Triforce1 Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I use 3DS Max. I think it is easy, and it is certainly the easiest one to get stuff into Oblivion from. Only problem is, it ain't exactly free. And if you've ever tried Maya, it is easier still. But there is no .nif exporter and the FBX format does strange things to rigged creatures sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintballmaster254 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Waite, which do you think is easier? Maya or 3D max, because Maya is one of the hardest 3D programs to use, even pro's have hard times with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihateregisteringeverywhere Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 It's most certainly easier to bone, rig and animate crap in maya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I do not think the question can be answered the way it is worded. Everyone will have different answers based on their background. I have tried several programs and found Blender easier but that is my own experience. I also made a concious decision to use Blender for the following reasons: - I have no $$ to spend - I do not expect to ever go "pro" so modeling will not be listed on my resume - There are many tutorials - It has active development support - Best export support at the time Let's look at what's out there and compare it to my laundry list of needs / wants...the lines marked in red are what made me stay away from those particular products. Keep in mind that I am NOT an expert on any of these tools and obviously will not have all the facts to present but this is how I saw things when I started out. Blender - Free - Active development - Import / Export Plugins in active development - Many tutorials including ones specific to Oblivion modding - Used by many in the OB modding community - Not "yet" a tool used by professionals (e.g. not helpful on a resume) XSI Mod Tool - Free - Seems to be active development but far between with updates. - Import / Export plugins not really there for NIF files - Has some tutorials but not really any related to OB modding - Used by very few people in the OB modding community. - Used by professionals (e.g. helpful on a resume) GMAX - Free - No longer in development - Import / Export plugins limited and not in development - Has some tutorials but not really any related to OB modding - Used by some people in the OB modding community - Not used by professional (e.g. not helpful on a resume) MilkShape 3D - Not free (but not very expensive) - Not really in active development (very few updates) - Import / Export plugins are plentiful but NIF export (does it exist?) - Has some tutorials but not really any related to OB modding - Used by very few in the OB modding community - Not used by professionals (e.g. not helpful on a resume) Maya - Not free (very expensive) - In active development - Import / Export plugins are limited for NIF - Has tutorials but not really any related to OB modding - Used by some in the OB modding community - Used by professionals (e.g. very helpful on a resume) 3DS Max - Not free (very expensive) - In active development - Import / Export plugins in development (limited in NIF but getting better) - Has many tutorials and some related to OB modding - Used by many in the OB modding community - Used by professionals (e.g. very helpful on a resume) Wings3D - Free - Active development - Import / Export Plugins does not include NIF format and animation not supported - Several tutorials but none specific to Oblivion modding - Used by some in the OB modding community - Not a tool used by professionals (e.g. not helpful on a resume) Google SketchUp - Free - In active development - Import / Export plugins limited and cannot create NIF - Has tutorials and none related to OB modding - Used by nobody in the OB modding community (that I know about) - Not used by professionals (I think it is too specific for it's purpose to ever be a "pro" tool) - NOTE: I think this tool can be very helpful to create some really nice architecture in a very short amount of time and then export it to a format that Blender or another program can import to put a UV Map and collision on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomblifter Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I prefer Wings3d to Blender, I love the 3d view manipulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamerbird Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 I will have a go at a few of the ones posted by LHammonds and another go at Wings3D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihateregisteringeverywhere Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 There's actualy a free non-commercial personal learning edition of maya, version 8.5. I think modding qualifies for theese conditions. The problem with this version is that niftools don't feel like installing on this version = exporting is more or less inexistant especialy because maya doesn't realy suppor the best formats and the rest usualy craps something up. I use max, blender has the most tuttorials that's for sure, but there are quite a few for max as well and surprise surprise many of those tuts are usualy aimed at hi-tech modding like bows, custom creatures, animations and crap like that. And animating things in max is rather simplistic. I fully support blender though, the more people use it the better it will get . I can't wait for it to become a profesional tool. Darn I wish I had more time, I'd love to join the developement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamerbird Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 The main thing I would like to make is Weapons and maybe some armor.I am going to get some tutorials for Blender and see if I can work with that, if I can't I am going to try some of the other programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I forgot about Wings3D so I added that one as well. Regarding the free Maya version, I was told that it was useless to get that version since it would only act like a sandbox due to not being able to export in a format that was transferable to other 3D tools. It was only useful if you were learning how to use it for when you do get a paid version. LHammonds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihateregisteringeverywhere Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Yup, that's the problem exactly =\. You can use the flimbox format for some misserable exports but the model looses mostly everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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