Quick b3d user survey...

Hi,

What apps/tools do are people using to produce content for use with Blitz3D?

Just curious...

No Blitz3D but the modellers i use for SW3D, Unity, ... are Modo and an older version of Max. Then i have to deal with people who use software like C4D, Maya, Lightwave.

Hi Mark

3DSMax (and pipeline), Photoshop.

I know this is for Blitz3D, but I can't resist posting what I use for minib3d..

BLENDER!!!

lightwave & modo

Blender, SketchUp and Photoshop.

I use Cinema4D for modelling, Wings3D for file conversion and paint.net / Inkscape with a Bamboo tablet for textures.

SketchUp, Metasequoia, Milkshape, Quill3D.
PaintshopPro, Paint.

3DSMAX/pipeline/, Photoshop

Delgine for 3D, MS paint for 2D

3dsmax and photoshop

3D Studio Max, Photoshop, and a set of my own tools for terrain and such since nothing else offered what I wanted.

Silo 3D.
Still learning it, but it's a lovely program.

Quill3d, Milkshape3d, UltimateUnwrap 2.1

3D: Maya, 3dsmax (mainly to export b3d: maya->obj->max->b3d, since there's no b3d exporter for maya)
2D: Photoshop and...Paint ^^

3DSMAX/pipeline/, Photoshop

3d: Truespace 7.51 with the Gamepak - Silo 2.0
UV and conversion : Ultimate Unwrap 3 Pro
2d: Photoshop 7

Maya at work, XSI at home.

In terms of what you should look at supporting (which I guess is what this 'survey' is for), for the 'indie' developer supporting XSI is a good solution as you can buy a fully commercial and game capable licence for £350, which is rather nice, and supports VBscript and javascript.

and you can actually load your game engine inside xsi.

If you made an ascii file format I would almost certainly code up a file exporter for b3d for it.

3DSMax, 3D Canvas, Sketchup, Paint Shop Pro

Barney

Platforms:
Linux & XP (+vista for testing)

Apps: (I can use on both platforms)
-Blender + b3d.py,
-ac3d,
-Maya (trying it),
-paintshop pro, (wine)
-gimp,
-audacity,
-open office (docs, text & datatables)
-Blitzmax

Windows only apps:
-B3d itself
-my stuff (t.ed & spriteforge -win only but hope to convert it to max3d one day :)
-giles (although not so much now as blender can bake (its a case of hassle vs quality))
-fragmotion (although not so much anymore as blender has an excellent animator and now it has good b3d exp)

Spending more time learning BlitzMax and c++ these days though.

More time would be the most useful tool :(

3D:
Silo3D(modeling), 3DMax(animation), UUnwrap(texturing and conversion) and
Giles(lightmapping).

2D:
Photoshop(textures).

Cinema 4d r10 for modeling
ultimate unwrap to convert fix mesh

Character FX for basic animation

I haven't the money to buy another modeler just for b3d export although i would love to be able to animate in a modeller and export direct to blitz.

With b3d file support:
Fragmotion, Unwrap3d, gile[s], 3dsmax (b3dpipeline - export only).

Without b3d file support:
Silo3d, SketchUp (there is a commercial export plugin tho).

2D:
Flash, Paint.NET, Photoshop, Project Dogwaffle.

Mainly XSI (version 4.2), Motionbuilder, Zbrush 3 and 3D-Coat.

3D Studio Max, Photoshop

Graphics:
-Blender
-Paint Shop Pro 9

Sound:
-Cubase SL
-Sound Forge

Modeling : Silo 2.0
Animation: LightRay3D (http://www.sxcreations.com/lr3d/lightray3d.php)
Texturing: UlimateUnwrap3D & Gimp

Lightwave 8
Photoshop 5
Xara 2

AC3D
DeleD
Photoshop 7

And Blitz Tools (T.ED, etc)

Leadwerks 3D World Studio for levels and simple objects
MilkShape for intricate objects
Texturemaker for tileable textures

3dsmax and photoshop

3D Studio Max
Quill3D
PaceMaker
PhotoShop

Graphics:

Blender and photoshop

Sound:

Audacity
Google

3DStudio Max and Photoshop.

