Well this seems like a great place for info. So I have another question. Is anyone out there a lightwave user? I've heard a lot of good things about it and was wondering if I should consider buying it. Is version 7.5 any good? Noticed it was only $495. Also what is better about it versus using a free program like blender? And is there a demo? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks. beteogames

From many screenshots and dev info, I've found alot of Japanese stuios seem to use Lightwave. Its not common at all amongst game studios. But it is most definately powerful, and almost on par with Maya and Max feature-wise.
I would try out a trial version and see if you like it. Alot of people don't like Blender because of the UI, see if Lightwave is worth the extra cash.

Yeah that is pretty much what I have been finding out about blender. The UI is a bit crazy. Anyway thanks for the info.

Lightwave's absolutely GREAT for low poly, low vertex count work. Not so good for animation or material exporting (the way it handles UV mapping is somewhat odd, and it likes producing discontinuous maps). Mesh optimisation is also pretty easy with it (it's got some pretty good detail reduction plugins) and it works very well with a 'create and weld' modelling technique (rather than extrusion).

The (object) file format's IFF based, so it's fairly easy to parse. Not tried working with animations from it.

$500 is a snap for it - well worth the money.