Is 3D Max better?

[alan93]

Question for everyone. I currently use Maya and seen that 3D Max finally has a indie version and wanted to give it a shot. If I mainly want to do things like make gun models, environment stuff, props, and all that for more video game related purposes is that better than Maya. I want to know mainly what would be better to learn if i wanted to do modeling stuff for video games and that type of career field. Lastly if 3D max is better, any suggestions on books or that type of thing? I have no experience in 3D Max so any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[DigitalGoat]

44 minutes ago, alan93 said:

Question for everyone. I currently use Maya and seen that 3D Max finally has a indie version and wanted to give it a shot. If I mainly want to do things like make gun models, environment stuff, props, and all that for more video game related purposes is that better than Maya. I want to know mainly what would be better to learn if i wanted to do modeling stuff for video games and that type of career field. Lastly if 3D max is better, any suggestions on books or that type of thing? I have no experience in 3D Max so any suggestions would be helpful.

 

I understand the thought process behind using an industry leading product however there are also other worthy contenders like blender, a free, lightweight but powerful modelling, rendering, animation application that is gaining industry traction.

Before deciding maybe check out some videos on the different apps you are considering, there are plenty of comparison and trial videos from people in the industry pointing out the pros and cons of each and how experiance translates to job opportunities.

I can recommend Grant Abbitt as a source of info from someone who uses multiple 3d apps and has his assets used in current games as a starting point, and maybe Imphenzia who uses his models in Unreal engine, Gadot and others, he has also produced a couple of games of his own.

[Kisai]

On 10/14/2024 at 11:44 AM, alan93 said:

Question for everyone. I currently use Maya and seen that 3D Max finally has a indie version and wanted to give it a shot. If I mainly want to do things like make gun models, environment stuff, props, and all that for more video game related purposes is that better than Maya. I want to know mainly what would be better to learn if i wanted to do modeling stuff for video games and that type of career field. Lastly if 3D max is better, any suggestions on books or that type of thing? I have no experience in 3D Max so any suggestions would be helpful.

 

 

The short answer is that Autodesk hates users and I would not rely on any version of 3D Studio or Maya being feature complete for very long. If you are not doing anything commercially that requires "3D Studio Max", the blender is fine. If you want to get a job with a company that uses 3D Studio Max (mostly by game developers) as opposed to Maya (Mostly used by Visual Effects/CGI film and television) that's the only reason to really consider them as an either/or. If you simply want a "3D program" to do visual effects work, the paid version of Davinci Resolve Studio also lets you use Fusion Studio with the same license.

 

Auto Desk has released "Free" versions of 3D Studio Max before, only to take them away later, which is why I would be hesitant to even suggest touching it unless you have your sights on game development. If you're just doing indie game dev, then you're better off learning blender.

[matseffect]

As someone who works in games I can say that blender is a really good option now and a lot of places use it. Its even better with some free and low cost plug ins. Some studios still require use of a specific 3d package due to their workflows but more and more often you get to pick now. I was a 3ds max user for many years before I switched and wile I did miss one or two things for a wile I would not even think about going back. 

 

If you are learning I would not go spending a lot of money on a max or maya licence even the indie one is still pretty expensive. If you are a student with a student email you can get free license for Max or Maya from autodesk if you want to go with them, I think they lasted for 3 years or something last I checked. Personally if you don't go with blender I would pick Max over Maya but that's just me a lot of people would be the other way around. 

 

For learning resources I really would not recommend any books, you tube really is your best friend here.