Wings3D, Photoshop

Xsi, ultimate unwrap + photoshop.

Wings3d for objects, Anim8or for characters, Milkshape3d for animating, UltimateUnwrap for UVmap and file conversions. The rest I could either not figure out (eg. blender) or not afford (eg. 3dsmax).

wings3d-
ultimate unwrap-
fragmotion
GIMP

Milkshape3d, Paint Shop Pro, and Lithunwrap.

Newtek Lightwave 3D for modelling/materials/maps.
Paint Shop Pro for 2D graphics.

I also use additional tools and plug-ins, but the resulting work always converges into Lightwave for rendering or texture baking in the end.

3DWS, UU3D, Paint.NET, Yamaha Motif-XS7, WavePad.

Modelling: Silo3D, Carrara 6 Pro, Hexagon 2
UV Unwrapping: depends on where I texture it or how (depends on the type of model): Ultimate Unwrap 3D, Carrara 6 Pro, ...

Animation: fragmotion, Carrara 6 Pro once I fully understand how to use its IK system at its best

-> B3D: fragmotion and Ultimate Unwrap 3D

Blender, Paint Shop Pro,and Ultimate Unwrap.

3ds max and B3D pipeline.
Photoshop

BLIDE (Must have IDE for blitzmax)

Before B3D pipeline I used Ultimate Unwrap 3D as a middlare format conversion tool to .B3D

B3D pipeline had some amazingly good extensions that really gave the engine some powerful extra functionality through node animation, many of these extensions surpassed modern commercial engines in functionality even. Also saved a lot of programmer time setting up and scenes as well as freeing up the engine for artists without constant requesting for programmer intervention.

Silo3d - 3D Coat

(Continuously amazed on how many people can afford a horrendously expensive 3D art packed like 3DS Max?!?!)

Hexagon, DeleD, Fragmotion, uvmapper.

i use maya, deled, udrop, soon photoshop elements, and other 2d art tools

Lightwave, Fragmotion, PSP

I'm not using b3d at the moment, but if I would be making a 3d game I would use Lightwave and Photoshop. I use those tools now for my 2d game as well.

3DSMAX/pipeline/, Photoshop

3dsmax and Photoshop.

lightwave/photoshop/giles/ultimateunrwap

and lots of caffeine ;)

I assume this ties in with the new 3d engine. I'd strongly recommend a plugin for Ultimate Unwrap as it converts between so many different formats.

I use:

Ultimate Unwrap - convertion and unwrapping
Gile[s] 1.xx - for level placement + propteries set up
Amapi 4.x for modelling

3DSmax TIP. Here in the US it's $200 for educational.

If you have a limited company it's $110 a month to lease, claimable on your taxes.

Lease includes free updates so its not so expensive and Easily the best supported app for games because everything has max plugins :)

..I agreed with Evak..3dsmax plug in is a must in my opinion..

3D Milkshape, Ultimate Unwrap, Gile[s]
2D Paint Shop Pro 7
Music / Sound Cubase, Acid, Sound Forge

Nope, not every modeller has 3dsmax support, a lot come with 3ds but not max. Secondly 3dsmax isn't available on osx, it's still a win only app.

Wings3D and Ultimate Unwrap.

Lightwave3D 8.5 (Replaced Truespace 4.3), Paint Shop Pro 7, Tattoo (My Old mesh painting app), Z-Brush 3.1 & Cool Edit 2000 (Audio).

3D
--
Autodesk 3DS MAX 2008
3D World Studio

2D
--
Paint Shop 7

Lightwave and Ultimate Unwrap3D, but waiting for a BlitzMax based engine.

Photoshop
Blender with b3d exporter
3D World Studio

3ds max, MS paint, and GIMP.

@Taumel
Im not talking about MAX file support since is very closed and i never heard that some aplication support 3dsmax native file format(.max)..I was pointing on to plug in for 3dsmax for export specific data necessary for upcoming renderer geometry, animation and so on..fact that its just Windows only is not a problem far as i can see, since I use it without a one single problem with Unity..

