Why MAX ??? ;-)

[MGernot]

Maybe this can help:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=19315

[Yourworstnightmare]

Maya is not cheaper the Max it costs almost 6 g's, that's if you want everything Alias can give you with Maya, while Max is just one price and It has everything you'll need, but if you want MR 3.4 and Hairfx and Clothfx you'll have to pay for subscription, but it still less than 6 thousand US. I use Max because I downloaded the PLE of Maya and the interface sucked and it was slow, atleat for me. Then I downloaded the max trial and knew that it was the app for me. That's what you should do, and if you're a student you can get max for only $150 us per year. XSI is very good with many objects and lots of polys but the interface is kind of special, if you know what I mean.

[kabojnk]

Because Max gets you chicks, and free VIP passes to popular night clubs. And Max is made out of pure gold, studded with diamonds and other precious jewels.

[PokeChop]

Max is like puppy kibble. Tasty!

[mlmiller1983]

Hi everybody,
I am new to this forum and quite impressed by the range of skills provided in this forum... I am familiar to shake and after effects (Most done for Broadcast Design) and wanna switch from Maxon to a more powerful 3D Application. SO HERE FINALLY COMES MY QUESTION ;-)

Most renderings are done in MAX (Scanline, Mental Ray, Vray, Brazil) and also the moddeling part... Why MAX and not Maya which is quite cheaper, or maybe XSI (but i just wanna decide between MAX and Maya ;-)

Thanks in advance, answers from this forum will help me much:applause:, i am sure ;-)

^*"Angry"*^

I think where 3DS Max shines now is it integration with Character Studio. I wouldn't stick to just one 3D app. I own 2, Lightwave and Cinema 4D along with Modo. Just remember no 3D app is perfect and each has their strenghts and weaknesses.

If I had the money I would probably go with 3DS Max probably because of character studio and it can be used for just about everything from visual effects to games and animation. Until then I am very happy with Cinema 4D and Lightwave.

[Toxic Frog]

For game development, Max is by far the best all-around package. Maya still wins for animation, but not by a large enough margin to make it the game dev package of choice. If you can only use one package for game development, Max is hands-down the one to choose. They've really listened to game developers over the last few years, and each release of Max from 6 on has been ridiculously cool from a game dev's perspective.

[kabojnk]

For game development, Max is by far the best all-around package. Maya still wins for animation, but not by a large enough margin to make it the game dev package of choice. If you can only use one package for game development, Max is hands-down the one to choose. They've really listened to game developers over the last few years, and each release of Max from 6 on has been ridiculously cool from a game dev's perspective.

I completely agree with the stuff about Max catering itself with game developers. Even the release of Gmax free, strictly for game editing is a lot more useful than Maya learning-edition when doing that kind of stuff.

However, I am currently learning Maya--though I was raised an orthodox 3dsmax user, but I've finally decided to take the plunge into learning Maya and I have to say that its modeling tools are far more intuitive than that of Max, as well as in the initial UI and keyboard setup. I haven't touched on animation yet, but I've had no problem believing it when major studios give Maya such large acclaim. And I know Character Studio is nice, but rigging in Max is tantamount to pain in its purest form.

But, I still think Max's material editor is much easier to use than Maya's, though I think Maya's stuff is probably a bit more accurate shaderwise. The part of Maya that compares poorly to Max though, in my honest opinion, is the Mental Ray renderer. Max's version seems to be much better, doing the standalone renderer the most justice.

Oh, and one more thing I love about Maya is MEL scripts... I love how basic the language can be. I have a background in several programming languages--and while I can easily adapt C/C++ knowledge towards making maxscripts, I think it's a bit much... kind of like POVRay, and I'm sure several people do have the patience to work with such languages with delight, but I try to avoid complicating things with complex scripting languages.

Still for what it's worth, even though I am sounding very pro-Maya at the end of this I still have to say that I feel most comfortable using Max, and it is a better all-around package, imho. Plus, I don't know if the statistic still stands, but last I heard Max had far more individual users than any other piece of serious 3D software. I could be wrong though, given Alias' strides towards making Maya more mainstream, relinquishing its past of being utilized only by the hardcore artists who had to endure using IRIX.

