An
Amateur’s 3D Software Review
Let me qualify this review by saying I am a GUI addict. I
can “tweak” in code, but for the most part I am a WSYWG type of person. Also, I
am the rankest of amateurs when it comes to 3D modeling. It is a hobby for me. I have had the opportunity, however, to play with a fair number of programs
and I thought I would give an amateur’s opinion on them. My preferred medium
is how they can be used for VRML so this will color the way I review them.
The first thing I discovered is that there A LOT of programs out there.
They range in the price range from free to ridiculous. I’ll start with
the free ones and work my way up. I will stop below $500 USD because after
all, I’m doing this as a HOBBY! Also because I kind of feel like using
some of the four to five figure programs, cost wise, is like hitting a
finishing nail with a sledgehammer! I have seen astounding things done
with the free stuff.
I should note here that I knew NOTHING about modeling before
I started on this hobby thing, and have been at it about 2 years on off hours
at night and some weekends,, so you are really getting an rookie’s point of
view.
Warning Warning Warning
A little advice here… Some of these programs ceased
development at Windows 98 or 2000 which might make them “XP unfriendly”. Some
will cause XP to launch the dreaded NT Virtual Dos Machine (NTVDM) in your
processes, and your PC will slow to a crawl. And I mean a CRAWL! If this
happens you can go to your Task Manager and go to the Processes Tab and look
for NTVDM and/or WOW.exe. You will have to end these processes. The best thing
to do is to read the specs on the software carefully and avoid the really older
stuff. J I will mention this again as I move along as this is important if you are not an experimenter like me when it comes to your computer and files..Also, pay attention to the system requirements. Free doesn’t mean easy on the old processor and ram. I tried running some of this stuff on a 1gz Pentuim with 256 of ram and had bad luck with some of it. I’m now running an AMD 3700+ 64 and still run into stuff that will pack it up. Be careful. Microsoft says you can run XP on as
little as 64MB of ram. HAH!!! 128MB of ram is barely enough! You should have at least 256MB of ram and I recommend 512 if you want to run anything else that takes power. I run a Gig. You need to consider your graphics card too. The ones that come on board with the motherboard usually aren’t very good for this and they tend to get their ram from the system ram, meaning that if you have 256MB of ram and the card claims to have 128MB of ram, guess where it is getting it’s ram from? You guessed it! You are effectively have 128MB instead of 256 to run your system.
All that being said, let us get on to the software.
FREE Modelers:
Blender
I love this program! There is something about the look and feel of it that
keeps me coming back. I am still working on how to master it, but it is
very powerful. The interface is awkward and the learning curve for me is
steep. I feel, however, that there isn’t much you cannot do once it is
mastered. There are also very good sites & message boards that you
can get tutorials and advice from. Worth the effort IMHO. Will export in
most of the common formats including VRML and imports a lot of different
formats, and plug-ins are being written as we speak to expand its capabilities.
The best part of all this is that it is FREE and open source. Go to http://www.blender3d.com/cms/Home.2.0.html.
Wings
Another great FREE modeler. It amazes me that, considering the cost of
some of these programs, some of the the free ones are so good. It is based
on Nendo and Marai by IZWare. I have Nendo so it was semi familiar to me.
Wings is also open source which means it is being developed by the users.
That is one of the thing’s I like about this genre of software. It is an
honest way of doing things. The truth is, Microsoft and the rest do the
same thing, but they charge you lots of money and claim they do all the
work. Anyway, sorry, back to Wings. It will import Nendo (.NDO) *of course.
3D studio (.3DS), Wavefront (.obj), and even Adobe Illustrator (.AI). It
will export in the above, except Illustrator, plus VRML (.wrl), and Renderware
(.rwx). It has a fairly good user manual and some good tutorials. There
is a development forum. I strongly encourage using these resources with
these programs. You can check it out at http://www.wings3d.com/.
Modeler
It’s name says what it does. It has a
default 4 window interface. Good for low poly modeling. Used for Renderware
(.RWX) files, used in Active Worlds and it’s affiliated sites. Only saves in
.RWX but can be converted with programs like Accutrans (more about that later).
Not really intuitive but could be useful with practice. Not sure where I found
it though. Google it if you are really curious.