Modelling: DeleD, Blender, Lightmapping: Gile[s]

Max, pipeline, and Photoshop are the main tools

Also Wings3d and zbrush for modeling things

max fileformat-support won't be possible. you need to have max installed afaik.

Cinema4D with B3D/MD2 exporter inclusive Bodypaint(UV-Unwrap/3D-Paint)
Paint Shop Pro 6/9 (sometimes PS 6.0 for effects)

@NaughtyAlien
What you're using when dealing with Unity and 3dsmax is fbx.

yes it is..thats why i said that im not talking about .max format but exporter for B3D v2 for 3dsmax..something like existing pipeline, if possible..

Just support fbx and more than one modeller owner will be happy.

http://www.okino.com/conv/imp_fbx.htm

Most Mac users seem to use bootcamp anyway. Biggest problem with collada is that most shader tools are PC only. So no mac artist that won't run windows is ever going to be happy on that front. Especially when most editors are for D3D.

Anyone tried 3ds max with bootcamp?

Most Mac users i know don't bootcamp with 3dsmax, including me, and instead use Maya, Modo, Cheetah, Lightwave, C4D or Blender.

You also shouldn't forget that you can't bootcamp with a PPC Mac and there are still plenty of those machines around.

Anyway ,supposed to be talking about tools people use. I was just trying to point out that 3ds max tends to get the most support by developers with custom exporters. And will probably never use the next blitz 3D engine myself.

Blender here

Softimage XSI 5.0 - for static levels, and other static geometry. Also for rendering textures (make high poly detail object and generate texture to apply to low res mesh). Would dearly love to be able to import dotXSI format models into Blitz3d with animation - it is a great format that seems very similar to b3d - it easily supports the features that blitz3d does, and more.

Poser 4.0 - for humanoid characters - rendering them out as sprites.
I've got a nice workflow for converting the sprites rendered out in Poser (and XSI sometimes) into a useful and efficient image format for my games.

Rarely these days do I use Milkshape or VUE but they have come in handy at different times.

Giles 1.32 to lightmap levels. Once again I'd like to be able to do this in XSI, which I can, but then I cannot export a .X file with 2 UV channels.

Ultimate Paint - rarely, in fact I find that MS Paint is better in some respects.

Irfanview - Batch renaming and converting image formats.

Virtual DUB - for creating mpegs and other movies.

3DStudioMax, Photoshop- main tools, and Lightwave, Maya- additional

@ Matty, use ultimate unwrap as converter. You can use xsi for animation too.

Models, Carrara 6 Pro, Hexagon 2, Silo3D -> Gile[s] if lightmapping is needed
Textures: Photoshop 6, Texture Maker 2.85
Models go through Ultimate Unwrap 3D and/or fragmotion depending on where I animate them

3DS Max here. Well not me, my brother. Along with Photoshop I think.

Nothing else really. I even use the standard IDE with both Max & B3D.

Milkshape -> Unwrap3D

Paint Shop Pro 9

Lightwave -> DirectX8 Export -> Unltimate Unwrap -> B3D Export.

Tediuos, but works good for boned meshes.

I use Milkshape 3d -> Fragmotion, Too bad Fragmotion died, it was wonderful.

I see a lot of ppl use,some expensive programs here.Wow the internet is a bottom less pit.of debaughtery.

Some here are students and can use the student versions which are pretty cheap.

I got my apps through bundles, PS6 is a Adobe Registred Ebay bought OEM version.

All the stuff mentioned there together cost less than 400 Euro and was bought in 3-4 years alltogether ... (Carrara6 Pro for example was part of the 200 USD special offer lately and as USD is as low as never, it didn't cost "much" actually compared to the regular pro price of over 500 USD)

Most of these programs cost from 1 to 6 weeks worth of work and provide various versions to suit any pocket. That's not much if you're not a teenager. Do you know many activities which do not require investment? I would say that this one is one of the less expensive in that respect (compared to, let's say, the cost of a workshop or a laboratory), expecially considered that these are necessary tools for anyone applying for such jobs: you don't expect a woodman to cut down trees with a spoon, do you?

