DescentBB

Hey everyone,


I'm looking for a new 3D modeling program. Something that can perform close to Gmax that is under $500.

Here is a list of things that I need:

1. Converts to 3DS Format
2. Uses booleans
3. Uses splines
4. Uses bend modifiers or something like it.
5. Allows for the use of square polys.

Rhino 3D is awesome ... $895 retail, $195 student

Check it out at : http://www.rhino3d.com/

Maya complete Student ver is 500.. www.alias.com

$500? Gee, I wish I knew that when I was still a student. I use Maya everyday at work. It's a fun program once you get used to it. We're on the 4.5 version though which is definitely filled with little quirks and problems. My favorite one is the bizarre crash where it wipes out the Maya binary file you've been working on outright. Good thing there's incremental save.

Some freebies:
- Animat8r

- Wings 3D
This one is actually kinda' neat. Being so used to Maya, of course, I find it a bit hard to use.

- Blender
The interface still scares me. Even though it has been improved in recent builds, it's still very X Windows-esque, seemingly built with a "Gee, where can we put a button for that? Oh, there's some empty space right there. *plop*" mentality.

3d Studio Max R7
Student Editions

1 year $180

Non Commercial $680

Maya Unlimited 6
Student Editions

Basic $399

Bundle/Tutorials $680

I would love to get student editions of Max but I don't know if they would get ticked off at me for using it to produce mods. I'm also not a student at anything for the moment but I will be next year. Maya is at least $2000-$3000 isn't it? I would love to have 3DS Max but it is $4000 last I checked. Twice as expensive as my car!! The one that sounds friendly is Lightwave but I don't know really how it compares. It is about $1400 but there isn't a demo to really look at. I could probably find a cheap copy on Ebay.


BTW, Maya IS very good. I've actually used the free version for some of my modeling. Problem is that I can only build stuff from UT2003 and I'm more into single player work right now.

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UT2003 does do single-player stuff, I think. I have to believe it can, at least. It's the same basis as Unreal 2, although Unreal 2 grafted on some extra niceties to UnrealEd. One of them being enemy characters. UT2003 still has the models from the first Unreal laying around for the Invasion mode, but no new enemy types.

BTW, I figured out how to export to .3ds with UV mapping using Maya 5.0 PLE.....

Oooh nice, so I can get the non-acedimic version. However, can I create mods and website graphics as long as I'm not selling them in any way? Say, for working on D3 or HL2 models?

Bubbalou, you have to sign an agreemen with Discreet. This is where the problem comes in.


I have to certify that I can verify that I am a currently enrolled student. :\