Why Stick With Wings3D?

[satoribomb]

Simply put - it has the fastest, most intuitive workflow I have ever encountered.

The operational "grammar" built into commands (i.e. the combination/rhythm of right-click, left-click, etc.) provides tactile reinforcement of the workflow - this made it even easier for me to learn than other, visually-driven apps like Maya, XSI, LW, etc.

Almost everything in the WIngs3D command structure is built into that 'grammar' so that commands and their variables are driven from mouse-menus and combinations of right-click, middle-click and left-click. This means less, if any, hunting and pecking across a window or digging through nested palettes and overly complicated GUI elements to adjust workplane, center of action, numerical values, vector of action, etc.

Wings' focus really is on the geometry and what is to be done with it. Everything that blocks the "line of sight" between an artist's intent and the model has been minimized, if not removed. This holds true even for the keyboard in Wings, given how easy it is to assign/re-assign shortcut keys.

Wings' price doesn't hurt either - but it's the clean, efficient UI, ease of use, short length of learning curve, powerful feature set and responsiveness of Bjorn and the Wings Community that keep me invested in Wings as my primary modeling app.

I do still have to rely on Lightwave for some, more esoteric functions like booleans, shearing of complex objects, bends, and the like - this despite PuzzledPaul's amazing workarounds. Still, as Bjorn, Dgud and the other contributors continue work on Wings, I'm confident I'll only be using LW to render in the not too distant future.

Is that what you were looking for?
Thanks,
Satroribomb

[JamesBPM]

Well yes, that's sort of what I was looking for, but moreso even let's explore some of the more specifics within such areas such as workflow and tools to do the job...

for instance, for me the most missed tool of Wings3D, when using another app to model, is... select sim... wow, what a fantastic selection tool. I think it could be improved on perhaps, but non the less it is just simply one of those mega time saving tools when such is warranted...

and.. of course, I really like the VM... like I just plain have a much harder time of this within most other apps, yet Wings3D handles this so nicely. So easy, so handy :)

There are many tools and methodologies which I very much have come to appreciate from having the privilage of exploring and learning to model with Wings3D :)

And while there are times whereby I wish there were a few more enhancments made in a visual interactive sense with several tools, non the less, what a very dynamic set of tools offered up to any and all... Just mind blowing really.

Havn't done a great deal with the UV side of things, mainly been studying the modeling end of things, but from what I did experiment with it was very straight forward . (there's a great tut UV related a member here did with with a car... redish purple in color, low poly is what I remember, this was a couple years since I viewed such, maybe it's still around... way cool)

I also like the Wings community... pretty low keyed bunch :)

[lovisx]

wings uving tools alone will make it part of my personal pipeline.

wings is a very solid edge loop modeler with tools that allow for innovation. The interface is very transparent, hitting commands are a side note, which you forget your doing.

what makes me not able to stay with wings permanently is it's lack of path extrusion, lattices, vertex snapping and sculpting tools.

hopefully there will be new developements in these areas in the future.

[akze]

Lot of tools, fantastic workflow, work on Win,OSX,Linux, and.................... the price :)

[FonteBoa]

One of the strongest reasons that WIngs3D is my primary modeler now is that
you can manipulate work area (pan, zoom, rotate) at same time you are executing
any other modelling command!!! You started, for example, a face extrusion:
before finish this command (in other words, during the command execution) you
can rotate the viewport, or pan, or zoom, without abort the operation!

Other important resources: tweak, free cut edges,
magnet, the easiest way to attribute shortkeys, selection commands, it is a small program, it is focused in modeling and mapping, no more!

In the future, when it will be possible to script commands in Wings3D and attribute shortkeys to advanced commands and perhaps bones will be implemented to test the ways the mesh deforms, Wings3D will be a must choice to cg modelling.

[thedaemon]

I can model in wings3d faster than I can use any other 3d app. (excluding Zbrush, because that's not really 3d modeling as is the other apps) satoribomb stated some wonderful explanations about the grammer too.

Virtual mirror is second to NONE! No app has this easy and powerful mirror tool.

It's free.

I have had feature requests added.

The community is helpful, as is the developers.