Doiron says.you don't expect a woodman to cut down trees with a spoon, do you?

No i would not.

Then again i would not to expect someone to use maya 2008 with blitz3d.If you know what i mean.

only 8.5 unlim

If you have a business just get a lease for the apps you want. Costs about the same to lease 3dsmax for a year as it does for the yearly upgrade. And upgrades are included. Student versions of max are $200 which is only about 3 console games.

I use mostly freeware or selfmade Tools.

Textures: "The-Gimp" with some free Photoshop plugin's
with Wings3D I give the meshes UV-Coords and place the textures on them.
And digital camera fotos.

Blitz-Terrains: Scapemaker http://www.scapemaker.com/
and some tools by myself for Terrain-Height correction, selfmade tool for painting on the terrain-texture and selfmade tool for placing objects/meshes on the terrain.
For Blitz-Terrains again 2-3 layers Detail-Textures created withe "The-Gimp"

Mesh converting: Decorator http://www.blitzbasic.com/toolbox/toolbox.php?tool=26 and
Biturn http://mirex.mypage.sk/index.php?selected=1
or some free 3D-Modeller

B3D Meshes: Wings3D -> save as .3ds -> convert with Decorator in .b3d

B3D Animation: AnimB3D

GUI: Escape or Draw3D or selfmade Buttons and Filerequester.
http://www.east-power-soft.de/index.php?menu=blitzbasic_bescape
http://www.blitzforum.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21659

Sound: MidiKeyboard with Samplitude SE , VST-Proteus-Synth and much other free VST-Synths and VST-Effects and the freeware Audacity. I also have Cubase LE and some other tools from the EMU 0202 USB Bundle.

Sometimes I use Maplet and SlimShady, but possibly I buy Giles sometimes.

Treecreator: I tested some free, but I make with Wings3D very good low-poly-trees.

If the Max3D module is out, and you made it runable like the Blitz3D SDK for C++, then I will buy them.

Edit:
I use the IDEal IDE.

Nice_But_Dim : I've been a Lightwave and PS user for years. Anyone with a job can buy these tools. I know I did. What do you use?

I use Cinema4D, Silo2, ZBrush, Bodypaint, Photoshop and a set of digital SLR cameras mainly for content creation.
Then there are many many little tools from the educational and scientific side of software which can be used like tree-generators, polygonal modelers with a mathematical twist, etc. - more exotic stuff.

The best standard-interchange formats for my pipeline would be .obj, .3ds, .fbx (in that order). That or specialised exporter plugins for specific target systems.

Hi Nice_But_Dim, indeed it might seem weird for you using a top 3d content package with a not so expensive gem like blitz; however, maybe you are not taking into account that some people might have programming as hobby instead of the other way around.

I've found that if you find really comfortable with your tools, most likely you will increase your productivity and enjoyment on not having to break your head around useful interface but not quite on the spot. I paid my 3d content license on three client small jobs, so it isn't like you have to get a mortgage or something.

..and yes, i hope new B3D format will keep at least 2UV map sets (im not sure is there actually limitation regarding that, and if so, why)..C4 far as i can remember can support 'unlimited' number of UV map sets, if i remember correctly...

There's nothing wrong in using Maya with B3D: you can reach excellent results with full bright and baking everything to diffuse.

Personally, I find far more surprising to see people using Milkshape with B3D (which is actually like cutting a tree with a spoon if you follow my analogy).


That's my point. :)

Anyway, not all tools are expensive like 3DSMax or XSI.

GameSpace, Paint Shop Pro.

for 3d:
- Blender3d
- 3d-coat
- Giles
- some ati/nvidia tools if needed

for 2d:
- Gimp
- some ati/nvidia tools if needed
- Digital camera & scanner if needed

3D Studio max
Photoshop

And legit!

3D Studio Max + pipeline
Photoshop
Terragen on occasion

Carrera, Hexigon, Paintshop Pro, Texture Maker

blender+photoshop

PLS

3D World Studio
Blender
Paint Shop Pro