reccomended modelign program

[tarrryan]

whats the best user friendly modelign program to use with half life 2??? also any ideas what would be best for createing the skins in

[Spas12]

XSI is the best, hence that VALVe use it for their own models. But you have to pay for the full version of that.

[Athlete{UK}]

XSI is the best, hence that VALVe use it for their own models. But you have to pay for the full version of that.

Well thank you for clearing that up. I supose epic ar en00bs for using maya.

The answer is there isn't a "best" as you develop your skills you will find you can use one over the other. I use 3dsmax and i love it i find it easy and a lot of fun and very powerful.

Other use cinema 4d lightwave xsi maya. Which ever one you can get and get into enjoy it. It's a matter of choice.

[somerandomnerd]

For skins?

Photoshop.

[Farles]

Best combo is Photoshop + 3Ds MAX, if you cant get 3Ds Max, use Gmax instead, its a free version of 3Ds but you'll need some additional plugins to export to HL2.

[Athlete{UK}]

Well technicaly no.

You model the erm model and map the skin in the modelling program then you paint it in the 2d prog normal photoshop for it is teh best

[tarrryan]

what about createing the skeleton and colision for the model?? what do i do about that??

[Athlete{UK}]

what about createing the skeleton and colision for the model?? what do i do about that??

In the modelling program. A skeleton is used when making a rig. You make your model set up a skeleton in the modelling prog along the joins where it should bend and then set up the rig with IK solvers, weighted vertecies etc.

Collisions models are simple. They are just another model which is low poly and invisable which goes around your model.

Bassicly you create the referance model which looks nice and is what you see in game. You then copy that to a new file and model a low polygon object ovet it which is actually what players and objects will be obstructed by.

All this is done with what are known as "all in one" 3D packagessuch as 3dsmax lightwave and cinema 4d

[tarrryan]

thanks for the help guys :)

[Athlete{UK}]

thanks for the help guys

NP you can get specialist UVW mapping (that's making and flat map of a model to paint a skin on) but 3dsmax has areally nice inbuilt system so i use that.

[Sfisher7]

3Ds max is good at modeling weapons (i only have a trial but it seems to work very good, i also use Gmax alot), for skins use Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, I use Paint Shop Pro 8 for my skins.

Best combo is Photoshop + 3Ds MAX, if you cant get 3Ds Max, use Gmax instead, its a free version of 3Ds but you'll need some additional plugins to export to HL2.

Where can I get the plug-ins?

[KatanaSwordfish]

Its really a personal preference sort of thing. XSI is complicated and it is a bit hard to get used to the interface and controls, but once you get the hang of it, it is just as good as 3dsmax and maya.

The best advice i can give you is. Download XSI Mod Tool, Download Gmax, download some beginner tutorials for each. Play around with them and make some stuff (shapes, cubes, models, etc.) and pick your favorite.

XSI, 3dsmax, and maya are all professional grade modelling software and you really cant go wrong with any of them. Find one that suits your price range, suits your needs and suits your style of modelling. The program itself wont limit your ability to model, but your ability to use the program well will. So just try them out and pick which one you feel you like best. They all require a decent amount of practice in order to become skilled, and i would strongly advise downloading some tutorials (personally i like video tutorials the best).

Good luck and have fun.

[tarrryan]

thanks for the big response guys :) im playing around with 3ds max now, and im about to get xsi

[Farles]

@Sfisher7

I found a MD3 exporter for Gmax, not sure if the site is still up, if not I can send it to you or you can pick it up from the Tempest Package. Then you export your model in MD3 and use Milkshape to export to SMD. Works pretty well for me.

[creamyfeelgood]

Newtek's Lightwave 3D is extremely easy to use, but dosnt come cheap (what 3D program dose in our days though?)
one of the best modeling programs I've ever used, much less of a learning curv than Maya, StudioMAX 'n' XSI. though not quite to there standards, but more than you need for low poly game models, its easy to import and export to other programs too!