Anim8or
Another amazing modeler. This one will
animate, make models from scratch, and modify existing models. It will import
3D Studio (.3DS), Lightwave (.LWO), Wavefront (.OBJ), and it’s own (.an8). It
Exports 3D Studio, Wavefront, and some others but not VRML. A conversion
program is recommended for this one as it is powerful enough to warrant a look
at. Go to http://www.anim8or.com/main/
DeleD
This is an interesting program. It is more focused on the gamers. It is a good modeler and comes with a pile of pre-made models along with downloadable model packs
and plug-ins. There is a free version and a pay version. I list it here
in the free category because the free version is fully functional. It doesn’t
save to VRML but it does save to obj & Direct X. Worth a look, go to
http://www.delgine.com
DAZ Studio
This is a beautiful looking poser-like piece of software and it is full
of features. As I said, it is like Poser, it is Poser friendle, in fact,
that is the main type of file it works with. It will import and export
to wavefront (obj), so it’s files are useful in other programs.
Which leads me to an FYI moment.
Look for software that imports/exports to common (widely used) file types.
The ones that come to mind for me being 3D Studio (.3ds), and wavefront
(.obj). These are likely to be the best platform to use to go from one
program to another. Some of the cheaper and free software tend to save
to a proprietary file type that is virtually useless anywhere else, or
to a image file only. Again, please bear in mind that I am writing this
for the inexperienced or virtual newbie to this world of creating in the
3rd dimension.
There are a lot of these free programs out there, such as:
Hamma Patch
sPatch
Terragen (for terrain)
Aztec
Art of Illusion
4D Blue
Behemot
Also you can get a free version of Caligari’s Truespace, Version 3.2, that is fully functional for free. No strings attached.
There are also learning versions of some commercial programs like Maya and Softimage XSI, but they are limited in how they save or export and the results that you can save are watermarked. Also they can be HUGE resource hogs if your computer is weak.
There are also free versions of commercial programs like AC3D, 3D Canvas. These are limited in features and you have to pay if you want the extra features. I will cover some of these next.
A great place to start on this software journey is 3DLinks.com.
Just bear in mind that “FREE” has its downside. Some of these programs are still in beta and a few might still be in alpha. Some have been dropped due to their developers moving on. Some will be glitchy in Windows XP. Also, how many different ones do you need? I’m a software junkie, I get a perverse kick out of playing and trying out software. I’ve also re-formatted my PC more times more I care to remember. And, I am MS certified so it might be less of a problem for me to keep re-inventing the wheel than the average user. If you like your machine the way it is, choose carefully, go to the message boards, and basically get as much info as you can about the program. Windows tends to be a bit messy about adding & removing software and you can end up with a lot of garbage in your registry.
Low Cost Modelers
Easymodel
This one’s a curious little program. I downloaded it, played with it a
little bit, and then left it alone. It does some fun things, has premade
models & landscapes that you can play with, but the interface is not
very friendly and it seems to just quit working sometimes. It will save
to VRML and that is a plus in my book as it keeps the color and some textures.
Some tutorials and help. I kind of feel that this program has some untapped
potential, but I haven’t been able to get back to recently. If someone
else has, let me know. Does build cool buildings. Worth $35 USD though.
J
Find it at http://www.jthesing.com/easymodel/easymain.htm
AC3D
OK, this one is really worth the money! And I mean really. The interface
is intuitive, the learning curve is shallow, it imports/exports to 3D Studio,
Lightwave, DXF, VRML 1 and 2, Direct X, Wavefront, etc, etc. You can hand
draw polys and then lathe them into shapes. You can smooth objects, assign
textures and map them. I have not tapped all the features that this program
will do. And all for the whopping cost of $59.95 USD! If you can find a
better program out there for the money, be my guest. You can get the details
at http://www.ac3d.org
3D Canvas
This program is offered in three flavors, but the free version is limited.
By that I mean the import/export choices are limited. Tools like boolian,
terrain tools, etc are not there. The interface is kind of weird but it
draws me back more often than oI’d like to admit ( I wish I could settle
down to one or two programs, but I’m a software junkie). There are 2 levels
of pay for this program. One is $34.95 USD, and the other is $69.95 USD.
Don’t bother with the cheaper version, if you’re going to do it, get the
$69.95 version as it has all the bells and whistles. Go to http://www.amabilis.com and check it out
Milkshape
This is a great low-poly modeler. It is more focused on the gaming world, but us VRML junkies can benefit from it too. It’s import/export features are too many to list here, which makes it a great file conversion tool. It does most of the common ones and VRML 1 & 2. I just started playing with it and already I can see it’s uses. Being a low poly modeler it won’t create huge monster files. It also has a pretty good landscape tool. Great support, good forum and decent tutorials. What else can you ask for, for a measly $32.19 USD. Go check it out at http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/index.html
Nendo
I mentioned Nendo when I was writing about Wings, that’s because Wings
is based on this program. It is a good, stable polygon modeler and has
texture capabilities. You can also paint on textures with brush tools.
