Long ago i started work on a plug for the original EV, and i'm interested in finishing it for Nova, the problem is that i'm no good with 3d. I realize that the standard response (i've been here before) is "prove yourself, then ask" but frankly, what i have is good. It's a TC, so the whole thing requires a lot of effort, but 75% of the story is already there. the graphics that i used in the original were borrowed from free "shipyards" and the like, and are now completely outdated. I've seen some of the amazing work that folks are producing out there, if anyone is at all interested, email me and i'll pitch you the idea and what i'm looking for, otherwise look for the plug in the relatively near future and enjoy it.

highmotu@cox.net

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I started my TC with graphics from free shipyards. Some of them are really good, too. But I can't plug Mechanisto enough. A lot of people really don't like it and I see why, but for a person who doesn't have a lot of time to learn Strata (nor the money since the free version fails existance tests now and the people who still have it won't supply it (for good reason!) :p) I think that it's decent feature set and its ability to see what you are doing as you do it is very very good for a beginner. I'm remodeling all of the ships in my TC in it, as well as the stations and the etc. It's really quite alright...

At least if you're on a Mac. I think that there's something similar called 'Rhino' in the DOS world.

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Rhino is a dang nice modeller. The only problem is that it cannot texture or render worth squat.

The good news though is that the trial allows you 25 different files that you can save.

(url="http://"http://www.rhino3d.com")Rhino is available here(/url).

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"The metaphor monitor indicates that Ennesby has vented his virtual bowels."
"I can see that, but where'd the virtual bricks come from?"
-Schlock Mercenary

I keep posting a list of 3D software on the boards. I finally found it.

Quote

Sprinkled liberally around the board: **
POV-Ray (free), Wings 3D (free), Blender (free), Alias Maya 5.0 Personal Learning Edition (free - not full featured w/ watermarks), Softimage XSI Experience ($19.95 - not full featured w/ less obtrusive watermarks than PLE), Eovia Carrara Studio 3 ($399), Maxon Cinema 4D 8.5 ($595), Strata 3DPro 3.9 ($695), Eovia Amapi 7 Pro ($799), Rhinoceros 3.0 ($895), Softimage 3D 4.0 ($1495), Newtek Lightwave 3D 7.5 - soon to be 8.0 ($1595), Softimage XSI (no price quoted, but probably more expensive than Lightwave), Alias Maya Complete 6.0 ($1999), Discreet 3D Studio Max 6 ($3145), Alias Maya Unlimited 6.0 ($6999)

Start with Wings, Blender, Mechanisto, or basically anything free, and work with it until you figure out that you aren't getting the results that you want with it. For instance, if you want to make a complex shape that you simply can't make with the free programs. It's at this point that you want to move on to a more expensive program. The "Big Four" programs are Maya, 3DSMax, Softimage, and Lightwave. If you plan on going into a graphics career in the gaming industry, then 3DSMax is your best bet, because it's the most prevalent program. Maya, Soft, and Lightwave are more widespread in the movie industry. Strata and Carrara are still good, but basically choose a program that fits your modeling style, etc. It'll be a bit easier to choose which expensive program you want to invest in when you have the experience to know what you want from the program. Pretty much all of these programs are available for all platforms except for (to the best of my knowledge) Softimage, Rhinoceros, and 3DSMax, which are not available for the Macintosh.**

After strolling around SIGGRAPH, I realized that I missed several packages that are probably worth checking out: Animation Master (www.hash.com - $299), Houdini (http://www.sidefx.com/), Modo (http://www.luxology.com/ - $895), Form Z (http://www.formz.com/). I don't think that Houdini is Mac compatible, but I think that Animation Master is. I'm certain that Form Z and Modo (I think its public debut was Tuesday) are. Modo looks pretty neat, IMHO. I haven't convinced any of the vendors to let me try it out, but its modeler seems very powerful. It also looks like it's very similar to Lightwave, and it exports to .lwo, .obj, .ma, and one more... Can't remember. Modo doesn't have a built in renderer, and it hasn't been released yet. Form Z has been around for quite a while, although it sorta drifted away from mainstream right about the time that Lightwave, Maya, 3DS Max, and XSI became popular. Oh yea, for you C4D users, I think that Maxon released C4D 9 - or announced it, or something, I dunno - didn't pay attention.

Matrix

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(This message has been edited by what_is_the_matrix (edited 08-13-2004).)

ZBrush (www.zbrush.com - $399) is another one you canadd to your list Matrix. I haven't tried it, but it sounds a little bit ... different than most 3D modellers. It's kind of a blen of 2D painting and intuitive clay-like modelling.

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I've bitten the proverbial bullet and started trying to teach myself again how to do all of this stuff, and I'm working on getting a copy of Lightwave. This forum has been very helpful, my thanks to you.

STILL, i can always use more help...i've been looking for free graphics on the net, but it all seems very rare...i suppose models these days just take too much effort to justify making them as a thankless hobby? i do not know...

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Well, all the free shipyards pretty much went down or haven't been updated recently. Of the two most promising for Nova (Captian Skyblade's and Ewan's), Captian Skyblade's went down because of real life and Ewan's is under renovation. Plus Ewan is working on a TC. A lot of stuff to do, eh?

Maybe I should start a free Nova shipyard... it would save me a lot of programming. And maybe give more time to developing my rudimentary modelling skillz.

Oops. Just realized. I'm working on a TC too. Heheheheh...

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