Its simple and to the point, it just works. vbmenu_register("postmenu_2350970", true);

[Vel_crow]

well firstly.....i know a lot of you guys do 3D seriously.....
i just do it because it interests me and is something fun to do.....so i dont want to spend hundreds of pounds on software.....that i can probably use because its to complicated to learn by myself.

so i think wings is a good program for beginners to start because its free.

its so simple to use....im no expert at it, and ive probably only learnt 1% of what it can do, but theres always places to look and learn on different techniques, the community is really good im not ashamed to post my stuff even if really is *@#" because its a relaxed place with new and experianced people together.

the smooth preview i use A LOT! which really helps, and ive just discovered the tighten command which looks to be usefull in the future.
yafray, again free not so simple just a case of getting the right settings and experimenting.



in a nutshell....

perfect for begginers like me, from what i read in posts, you veterans find it great too, i found it very easy to pick up, and my skill are improving the more i look and read. its just FANTASTIC

[JDex]

A long time Winger here... many of you have probably noticed that I am not around the Wings world much anymore... well the reason is that I have stopped using it. No decisive reason on W3D's part... XSI's modelling tools just improved to the level where it was no longer worth my time to go out of that pipeline.

If transfer to XSI was simpler, then I would still be all over Wings3D... if Wings3D could export .emdl and/or .xsi (preferably AND) then I would probably jump back over, but as it stands now, things are just easier in XSI altogether (and I am almost as fast at modeling in XSI now).

I hope things with W3D is still good, hope Bjorn and the team are still at it, and that the best standalone modeler continues to serve it's users well.

Cheers

[Fro Lee]

Wings is a great 3d modeller that lets create whatever you can imagine. I like how easy it is to tweak a model to perfection. Instead of 3 or 4 steps, in wings it takes 1. I LOVE temporary selections. It is always fun to see something wrong at a certain angle, highlight it, and fix it with a button press, a mouse drag and a mouse click.

I love the ability to assign shortcuts on the fly. It adds to the intuitive nature of wings. I love the power user temporary selections because it speeds things up. I like the way the one can start a command, tumble the camera, and then finish the command. I like the way one can start a command, and have it finish by pressing the keyboard shortcut for another command. Virtual mirror is how it should be done - I never have to worry about vertices on the center loop not having a x value of 0.0.

And there is a whole world of advanced options and vector operations for the savvy power user to use. It is small enough to fit on a thumb drive. I like how it is free, and yet more amazing than most commercial apps. Wings is great for learning 3d. With no widgets to slow you down/dampen your creativity, you will wonder how you modelled with them.

-Fro.

[The B5 Fan]

It has the best user interface I've seen so far, which is wh other ones like Blender, have(in my opinion) better textureing methods, I still use Wings.

[Teyon]

I'm preparing to jump on the XSI bandwagon after using WINGS for a year or so (less, actually). Not because I don't like wings but because XSI offers a bit more for me both in terms of features and job potential. Nothing beats Wings' virtual mirror though...it's a seriously missed feature in other apps. I hate having to correct edge verts when I manipulate them in free perspective views with other apps (silo/hexagon). If only all modelers had the virtual mirror tool wings does. *sigh*

[pauljs75]

Price... Probably the reason why I found it in the first place. When starting out, most people don't have a lot of resources to throw at something.

Simplicity... I've tried other modelers both free and for money. Wings doesn't have clutter or any real obscurities. Everything it does have is useful in some way. This makes also makes the learning really quick, because instead of figuring out what things do - an artist can concentrate on the actual modeling process.

Workflow... This is a virtue of its simplicity. No hunting for extraneous commands or any real difficulty in finding what all the tools do. Keyboard shortcuts are handy, but most of the real work can be done by clicking away at the mouse.

[cszetela]

I have also tried many other modelers - Maya (polygon modeler), Blender, Silo (not bad). Nothing comes close to Wings3D in terms of getting the user interface out of the way and getting right into the modeling process. Many folks I know in the 3D community loath Wings for its simplified interface and lack of 'candy icons'. Well, true enough, it ain't pretty but that's not why I use it. It lets me be the artist.

My second favorite application is Modo102. Modo does some things Wings3D doesn't do yet. When I model in Modo, I save out as an OBJ and do all of the tweaking in Wings3D because of Wings' arbitrary axis ability - something I can't do without in a modeler.

[StephanD]

Simply?Because I use Linux and also support Open-source development.

Really,my copy of Modo is the only thing keeping me in dual-boot...and there's no way I'm not sticking to it :)

[TheIvIaxx]

post #2 summed it up for me. i refuse to model in anything else. model it the way I want and when it is done, she goes right into max seamlessly.