It is a little strange at first but you can get used to it pretty quick.
It imports and exports Wavefront (.obj), Direct X (.x), 3D Studio (.3DS),
AND VRML 2 (.wrl)! Well worth the $49.00 UDS you spend on it. Go to http://www.izware.com/nendo and check it
out.
Interestingly enough, all these programs will meet your needs in modeling for VRML. And, the price on them all is right as compared to the programs I will list later. But you have probably heard of the EXPENSIVE ones and NOT some or all of these.
Silo
This program feels a lot like Nendo. It is a subdivision surface modeler. I have not had time to really delve into all it’s features but it supports texture mapping. It does not export to VRML but don’t let this deter you.. You can use a converter for your models. These programs can trip you up because of their great smoothing functions. Remember, more polys, BIGGER files! Anyway, It is a program that is evolving as I write this. It is in version 1.42 and they are announcing the coming of a version 2.0. It promises to have an interesting “displacement painting” feature where you can literally paint on details on the surface of the model. I don’t mean color or textures, I mean displacing the polys! Kind of reminds me of Amorphium, which has a “wax” and “tin” function that allows you to do something similar. At $109 USD and considering where the developers plan on going with it, it might be worth the money and more. Decide for yourself by going to http://www.nevercenter.com.
Truespace
I will probably mention this program in a
couple of categories because of it’s pricing range. The newest version, 7, is
$595 USD. But, you can get an older version from Calagari for a lot less.
Version 5.2 is $199 USD. For a program that is in the big league when it comes
to 3D, it is a good bargain! And as I mentioned above, you can get version 3.2
with NO limitations on for $0, as in FREE! One of the first programs I played
with and still fun to dig out from time to time.
Midrange
Cost Modelers
Hexagon
Anyone who is familiar with Bryce,
Carrara
Another Eovia product, will model animate and render. I think they would
like for you to use Hex or Amapi for modeling and go to
High Cost Modelers
Rhinoceros
This is a nurbs modeler. I am still trying to
learn to work with them. If you want a really technical description, go to http://www.rhino3d.com/nurbs.htm
and read it. My eyes glazed over halfway through. As I said, I tend to work
with what I see and not worry about the terminology. Probably a bad habit, and
I hope to get better. You can do some fantastic things with nurbs and with this
program. Needs a renderer, unless you purchase Flamingo with it. They sell a
“bundle package” for the reasonable price of $1,595,00 USD. You can purchase
Rhino alone for $895 USD. Pricey for a hobby. I know some people who use Rhino
for work in with VRML as an end product and it is good stuff.
Cinema 4D
Basically a polygon modeler, but with hypernurbs for smoothing. This program
is very good. A few things I like about it. Intuitive texturing, easily
assigned texture files, the ability to deal with a impressive amount of
3D model types including VRML 1 & 2. It will export to these also.
A LOT of tools. Not a very good support base though, IMHO, and not a lot
of tutorials. So noobs like me have to spend too much time feeling their
way through (I am not a follower of the RTFM crowd). Has it’s own renderer
so you can immediately see how much you have messed things up J! Not Cheap. About $695 for the basic program, the
bundle with all the bells & whistles will set you back just short of 3
Grand!
Word of warning!!! With 1 and 2 and all those following, you will need a strong machine. Good processor and a lot of ram! The more ram the better. Also a decent processor as this stuff needs a lot of math power!
As I said previously, I am listing programs that I have had personal experience with, so if I leave some out, it is because I have not used it. I hope to put up a message board, (Yes, yet another one) so people can talk about their personal favorites.
Discreet 3D Studio Max
As I said earlier, some of the biggies everyone has heard of. This is one of them. This one does it all. Imports and exports VRML. Textures, animates, models, etc, etc, etc. Check out Tidus’s worlds if you want to see what it can do in VRML. It was the 2nd program I ever tried
to do 3D in, (Ray Dream Studio being the first) and I would launch it and stare
at the interface without quite knowing where to start. That was version 3 and
it has come a long way since then. That being said, version 3 is STILL very
powerful and I kind of like the tool layout better! I have just recently gotten
back into it. I found that using the simpler modelers taught me more and now I
can do more in a proggy that begs to be used hard. Not as hard on the old box as
some of the other high end stuff, but I wouldn’t recommend it for your old 98
machine, unless it’s on steroids! The higher end programs are to me also less
intuitive. SO a little practice and maybe even a class :-0 at your local
community college (yes, some of them do offer these kind of classes) would help
tremendously. If you are masochistic like me, go ahead and wade right in raw.
Will give you hours of fun-filled frustration. OK, here’s the zinger. This baby
will set you back just under $3,500.00 USD!!! Worth the price? Definitely!
