considering modo and max

[imsof]

while modo is a great modeler. it knda pricy for being just a modeler. silo is cheap but it too is just a modeler. whats wrong with 3d studio for modeling ? do you really need an expensive modeler only prog.?? modo would be “the” number one 3d prorgam if it had a renderer and animation, etc, the way lightwave and maya do. and, if they could incorporate zbrush type utilities it would be unbeatable…

[Nando]

Mandel,

You’ll need to export the mesh from Modo to obj, to get it into Max v7.0
Then once in max you might have to scale it up a bit.
If you do a search on this section of the forums for Max, you’ll see other threads about Modo and max. as for Uv’s also do a search and youll get ur answers.

[leuey]

Not sure how scriptable silo or wings are - but modo is pretty scriptable and I would think that even ‘out of the box’ it should fullfill most of your needs; I’m sure you can customize the hell out of it w/ scripts (sdk isn’t out yet). Modo’s weight maps and morph maps are something to consider for game dev. UV’ing is fine at this point but you may prefer to do it in MAX. I’m sure it will be enhanced.

As far as intangibles Modo is very well supported by Luxology, they have assembled a pretty impressive staff of programmers, seem to have plenty of funding, and you can be sure they’ll be around in the coming years with bigger and better products on the way. Something to keep in mind if you’re going to be investing a number of years into this project.

best,

Greg

[MadMax]

One could make an argument for suggesting Silo or Wings to a hobbyist talking about saving a few bucks.

Making that recommendation for a commercial studio is ludicrous.

[ambient-whisper]

why? theres lots of studios using silo without any problems.

[3dutils]

Hi all,
Our company is considering buying modo for modeling and 3ds max for modeling/animation for a game studio. We only have enough money for a few liscences of max so that’s why modo is attractive for artist’s that only do modeling. My main concern’s about modo is about it’s ability for low poly modeling and laying out uv coordinates. My favorite modeler is lightwave, and my favorite tool for laying out uv’s is 3ds max’s UV unwrap. Can it export and import well from 3d max and back, retaing uv’s. Can modo stand up to this quality or exceed it in either program? Any description of it’s uv tools would be great and low poly tools would be great.
Thanks a lot

Also consider XSI foundation.

[Nando]

you two again???

You guys let the wings 3d/ Silo guys that dont belong in a Modo Forum always get you Riled up!

Enough!!!

Im loosing faith in this Forum…

ambient havent the Lux guys asked you to beta test for them yet, have you given them a email with input for workflow enhancments?

I dont have a problem with SILO or WINGS they are great programs, but this is the MODO Section and lately its being over-run by the muppets.

[imsof]

nando… dont let it bother you man. lol. you know modo is better than those other programs. they are just talking about the cheapness. we all know that you get what you pay for…

[ambient-whisper]

Nando: yeeah i feel ashamed to really start this up again with max, but his comment is just silly, so i couldnt help it.

nando… dont let it bother you man. lol. you know modo is better than those other programs. they are just talking about the cheapness. we all know that you get what you pay for…

i know im defending silo a lot lately. im not a silo evangelist or anything ( i preffer clay myself ). but for example, a few studios got silo for the reason that they can redraw topologies of models without having the need to spend thousands of dollars on software that do similar things. its not only for scans either. any company knows that freelancers can be sometimes troublesome as far as quality of work is concerned. if you need to fix the topology of an entire model, then silo is a pretty good answer for that task. some just like its low profile. its small, clean and has what they need. why spend more than you have to?

[Nando]

ambient-whisper,

LOL, welll yes I almost purchased Silo, and Zbrush it was a fifty, fifty toss heads or tails.

Tails never fails, and I got modo, though i still want Zbrush
Yes i understand the $$ part, so many choices nowadays under a few hundred.

[imsof]

ya zbrush is nice to have. but zbrush is a program that is to be used along side of a prog like modo and maya/lightwave since they all have their niche

[yog]

Long story short.

Yep, Modo works just fine with MAX, including the accurate transfer of UV maps.
I use the OBJ format for the transfer, which is a lot easier and more flexible to use than the LW-OBJ I/O.

Because MAX tends to use a different unit size than just about every other app on the planet, you will have to resize the OBJ object. This can be done in MAX, or I’ve rigged up a script in Modo to do it automatically.