[AlexLiki]

Great tools, easy to use, fast learning curve, it's free and have intuitive nature.

Wings is great!!

[Leebre]

Wings is firmly rooted in the methodologies of Mirai and Nendo. That's why it has such a superb modeling workflow...everything from the context-sensitive menus to the varied ways element selections can be handled to magnet transformations to workspace. But it has also surpassed its roots with edge-loop handling, material handling, renderer integration, new modeling operations, and UV editing. And it is free, which is simply insane. It's so quick and easy to bang out a base mesh to take into ZB2 for detaling that I find it hard to ever use anything else. The only other modeler that has tempted me is Silo, but I won't ever use it unless they get some UV editing features in it.
The only thing ZBrush has going against it is that it is bumping up against the limitations of original design decisions. It's suffering from growing pains in terms of software design. The framework currently being used for the UI is holding it back quite a bit. Plus, the app its self doesn't really have much of a framework. Wings doesn't expose a plug-in architecture either. But what can you expect when Wings was originally just meant to be one person's substitute for some software he couldn't buy?

[Rezonance]

I think there is a plugin API for Wings. I do remember a few plugins being written for it. Things like intersect, and some others, were plugins before being integrated into the Wings distribution.

[aqua_scummm]

Fast, runs smooth, easy to learn for a noob like myself, and fun. Not to mention an awesome community :)


Anyone know if the development team plans on having animation at all, or is always going to be static images?

[cszetela]

True enough. Many plug-ins ended up being integrated into the application as standard tools, like 'Slide'.

[TheIvIaxx]

Fast, runs smooth, easy to learn for a noob like myself, and fun. Not to mention an awesome community :)


Anyone know if the development team plans on having animation at all, or is always going to be static images?

honestly i wouldn't even want it. i am completely happy with the current version. maybe a few more modeling tools and some tweaks and it will be my modeling app of choice for a very long time.

wings is like a mistress. she is your little secret that no one understands and she is only good at one thing, but damn is she good at it!

[Geta-Ve]

Ya main reason I stick with Wings would be features like ...

- Slide
- VM
- Tweak (plus magnets, "normal tweak", etc)
- Hot key assignment is logical
- Magnets
- Hide faces (a long awaited feature that was finally added! )
- Tighten
- Flatten
- Plus whatever else I missed

Also the fact it is FREE, and open source.

I am just able to get things done really quickly in Wings. There ARE times when I wish I could use a real poly by poly method for certain things, but I have usually gotten around it :) You just have to be intuitive! :p

Ya, Wings is great!

[Dann-O]

I like the interface a lot. And it is simple things like putting words like extrude on the screen instead of some weird squiggle that is supposed to represent extrude. Icons are annoying and they are different from one app to another.
Also the models you make in Wings tend to be efficiant. When you make a model in a pline modeler ther etends to be a lot of usless polyons. (because you can't go to the polygon level and edit) Also the community is very helpful.

[MasonDoran]

I have to admit I ripped off the wings workflow and applied it to Maya. With a little bit of .mel and lots of existing scripts I have managed to to get just about every single tool from wings into maya. All of the edge loop tools are there...and even edge slide....all hotkeys are component sensitive.

I am missing the clean and simple Wings tweak...but i do low poly stuff anyways

[ZATZAi]

I have to admit I ripped off the wings workflow and applied it to Maya. With a little bit of .mel and lots of existing scripts I have managed to to get just about every single tool from wings into maya. All of the edge loop tools are there...and even edge slide....all hotkeys are component sensitive.

I am missing the clean and simple Wings tweak...but i do low poly stuff anyways

Where can I get that tweak, and will it work with Maya 6?

[herbicide]

It helps you create clean meshes and I must have picked it up within a week, not that there aren't things still to learn...


And you can't beat the price.

[Geta-Ve]

Where can I get that tweak, and will it work with Maya 6?

do you also have vector commands? ;) Magnet operations? solid edge virtual mirror? Tighten? I could go on..

[lovisx]

in Maya you select the box in the middle of the move arrows and you're in tweak mode baby yeah.

[Geta-Ve]

in Maya you select the box in the middle of the move arrows and you're in tweak mode baby yeah.

no your not. You still have to seperately select the verts/edges/faces the middle of the transformation gizmo is simply a "move-free" You dont have anywhere NEAR the speed of tweak.