Realistic if you are not getting paid for your 3D fun? No way! Of course you
can always try to get your software pirating buddy to find you a copy of these
programs, but I am not going to endorse or get into a discussion of the ethics
of warez here J
Poser $250
(don’t you just love it when they say $249.99)
Lightwave 3D ($395.00)
Shade 8 ($799.99)
Form Z Radiosity (Around $839.00)
Maya (Really Expensive, Maya Unlimited runs $6,999.00)
This is Industrial strength software.
And so on…
VRML Specific
Seamless:
I’m still learning to use Seamless. It is such a great little program that it is like a good book that you try to put down, but keep picking back up because it’s sooo damn cool. I really cannot praise Thyme (Seamless’s Author and creator) enough for the effort he puts into making a free program dedicated pretty much solely to VRML. I like the look and feel of the worlds you can create with it. Thyme provides a great forum and good tutorials for it. If you don’t understand why I’m so impressed with Thyme and Seamless, go out write a 3D modeling and authoring program., give it away free, AND actively support and give advice on how to use it!!! To get it and see the great things you can do with it, go to http://www.seamless3d.com/
Spazz/Vizx 3D
The best! This program was created specifically for VRML and X3d. It used
to be Spazz and then evolved. I created my first world with Spazz. Both
Spazz and VizX are excellent and I like the fact that they are dedicated
to VRML (and X3D). They are intuitive and fairly easy to get started in,
even for a novice (Me, remember?). I found them to be a little processor
heavy but then I usually run 2 or 3 programs at a time. Best to check out
the system requirements ahead of time. Spazz has been dropped for VizX
. VizX is available for $299 USD. Not bad when compared to the price of
other 3D programs that aren’t VRML friendly. Go to http://www.vizx3d.com/
Dune/White Dune
This one is a good program but I didn’t find very intuitive and I think it would be more useful to a more experienced dabbler than myself. I had trouble getting the Windows version to run properly. I see a lot of possibilities with this program and will probably try it again now that I understand the VRML concept a little better. It is free though, so no harm in trying it out. Take a look at it at http://www.csv.ica.uni-stuttgart.de/vrml/dune/
MJB World
Another Free program and also kind of difficult. It could be because it is written in Java. I find Java programs to be interesting, but some seem to be piggish on resources. I will try this one again in the future and see if I can get it to run right on my PC. Stay Tuned or go to www.euclideanspace.com
I
Internet Space Builder
Parallel Graphics has a suite of software for
VRML. My 2 favorites are Internet Space builder and VRML Pad. Internet Space
Builder (ISB) is an easy to understand and use program. It comes with textures
and some premade items. You can import 3DS (Max), and DXF (Auto Cad). You can
incorporate sounds, adjust an animate textures, a “drag & drop” interface.
And it will publish your work directly to the web in an optimized format. There
is a free version that is limited in file size or a registered version for
$78.95 USD. Go for the registered version, you will get tired of the nagging
about size in the free version.
VRML Pad
OK, this is the real deal. Not for the noob. It is for coders. It will
do just about anything you need in VRML. I have trouble wrapping my head
around it except for tweaking the code. I am very graphically oriented
so this one’s difficult for me. Probably why I keep going back to it. It
is a challenge. If you are comfortable in code, (and I know a lot of people
who are), get it. Be ready to pony up about $150 USD. If you are really
broke and really want to work in code & don’t want to fool with notepad,
go to a place like sourceforge and download Emacs. It is a truly awesome
all around coding program and it is free. It WON’T be as VRML friendly
though. I did my first code tweaks in it & it works well.
Parallel
Graphics also makes Cortona (A free VRML Viewer) and Internet Scene Assembler
(About $750 USD). You can check the all out at http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products
Aesthetic Solutions World Visions.
Comes with quite a few pre-loaded components. It is a strange program, you have to convert your VRML models to a format the program can use so you can then save your project to VRML. Sound confusing? It is the first few times. Their site is up but I don’t think much is going on now. The latest version is Windows 95 and NT compatible. Hmmm, maybe it’s defunct? Any way, you can DL the software at http://www.aesthetic.com/home_frame/home_frame.htm and give it a try. This almost qualifies as abandonware, but it is too easy to find. More about abandonware later
PS: I don’t think the trial version expires.
There are some other programs out there that seem to be VRML Specific but I haven’t tried them or tried them very little. If someone has tried them, let me know.
There are:
VRML Magic by Scintillating Graphics.
Looks feature rich and it might have a lot of possibilities. I would like
to see screenshots of this. Check it out at http://www.scintillatinggraphics.com.au/VRMLmagic
Site Sculptor by Sculptware.
