Lee: It's just another modeling and texturing solution that comes with some other perks. The feature list and videos are pretty detailed, and they should have a trial version available for download in a few days after all the preorders and such have had a chance to grab it.
There's also a photoshop plugin called Image Synth that they are offering. I still need to check that out myself.
Nope, meant Maya. Costs'$450 for unlimited $350 for complete. Through my school that is. And apparently we're gettin a deal soon that gives us Maya, PS, Illustrator, MS Office, and a bunch of other programs for around 600-800. Dunno if that's actually gonna happen, but if it does I'll be flippin out.
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Nope, meant Maya. Costs'$450 for unlimited $350 for complete. Through my school that is. And apparently we're gettin a deal soon that gives us Maya, PS, Illustrator, MS Office, and a bunch of other programs for around 600-800. Dunno if that's actually gonna happen, but if it does I'll be flippin out.
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Educational license - you cant use it for commercial purposes, like you cant legally freelance with it or anything.
The advantage of all these new packages - Modo, Silo, Hex - is that they are new. They are taking all the great features that we know and love, putting a new spin on them, and removing all the bloat.
Agreed. The thing about modo is it's roadmapped to become a full suite, and it's totally non-legacy. Right now the interface offers a best case approach to modeling, 3D painting, unwrapping... I can't wait to see their take on animation tools.
duh, of course the whole point of an edu license is that you can not use it for commercial purposes. in some cases you even have to renew annually. i know maya used to be like that but maybe that has changed after the big '02 pricedrop.
anyway, recently tested modo 10? and boy that interface felt sluggish out of the box. seemed like a program that bogs down really fast.
you can completely modify the interface, i ended up making something very similar to max out of it and then stopped playing around with it ... lol essentially never really learning the program.
One cool thing I haven't messed with yet as far as UI editing goes is the new input remapping stuff. You can actually reuse keys for different operations depending on a context you set for it. So you could have it so that the same key performs a different operation if you press it while the mouse cursor is in a certain viewport, or having a modifier key do different things depending on which tool is active. Apparently there's even more input control stuff coming in the next update... they just didn't have time to fit it all in for this release.
I hav'nt tried it yet, but should'nt applications be designed for easy use without having to change the buttons or placement. I've just noticed this new trend to release an app with a less than friendly interface, but add the feature to alter it to compensate. Silo, ZBrush, Blender, now Modo.
90% of us technically dont know if we can make better use with a certain feature untill it's implimented. Such as the scroll wheel etc. Must wait patiently for demo
Um... well sure. Considering that I've been using the default UI as well since it shipped I'd say it works. When a developer provides the capability to tailor the app to my preferred way of working, I take that as extra effort and consideration for my needs as a user. Not all applications offer such things. They are there for you to take advantage of or not as you see fit. The default UI is definitely adequate as is. It's not perfect. But what is? At least we have options.
Here's a quick, easy example of one of the few simple changes I felt would make my life easier during beta testing. I use the UV tools a lot but they aren't accessible anywhere from the main UI other than the texture dropdown menu. Rather than constantly accessing the menu during UV editing, I just duplicated the main tool tab, then swapped out the duplicate tools section for Vertex mapping tools. This also keeps the tool properties pane beneath accessible in the new UV tab so I can always access it regardless of which tab or tools I'm working with.
Very impressive, I'm going to grab the trial version as soon as it goes up. The price still seems quite steep to me. XSI goes for under 500 dollars, and Modo isn't a full animation suite yet. I suppose it doesn't really matter if your employers is getting it for you anyways, but it's an important factor for us hobbyists.
Hopefully Silo 2 comes out before the Modo trial expires!
Sorry. I never meant to say Modo did'nt have a great interface. I suppose the correct way to address this was to ask the beta testers how the interface felt. The videos show features being applied to models, but I can't seem to find one for the interface. I just assumed it was similar to Silo, and they expected you to create the interface etc.
Seeing those shots, I can tell I was mistaken. Looks wonderful, and the adjusments you made seem to be built in alterations/custimizations, as opposed to bitmap based ones.