[lovisx]

your totally right, my mistake, I'll go crawl away in my corner now and cry for under estimating wings.

[*_Henry_*]

It's free and user-friendly.

[Geta-Ve]

your totally right, my mistake, I'll go crawl away in my corner now and cry for under estimating wings.

:p sorry if I came off harsh! I didnt even realize how I wrote that till just now.. my apologies :D ^_^

[lovisx]

no I was just joking Geta -Ve, you don't worry.

[ThomasMahler]

Actually, there's something like "Tweak" in Maya - It's called Click-Drag Select. You find it under Preferences - Selection.

Nevertheless, it's not nearly as good as the Wings Tweak, of course, you don't have any magnets, whatsoever - It's just what the name says, you can click-drag select objects, components, etc.

Seems to be another great Wings release - But still no tablet support! :(

[zenmonkeycat]

A lot of people say they don't use Wings because it doesn't have "gizmos" like Max. But that's precisely why I love Wings. I don't have to worry about clicking in the wrong place and suddenly rotating around the wrong axis or something. I also like the idea of persistent selections and clicks; if I select something and click on something else, I don't deselect everything else, which keeps me from losing a ton of selection work like I do ALL THE TIME in Max. I like the very simple interface, where I can use almost all my screen real-estate for modelling. I like the intuitive method of switching between views. Wings makes modelling easy, but unlike some easy-to-use programs, Wings has many advanced features that allow me to keep using it, even when I have Max and Rhino to work with.

Right now, the only things I miss in Wings are more advanced texturing tools, some more transform axes, and maybe some rudimentary spline support (extrude along, etc.) Aside from that, it's perfect.

[dgud]

What texturing tools are you missing?

[levin]

vectors. all other features can be found on any other apps one way or another (plugins, scripts).

[StephanD]

But still no tablet support!


Wings3D does support tablets.

[SpiderMunky]

I've just atarted looking at this app. What attracted me to it is that someone mentioned that it should be possible to run it from a USB Memory Drive. I installed it earlier and so far it seems pretty straight forward. Usually I use 3ds max, but Wings appeals to me because it seems quite portable. So when I'm away from my own computer, it's easy to get it up and running so I can continue whatever I've been working on.

I had been trying to use Blender. But to be honest, it just doesn't feel right.

I'm looking forward to finding out what Wings 3D is capable of.

Greg

[pauljs75]

Just when you think that Bjorn and Dgud are slowing down with the updates, this napert guy shows up with a lot of cool new plugins that are now being integrated into the newest release. Not to mention that he seems to have some more cool stuff up his sleeve.

[lovisx]

care to elaborate puzzled paul?

[ThomasMahler]

Wings3D does support tablets.

Nope, not in Pen Mode - Just in Mouse mode. And in Mouse Mode, the pen is just emulating a mouse, which feels extremely weird.

I love Wings, but they should finally bring tablet support into play again!

[StephanD]

And in Mouse Mode, the pen is just emulating a mouse, which feels extremely weird.


I don't know any other modeling application that supports pressure sensivity except Zbrush and it's silly to compare Z to anything.

Care to elaborate what advantages/functions you have in mind?

I'd personally like to see Magnet-based pressure but that's not how Wings3d works them out...At all.

It's a good idea but you need to put a little more thought/function into it.

[ThomasMahler]

Hey Stephan,

Well, Pressure sensitivity isn't the only aspect where mouse mode differs from pen mode.

It's also that the tablet emulates the screen - So if I want to do something in the lower left corner of the screen, I just move my hand to the lower left corner of my tablet - Feels very intuitive.

And that's not possible in mouse mode - mouse mode just emulates the mouse movements, but it doesn't give you the "artistic" feeling that paint mode gives you. Not even nearly.

[StephanD]

Ah,I undertsand what you mean now,yes it would be great but to tell the truth,I've never seen that as a problem crippling the artistic flow,but then again,I use Modo,maybe I'm more technical than I actually think I am? ;)

Later

[ThomasMahler]

Oh dang, I must have really talked some serious BS the last few days... ;)

I don't know, I already tried Mouse Mode and Wings, but Mouse Mode feels so strange to me - like you'd actually move a trackball or something. Really weird feeling. But maybe that's just because I'm so used to my tablet.

Oh, btw, Modo feels great with a tablet thanks to the trackball rotation - So, nothing to crit on that side.

Back to topic! Well, I really, really hope they put in tablet support in one of the next releases.