Their site makes a lot of claims about what this software will do. I downloaded the demo and am still trying to understand it J!
Again, not intuitive and even downright frustrating. I hope some one else has
tried it. I don’t know if this site is still valid. It is offered on special
for $399 as of April 30, 1999! The demo says I have 45 days left everytime I
launch it, so I am still waiting to see if it really expires. Take a look at it
at http://www.sculptware.com/core/f1.htm
There is also Axel by Mind Avenue, and Wirefusion by Demicron, but these and others get less & less VRML Specific.
Converters
You will need a good 3D file converter for these programs so you can utilize the different file types out there. Here are a few
.
Crossroads This program will convert 3D Studio (.3ds), AutoCAD (.dxf), POVRay, RAW Triangle, TrueSpace (.cob), VRML 1.0, Wavefront (.obj) and WorldToolkit (.nff). However, it cannot currently read a VRML 2.0 file. Go to Ziek’s site or Google it.
Accutrans This is the one I use. Probably the best $20 spent. It will convert darn near anything! You can also model with it but I haven’t tried much of that. I use it mainly for it’s excellent conversion ability. Get it at http://www.micromouse.ca/
Milkshape 3D I mentioned this one earlier as a low cost modeler, but this is also excellent as a conversion program. It will give you the ability to incorporate game models and all kinds of stuff into your world building. It is also a pretty good modeler. You can find it at http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/
Poly Trans Another excellent converter. I have used it but don’t have it because of the cost. It will set you back about $395 USD. But, it will one heck of alot of files. Go to http://www.okino.com
Deep Exploration This one is a file viewer and converter. It will view over 120 graphic and 3D files. It will look into Zip and RAR files without unpacking them. The list of files it will convert & deal with is too long to include here. Go to http://www.righthemisphere.com/products/dexp/ and check the list. This one I do use as it is cheaper, $149 USD, and it is a great way to manage your content.
Abandon Ware
I wanted to end this diatribe with a few “Gems” I have managed to find out there in the world of discontinued & abandoned software. This is where the company either sells the product to another company or simply drops it all together. In these cases, mostly legacy games, they are termed abandonware. This is not to mean they should be considered free if found, at least according to their authoring companies. Guess that would mean if the company found out that you had that 5 year old version of Ray Dream 3D, they would have to reform to charge you for it. Or the company that bought the program & shelved it would want to charge you. Hmmmmm.
Here are a few gems that I have discovered:
Simply 3D by Micrografix: This is a neat little program. It comes with a lot of good pre-made models and has an easy (as in “Simply”) interface. It has it’s own primitives and has a pretty good and fairly easy morphing tool. You can bend, twist and change things pretty easily. It will export to VRML 2.0 and even creats AVIs and animated gif files. It has a load of textures and exports the whole shebang, textures & all. It is no longer made and no longer supported, but it works pretty well as it is. It also has a good animation interface with a lot of pre-made animations. All in all a pretty cool program, especially if you are new and/or inexperienced at this modeling stuff. Well worth a look and the search is enlightening & kind of fun.
Cosmo Worlds by Silicon Graphics. The VRML world is a lesser place for losing this little pearl, IMHO.
This is a great program. Has Pre-made wrl files, textures, and backgrounds. You
can model, import models assemble your world, animate it and publish it in a
neat gzipped package. Take a look at “
Raydream 3D Probably the first program I ever used, back in about 1996. I was using it mainly for creating graphics for ads, letter effects and such. Was very intuitive and fairly easy to use. It also came bundled with Corel Graphic Suites at the time. Was called Corel Extreme 3D in that version. If you look around the web long enough, you can sometimes find it and the other software. Interesting to play around with Also exports to VRML. Big files though.
Platinum VR Creator Another older VRML Program. It shares a history with Cosmo Worlds. Has a lot of features and an expert mode. You can animate, light texture, etc. Unfortunately the only copy I can find anymore is the “Learning Version”, so the modeler that is included doesn’t work and the size of the worlds saved is limited. It is worth a look at though, especially if you are just learning to build. Go to http://www.pacranch.com/vrmlresources/indextools.html
There are also models, etc. It is a great refrence site.
That’s it for the reviews. Don’t shoot the messenger. As I said in the beginning, I am not an expert at this stuff by any means, but I do enjoy it an dthought it would help some of the people like me who are learning as we go. I also wanted to get some of this info into one place so people wouldn’t have to surf all over to find it. I am putting up a message board in the near future so people will have a place to share info, discuss and trade ideas on these programs or on VRML in general, so stayed tuned.