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Hey Guy's,

Well i was wondering if there was anything better than the 3 program combo i'm using now. I am using Milkshape, 3DS Studio Max, And Bryce, so is there anything better.

--Eric
(funny thing is i rarely even do models lol)

you should only be looking for better software if you know that there is a problem with what your currently using.
else i'd say you need more practise

oh i was just wondering what was better, cause i have a few freinds who wanna get into this stuff, i just need user freindly, fun 3d modeling programs

--Eric

i wouldn't worry about what is better, just what is available...
i know guys who are masters in Softimage and would say thats the best package, and i know guys who are masters in Maya and would say that is the best package.

really there is no such thing as a better packages, technically superior yes, but not better
if you checkout my website in the Kickback or News forum (i forget which) there is a post about all of the packages currently available

I use whatever turns up for free on the magazine cover CDs, or is freeware. I have quite a collection, and like Raven says, some software gets around problems with others. At the end of the day, they are all provide functionality and output better than my ability, therefore I don't need to buy anything. My free collection currently includes...

Truspace 3
Bryce (old version)
Cinema 4D
Wings 3D
UV Mapper
Poser 3
Terragen
and loads more...

It's basically what you like the best =P

Maya 4.5 is good, I think 5 is out now, but Maya 4.5 Unlimited set me back just under 7k.

Might start learning it when I get time, haven't even used it at all since I purchased it.

Is it worth getting the Maya 4.5 PLE and the DVD, it's only $19.99 so I might do that before looking for some books/e-books to buy.

Ive got this nuclear reactor a terrabyte server and a 1960 oak board silver wraith but Im not sure how to use them.

yay for manuals and real software purchases Isay

too much money...not enough sense. If I bought Milkshape and never used it, it be mad.

So much wealth it's sickening.... I'd kill myself if I paid that much for some thing I didn't use... TO MUCH MONEY FOR A CRAPPY PROGRAM. 3d studio max is the most superior, not nessecarily, "the best" but definetly the most powerful, useful, and easy to use.

maya can't export to anything but Binaray and image...you need a plugin
maya dosn't have the cool custom materials maker,(well yeah it kinda does) just not as powerful.
maya's camera match,sync, and environment tools are really under powered.
maya looks better astheticaly... but whats that, really?

3ds has tons of export power programed in.
Easier to use
cheaper
Gmax if you can't afford it
amazing material editor
cool fire and fog effects
Nice little SDK
Tons of helpful tutorials included
The veiw changing is way better, if I want to highlight vertexes I don't always want to chage the veiw, and maya's alt mouse, ctrl mouse crap is way to hard to get use to.

Ya know, I think this is the only Pro Max comment I've read here.

Conidering that either Max or Maya is way out of my price range, I'll stick with Milkshape.

Well 3ds Max is a professional tool, and you should be able to do anything you want with it. I am still on version 3 and doing professional work with it. Milkshape, is good for turning your max models into the .x format so you need that. Sound like you are on the right track.

One note about 3d though. It is the artist and not the program. I have seem some things done in some far less expensive packages by experts that blew away entry and mid level users that had the big toys.

haa... hehahaa...
:: falls to the floor ::
HAHAAHAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

oh man my sides hurt so bad... that's probably the funnest comment i'm gonna hear all year
especially considering this is being said against Maya 4.5 Unlimited - i wonder if some people have even used it lol

maya can't export to anything but Binaray and image...you need a plugin ... Maya can export Binary, Ascii & Image all as standard.
maya dosn't have the cool custom materials maker,(well yeah it kinda does) just not as powerful. ... Maya's ActiveShader is probably THE most powerful material/texture tool there is on the market, you just have to understand howto use it is all
maya's camera match,sync, and environment tools are really under powered. ... ??? - Maya's realtime rendering abilities far surpasses Max's tenfold, it's camera tracking is now an industry standard for film&tv animations intergration for which the syncing of scenes is unsurpassable, and the Scene/Layer/Environment tools are only bettered by Softimage XSI 3.0 & 3.5 due to thier non-linear nature
maya looks better astheticaly... but whats that, really? ... asthetically better how exactly? The UI is alot more daunting to the beginner, it doesn't blend in with windows as well, and its controls are a little weird to get the hang of ... its realtime rendering is no different to Max4 or 5's so you will need to explain the Asthetics part to me a little.

3ds has tons of export power programed in. ... 3ds the format is a bug ridden as the program it comes from, and the programmed in exporting power actually comes from people within the industry using Max with something, other programs don't have that because if you work with Maya or Softimage 100% then you tend not to actually export to anything except your own game format, hense why both have ALOT of importers and only native exporters. And check the native Max exporters, they're all to other programs like Lightwave/Maya/Autocad/VRML etc... industry standards - DirectX & MD3 gaming standard are not even fully supported and are all created within the user base (not even by the actual companies), whereas both Maya and Softimage have exports developed specifically by thier own companies, Softimage probably has the best support in this respect because if you request a plugin it will be developed.
Easier to use ... matter of opinion really isn't it? Simpler for certain task, definaly alot more difficult for others.
cheaper ... Maya 4.5 Complete $1,200 - Max 5.0 $3,200 ... so erm cheaper? 4.5 Unlimited is $6,999 simply because it comes with an entire shader library, fur/hair, liquids, mental ray 3.x & cloth as standard + the tutorial CD, which if you wanted to also purchase for Max would be around the same price for similar depth plugins. Not to mention Max doesn't come with Character Studio as standard or rather not a Registered version (making it useless) nor does it come with a fully operation Particle engine (combustion is another $3,200)

so when your done buying all of the upgrades just to have the same number of features as Maya 4.5 Unlimited you've ended up spending around $15k (i should know, thats around what i've spent since getting Max5) ... plus although the promised 100% compatibility between Max4 & 5 alot of my old Max4 plugins don't work - more noteably Brazil 1.0.1 which kinda pissed me off.
Gmax if you can't afford it ... License in place which states must be used to create media + its limited exporting abilities, however these have been subsided thanks to the inclusion of an almost fully working MaxScript.
amazing material editor ... yeah i'm sure, and EuroDisney is the best themepark too!
cool fire and fog effects ... name me a 3dpackage which doesn't have these as standard?
Nice little SDK ... Softimage's is far simpler to use, and both Softimage & Maya's are simpler to setup (not requireing extra products just to use)
Tons of helpful tutorials included ... again name me a 3dpackage that doesn't - all of the major packages have 1 entire CD of tutorials and infact Softimages are simply the simplist and best there are.
The veiw changing is way better, if I want to highlight vertexes I don't always want to chage the veiw, and maya's alt mouse, ctrl mouse crap is way to hard to get use to. ... again this is just preference isn't it?
Some people like Lightwaves camera control in the window interface movement - i can't stand it, doesn't mean its something bad about it.
But asfar as Softimage and Maya's camera setups go i've actually configured Max to work pretty similar ... however the right-mouse button effects within Maya are annoying on occasion.

i'd like to actually see a valid arguement against Maya than just trying to pit that Max is better because you say so - as it is quite frankly the buggest peice of crap i've ever had the misfortune to use... and I used WindowsME for almost 3years!!
I'm not saying that it is a bad program, but it is not even close to the top spot - and certainly not technically superior to Maya.