Blender 3D vs AutoCad 3D Max
Community Forums/General Help/Blender 3D vs AutoCad 3D Max
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| Ok, I'm new to 3D game programming. I'm totally clueless. Which toolset do you use to make your 3D objects in your game? Autocad 3D Max or Blender 3D? To me, it seems like Autocad 3D Max is a very very very heavy program that takes up about 7 gigabytes worth of memory vs Blender which uses a few megabytes and it would be great to have a program that takes up less space. Both seems like easy programs to use. |
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| If you've got the thick end of £4,000 burning a hole, get 3DS Max. If you haven't, get Blender. |
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| if you are a student, you can get max (or maya) for free for 3 years. |
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| AdamStrange, yes that's how I downloaded Max. I listed myself as a student on their website. Hey, how about Maya? I haven't gotten around to that one yet. I forgot to mention that one. I'm a super beginner when it comes to 3D programming so I just want a consensus on which one is good as some programs are more straight shot than others. And GfK, that's definitely a factor for me. I'm a cheap-skate on a tight budget. So, my favorite words these days are "cheap" or "free." So that probably answered my question there LOL. |
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| If you can use 3ds max for free as a student then go for that....it may be bigger etc but there is a world of difference between open source and proprietary software most of the time....there's a good reason it is so expensive... |
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| I have both learned Blender and 3DS Max while doing modelling and rendering stuff for personal projects, and I must say I'm now more comfortable using Blender. You can't go wrong once you have good knowledge with this great open source tool. |
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| I dunno why you even ask if you use the educational version of 3D Max? Did you even read the licence when accepting it? Can I use free Educational licenses for Autodesk software obtained through the Education Community for commercial purposes? No. Software and cloud-based services provided without charge to Education Community members may be used solely for purposes directly related to learning, training, research or development. Such software and cloud-based services shall not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes. Source Seems you have the choice of: - doing uncommercial things with both software tools - buy the "real" licence for 3ds max (see price above) - use Blender for your whatever-works Even if Max surely has some pro features I would go with Blender (as I am used to it). Be aware that up to the current Blender releases (v2.73) the "Cycles" renderer cannot do "shadow only materials". If you need them, you will have to use the classic "Blender internal" renderer. Do you need that material kind? If you render game sprites then definitely YES. Below is a portion of a spriteset I modelled and rendered with Blender:  The shadows are often used if the ground is "plane" and simple drop shadows could be used. In "Cycles" you have to fake them by using multiple render passes, a secondary object (the shadow receiver) on a second layer. Then render with or without ignoring that object (and other layers). A node setup for composition will then calculate the mix of the shadowlayer (white = transparent, black = opaque) and the result can be seen above. Do not worry: use blender internal and you have your the "shadow catcher" material easily available via a "checkbox". Or wait a bit, as this material is on high priority for the devs. bye Ron |
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| The biggest problem most people complain about with Blender is its unique user interface that's nothing like the industry standard set by Autodesk. Apparently this makes it difficult to adjust to, for someone already used to other tools. Conclusion: if you haven't yet experienced any other tools, you should probably try Blender first. Realistically, as a beginner you're not going to push the limits of any professional tool anyway, so why bother with the expensive one? (I have no base for comparison of these specific tools, but with software price is never an indication of quality anyway) |
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