[colecampbell666]

I would like to start modelling and want to know the best, most bug-free modeling program. Also, are there any other programs/files I need?

Tell me if I have missed any.

[Mustang19]

3dsmax. By far. Get your on.

[colecampbell666]

The best free program.

[Turambar]

um, AARRRRGGGGG! matey

[warpshadow]

Easily blender. It has a steeper learning curve than most but is far better than most 3d modelers out there. Even the ones that cost money. Once you have got the basics down it is extremely easy to use and you can do a lot of stuff in one click of the mouse as opposed to the several clicks and button pushes in other programs. A little memorization is all that is required. [did you know bungie studios used blender for the first halo game?]. The old versions of blender are total crap and some people have a soured opinion of it based on those but in the several weeks I have used it, the biggest bug I have ever found was exporting a meter off center. Oh and you can export a model fully textured so that there is no need for a middle program like lithunwrap AND it can export straight to .cob! [personally I use .3ds]

[haloboy100]

would you say it's better then 3DS max?

[colecampbell666]

I have tried Wings and will try Blender next. Where can I find a good Blender beginner tutorial?

[jaedub51]

Maybe this is taboo to mention here, but there are many people who obtain free copies of 3DS max....

[warpshadow]

3ds max is probably a little better than blender in terms or raw processing power but the fact is blender is FREE and you probably wont need all of that extra anyways. Oh and getting free 3ds max is ILLEGAL so I would not suggest going with it. If you're looking for blender tutorials then try http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro. Excellent for starting out but unfortunately it won't actually make you a "pro" at blender. Merely a proficient user. If you really want to get into blender for rendering and stuff then just download the manual [or use the online wiki one] but for freespace 2 all you really need to do is the modeling and UV mapping sections. Not ALL of it is necessary but it is very helpful in understanding. Also, don't bother with lighting, materials, etc. Those are for making renders.

[Flipside]

3DS Max is a good program, but as has been said, most of what is good about it is really stuff for more advanced modellers. Blender is great for learning the basics of modelling and if you find you enjoy it and want to take up rendering etc, then you can start looking at Max or Lightwave etc.

[haloboy100]

well my buddy mods for halo and he says blender sucks. What about Maya?

[Flipside]

Most of the HTL models that Vasudan Admiral makes for Freespace are made on Blender, including the Lucifer and the Triton. Blender is as good as the person using it. The only it can't handle, which may be useful for Halo, is animation, as far as I know.

Edit: Basically, my advice is find out for yourself, don't go by what your friend says. I'm one of the few Lightwave users here, but that isn#t because I think 3DS sucks, I just prefer the interface.

[Polpolion]

PCS2 isn't a modeling program, to my knowledge.

[Flipside]

Thinking about it, it would be interesting to see how many percent of the HTL models in Freespace 2 were made on Blender, I think people would be surprised at how high it is

[warpshadow]

Oh yeah! lol! I can't believe I missed that! PCS 2 is a POFing program. It doesn't model. Oh and you can't even USE blender for halo pc modding. You need gmax because that's the only one that supports an export to halo tag function.

[Nuke]

truespace is a rather odd program as far as making models go. seems it was mostly designed for primitive moddeling considering the limitations on its point/line edit tools. so making a solid mesh with it can lead to some tweaky side effects or just bad geometry. none the less ive done some really cool stuff in truespace. but then again i didnt use the free version. i havent used wings so i cant say anything about that. i didnt like blender mainly because it couldnt open any of my models in a non-degraded fashon. but im sure if you started with it it would probibly be better than some of the free modeling programs out there.

gmax is ok, but stupid in how its licensed. if the game youre modding doesnt have a game pack youre ****ed, and then they crippled the plugin support so you cant develop importers/exporters. it woulda been a smarter move to charge a small price for it that everyone could afford, around 60 bucks or so, and eliminate the game pack requirement or include a basic sdk for making an exporter.

[Vasudan Admiral]

Thinking about it, it would be interesting to see how many percent of the HTL models in Freespace 2 were made on Blender, I think people would be surprised at how high it is

I'm not certain, but I *think* Raven2001 might have used Blender to produce either the Hecate and/or the Ravana too.
BTW, Blender can do animations very well, but I've not yet looked deeply into that aspect. I do plan to when we start work propper on TI cutscenes though.

Oh and you can't even USE blender for halo pc modding. You need gmax because that's the only one that supports an export to halo tag function.

I'm pretty sure Gmax can import meshes from other programs. In that way, you could quite easily use Blender for Halo modeling/UVing/texturing, and then just use gmax to convert it in much the same way that the Blender users around here usually perform the final conversion in TS.
This is no longer the case anymore - Water has modified Blenders COB exporter to be able to save convertable COB files. Here


Anyway, as to the topic, I've never tried Wings3d, but I've heard and seen good things about it. Gmax should be there too, and another option is SketchUp. Unknown Target found a way to get a SketchUp model into FS, though you'd need to ask him (or find his post) regarding the details.

I generally dislike Truespace for a huge range of reasons (having used it alongside Blender for years now), but the free version - 3.2 is practically unusable. I would strongly advise against anyone using that for anything other than hierarchy or getting primitive objects in-game.

[Warp Shadow]

  shows how much I know! I couldn't find any format of imports that worked between gmax and blender. Still, the only reason I can think of blender NOT being good for that would be that there are geometry errors when importing.

[Vasudan Admiral]

Into Gmax you mean? If so, that's either the users fault in Blender, or Gmax's import. I am absolutely certain Blender exports geometry exactly as is. The only geometry errors you can cause are those that you build into the model.

Kazan had a problem where one particular ancient and buggy version of Blender exported faulty geometry when using the DXF format. Apparently a lot of people began complaining to him about PCS1 when it would crash trying to convert the faulty mesh.
It was a big bug for the Blender community too though - it was promptly fixed, but Kaz still violently dislikes Blender because of it.

I myself have never once had an instance of Blender causing geometry errors with anything more than a few flipped faces because I'd accidentally set them like that in Blender itself. Truespace is another story entirely however. 

[Oddgrim]

Never had any geomentry export errors while creating with blender here, exept for those times it was my own fault.
I found blenders interface simple and quick to. 
(after when I tried to use 3.2 TS that it )