might be awsome!

 

AC3D Vs. Blender.

What was notable?: Wow, sculpties where a possability..but, I made a shape and exported it and it made an odd sculpt map! This map was not valid, it make only a mess...not sure what happened. But, I sadly went back to trying blender because at least it exported sculties! BUT, it was very easy to understand and has had neato features added since I tried it. Also worth noting, there is a Linux version! Another reason many use blender exclusivly!

 

MOI (Moment of Inspiration) Vs. Blender.

What was notable? I heard this did sculpts....not sure if it does lol. I never figured out why I tried this BUT it is pretty fast, has a nice thick pencilish looking lines and is all about nurbs and speed...hence the name! Great design software, seems easy enough to use to me and makes some nice models! I would love to buy this, but can't justify the cost right now.

 

Art of Illusion Vs. Blender.

Wow, this was neat! BUT, crashed a few times and I got an OK render. OH, it does not do sculpts. BUT, It exported obj files and these could be converted, which is why I tried so any that didn't support sculpts...the converter was not so good or I didn't feel like using it after all of these try outs. Um, very portable because it is in java! It's interface is not so bad, I didn't ming it's edit window take over deal or even it's materials. It seemed alright, but these days I might not like its orderly approach. Not so bad, worked well enough for fun times and renders nicely considering it is all a smallish java program! Good stuff, would like to try it again! Hope bugs are fixed.

 

C4D Vs. Blender.

Couldn't learn it fast enough to use it and unfortunatly did not spend the hours to really get to know it. Seemed nice, worked well enough. But, can't remember a thing about it other than sticker shock and sadness because the materials and renders looked so neat!

 

There are more I tried lol. I can't remember them, got the names wrong and can't find them in search.:( needless to say, all uninstalled by now. But, this is not a bad list! I have watched many video's and do seem to think shade might be neat, does sculpties as well...though that is so much less relevent.

OH, and the collabrative environment thing...funny stuff, but I do know that Calligari TrueShape or whatever it is called....well, it had that and a modelling section. Now, no modelling section and only visualizing :( BUT, blender does allow a connection to be made....but, not as fun as in world :(.

I still think LL should have leveraged it's building tools into a standalone software that also connected to in world, meaning you can do advanced mesh build with others who log into your sim. The sim is set to this mode, and all understand that when in this mode things are slower and you can't expect to drive, have quick gestures ect. because the modelling is streaming back and forth and is taking priority. This, along with other sim settings allow sims to be used better for the purpose and lead to less hastle and log outs.

But, now in world is for in world users to party in and no build so much. Speed builds where fun in the old days...I bet they will survive! Maybe fluorish as the main reason anyone uses the tools. They do start to teach you a bit about sculpting, because in art drawing classes you see the primitive shapes being used to bulk out the form initially as one technique to drawing something! It also helps get peopels head around translation, rotation and scaling. 3 improtant parts of working in 3D. So, it can till sort of teach new people something AND speed buidling is a great game anyway! So, to those upset about software trolls...well, there is still in world build competitions and fun. Not to mention the black boxes software offering that will convert prims to mesh to help save on prims with mesh and also build the old fashioned way!

[WADE1 Jya]

Hehe I hate Blender cause it is just too ugly to look at.

I know it is a very powerful software but I just can't stand staring at the hideous screen and horrible UI design.

Also hate the Blender workflow -- I find it very unintuitive & stumbling... everything just feels in the wrong place or backwards to me.

 of course.... if you learn Blender first, you probably feel like all other 3D softwares are backwards & wrong.

 

My preference is to use anything non-Blender.

Especially if it has cute colorful icons, so every software function is accessible with one click.

[Helium Loon]

I've been using various 3D packages for many years.....I've tried just about all of them (haven't tried Maya yet, though.)

 

Of all of them....the most intuitive, quick, and flexible?  (at least, in my opinion?)

Lightwave 3D.

 

Blender's interface feels a lot more clunky to me.  2.5x improved on it, but still not up to where LW is.

 

3DSMax.....the whole modelling paradigm just seemed off with the whole 'stack-based' thing.

 

truSpace....free, now that microsoft bought it and it's been shelved.  Decent, but no new features or fixes....

 

The best software is the one you feel comfortable with, and can produce content with quickly and efficiently.....I would normally model in LightWave, rig in 3DSMax, and render with a renderman appliance (if only I could afford time on the render farms!)

 

Texture work I used to use 3D Painter, but its no longer around.....and won't run under win7.    Now I mostly just use Photoshop.

 

[Lyoto Steamweaver]

---

Helium Loon wrote:The best software is the one you feel comfortable with, and can produce content with quickly and efficiently

---

That pretty much sums it all up.

Try the demos of the softwares that cost money. Try the free ones. Learn the one you feel comfortable with and can afford.They're just tools. Its the end result that counts, not how you got there.

[Nacy Nightfire]

I started from scratch in 3d  when I joined SL in late 2007.  I ended up with LW, Modo, Blender, Zbrush, Sculptris, 3d Coat, Mudbox and Poser.

Mostly I use Blender and Zbrush.  As a beginner, you can't beat Blender for all the available free tutorials.  I started with Modo on someone's recommendation, and although its a terrific product and a very lovely interface its not for beginners, I'm only now getting  back into it after learning a bit about 3d modeling and rendering via Blender.  And I love Zbrush, although lots of folks hate THAT interface, it never bothered me.  So each to his/her own ...it's very hard to make recommendations for that reason.

Lightwave 7 was something I bought on Ebay for cheap $ as I did Poser 6 as well.  I have used Poser quite a bit for animations for SL, but I find the interface a bit irritating.  I can't say much about LW since in fairness I jumped over to Modo and then to Blender in frustration.

[Poenald Palen]

People say you get comfortable...but, I see some of the spline stuff in video's....I really want that! I can obviously make some nurbs curves and place them all where I want, then convert to mesh and make surfaces on them. But, this seems still slower and less powerful. I did see this workflow and it basically means you end up with polygons and optimizing in the end anyway, no matter how you get down to it. But, then I read some workflows and they basically use some programs for like one tiny bit because the way one program does it is just faster for them! So, I really am not thinking the whole thing is like all like you MUST use only one. BUT, it seems most people have a main program for most modelling tasks! So, this is where it sort of gets to arguments. Becuase they are expensive!

On the blender UI...yeah, ugly colors and slightly dated...sort of militaryish! Those tiny buttons mean more stuff packed in AND you can zoom in and out on the button bar/panel/window thingy. It is odd, but once you learn it you seem to get it. The stumbling thing....sort of still happens, which is why I think people like the windows poping up rather than button bar/panel/window thingies. You sort of need the help files, keyboard shortcuts and tutorials for 3D to make it work, unless it is very simple program with less tools. Hey, if you work on it you can get some good stuff with only a hand full of tools/features in a software that is designed to make use of it.

I used Truespace a bit. It has a neato real time rendering look to it, animated well...but the latest has no modelling bit!! It is still available and can be used with VRay for rendering the animations you make with wahtever models you import! So, Truespace is not dead really, but totally not getting any work on it...so sort of as good as dead lol.

[Nacy Nightfire]

"On the blender UI...yeah, ugly colors and slightly dated...sort of militaryish! Those tiny buttons mean more stuff packed in AND you can zoom in and out on the button bar/panel/window thingy. It is odd, but once you learn it you seem to get it. The stumbling thing....sort of still happens, which is why I think people like the windows poping up rather than button bar/panel/window thingies. "

Poenald, Blender is like your grandma...most people just see  her as an unsexy old lady and discount  her..  But when one has a close relationship with one's grandma YOU know she is a beautiful person, inside and out,  with all her complexities, her history, her experience and  because you know her and she takes care of you.   She puts alot of love, thought and experience into those meals she cooks for you!  