[StephanD]

From what I've seen of wings3d and it's development,eventually this will get it's way into it with it's own twists on the thing.

Maybe ask that Napert guy who's been adding stuff lately or any other contributing programmer.

Although a few more funcationalities should be fixed before implementing anything.

[nemyax]

What texturing tools are you missing?
Dan,
It would be great to have a tool that untangles (smooths out/tightens) the border edges of a UV piece. Highlighting UVs that share a vert would be nice. Copying and pasting of UVs would also make a valuable addition.
Maya is behind Wings in some things regarding UV editing, but it has a few interesting tools that might be worth the developers' attention.
Here are a couple of links to the Maya 4 help content:
http://help.thecentre.centennialcollege.ca/manuals/maya/UserGuide/ModelingPoly/PolyUVMap.html
http://help.thecentre.centennialcollege.ca/manuals/maya/UserGuide/ModelingPoly/PolyUVEdit.html

[rebo]

I love wings for all the reasons mentioned above, but there are some things in wings that really need addressing.

1. overal speed, sometimes modelling seems very slow i think its something to do with how they use opengl.

2. No tablet support, this is really a big downer tablet support would make modelling much quicker.

3. working with pipes and other path-extrude type objects is tough.

4. No radial move.

[puzzledpaul]

<< working with pipes >>
What more (for std pipes) do you need that the various Vert|Bend options (in/31) don't provide?

<< radial move >>
Presumably you've tried Vert | Shift Cylindrical?

pp

[pauljs75]

4. No radial move.

PuzzledPaul, I would think that rebo means that with body selections. Selecting multiple objects and having them move from a common center without deforming could be useful. This might also be handy for groups of faces. (Provided that the geometry of face regions is maintained during a radial move.)

And with similar thinking, I think that having a "duplicate around" command would be useful. This would allow for duplication of objects which are then rotated around a selected point. It'd save quite a few extra steps. (Current method involves creating a lot of duplicates, selecting the duplicates, rotation command, deselect one copy, shift-D. Then deselect one and repeat... Duplicate around would be: select the original, set rotation, then hit shift-D as needed.)

[rebo]

The new bend deform tools in the latest release definitely fill a gap that was there before. I will have to learn them inside out before I can comment on what more is needed.

Regarding the vert shift | cylindrical i cant seem to get radial move effect im thinking of but I'll play around with it a bit more.

[kgolebczyk]

hi
I'm working on linux, wings3d is free and this is the only reason that I'm using it, wings3d on linux is really bugy, and working with it is really frustrating,
If i only have some money i will buy silo(when they finish linux version) or xsi fundation(amazing software, the best for 500$!)
don't get me wrong I appreciate programers of wings3d but wings is very early software
and i don't know if it has a future

cheers

[cszetela]

Silo is no match for Wings3D.
Wings3D has more tools and better control than Silo.

[kgolebczyk]

I don't think that silo is no match for wings3d,definitely wings3d is no match for silo.
Silo is better program that wings and silo has more tools for example: polygonal tool, line tool(very useful), booleans, partial subdivide, snapping, topolgy brush e.t.c. - silo is better.
Like I said wings3d is a early software and today it has not a lot very useful tools.And you have better control in silo

[puzzledpaul]

Imo, this is hardly the thread to explore the 'differences' between these apps - whether talking about toolsets or more subtle stuff like workflow differences. If you wish to start (another) one somewhere, I'm sure you'd get some input :)

However, as regards wings being < very early software > ...

from a chronological pov., wings has been on public release since Oct 2001 (before Silo) and (from a shakedown pov.) in that time there have been 130+ upgrades / releases - both small, maintenance / bugfix ones and those containing significant additional useful content.

This is not to say that improvements cannot still be made (to either / any app) - but the (apparent) fact that a linux version of wings on your pc is causing you problems shouldn't be taken as being the norm for all users - as a user since day one (v0.80), such problems have not been my experience - in spite of (for my sins?) using windows ME on a fairly slow P3 :)

pp

[cszetela]

I agree with puzzledpaul.

