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Brand new studio: Maya LT?

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derphouse polycounter lvl 4
So we are a brand new (and very small) game studio, and we are interested in getting a Maya license. However, as of now, our resources are very limited. So we were looking into Maya LT as an alternative until we get some revenue going.

Basically our development is going to be very focused on the animations, but as far as I can see in comparing Maya with Maya LT, quite some of the animation tools are not included, but to be honest, I'm not sure if we have such strong requirements for our first title.

I guess what I'm asking is whether anyone with experience could give me an idea of what pitfalls there might be, by using LT?

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  • RyanB
    derphouse wrote: »
    I guess what I'm asking is whether anyone with experience could give me an idea of what pitfalls there might be, by using LT?

    You would have to be specific about what your game requires for info on rigging, scripting, poly limits, etc.
  • passerby
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    passerby polycounter lvl 12
    I would not recommend Maya lt even for a small studio, they limited too much and it is hard to build a efficient pipeline around Maya lt.

    Just pay the $150/month sub for the real thing.
  • Veezen
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    Veezen polycounter lvl 9
    If you really have low resources you should take a look on Blender, seriously. It's really powerful software, and for game art one of the best. I use Blender since ~5 years and 3DS Max about 2 years and I still like more Blender than 3DS Max in way how this software works in modeling. It's more complicated for beginners than 3DS Max or Maya (because of all these options hidden behind shortcuts), but it's quite easy to learn if you have some abilities in 3D modeling software.

    You can find a lot of great support from community (Blenderartists), a lot of great free/cheap plugins to use in commercial work which speed up your workflow, a lot of updates adding more and more features which expanding power of this software.

    Sometimes I use Blender in job (where everybody use 3DS Max :( ) and when I use proper workflow, I don't have problem exporting models and importing them in Unity or UE4 for personal work/learning.
  • derphouse
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    derphouse polycounter lvl 4
    @RyanB: Yes I suppose you're right, and that might be part of the problem at the current time, as we haven't reached a point where we can specify all of our requirements yet. Will try to get some specifics.

    @Veezen: I agree, Blender is an awesome piece of software, and it has been considered as well. I have been working with Blender the last two years, also making a transition from Max, and I was amazed at how fast I was suddenly working. I don't doubt Blender's modelling skills, but I am unsure whether it is a good enough tool for animation? I have done pretty much only keyframe animations in Blender, that were fairly simple, and with simple rigs as well. As I mentioned we do not have specific requirements yet, but I would hate to limit us based on the software.

    Another thing we are also taking into consideration, is the fact that we have The Animation Workshop nearby, which is an amazing school for artists, and we would like to make ready with an industry tool like Maya, since we could be hiring from that school. And since I'm the sole artist on the project at the moment, if my responsibilities change, or I suddenly decide to bail on the whole thing(Not an expectation, more a precaution), a new artist would make an easier and faster transition into the project if they know the tools, I would assume,
  • dongyfeng
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    dongyfeng polycounter lvl 6
    If you're a freelance, software cost does matter. If you plan to hire someone else, software cost is just a fraction of human cost.
  • JedTheKrampus
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    JedTheKrampus polycounter lvl 8
    Blender has some pretty nifty rigging and animation features. Not better than Maya's but certainly much more flexible than Maya LT's, possibly better than Modo's too since it has NLAs and layering. Blender has bendy/stretchy IK, spline IK, constant volume constraint, mesh cage deformer like Pixar used to use back in the day for super stretchy characters, etc. Not all of this will necessarily translate to the engine (like lattice deformers and mesh deformers) but anything that uses bones or morph targets goes over fine. Since you have access to Python scripting you can make any rig you like and any supporting scripts that might be necessary, unlike Maya LT where you have to only use HumanIK and spline IK. And a custom rig UI is pretty easy to make too if that's necessary. With the threaded depsgraph update coming soon Blender is an even stronger contender animation-wise.

    If you want to see some examples of good Blender rigs you can sometimes find stuff like the Quadbot from Tears of Steel or Sintel from Durian lying around the internet.

    One thing in particular that I like about animating in Blender is that it has a mostly good implementation of exporting multiple actions from one file to one .fbx that contains all the animations. I think the whole "one animation per file" thing can get a little messy if you deal with a lot of them, so having a DCC that supports multiple FBX animstacks that can model as well is pretty nice. Just remember to click F and you're golden. (Seriously, it's not that hard to do, although I do look forward to the day that it's not necessary.)
  • derphouse
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    derphouse polycounter lvl 4
    @JedTheKrampus: Thanks for the info! Yes I did find it nice and tidy to handle different animations from Blender to Unity at the time I tried. I will look more into it, and perhaps it will be a temporary solution until we feel comfortable to get Maya.
  • Dataday
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    Dataday polycounter lvl 8
    Modo's really been taking off as well. Its almost perfect for small studios and indies. Worth consideration.
  • Deathstick
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    Deathstick polycounter lvl 7
    If you're currently paying your employees, it might be better just to pay for whatever software package they are most comfortable and efficient in for what your needs are versus going for free software (unless they're comfortable in blender, in which case no worries)

    Monthly subs can be canceled at anytime when you don't need it. Just make sure whatever you end up doing isn't going to waste a lot of time fighting the software. A very simplified example being hey we can model every tree by hand in blender, which might take weeks or months to create them all. Or we can buy a subscription of speedtree and do it in a couple of days.

    I've heard of some studios only using Maya or Max so everyone has the exact same software, but for a smaller company I don't see having a mixture of tools being a problem. IE one sub of Max for the guy who has years modeling in max, one for Maya for the animator that works best in Maya, and a few copies of blender for those who prefer it. The only pain you might run into is carrying anything that's being rigged/animated from one piece of software to another, but shouldn't be a problem if you think that through in your process of handing something off. (Although I heard recently from an animator who told me Max and Maya have a lot more animation compatibilities these days)

    Just my two cents anyways.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    One serious issue you will probably face is the lack of compatibility between regalar Maya files and files coming from LT. It sounds minor at first, but as soon as you start sharing files with other content creators it might become a non-negligeable roadblock.
  • derphouse
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    derphouse polycounter lvl 4
    I tried Modo 801 and found the modelling tools very nice, and fell completely in love with the topology pen. I also noticed they were having a sale on Steam for their Indie version, which I believe can be used commercially? Compared to the Steam Edition. And again I am left wondering if there are any major disadvantages going for the Indie version? I looked at the Steam FAQ, but honestly it did not help me much.
  • derphouse
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    derphouse polycounter lvl 4
    @Deathstick: I think I should have phrased our studio as tiny, rather than small :D .. but none the less your point is worth considering for the near future.

    @pior: That's a very good point. Thank you.
  • Fomori
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    Fomori polycounter lvl 12
    derphouse wrote: »
    And again I am left wondering if there are any major disadvantages going for the Indie version? I looked at the Steam FAQ, but honestly it did not help me much.

    Because it doesn't support scripts and 3rd party plugins there's no auto rigging solution (like ACS). In a character heavy game, that could be a deal breaker.
  • Zack Maxwell
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    Zack Maxwell interpolator
    It comes with HumanIK, isn't that an auto-rigger?
    -Edit- My bad, you meant Modo.
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