Nevermind.. Found the video that shows the toolpipe.
Ah I gotcha Down. Yeah, modo definitely supplies more of a GUI upfront than Silo. But that is also one of Silo's charms imo. Version 2 will have a lot more GUI available in the default setup, with all the power to modify it as much as you like as usual.
Zcubed: As much as I like it myself, I usually don't recommend an app like Modo if you aren't making money from using it. The price is steep enough that I don't think I would be able to justify myself if I were a hobbyist.
There are definitely good alternatives that are easier on the credit card. I wish I had so many software options when I first started out. It's so nice to be able to choose exactly what works best for you at a price you can afford these days.
The interface is a tricky thing to nail - you either go for minimal, where as a beginner you have to learn loads of key combos and menus, or you do the default blender interface where you have a space shuttle sim with a 100x100 pixel art window (and this scares people)
to be honest, either approach is great, because it makes 3d art scary. This means there are less people taking it up and taking my job.
Silo 2 is very strong, on a £perfeature basis it's really top notch.
XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison, Modo does what it does FANTASTICLY but is not the tool for you if you need more than it can do. I havent gotten around to getting 2.01 but even with 1.03 i am very very happy.
That pen tool video made me poo my drawers. Awesome. Was it Silo with the topology brush? Polyboost for Max has some similar features, but thats a plugin and a whole discussion.
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XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison...
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Huh? How so? I found XSI's poly modeling toolset to be quite robust.
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Yeah, I'd be pretty interested in hearing some specifics on this as well.
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Go watch the modo vids or download the demo and use them for yourself, xsi's tools are completely unituative compared, hell max's tools feel better to me than xsi's and thats saying a lot.
Go watch the modo vids or download the demo and use them for yourself, xsi's tools are completely unituative compared, hell max's tools feel better to me than xsi's and thats saying a lot.
Fair enough, I'll comment again once I've actually tried Modo. I think a lot of it is just toolset familiarity: getting aquainted with the interface and workflow.
XSI is unintuitive? I'm still holding out for some specific examples.
Im not trying to state my opinions as fact. I've used xsi enough to know that it dosent feel intuitive to me, simply using it more would not make the tools more responsive, easier to use or better featured. Everyone that i have talked to has almost instantly been able to work well in modo right out of the box, with very easy learning curve, the tools are just straight forward and a pleasure to work with. XSI has some redeeming features but if you want to just get to raw modeling tools theres no question. Most of what im saying is also probally applicable to Silo as well, tho i havent really took the time to do much with it yet.
You still haven't really offered anything other than your own opinion, but I'll quit now before a software war starts up.
Silo is probably my favorite app for pure modeling, if only because it is infinitely customizable. In my time with it I pretty much got rid of the interface and worked exclusively with hotkeys. It's really lightweight and streamlined too.
It's a thread about Modo, though, so I'll be back once I get the demo.
Does this really have to be a page long Modo/XSI debate?
(edit: apologies. EQ is a cool guy, and excellent in bed...so I've heard )
The thing is, XSI is for animation. Its strength is in animation. I just happen to be one of the few who purchased XSI for its animation tools alone, but instead fell in love with its modeling, and UV mapping, integrated mental ray, game format exporting...hell everything. And its modeling tools continue to improve...with each version...yes I know that's unheard of in the industry.
Modo's design is focused on modeling, plus it paints and renders. XSI animates, renders, plus all the things a robust DCC tool should do.
There is no problem with using both. Doing so is still a fair price. Although, Modo doesn't appear to be designed with XSI compatibility in mind. Oh well.
Modo looks like a great tool to have around. The guys developing it know their stuff.
Exactly all i was stating is my opinion. You need to try the program out for yourself to see if it works for you.
Hahaha Will, take things personally much? Dont bring up irrelevant shit you have no knowledge about. Seriously any program that you need to look indepth into documentation for BASIC usage is _not_ intuitive. Im not even saying this is the case with xsi but if you knew what the word meant you would understand.
