CGTalk - maya and file types?

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puddlefish

02-20-2003, 09:15 AM

hey guys,
we're looking into buying in some high end 3d software in work. i'm personally drawn to maya, but there are some concerns that 3dsmax might be better (basically regarding file types) for some of the work we'll be doing (especially previz from cad).

my question how is maya at importing file types other than its own? can it read a MAX file or 3DS? and does it have any way of reading cad files?

i know previz from cad is not what maya is built for, but we're starting to move into tv graphics as well, so in the long run i feel it would be best.

any information, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

stunndman

02-20-2003, 12:35 PM

here's the supported file format list from the doc - maybe that helps - there's a free plugin from AW for importing 3ds files

File extension Filename Description Program used by Platform
.ma
Maya ASCII
Native ASCII file format.
Maya
UNIX & Windows

.mb
Maya Binary
Native binary file format. This is the default file format.
Maya
UNIX & Windows

.mel
MEL
Maya Embedded Language, the scripting language used by Maya.
Maya
UNIX & Windows

.dxf
Drawing Exchange File
Exchanges geometric and drawing information between microCAD systems.
Auto CAD
UNIX & Windows

.geo
ExploreGeo
Geometry files. Can be imported only. Note that blobs, shaders, and groups are not converted
Explore
UNIX only

.obj
object file
ASCII files that define geometry and other object properties.
Advanced Visualizer
UNIX & Windows

.iges
Initial Graphics Exchange Specification
Standard for exchanging geometric information.
CAD systems
UNIX & Windows

.wire
aliasWire
Wire files.
PowerAnimator
UNIX & Windows

audio (various extensions)
audio files such as WAVE and aiff
Audio files for sampling in mono or stereo.
Various
UNIX & Windows

image (various extensions)
Alias, BMP, CINEON, EPS, IFF, GIF, JPEG, Maya, RGB, RLA, SGI&nbsp, SoftImage, 24- or 32-bit Targa, TIFF, XPM, and QuickTime
Image files for textures or image planes.
Various
UNIX & Windows

.avi
AVI
Video for Microsoft Windows
Various
UNIX & Window

.mov
move
An ASCII file that stores the channel data (such as x translate, y translate, and z translate) from a PreView scene file.
PreView
UNIX & Windows

ceql

02-20-2003, 01:16 PM

There's a free .3ds plugin from Alias Wavefront that works ;)

alexx

02-20-2003, 01:34 PM

if your cad program is autocad you will for sure have the least problems with max to render that stuff..
but usually the problems occuring from different file formats can quite easily be solved..
if not: there are a lot of good converters out there.

cheers

alexx

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