I use both Silo and Wings3D.
Silo is a solid modeler with a nice user interface. However, it has some tools missing for better control, like arbitrary axis control, which Wings3D has and Silo does not have. This feature alone, in my opinion, makes Wings3D stronger by a long shot. :)

[dAfTiE]

hi
I'm working on linux, wings3d is free and this is the only reason that I'm using it, wings3d on linux is really bugy, and working with it is really frustrating,
If i only have some money i will buy silo(when they finish linux version) or xsi fundation(amazing software, the best for 500$!)
don't get me wrong I appreciate programers of wings3d but wings is very early software
and i don't know if it has a future

cheers

I've used Wings quite a bit under linux,and never had a problem with it.
Sure,I had some initial problems with my window manager (KDE) using Alt for it's meta key thingie,
but that was annoying for about 4 minutes,and then I simply fixed it.
Never had any OGL problems,and I've actually had more problems using Yafray and wings together under windows.
What kind of bugs are you experiencing?
I'm pretty sure if you post them along with your hardware someone will be able to help you out.

[JamesBPM]

hi
I'm working on linux, wings3d is free and this is the only reason that I'm using it, wings3d on linux is really bugy, and working with it is really frustrating,
If i only have some money i will buy silo(when they finish linux version) or xsi fundation(amazing software, the best for 500$!)
don't get me wrong I appreciate programers of wings3d but wings is very early software
and i don't know if it has a future

cheers


the future is always near ;)

Beyond a UI, there are modeling pricipals, and the tools to enable one to create with deftness... this is what Wings3D offers up for free, or rather do the developers... incredible really.


Just the fact that this little app is what it is, and is there for serious box modeling purposes, is alone, incredible... one up, that it is continually of the leaders in this field is (fill in a word to describe beyond incredible here..._________ )

Bravo to the very dedicated team that makes all of this available to us... :thumbsup:

and, for those of us who simply use this wonderful little app, I would suppose that as much as anything else it is with continual sweat equity, and a pinch of creativity that maketh our dreams come true :D

Keep at it...

[StephanD]

If you're having speed problems running wings3D under Linux try using Blackbox,it takes like 1000% less memory than KDE.

[Manuel Ponce]

I continue to use Wings 3d just simply because, "I Choose to". I know theres better apps as in more control, better UI, Better tools, but I became familiar with the program and just learned it uses and limitations.

[xanatose]

Love the unclutered interface, and the intuitive keys. Overall a fast workflow for modeling.

[Phrenzy84]

simple modeller, tools do exactly what you want to do, great use of tools being able to reference a point on the geometry.

Take a while getting used to but once you do theres no looking back.

[thedaemon]

I continue to use Wings 3d just simply because, "I Choose to". I know theres better apps as in more control, better UI, Better tools, but I became familiar with the program and just learned it uses and limitations.

Bah, wings3d is the best. More control? Yeah, mirai has crazy control, better ui, umm whats a ui and who needs one? Better tools? No way.

[Rezonance]

Simply because Wings3D is fantastic to use, has an interface that does not at all get in the way and has wonderfully responsive generous developers. I still cant believe it is free :beer:

[Sisyphus]

I use it professionally since years. (lol,years have passed...)

Fits my modelling like a glove, wether it's hi res or low polygon modeling.

Fast, comfortable, allows me to concentrate in the model with no distractions.

vectors modelling, and many modelling commands made it for me a life saver in my everyday crazy working environment.

have tried some of the new trend modelers, comercial demos, etc, and by no mean...Nothng seem to be able to fit better in my case.

[Kralle]

I use wings because Im still in Highschool and I dont have money to buy something expensive. Wings 3D is very easy to use for me, because like some say it has a nice rythm with right click/left click. Also when I tried using Lightwave 3D or Studio Max on my cousins computer I didnt really know what to do, there was alot of commands and i got lost easy. I didnt get anywere. I've been using wings3d for along time now maybe about 2-3 years. It doesnt seem that long but I've taught my self alot and using this software encourages me to keep going because everytime I figure out something new I get reminded how much fun it is to learn.

[CyaNn]

Why wings :

The most simple and efficient tool I know
The best viewport I know
The best virtual miror tool I know
The best smooth ID tool I know (hard edge)
The best selection tool set I've ever seen (edge loop, ring grow loop/ring, select between two loop/ring....)
The best tweak tool I know
the best shortcut manager I know

And another I forget....
And nothing mode than modeling tools.... no unusable tools, only what I need to make poly modeling :thumbsup: :love: :love: :love: :love:

[JA-forreal]

Why wings :

The most simple and efficient tool I know
The best viewport I know
The best virtual miror tool I know
The best smooth ID tool I know (hard edge)
The best selection tool set I've ever seen (edge loop, ring grow loop/ring, select between two loop/ring....)
The best tweak tool I know
the best shortcut manager I know

And another I forget....
And nothing mode than modeling tools.... no unusable tools, only what I need to make poly modeling :thumbsup: :love: :love: :love: :love:

It works for me in the same way. I like working from one stable 3d app to another. I won't settle for anything less. Wings 3d complements every 3d software workflow. May it live on and only get better.

