Switching to modo

[Archetype]

hey folks.

i can get my hands on a licenced version of modo201. the issue is that im not that sure of the benefits it would give me compared to my current software 3dmax.

i was hoping some of you guys had experience with 3dmax or any other program
for instance kiwi ? :) and if the benefits outweigh the effort of learning a new tool

Hoping you could shed some light on the situation.
if i decide not to go modo 201 im giving it away to someone who perhaps wants it more than i do

what i really would like to know is wich are the strong/weak points compared to 3dmax
and why ofcourse.

"im quite happy with 3dmax's modeling tools atm"

with regards,
jeroen

[kiwi123]

Well, giving modo away would be like...like...like...liking cars and give away an aston martin because you rather drive your trusty ford mondeo. :lol:

It is a fairly easy tool to learn, there is a lot of documentation, lots of training videos come with modo 201. If you have your hands on it already, you might as well give it a spin.

Lets just say that I work in a company with two of the very best modellers I have ever worked with, one does organic stuff and the other the hard body models. They both work in modo for modeling, even though they have access to max, maya and LW. All the other guys here drool when seeing how nice it is to model in modo.

I guess it is no use just comparing featurelists, it's about how well the features are implemented, how nice it is to use. Try it, give it a weekend, and I mean a serious weekend of modeling something without being max minded and you won't turn back.

Don't get me wrong, max is ok for modeling. It's just like I said, for modeling , modo is the aston martin. Max is the ford. Everyone uses it, it'll get you from a to b. Just not in style and with an enormous grin on your face.

[Archetype]

mmm ill give it a shot then..

can 201 render btw ?
or do i need to port back to max for that ?

[kiwi123]

You can render, but remember this is the first version with a renderer. Good for stills. I still render in LW though, don't want to convert all my models, plus I need the animation capability.

[mrys]

I tried modo just a little, so maybe I should not say nothing about, but I find it very interesting. Few years ago I was modeled in Max, and had some succes with. But when I meet Rhino I threw max away, cause NURBS technology was more similar to my thinking about modeling (later I was modeling aircraft from paper in 1:33 scale - it needs to design and properly set up all crossections and develop of surfaces). And now I meet Modo. My friend is using it and gave me a chance to try. Of course lowpolys/highpolys modelling is far from NURBS, but tools in modo in strange way are similar (for me) to that in NURBS. If I can compare lowpolys style in max to lowpolys style in modo, I should say as Kiwi: Ford and Aston Martin.

Renderer in modo is maybe in early phase of developement, but is similar or even better quality then Scanline render in Max.

So at the end: give modo a chance.

BTW Kiwi, what about motion blur in Modo? I usually using it to blur blades of propeler...

[kiwi123]

Motion blur in modo is for animation, which isn't officially implemented yet. But expect several utilities for that soon, for instance camera animation is already possible, soon import from maya will be there. But for propellors, I don't even use motion blur in lightwave. Photoshop is better looking and quicker with more control.

[zarroun]

If I may add to this thread, I have been jumping around several packages. Max, Maya, LW, C4D, and I never was completely satisfied with any of them. I setteled for C4D because it's workflow was closer to my nature.

I am slowly converting to modo, how ever. The tools are very intuitive and easy to use. Because modo is still fairly new and not complete, it lacks some features that I'm used to from other packages, and it's not always on the stable side. I have yet to meet someone though who is not impressed by what modo does and how it works. The quality of my models has improved since I seriously worked in modo, I can only recommend it! (now if only luxology would pay us for this advertisement...)

[deltacharlie]

:( i downloaded a trial version of modo, and for some reason the license they gave me was bad. I contacted their support to try to get a working license and have never heard anything back. Maybe they only support paying customers. :(

~DC

[kiwi123]

Hey Deltacharlie, I know they are having issues with their mail system. They are actually very good with people who want to try the software.

[zarroun]

After all, they offer 3GB worth of tutorial videos for free. That's pretty sweet if you ask me.

deltacharlie, where did you get the trial from? It's still not available on their website.

[Spinner]

Yeah, I'd really like to know that.
My jump point is getting close, only 12 days left on the XSI trial and I'd hate to buy without taking a look at modo. Both seem great but since both apps have their omissions its a case of what you use and what you cant live without.

[deltacharlie]

It was about 2 months ago or more when I got the trial, but like Zarroun pointed out, it doesn't seem to be available...when I click "Try Modo" now it says that the 30-day trial is "coming soon". I think the trial I downloaded was 103, but this trial says 201...so it's probably good to wait. I definitely will give it another shot because I keep hearing such good things about it.


~DC

[zarroun]

I will drop a note when the trial is available. It's been like this for a whlie, so I have no clue how much longer it will take.

[kiwi123]

My guess would be within a month.

[zarroun]

Well, they initially said it's only going to take a week or two. Now look at it... Can't complain though, luxology is great!

[Big Red 11]

Modo is worth every penny and every minute spent learning it. It's an amazing piece of software that can do everything the more confusing programs can.