Must have Software/Plugin recommendations.
polycounter lvl 13
Hey guys, I thought it might be a neat idea for a thread to have people recommend software that helps them work faster, smarter, and better. There are a lot of neat little programs out there that I had no idea about until someone told me about them, so you may find something new to help you out.
Some stuff I would recommend.
xNormal
http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx
For the few people who don't know, xNormal is basically a excellent solution for generating normal/ao maps & more. It's fast and painless.
Digsby
http://www.digsby.com/
A great multi-IM client. For me, I have to use 3 or 4 different IM clients at any given time so this brings it all into 1 lightweight, polished package. Also supports LinkedIN, Facebook, and Email!
Xoliul's 3DS Max Viewport Shader
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/viewportshader
Great game shader for 3ds Max.
Some stuff I would recommend.
xNormal
http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx
For the few people who don't know, xNormal is basically a excellent solution for generating normal/ao maps & more. It's fast and painless.
Digsby
http://www.digsby.com/
A great multi-IM client. For me, I have to use 3 or 4 different IM clients at any given time so this brings it all into 1 lightweight, polished package. Also supports LinkedIN, Facebook, and Email!
Xoliul's 3DS Max Viewport Shader
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/viewportshader
Great game shader for 3ds Max.
Replies
xNormal
AMP Tile Viewer
Crazybump
World Machine
The best real time shaders
The best free editors (UDK, Sandbox, Source, Unity)
etc.
Less than 10% of the stuff in that other thread is actually game art stuff. I'd like to see a "greatest hits" downloads of Technical Talk.
http://www.mentalimages.com/products/mental-mill.html
Well I fell in love with this program a few months back. Node based real time shader development software. I've used it a few times to create exactly the type of shader and control I want. You don't need any programming knowledge, just a bit of computer color theory will get you started.
google chrome
fastest and most screen space efficient browser. And with some plugins installed and synchronized bookmarks it's my internet tool of choice.
notepad++
Best Scientilla based texteditor for windows
max_retopo
Encrypted maxscript that lets you project snap a poly on top of another poly.
xnview
Similar to acdsee, a fast image browser to manage all your image types.
foobar
Professional and cpu saving audio player that can be customized very extensively. If you hate winamp since v 3.0 (when they started with the slow gui) this is the one to go with. Its also the only player that stills play back mp3's when rendering with all cores without issues.
Camstudio
Opensource video capturing app similar to camtasia but without crap.
virtual dub
Opensource video cutter and the damn fastest available ever. Super reduced GUI but powerful abilities to cut and convert your videos. I use it always whenever I need to upload something to youtube or convert a video for presentations.
CrapCleaner
Tool to clean up crap produced by common software. Watch out with the installation though as it tries to install a toolbar and trialware on your computer, so uncheck at the right spots in the setuo.