Quote: Original post by Burnt_Fyr
Since we're on the topic of 3D, are you a poly-poly or subD kind of guy/gal?

Poly all the way for me.

Like I said, im a n00b still in a way. Ive made the basic games so I could see what it takes to actually write games, unlike other beginners I see wanting their first game to be some kind of WoW killer. I dont know anything about 3d modeling like " poly - poly " or " subD "

What is that?

And, what would be a good book, tutorial, or something so I can know what size and stuff to make my models so I can later use them when I get into 3d game programming?

thanks in advanced

Quote: Original post by spliter
At first I thought it was a piece of crap, then I left it for about 2 years, then came back to it...

Many of us share the same story :)

Quote:
Bevel faces doesn't work on the selected faces but on ALL of them at once!

Since at least 2.48 we have a brand new bevel tool that works on selected only (and allows you to enter the exact size of the bevel, among other things).

Quote:
And there's that stupid polygon which is always looks like it's selected when you work, only to show which polygon you worked on last

That's the active polygon. It's the same deal as an active object in the object mode. Actually a very neat feature that allows you to do stuff with less clicking around and therefore faster, but it takes a lot of getting used to. Then you're gonna get hooked on it and miss it in every other app.

Quote: Original post by Burnt_Fyr
The interface is gawd awful

Oh yeah. The mighty Interface. It's different from others in two ways - one, it's non-overlapping, which means that a) you don't have to switch through overlapping windows to find a button and b) you are exposed to all of the buttons at once, which can be a little scary to beginners. And two, it's completely accelerated, every widget is an opengl entity. That right now means that it suffers from all sorts of defects like flickering, but the 2.5 (a completely new and revamped release with a much friendlier interface) is double buffered and really smooth.

The Interface (capital 'I', see? We respect it and fear it) is often compared to a spaceship control panel, and I can agree. If you're an astronaut or an orbinaut and you're used to stuff like "SCE to AUX" instead of "Edit, Select All, Copy", then go for blender. It'll feel like home.

[Edited by - tori on October 30, 2009 5:25:11 AM]

Blender is nice and free. I use it for UV mapping and some texture plotting. However, I do not use it for actual 3D modeling because of the way the camera is set up and the poorly designed GUI (believe it or not, it's the camera that bugs me the most...).

What I use for 3D modeling is MOI, but I think it's around $200 now. MOI isn't a full package either, so you will need other programs to back it up (like Blender and Tattoo).

What MOI has to offer is:
* Tiny learning curve
* Runs very quickly
* Designed for tablet PCs (could be used with a Wacom tablet, too)
* Friendly camera
* Designed for people who can draw
* Simple, effective GUI

Downside:
* Can't texture in MOI
* No rendering capabilities
* No mapping of any sort
* You may have to play around with the "normals" in a different program after
* Designed for people who can draw
* No sculpting
* No rigging or animations
* Mirroring objects can be a pain to algin sometimes
* Costs $200

Also, everything is a nurb, so some people might have difficulties making game assets with it(I haven't, but you might). On the same note, you might find that it is easier to get low poly counts with some models.

If you don't plan on using it on a tablet PC or with a Wacom tablet it probably isn't going to be worth $200 dollars to you, but I would still recommend you try the demo; especially if you are new to 3D modeling as it is easy to use.



You might also try Modo- I don't have very much experience with it, but it seemed pretty good when I tried it waaaay back when. :)

Edit: http://moi3d.com/

Blender is absolutely terrible!
Yes, it has functions but the UI is ridiculously bad. It's an absolutely pain to use compared to any other software out there.

Blender's interface can be compared to using a boulder to hit a nail in the wall. Yes, it's possible to do it if you're willing to spend some time and effort with it. However, I recommend using a hammer instead (in this case: any other 3D software).

However, since Boulder here is free of charge a lot of users seem to put up with it because they can't afford the hammer. Eventually they will start saying things like "Boulder isn't too bad once you get used to it" and "look at all these nails I've hit with my Boulder".

A lot of people like Blender (eventually) but it doesn't take away from the fact that it has a retarded interface.

PS. This post was fueled by pent up frustration from the times I've been forced to use Blender over a proper 3D tool.
PPS. That same frustration caused me to write an article on UI design: http://www.scalari.net/2009/06/25/lessons-in-gui-design/

[Edited by - Scarabus2 on November 10, 2009 2:41:59 PM]

Blender, like vi, is awesome once you get pass the interface learning curve.

I think--for your stated needs--it'll be fine.

It exports .x files for DirectX, and I can dump it on any computer I've got handy ('cause it's free), always a plus if you're doing this in your spare time and not sitting down at an office.

The interface is weird. There's no way around that. There are weirder interfaces out there, but once you get it, it at least makes sense... like LISP. Any 3D tool takes a while to learn, though, so if you don't have a previous attachment, don't worry about it.

If you're a programmer doing some 3D design, it's fine, and great bang-for-the-buck. If you want to make a full-length blockbuster movie using Blender with particle effects and animated hair, it'll do it. For me, I'd rather pay a few thousand if that's what it takes to use something I'm more familiar with than try to re-learn everything with Blender on *that* kind of scale. As it is, I use Blender now because they stopped paying for my 3DS subscription at work.

What I want to know, is where's Blender's full-featured, free, possibly-a-pain-to-use sibling NLE software for video? :-(

Quote: Original post by owl
Start learning Python and the Blender Python API if you want to export your meshes and skeletal animations to a format you can work with from within a game.

This.

I don't think I need to expand upon the fact that the UI is an atrocity. If it wasn't immediately obvious, there would be alarm bells ringing after this thread. And if the OP had money to burn on a 3d modelling package, he wouldn't be in this thread. But I have had great success writing an exporter for Blender. It only took a couple of hours to get the data in the format I wanted, and that was while learning both Blender and Python at the same time. The Python API is pretty good. You can access everything in the scene, and you can even do stuff like triangulate all objects before you export them, or merge them, or whatever - everything that's also hidden in the UI somewhere.

I've been using it for a while but it's starting to get on my nerves, I'm tired of forgetting hot keys and spending time to look them up...

Definetely worth learning... As other have said, the UI is not very intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, I don't think there is a comparable product out there... Very powerful and best of all, free...

I wish I had skills like these:

http://www.vimeo.com/2879397

He makes it look so easy... :)

[Edited by - Twilight on January 2, 2010 10:29:13 AM]

MY first impressions were "Terrible" but having used it for a while I think its great. It does take some getting used to but once your going everythign just flows :D.