I''m not sure what program to use and/or what file format to make models for opengl. Can anybody offer some suggestions?

Use milkshape3d. It's $25US, it's easy to use, it's easy to load into opengl, and it is plenty powerful enough for a hobby developer that isn't looking to spend gobs of money [snipped by MKV: don't advocate piracy on these forums]

[edited by - MadKeithV on February 10, 2003 8:35:14 AM]

I use TrueSpace - older versions are often given away on magazine CDs. It's pretty easy to start using and the results are pretty reasonable. Also it supports different file formats.

Another option is Blender although I've never got past the user interface and managed to do anything useful with it (but that's probably just me!).

For file format I use ASC files - they're easy to convert into the home made file format used by my 3D engine.

[edited by - Jon Alma on February 10, 2003 8:25:02 AM]