Now with Blender 2.59, "grandma" got a face lift!  I'm having a bit of trouble getting used to that!!

[blakopal Galicia]

i use C4D and have been getting great results. took a while to work out the kinks in my process, but now it's going great. Cinema 4D has excellent modelling tools, making the creation part of the process lots of fun, IMHO. and the combination of C4D-BodyPaint-Photoshop allows me to get as detailed as i like with my outfits.

I personally can't stand Blender. but to be fair, i have only opened the program maybe 2 times. the UI is just so awful, i couldn't deal with it.(and now i don't have to hooray). lol.

:matte-motes-big-grin:

[Da5id Weatherwax]

I started doing sculpties in wings3d - I'd messed with CAD and with 3D software casually before and had supported servers that were used for some VERY serious graphics work professionally but that was the first time I tried to actually produce serious content doing everything end-to-end myself. Wings3d felt like an 80's autodesk product, I could just jump right in. It wasnt long though before I wanted more and so looked into blender. After running screaming from the UI several times I found the JASS spin of it, immediately dropped LotsOLindens on Gaia for the full version and suddenly there was enough benefit to make me fight my way up the everest-like learning curve to be able to do it right. Along the way I switched from using qavimator to Daz3D for animations as well.

Then Blender changed the UI. I fell off the mountain and had to start climbing all over again. Currently above the Khumbu Icefall, in the Western Cwm, heading for camp 2

[amyli7]

nice

[Medhue Simoni]

Like many, my first real 3D products started in 2007, in SL. Before that tho, It was the original Far Cry game, which came with a CryEngine Editor, that really got me interested in 3D. I basically read the whole CryEngine manual and created a number of MODs, and a completely new game with it, with elaborate cut scenes.

When I found SL, animation seemed the best fit for me. So, I started with most animation programs.  I also got a copy of 3DS Max 8, and learned how to do some basic modeling and animation. I've tried just about every animation program out there. When SL started working on mesh, I knew it was time to learn all the ins and outs in Max. I had been watching Blender development for a very long time tho.

3 years ago, I started getting contracts to do work outside of SL, and I started selling products on many different platforms. I also wanted to learn more about 3D video production, as I saw the market opening up with Blender progressing the way it has. While doing many of the contract, 1 of the biggest issues that I saw working with all these people from around the world, is that we all used something different, for a number of reasons, but almost no1 used the latest version of anything. Maybe this is just how the freelance market is.

2 years ago, I had decided that I was either going to get Maya, or learn Blender. I got the trial version of Maya, and put my head down. I hated it, with a passion. Everything about it. Plus, you also need Motion Builder if you are going to do serious animation. So, Blender it was.

I love Blender. It fricken ROCKS. In just about every way possible. Yes, it is different, but once you learn, it all become second nature. Almost everything is in 1 program, or you can easily find an addon. It can handle almost any work related to 3D, meaning game stuff, video stuff, special effects. No need to create any special effects in during video production, cause you can do it in the 3D scene and it will be more realistic. The animation system is awesome and everything is there. The customization of the UI makes it so you can have all the windows you need for any purpose.

I really could go on and on about all the features like, cell fracturing, water and fire physics, and so on. The best part tho, that totally sells me on Blender, is that all the creators and developers on your team can all be using the exact same programs, and easily trade blend files and the content within them. It's almost ridiculous. A modeler can just had in a blend file that contain every asset, and every1 can pull what they need from it. The animators just hand in a blend file with all the animation in it, and every1 else can just pull out the animations they need and drop then into the scenes. It's almost nutty how easy it is.

Blender is the ultimate 3D software in my opinions, and a vast amount of new 3D studios are popping up around the world because of Blender. I truly think Blender is the future of 3D, and will soon put a serious dent into the profits of Autodesk.