I like this post from GameDev. It's regarding music composition, but the advice is clearly universal: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/557522-i-want-to-be-a-game-composer/#entry4581665
funny game (more fun sandbox so) http://plasmapong.com/ just saw it on gamedev net image of the day, and its really cool the play with the sandbox (also runs still on crap hardware)
LOL, don't shoot the messenger. Read the job ads to disabuse yourself of a lost cause. Modo use is creeping but Autodesk is gamedev ingrained (for 3 long decades and counting).
Depends on industry I guess. In my experience maya is mostly used for character animation in gamedev, but for environment/props it is max by default or anything you want really. If studio doesn't have exporters for other packages you can always do stuff elsewhere, then FBX it to max and export from there.
GameDraw - An ambitious 3D modeling tool built on top of the Unity Game Engine http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1dp1ip/gamedraw_an_ambitious_3d_modeling_tool_built_on/
FYI, The Cinema4D and Houdini plugins have been released few days ago. The Houdini plugin is directly integrated in the gamedev/"SideFX Labs" as explained here : https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/sidefx-labs-exoside-quadremesher/
Thanks for the tips Neo and Gamedev, I'll try some options out and see how it goes. I'm planning on riggin this so that the wings actually spread out, sorta transformation from normal schoolbus to a plane.
If you can, use the trial of turtle, its amazingly fast and easier to make lightmaps and nmaps inside maya, I´ve use it, and its simply one of the best plugins ever created for gamedev in maya
My Sub-D skills are a bit outdated. I did it decade or two ago , Then figured out I can just make a boolean composition , whatever long irregular triangles it may give you , fix vertex normals by projecting them from initial shapes and bake "rounding" shader into normal map over hard/split edges. Since then SUb-D always…