9 replies to this topic

[servadm]

I found an interesting demo on xsi that showcases games using XSI:

[url]http://www.softimage.com/community/galleries/video_gallery/pages/Game_Reel_v03.html[/url]

But i never found anything on 3ds or maya, so i went to look further.

All the people i know that work at companies use maya, so that answers that.

But i'm still wondering, who uses 3ds? I'm just looking for examples to back the quote i read below, that claims maya and 3ds are 50/50 in the industry.

[quote name='http://aecmag.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=35']Max has become extremely popular in both the architectural and visualisation industries, an approximate sales split in these industries compared to Maya is around 80/20. In the games and TV/Broadcast industry it’s about 50/50 and in the Film industry it’s about 80/20 in Maya’s favour.[/quote]

Any experiences in this would help me a lot, thanks!

[dave_]

Games companies rarely publish the tools they use in house. They dont have any reason to. I've worked at one company that used max, another that used maya and another that used both.

[Rubicon]

I've worked at a number of companies in the past. Most of those had art departments moaning about Max all day, whilst a few others had an art department moaning about Maya all day!

I still think Max is more prevalent, but only until something useable comes along to replace it.

btw, Is that you, Dave ?

[dave_]

It is me. Who?

[Rubicon]

I guess not then, unless you work at Infusion ?

[rouncer]

3dsmax doesnt even have true hiding of vertices you cant see,
and the boolean objects is abominable.
maya probably isnt much better.
zbrush is the most decent one that came out, and if you want the old
way to make models, i reckon code it yourself better.

[Goz]

Rubicon said:

I still think Max is more prevalent, but only until something useable comes along to replace it.

I agree with ya there! ost copanies i know of use Max. My current company used Maya up until we were recently bought out by Rebellion who use Max ...

[kusma]

I don't quite get the "use this or this tool" way of thinking. Why not just use the tool most suited for the job (ie "both")? Tools are cheap compared to man-hours.

[Goz]

kusma said:

I don't quite get the "use this or this tool" way of thinking. Why not just use the tool most suited for the job (ie "both")? Tools are cheap compared to man-hours.

And supporting multiple export pipelines takes a LOT of man hours ...

[Rubicon]

It's just better to have everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, too.

Being able to visualise objects and model them using polygons is the skill part, mostly. Learning to operate a new program shouldn't take long at all, especially when you've got other guys around you who know all about it, so a studio should pick one and stick to it imo.

Trouble is, it's Hobsons choice. All the decent packages are too full of bloaty crap that game people never use, and the lightweight alternatives are usually too lightweight. There's a distinct lack of middle ground as I see it. Some small firm could make a killing by grabbing that niche.

I've seen a lot of amateur attempts done by/for indies but there's not enough meat on the bones for pro useage. I've not spotted any package that I'd want to adopt yet, and I've looked at most of them.