Sorry man, but I open a thread about about Modo and the first thing I see is:
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XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison
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and all I can think of in response is...
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Dont bring up irrelevant shit you have no knowledge about.
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In my opinion, and others seem to share it, XSI's modeling tools are intuitive, providing options and info as defined. I was able to find my own workflow quickly for basic use. I didn't need in-depth documentation (except for certain changes in vocabulary)...but apparently some do. Modo looks as alien to me as the first time I tried XSI or Zbrush. And from a hobbyist standpoint, we want our money's worth. I'll make my own opinions when I'm able to try it.
Actually I get excellent compatibility with modo and XSI. =]
They are my two main programs. As of 5.1 XSI now has native Point Oven support, which allows direct importing of lwo files, complete with uv, weight and morph data. Before 5.1 I was using Point Oven as a third party plugin - mainly so that I could import old lightwave files from assets made by other artists or myself before we started using XSI.
Personally I think XSI has some of the most powerful out of the box modeling capabilities I've used, but again, personally, I don't much enjoy the workflow for a lot of my modeling needs. It's not so much that XSI isn't a solid modeler, but that there are alternatives that fit even better the way I work. For that I use Modo, even though I think some of its XSI-equivalent tools are not as strong, overall it fits better with how I work, which in the end is more important and probably why I gravitated towards it.
I don't think debating which app is better for modeling is something that can easily reach a conclusion, as we all have different preferences. Software is just a tool and should be used or not used as the individual sees fit - or in some case, how your employer sees fit
That's cool Gwot. I only noticed on Modo's site about workflow with separate apps, XSI isn't listed. But, they do share FBX compatibility. Perhaps in the future, Collada.
That's odd Ely... I would think they'd be all over that. Point Oven has made life outside of XSI a lot more enjoyable. I should post a link to the standalone plugin for anyone interested who doesn't use XSI... or Modo... still does some cool stuff... for max and maya too. http://www.ef9.com/ef9/PO.htm
$99 for one year educational license for modo.. yes you can't use it for commercial work but it will help me build up my portfolio for school and when I want to go commercial I'll upgrade my license to a full account.
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Over 2 gigs of stuff on top of the installer.
There's also a photoshop plugin called Image Synth that they are offering. I still need to check that out myself.
Maybe you meant XSI FND.
Nope, meant Maya. Costs'$450 for unlimited $350 for complete. Through my school that is. And apparently we're gettin a deal soon that gives us Maya, PS, Illustrator, MS Office, and a bunch of other programs for around 600-800. Dunno if that's actually gonna happen, but if it does I'll be flippin out.
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Educational license - you cant use it for commercial purposes, like you cant legally freelance with it or anything.
Thanks for saying Toomas. Modo is again looking better.
Do you know if other companies are the same? (Like adobe?)
http://www.luxology.com/press/release/080305_Lux_Roadmap.aspx
anyway, recently tested modo 10? and boy that interface felt sluggish out of the box. seemed like a program that bogs down really fast.
90% of us technically dont know if we can make better use with a certain feature untill it's implimented. Such as the scroll wheel etc. Must wait patiently for demo
Hopefully Silo 2 comes out before the Modo trial expires!
Seeing those shots, I can tell I was mistaken. Looks wonderful, and the adjusments you made seem to be built in alterations/custimizations, as opposed to bitmap based ones.
Nevermind.. Found the video that shows the toolpipe.
Zcubed: As much as I like it myself, I usually don't recommend an app like Modo if you aren't making money from using it. The price is steep enough that I don't think I would be able to justify myself if I were a hobbyist.
There are definitely good alternatives that are easier on the credit card. I wish I had so many software options when I first started out. It's so nice to be able to choose exactly what works best for you at a price you can afford these days.
to be honest, either approach is great, because it makes 3d art scary. This means there are less people taking it up and taking my job.
Silo 2 is very strong, on a £perfeature basis it's really top notch.
XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison...
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Huh? How so? I found XSI's poly modeling toolset to be quite robust.
I'll give the demo a whirl, thats for sure.
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XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison...
