37 minutes ago, Armantium said:

Well, I do have an academic license for Maya, should I count on it for 3D modeling too then?

The academic license is to learn only, as long as you don't publish the game you are fine. If however you plan on sharing the game with others, even for free, you need a proper license.

30 minutes ago, Armantium said:

Also, should I really look for a specialized 3D modeling software if it is purportedly a complete package, in terms of all the listed features?

3D modeling is the core and the most used part, so it's the more important part, it's also where everything is pieced together before export.

Take for example at home I use Substance painter and designer. ZBrush and Photoshop, with Blender as the in-between for all the software. Once done I export from Blender to Unreal.

At work we us Quixel,Photoshop, ZBrush and 3ds Max for the in-between, export to Unreal.

Because as good as 3dsMax, Maya, Blender, Cenima 4D and Modo are, they aren't as good at texturing as texturing tools or sculpting as sculpting tools. They only include the basics, that isn't really the full package they claim to provide.

The important part of your general 3D software is that it should be able to export all the features your using, should be able to make most of your 3D models and animate your 3D models.

All of the above general 3D software can model, animate and export. It's just that some of them stand out more in one or more category.

55 minutes ago, Armantium said:

And what about the UE4 importation issue?

Unreal has one button fixes for most importing errors, when you encounter one just do a search on the web.

Although if you measure the scale first(Just export the unreal cube or character) and build materials in engine, you will have almost no importing errors.

Oh god, Zbrush is $800 bucks!

I know about Zbrush, I've seen some stunning models made in it, but is there other software that is not so damn expensive? You could buy a high-end PC for that kind of money.

Hm, I think I recall something about 3D coat as an alternative, do you know anything about it?

I think I'll do all the stuff in academic Maya for now, since it has full functionality and native UE4 support. And after awhile if I see that results do not match up with what is in my head I'll splurge for some specialized software.

Thanks for your help.

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Just an addendum to remind myself when I look this up later in the future:

So, Maya is supposed to be a full package, but it isn't. The best tools would be:

Maya - animation and rigging

3D coat - 3D modeling/sculpting + texture manipulation(subsumes functionality of Substance painter)

Photoshop - texture creation

World Machine - terrain generation

Is that it?

I guess I'll have to get various plugins too..

I'm actually still confused as to why Maya made it into your list while 3ds max didn't 

Just to clarify in case is a misunderstanding, you can do rigging/animation stuff in 3ds max as well, is a proof -> 

It made it into the list because I already have academic license for Maya, and everyone on the planet says that it's the best tool for animation, especially since its last iteration.

Also, animation will be my main focus(I can always buy assets from various stores).

You do realize that both 3DS Max and Maya are listed as full packages, both for 3D modeling and animations?

The other guy says that it does not have full 3D modeling functionality, and now you say that 3DS Max has full animation capability.

3 minutes ago, Armantium said:

It made it into the list because I already have academic license for Maya, and everyone on the planet says that it's the best tool for animation, especially since its last iteration.

ok that makes sense

6 minutes ago, Armantium said:

The other guy says that it does not have full 3D modeling functionality, and now you say that 3DS Max has full animation capability.

Not quite sure what you're trying to say, but yes, 3ds Max has "full 3d modelling functionality".  In the sense that you can model, skin, rig, animate, export, etc., everything you would need for a game.

The only real part of that process missing is the creation of your textures, for which you'd want something like photoshop (or maybe paint.net if you want something free)- but that's not something you would do in any of those other programs you listed either.  Maya can also do all of this.  And so can Blender.  If you have a license for Maya, then go ahead and use that to learn with.  If you need something you can use without the licensing restrictions, just use Blender.  Otherwise, you're looking at a big investment.

Don't know if someone mentioned it, but generally speaking while both maya & 3ds offer a similar "all in one" solution, 3ds max is stronger on the modeling side while maya is stronger on the rig/animation side, thus who can afford it model in 3ds an then export the model and animate it in maya, but if animation is your main focus your choice then seems spot on.

OK, so just to be clear, this is the following list of complete necessary supreme software for AAA content creation:

• Animation – Maya
• Texture creation – Photoshop
• 3D modeling/sculpting and texture manipulation– 3D Coat
• Terrain generation – World Machine
• Assets - Megascans

Don't worry, I have 3 years to work with, and the scope won't be large.

I would split that 3D modeling/sculpting into 3ds max and Zbrush respectively, but I didn't ever used 3D coat so my opinion is strongly biased

1 minute ago, MarcusAseth said:

I would split that 3D modeling/sculpting into 3ds max and Zbrush respectively, but I didn't ever used 3D coat so my opinion is strongly biased

Well, I looked it up and it seems to have it all in those areas. And the quite impressive results seem to bear that. It is also very highly rated on all the lists. And it is very reasonably priced.