[JamesBPM]

man, I thought this was going to end up being the year that I moved on to another modeling app... what, with so many new, and/or redone apps hitting the market... wow, this was going to be a fun year... and it was sort of fun exploring through the different approaches, and though it was some work to config each with hotkey marvynous, in the end it was still wings that won out... amazing really, but non the less this little app is really too much of a good thing to want to move anywhere... way to go you guys :)

[KayosIII]

1) how many of these newer spiffier modelling programs have a linux version - for me that is a deal breaker. No linux version no dice.

2) Price - I am currently not making any money out of my modelling. I still really enjoy modelling (its a meditation for me) - I would quite happily pay for modelling tools (I have done this in past) not having to find the money every upgrade cycle is one less thing I have to find money for.

3) Speed - I can model in wings3d about as fast as I can think. My hands know all the shortcut keys without me having to think about them. Nobody who has seen me working has ever critisised the app.

4) Focus - Wings is very much focused on the one thing and does it extremely well.

5) Bjorn is easy to deal with *three chears*

[KayosIII]

With regards to Wacom support....
What really needs to happen is wacom support needs to somehow be added to libSDL http://www.libsdl.org - this is the library that handles the input for Wings3d. I have looked into this but it seems to be a task beyond my current skills.

With Regards to slowness....
This has to do with idiosyncrasies of the language that WIngs is Written in. Which leads to a large amount of copying of data structures. This is not all bad the same language has allowed the developers to get a much better quality app given the number of people working on the project then they could have hoped for otherwise. I find this quite tolerable as I tend to use Wings to do single models rather than scenes.

With Regards to Crappyness On linux.
Wings3d has run flawlessly on linux for me for a very long time. ( I did have issues a long time back)... I am curious to know what difficulties you are experiencing. Letting people know what Video Card you have in your system would be a good start. (Since this is the most likely culprit).

[CyaNn]

man, I thought this was going to end up being the year that I moved on to another modeling app... what, with so many new, and/or redone apps hitting the market... wow, this was going to be a fun year... and it was sort of fun exploring through the different approaches, and though it was some work to config each with hotkey marvynous, in the end it was still wings that won out... amazing really, but non the less this little app is really too much of a good thing to want to move anywhere... way to go you guys :)


Yes it's my convict too !
I've begun with 3dsmax modeler.... hmmm cool but too long
I've try lightwave.... don't understood everything
I've try wings.... wow.... o_O..... really great.

After that, I've trie some specified 3d modeling apps : modo, silo, and hexagone.....
And I think wings is the faster....
okay okay... silo have topologic painter... cool think.... okay okay with modo you can make pipes, select 1/n etc etc.... (I think it's the only thing wings must have now....)
okay okay with hexagone you cas select directls the points on iso lines.... okay...

But wings is the faster modeler I know.... the smallest, and the best in it's functionnality....

Recently I have the pleasur to test autoUV.... wow... o_O.... :bounce: :bounce:

So the only wings not have, is a good marketing.... :wip: :lightbulb

[puzzledpaul]

<< So the only wings not have, is a good marketing.... >>

Well, in spite of this (or because of it :) ? ) 0.98.29b attracted 50k+ downloads (across all platforms etc).

Since this is not the first time this (d/l figure) has been achieved (/22c), 'word of mouth / grapevine / gossip' etc must be working overtime ....

pp

[arquebus]

<< So the only wings not have, is a good marketing.... >>

Well, in spite of this (or because of it :) ? ) 0.98.29b attracted 50k+ downloads (across all platforms etc).