[mandel]

Thanks for all the info

I am not as concerned on the price as I am usability. The reason we are considering modo, is because we can’t afford a dozen seats of max, and most of the artists are only going to be modeling and unwraping uv’s. So compared to 3,500 for max, 700 for modo isn’t that bad. So we are trying to find the best suited alternative. We are considering xsi foundation also but that seems to be cluttered with so much other stuff when all we need is a really good modeler. If we get xsi, the artists may be speding unneeded time playing or sifting through xsi’s other tools and slowing down modeling. Silo and wings do not appear to be as full featured or workflow enhanced as modo, just from reading about them.

[tjnyc]

Thanks for all the info

I am not as concerned on the price as I am usability. The reason we are considering modo, is because we can’t afford a dozen seats of max, and most of the artists are only going to be modeling and unwraping uv’s. So compared to 3,500 for max, 700 for modo isn’t that bad. So we are trying to find the best suited alternative. We are considering xsi foundation also but that seems to be cluttered with so much other stuff when all we need is a really good modeler. If we get xsi, the artists may be speding unneeded time playing or sifting through xsi’s other tools and slowing down modeling. Silo and wings do not appear to be as full featured or workflow enhanced as modo, just from reading about them.

XSI is highly customizable, but rather confusing to setup separate workspace for certain task, but you can customize the UI just for modeling with all and only modeling & UV tools available to your users.

Silo is also customizable, less with UI but has a very simple nice approach when it comes to workflow customization.

Modo has a better layout customization then both, but could use more robusts key and mouse customization in a similiar approach like SILO.

Evaluate on what your needs are and what each tool provide. If you want an all-around good poly modeler, then Modo would probably fit the bill. If you need something more for organic modeling and in combo with ZB, SILO would be a better choice.

If you just need to model low-poly models for games and REALLY good, solid UV tools, then XSI might be what you want. Currently, the UV tools in Modo are not that great, an area that needs alot of improvement, something I know will probably be improved on with the next release.

If you are already set on Modo, you still need to get another app for UVs, maybe you can get a few XSI license or get an app like Blender for their great LSCM UV unwrapping tool. Something to use currently, until the next Modo update which hopefully will have better UV support.

Cheers,

[imsof]

my view is that if yur a 3d company then the cost of the prorams should/must not be anything to pennypinch on. you should be buying all you can to get the jobs done. pennypinching is usualy a sign of a company that thinks small…

[swampthing]

my view is that if yur a 3d company then the cost of the prorams should/must not be anything to pennypinch on. you should be buying all you can to get the jobs done. pennypinching is usualy a sign of a company that thinks small…

Uh ok. Or, and i’m just throwing this nutty concept out there. You can run it up the flag pole and see if anyone salutes…but maybe…it’s a sign of a company that wants to maximize it’s return on investment and actually turn a profit in the shorest amount of time while still maintaining quality?

Nah that couldn’t be it could it.

[lovisx]

for me the only problem I’ve had with forums like this is right off the bat people calling you a troll when you’re just making a statement, otherwise they can be stable productive forums like this one.

It’s when the name calling starts that there’s problems.

[c-g]

it’s a sign of a company that wants to maximize it’s return on investment and actually turn a profit in the shorest amount of time while still maintaining quality?

Nah that couldn’t be it could it.

doubtful…

Fast/Cheap/Good

Pick two.

[mandel]

Actually our point for considering modo instead of more liscences of max, is because the artist’s are only going to be modeling and unwrapping uv’s. It doesn’t make sense to me to pay for all max’s other features when your not going to be using them. And if there is a program that has a better modeling workflow than max (which i’m sure there is, i’d take LW modeler over max’s modeling tools anyday) then it sounds like it could be what we’re looking for.

i agree with the fast/cheap/good
you can only have two

[ambient-whisper]

whats wrong with maxes tools? besides the navigation. whats wrong with the actual tools? you get everything you need, and a lot of scripts you can choose from if you need extra tools. plus really great spline tools ( much more mature and flexible than modos i might add )

you dont need to play with all areas of max at all. just go to expert mode and use the right click menu/hotkeys to do all your modelling.

however max is kinda expensive