Hi! I'm a total beginner as far as 3D modeling is concerned but I'd like to try out some low poly-modeling for games. I had a look at the software recommendation thread and though it's extensive it doesn't say much about each piece of software, so I was wondering if you guys could recommend me some software to start out with? Free / cheap and lightweight software is always a bonus (I won't be needing hair plug-ins or normal mapping or any of that fancy stuff) and it'd also be nice if I could get the models into OGRE without too much of a hassle. Thanks in advance!

well, I personally use Blender. It seemed... I dunno... less bulky and more efficient than 3DSMAx to me... but that's a matter of personal preference. I like that with blender I can do just about everything from the keyboard so things move quickly. I'm sure you can do that with 3DS max too, but still... always felt clunky to me.

I don't think it can export to OGRE though, not by default anyway, but there may be an addon for that somewhere *shrugs*

Good luck with Low Poly Modeling ^_^ I hope you find a program you're comfortable with.

Blender is well integrated with Ogre.

As far as pure modelling, Silo and MODO are two very powerful but cheaper alternatives.
Milkshape3D is very cheap but not as powerful.
Blender and Wings3D are both free, Blender is much more popular though.

I'd say, if you were really intent on free, and open source, go with Blender. Otherwise, if you wanted a more powerful and intuitive modelling program (ie, if you're going to be doing alot of modelling), perhaps Modo or Silo are better.

I can recomend "Wings 3D" for you, it is easy to use and learn.

I would say wings 3D, even thought Blender is what I use, because if you don't want 90% of the things that Blender has, why complicate your life?

go with silo. Buy it now (102$), and get 2.0 beta, plus free upgrade to 2.0 for free. Does modeling, texturing and alot of other stuff. Great software, plus the guys behind it are really dedicated to the community.

Modo is also good, but 800 is too much for a beginner.

Many of us on our low poly model library project use Blender and it is also the main hub program because it does well in importing and exporting many formats (including OGRE). It works on all platforms and is a tiny download. If you do decide to use it, we have a bunch of tutorials, examples and a place to ask us questions and get feedback as you learn.

Scott