From: Doug Bowman [bowman@cs.vt.edu] Sent: Monday, October 11, 1999 11:16 AM To: 3dui List Subject: 3d modeling packages This is not a very "research-y" question, but I think it's an important one for those of us building VE applications and experiments. I'm interested in finding out which 3d modeling packages people use to create objects for their virtual worlds. (I know you don't code it all in openGL ;-) ). I've used Wavefront (actually the 'model' module of the Wavefront Advanced Visualizer), Alias, and just a taste of 3D Studio Max and the free Blender. Wavefront is old and has a horrible interface, but is fairly reliable (plus the VE software I use already has a file parser for OBJ files). Alias is nice, but way too expensive and really geared more towards animation than just modeling. 3DS Max I couldn't figure out at all, but I understand architects and other design types love it. It doesn't output OBJ files, to my knowledge. Blender (my apologies if anyone loves it) has an incomprehensible interface, but it *is* free. So, what else do people use? What are the pros and cons? What platforms does it run on, and what file formats does it support? Best, --Doug -- Doug A. Bowman, Ph.D. (540) 231-7537 Assistant Professor bowman@vt.edu Computer Science www.cs.vt.edu/~bowman/ Virginia Tech