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Huh? How so? I found XSI's poly modeling toolset to be quite robust.
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Yeah, I'd be pretty interested in hearing some specifics on this as well.
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XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison...
[/ QUOTE ]
Huh? How so? I found XSI's poly modeling toolset to be quite robust.
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Yeah, I'd be pretty interested in hearing some specifics on this as well.
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Go watch the modo vids or download the demo and use them for yourself, xsi's tools are completely unituative compared, hell max's tools feel better to me than xsi's and thats saying a lot.
Go watch the modo vids or download the demo and use them for yourself, xsi's tools are completely unituative compared, hell max's tools feel better to me than xsi's and thats saying a lot.
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Agreed.
XSI is unintuitive?
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Same here. Don't want to drag this into a program-tool war, but Earthquake how much time have you actually spent in XSI?
Silo is probably my favorite app for pure modeling, if only because it is infinitely customizable. In my time with it I pretty much got rid of the interface and worked exclusively with hotkeys. It's really lightweight and streamlined too.
It's a thread about Modo, though, so I'll be back once I get the demo.
(edit: apologies. EQ is a cool guy, and excellent in bed...so I've heard
The thing is, XSI is for animation. Its strength is in animation. I just happen to be one of the few who purchased XSI for its animation tools alone, but instead fell in love with its modeling, and UV mapping, integrated mental ray, game format exporting...hell everything. And its modeling tools continue to improve...with each version...yes I know that's unheard of in the industry.
Modo's design is focused on modeling, plus it paints and renders. XSI animates, renders, plus all the things a robust DCC tool should do.
There is no problem with using both. Doing so is still a fair price. Although, Modo doesn't appear to be designed with XSI compatibility in mind. Oh well.
Modo looks like a great tool to have around. The guys developing it know their stuff.
Hahaha Will, take things personally much? Dont bring up irrelevant shit you have no knowledge about. Seriously any program that you need to look indepth into documentation for BASIC usage is _not_ intuitive. Im not even saying this is the case with xsi but if you knew what the word meant you would understand.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&h...on&ct=title
Exactly all i was stating is my opinion. You need to try the program out for yourself to see if it works for you.
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Ok, that's all I need to hear. Sorry for getting off topic, I didn't mean to derail the thread like that.
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XSI may be cheap but its modeling tools suck in comparison
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and all I can think of in response is...
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Dont bring up irrelevant shit you have no knowledge about.
[/ QUOTE ]
In my opinion, and others seem to share it, XSI's modeling tools are intuitive, providing options and info as defined. I was able to find my own workflow quickly for basic use. I didn't need in-depth documentation (except for certain changes in vocabulary)...but apparently some do. Modo looks as alien to me as the first time I tried XSI or Zbrush. And from a hobbyist standpoint, we want our money's worth. I'll make my own opinions when I'm able to try it.
They are my two main programs. As of 5.1 XSI now has native Point Oven support, which allows direct importing of lwo files, complete with uv, weight and morph data. Before 5.1 I was using Point Oven as a third party plugin - mainly so that I could import old lightwave files from assets made by other artists or myself before we started using XSI.
Personally I think XSI has some of the most powerful out of the box modeling capabilities I've used, but again, personally, I don't much enjoy the workflow for a lot of my modeling needs. It's not so much that XSI isn't a solid modeler, but that there are alternatives that fit even better the way I work. For that I use Modo, even though I think some of its XSI-equivalent tools are not as strong, overall it fits better with how I work, which in the end is more important and probably why I gravitated towards it.
I don't think debating which app is better for modeling is something that can easily reach a conclusion, as we all have different preferences. Software is just a tool and should be used or not used as the individual sees fit - or in some case, how your employer sees fit
Cheers!
James
http://www.ef9.com/ef9/PO.htm
Looks like Seneca updated his scripts for 201 as well:
http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=7412
$99 for one year educational license for modo.. yes you can't use it for commercial work but it will help me build up my portfolio for school and when I want to go commercial I'll upgrade my license to a full account.
http://www.luxology.com/store/store_education.aspx