uvLayout,- like Silo for modeling - this tool is specialized at UV layouting. I dont know a tool that is faster once you mastered it. http://www.uvlayout.com/
r_fletch_r ... did you end up picking up a copy of Messiah? ( wondering if you might be looking at hooking a plugin to UVLayout for Messiah as well...:poly142: )
Man, unwrapping is one of my favourite parts of 3D...its sorta like retop can be quite mindless and peaceful - no need to think :D *especially with UVLayout*
I usually use Headus UVlayout. It lets you specify bleed spacing and does a much much better job of packing than max. I've sometimes got as much as 40% better coverage than max's packing. One of the best things about it is it lets you pack your shells in groups, which is really handy for hands with detached fingers and so…
Kept looking for this thread in the technical forum -_- Looks a lot like headus UVLayout, only more user friendly, but perhaps not quite as feature packed. Price scares me, though.