Now I just wished that ZBrush and Max were on speaking terms. Nobody should have to export to OBJ in Max to edit it in ZBrush. :\

</pointless rant>

[Angryman]

First thank you all (especially thanks to the admin who didnt erase my "stupid" first post ;-) and second to all the people who answered...
I did a little more research and also tried all the programs demos and Learning Editions...
So i must say, it seems Max is the choice, can´t cope with the GUI of XSI... Maya hmm i dont know... and Max itself... Yes... i am far away of beeing an professional but "I LEARN ;-" Lots of tutorials out there. Only the Material assignment/settings/etc. of MAX horrible but i will cope with that after a bit learning... at least i hope to ,-)
SO NICE WEEKEND EVERYBODY... I'll give myself a coffee... and will try to model this **** chair the third time in MAX maybe this time it will end in a suitable result LOL

##################### Yours Angry :D



Maya is not cheaper the Max it costs almost 6 g's, that's if you want everything Alias can give you with Maya, while Max is just one price and It has everything you'll need

--> Interesting argument, will check this especially for my personal needs !!!

Because Max gets you chicks, and free VIP passes to popular night clubs. And Max is made out of pure gold, studded with diamonds and other precious jewels.

--> ;-) ^^ LOL... You seem to be a fan of MAX

Max is like puppy kibble. Tasty!

--> You too ;-)

...I own 2, Lightwave and Cinema 4D...

--> The Lightwave Modeler is great (fast)... and "SORRY" Cinema is **** (Or did u ever ever see a real great Rendering coming out of Cinema...???)

But, I still think Max's material editor is much easier to use than Maya's,

--> Can it even be more complicated, than in MAX ;-)

[The_Blue_Wizard]

All the top 3d apps, Lightwave, 3ds Max, Maya. All have the same capabilities. But it all depends on your personal choice. Like i prefer Max over the other two because of the interface. WHich is a big thing, since my school would have loaned me a copy of Maya Unlimited for 3 yrs, free of charge.

[DoubleSupercool]

Because Max gets you chicks, and free VIP passes to popular night clubs. And Max is made out of pure gold, studded with diamonds and other precious jewels.

That's the full version. Student version gets you "cyber", a voucher for a pint down the pub, is made out of plaster and is studded with cubic zirconia. But you can upgrade, which is nice.

Realistically, if you are a student, all the student versions are cheap so go with one you like or that is used more in industry in your country. They all have free/trial versions to check out.

[pit]

What exactly do you mean by a more powerfull 3d app? Maybe you could clearify what you intend to use your 3d app for. By the sound of it you haven´t explored your current software as deep as you could.
I honestly think you haven´t realized the signs of the times. XSI and C4D develop faster than any other 3d app out there and the dinosaurs are suffering from aged code. Concerning Maya: it was never intended to be a one-artist-solution. And the question, why Max?, is easily answered from another point of view: it has the largest userbase and the largest number of cracked copies floating about.
Flame away.

[thorn3d]

Hi everybody,
I am new to this forum and quite impressed by the range of skills provided in this forum... I am familiar to shake and after effects (Most done for Broadcast Design) and wanna switch from Maxon to a more powerful 3D Application. SO HERE FINALLY COMES MY QUESTION ;-)


If you're doing broadcast design, you're already using the best 3D for that purpose. C4D is much better suited for broadcast than 3dsmax. If you're finding something lacking in C4D - in that segment of 3D - then it's more likely a lack of understanding in how to get the most out of C4D, than needing a new application.

And for the record, i use both programs. Max has a lot of advatages, but broadcast isn't one of them.

thorn

[]-UnderTOW-[]

I started 3d in max, and I now use max on a daily basis and from my experience, it's the most overrated 3d software i've ever used. Animating in max is like inserting a porcupine up a bear's arse. So much of the old legacy features still seep through the new features and is just a broken program. It needs to be totally rewritten from the ground up to save it, but since that looks like that wont happen so take a good look at Maya or XSI. For what it offers and for the price, XSI is a very very good program. I personally prefer Maya because of it's UI (every single menu is unified using the same controls and the same shortcuts, and it's so easy and fast to use) and its solitly, built with no conflicting legacy code (everything was built in MEL script from the start).

[thorn3d]

BTW -

Dont be fooled by pricing by *any* of the companies. Price has ZERO relationship to what these applictions can do. XSI, Maya, Max, and C4D are all good programs in their own way. Choose your next app (if any) based on what it can do FOR you. What it costs, has absolutely NO bearing on it's power. The fact that max is more expensive and has more seats than C4D, XSI, and Maya doenst mean it's better at everything.

thorn

[Angryman]

If you're doing broadcast design, you're already using the best 3D for that purpose. C4D is much better suited for broadcast than 3dsmax.

I really really know, how to get out the maximum of C4d... But even then i would prefer Lightwave... But as i said... I want to get the maximum out of my renderings... And so C4D isn´t the choice...

C4D Is fast in building small Scenes, i won´t throw it away ^^ But i need better picture quality... and therefore i am not satisfied with C4D... And by the way... Most people i know in the Broadcast Industry use Lightwave (Mostly because its very fast to accomplish things...) Especially for the News (Sometimes u just got 2hrs to model, animate, render)

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