[Stealth]

To create a model, from start to finish... i've heard such programs as Blender, Lightwave, Truespace, etc.

what are the best programs, and what do they do specifically?

[Stealth]

also, what people have the full version of these tools

[KARMA]

they do **almost** the same things in diff ways
if i remember well: blender is free, rhino3d and milkshape3d are cheap, some old versions of truespace are free, 3dsmax and lightwave are expensive, maya and xsi are very expensive, personally i found truespace(5) pretty easy and intuitive to start with (basic modelling tools and strategies, that is wh you need for modding), but someway limited, can't say much about the others

[Stealth]

so to model, from beginning to end, what do i need?  what do the pros, like venom, etc. use?

[Stunaep]

You will definately need a newer version of Truespace, if you plan to convert your models to POF format. Needless to say, you'll also need PCS.

For modeling as such, the two best on the market are Max and Lightwave. Both are very professional, and VERY expesnive. I myself have worked on LW only on a friends PC, and from my personal experience I prefer MAX. But it's a matter of taste, though Lightwave is somewhat more render-oriented.

[deep_eyes]

Originally posted by Stunaep
You will definately need a newer version of Truespace, if you plan to convert your models to POF format. Needless to say, you'll also need PCS.

For modeling as such, the two best on the market are Max and Lightwave. Both are very professional, and VERY expesnive. I myself have worked on LW only on a friends PC, and from my personal experience I prefer MAX. But it's a matter of taste, though Lightwave is somewhat more render-oriented.

I agree, 3dstudio max 5's interface was remensiant of worldcraft and was easy to learn at first. but since i upgraded to XP not too long ago, the CDILLA thinggy that prevents people messing with the liscense, isnt XP compatible and i cant patch it without messing up the crack i used on 3dstudio, so Lightwave in terms of functionality and rendering is better. Lightwave has neeto tutorials as do 3D Studio, which both are detailed extremely... if u can find it somewhere do so friend

[Stealth]

Originally posted by deep_eyes

if u can find it somewhere do so friend

if you're tlaking to me i alreaedy have it

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]
If you really want the max experience 99% piracy free then get GMax and a converter (3DExploration for example). You build, uvmap, etc your models in gmax, export as quake model type and then convert to cob or whatever in 3dexploration, then all you have to do is set it up in morallyambiguousspace and Robert's your fathers brother, you have a candidate for POF conversion.

This may seem terribly long winded but when you see how hard it is to actually make anything in truespace nevermind map it you might just agree with me.

[/color]

[Solatar]

I model in Blender, but I'm not real good at it.

When I learn to texture I plan to try and use Truespace2(Since it's free and I have about ten dollars)

[Ryx]

Originally posted by Ryx
Choosing the Right 3D Application and Total Solution for you...

[KARMA]

never used them (except few days with max 4) but others told me that lightwave was beating max in all aspects until you use plugins on max(meshtools and another one for the renders), and that maya and xsi were even more powerful than them, whats your opinion, if you tested them?

[HotSnoJ]

Blender is that way to go..at least for me anyway . I really like the interface and how it works with my crappy 4MB graphics card, and I works pretty darn good too. Thought it doesn't really have an "undo" you can sorta emulate it by dulicating meshes like crazy. And because i can easily use keyboard commands instead of going back and forth with the mouse with other programs I will not name. It cuts my modeling time in 1/2 at most.

[Solatar]

Originally posted by HotSnoJ
Blender is that way to go..at least for me anyway . I really like the interface and how it works with my crappy 4MB graphics card, and I works pretty darn good too. Thought it doesn't really have an "undo" you can sorta emulate it by dulicating meshes like crazy. And because i can easily use keyboard commands instead of going back and forth with the mouse with other programs I will not name. It cuts my modeling time in 1/2 at most.

But it can't save in .cob format. Which really stinks...But it's all I can afford.

[Anaz]

I use truespace...and it is capable of producing some fairly decent meshes (take a looksie at the Icarus if you don't believe me...). I never really liked Blender's interface, which is why I switched...and my version of truespace is...um...not completely legal...to put it nicely...

oh...and if you need any help Hades, I wouldn't mind giving it

[Carl]

if all you need it for is to make models for freespace then a nice free legal copy of truespace 2 is all you need. it is less of a hassle to make them into .pof format, and has a pretty level learning curve. if you want to make high quality renders and models, however, get lightwave. if you're on a budget, get truespace 4, 5, or 6.

[HotSnoJ]

Originally posted by Hades


But it can't save in .cob format. Which really stinks...But it's all I can afford.

Thats why I export it via DFX and use tS4.

[Raptor]

Well, I'm a new guy to the modelling sence, so my say dosn't count for much, but here goes.......

3D CAD program for the modeling (got it as a present a couple of years ago;) ), export to DXF, then Truespace 2 for the orientation, scaling, and the basic textures for missiles.

Unfortunatly, I have no idea how to make submodels work.

Example:

http://www.angelfire.com/space2/raptorsnest/treb.html

(Ok, I'm posting this link in many places, but its the one I'm really proud of )

[wojta]

I don't know if it is a bug. It might be correct in TS2.

When I type 'turret02' TS2 wil convert it to 'turret,2'.  
This is unusable with PCS.

[LAW ENFORCER]

Yeah thats Ts2 for ya!
I use Ts2 then Ts3 to rename and save! weird I know but I don't like the feel of TS3 (well Im to lazy to try it out - it looks exactly the same)

anyway- you can use letters and it works fine APART from autoturret! which is why I rename them in TS3!

there you go, knowelegde passed on

[HotSnoJ]

Originally posted by wojta
I don't know if it is a bug. It might be correct in TS2.

When I type 'turret02' TS2 wil convert it to 'turret,2'.  
This is unusable with PCS.

Thats why you use "turret0", "turret1", and "turret2", ect. :wink: