I've been working with CryEngine 2 & 3 for a while now, and have never really gotten into asset creation/design.
What I am wondering is, what is the best program to use for asset/vehicle creation? I know of Autodesk, but I don't exactly have $6,000+ laying around.
My friend recommends Hexagon, which I have never heard of.
What would y'all recommend?

blender if you can pass the interface

Is it inexpensive?

Free

viewtopic.php?f=315&t=92097

Awesome, I'll give it a try.

Autodesk is free if your using it Non-Commercial and are a student

and also very good.

If you have never used a 3D program before then the interface aint a problem, plus the new interface is much better than the old one, Max,Maya,Modo,Xsi,Lightwave,C4d,Blender ALL have very different interfaces, problems only happen when you are used to using one program and then have to switch to another one.

True that. I have gotten very used to Maya's interface, so when I decided to try 3DS Max I really hated the interface and have never gone back into Max since.

Yeah, I mean it is totally possible to change but after screaming and shouting at maya and turning my back to go to max, just opening the program trying to build something was enough for me to return to maya They are totally different set ups, but one is not better than the other

That is the thing isn't it? All software have different interfaces, we have to live with that, and the best is to get used to using different software, although you might not be a pro in all of them, maybe just one or two, but better to know a little about everything, helps in case of interoperability.

My favourite is still C4D because it is very very easy and bug-free. (even if I use Max for modelling)

Do you use C4D for modeling as well (importing into max perhaps), or do you mean that you just prefer it, but cannot use it for CE3?

I formerly used Cinema 4D for everything, but now I "only" use it for rendering scenes and some basic modelling stuff. (like some spheres colliding, etc.)
I started using Max because of CryEngine and discovered it's better modelling features very soon compared to Cinema 4D and I still use it.
Anyway, I am neither familiar with the material editor, (okay, basics) nor with the renderer, so I'll export my UV-mapped meshes from Max to Cinema 4D for rendering.

To answer your question: Yes, I prefer it, but I use Max since I discovered it's modelling features and I can't use C4D for CryEngine.



Anyways, Cinema 4D is just... easier and more bug-free compared to 3DS Max. In Max sometimes the viewport pivot goes crazy and appears behind (!) the camera, so I have to rotate mirrored. Or the zoom levels per mouse wheel scroll change and I have to rotate the entire mousewheel to come 1cm closer... Also Cinema 4D has better real-time shading. If you set the viewport to "Realistic" in Max, you have inaccurate, low-resolution shadows and AO. Cinema 4D has way better shadows and AO in realtime...
Also the interface in Cinema 4D seems more accurate and more well-thought. It's more friendly but also very easy.

That's the stuff I really don't like at Max, where Cinema 4D's just groundbreakin'. It's always the little things that make a program good and fun to use.



You modify the camera with the 1, 2 and 3 keys and the camera pivot is automatically set at your current mouse position where it collides with geometry. If it doesn't collide with geo, it sets the camera pivot to the center of your viewport. It is very user friendly and easy to work with.
Press 1, 2 or 3 on the keyboard and use to mouse to operate further.

• 1 to move camera
• 2 to zoom
• 3 to rotate