Or because of it? I think certain members of the wings community have a little too much pride in their bad marketing and have copped a "learn to deal with it" attitude. As an example you host your wings tutorial site on geocities so that people have to constantly minimize the right margin banner ad to view it. I dont mean to sound harsh, but I think that shows a lack of attention to public image.
http://www.geocities.com/paulthepuzzles/aardvarks.html

[JamesBPM]

Ah come on, you guys are way too much concerned in the unimportant side of things... really, who care what the package looks like... um, ok, let me re phrase that a tad... we could always get rid of the whole windows borders top menu's on a hotkey or autohide, now that would be cool... other than that who cares about the packaging... leave that to the powers that be, should this app ever hit the market with a price tag attached, in the mean time just using it has been an extreme pleasure... a big thanks always :)

[puzzledpaul]

<< lack of attention to public image. >>

Hmmmm .. looks like I got it about right, then :)

<< constantly minimize the right margin banner ad ... >>

Oh, dearie me, what a pain that must be for such pple - maybe (instead of visiting said site and becoming annoyed) they should go elsewhere or try doing what everyone had to do 'in the early days' - with zero documentation / tuts etc - and find(work)out for themselves / experiment etc.

At the end of the day, no-one's being forced to visit?

There's nothing to stop you - or anyone else, for that matter - writing their own material and making it available / presenting as they see fit.

From my pov, the more (different) approaches to using wings (and styles / presentation thereof) the better.

... but this thread is about why ppl stick with wings - let's keep it that way - whatever the feelings about minor (imo) superficialities - the d/l figs are still useful indicators, are they not?

pp


edit
<< get rid of the whole windows borders top menu's on a hotkey ... >>
Not new, as requests / ideas go - but it'd still get my vote :)

[DrakeX]

I think in Wings. That pretty much sums it up. I don't think in terms of splines and lathes and polygons; I think in terms of shapes being pushed and pulled into the correct shape.

The interface is the best I've seen in anything. I don't care how customizeable the interface is (modo, anyone?); if it has you clicking all over the place, it's not intuitive. I've become so fast with Wings' almost entirely mouse-driven interface that it's just a stream of clicking and moving. Select, choose tool, use, change view, change mode, move, deselect, select, use tool.. it's so quick. I find myself hitting space in every program to deselect. It doesn't work ;)

The UV tools are .. amazing. I had no idea that it could do that until last night. It has better unwrapping functionality than Ultimate Unwrap 3D, whose namesake is rather poorly chosen, considering the fragmented mess that its unwrap tool creates (though I have the lurking feeling that I'm doing something wrong with it..). Splitting the model into a bunch of charts, each of which can be selected as a whole, makes a ton of sense. I unwrapped my entire minotaur model (see the game art forum) in less than an hour. And that included some little fiddly parts around the ears and horns as well.

If there were anything that I'd change or want in Wings, it'd be more "mass manipulation" commands, like the vertex "deform" commands (though I haven't tried the beta with the "bend" modifier); and animation. Knowing how wonderfully Wings has done everything else, I think animation could be pulled off quite well. Just the huge range of selection and moving/rotating modes alone would make rigging a model so much easier than in other programs. If I could make an entire model from start to finish without ever having to leave Wings, that would be.. indescribable.

Two more things. One, I have never had any speed issues with Wings, except when I was using it when I had a GeForce 2. Of course, everything ran pretty slowly with that card. I can make some really high-poly models with lots of edges and have no slowdown. Two, I'm not sure what use a tablet would be for Wings. Tablets are great for accuracy and mostly drawing things; since there are no splines (a kind of drawing) in Wings, and since accuracy is not much of a concern, I'm not sure why (or indeed how) you'd use a tablet with it. Maybe I'm missing something?

Oh, Wings :)

[puzzledpaul]

<< ... and animation >>

I know little about this topic, but this seems like an excellent start? :)

http://p212.ezboard.com/fnendowingsmiraifrm24.showMessage?topicID=192.topic

<< "bend" modifier >>
Well worth trying, imo - there's some info re this on the site mentioned a few posts above.

<< no splines >>
Whilst correct, there are some ways of creating 2D cross-sections that can be extruded (say) - but not 'along a path', as such.

pp

[KayosIII]

What immediately comes to mind is being able to use tablet pressure to define radius of the magnets in tweek mode - that would be sweet

[DrakeX]

Kayos - that seems like it'd be a bit fiddly. The magnet influence would constantly be changing, as we humans can't hold the pen at the exact same pressure while moving it ;)

PuzzledPaul - that animation plugin looks sweet. I can't wait.

[KayosIII]

Thats right DrakeX the pressure would be changing. This would amount to more expressability which is the point. A skilled human could hold the thing reasonably steady - you just have to make sure the sensitivity is just about right.

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