Every program i’ve used on a Mac kicks max’s #%#%#% hardcore, especialy Pixels3d http://www.pixels3d.com
On a PC Lightwave is better because it dosent crash as much as max and it isnt as buggy as max
Maya is by far the best 3dprogram on pc, absolutely no comparison what so ever
Gee… to compare the quality of MAX and Pixels3d, I took a look at the galleries on the sites. The images on the Pixels3d gallery,here , suggest that its renderers and shaders aren’t too powerful. If you take a look at a MAX gallery here , you can see what I mean. So I woudn’t want to bash the quality of MAX so much. I’ve played with Maya, but I don’t like the interface and tool set too much (I havn’t run it since Maya 2.5), though it may be more powerful.
I'd say the best way to start with MAX would be to start at page 1 of the tutorials book if you're not familiar with the interface, and then doing most of the tutorials in the book starting with the still life, even though they may seem so easy as to be worth skipping. The order that the skills are taught seems pretty good to me.you also have to compare the number of users max has an incredible number of users, while pixels3d has a very small number and it hasnt been around near as long so you can’t expect the same quality of work from the users.
btw…ever see starship troopers? alot of the effects in that, like the mass bugs sceenes were done in an early version of pixels3d, i believe 2.5
any1 use bryce?i love how easy it is, makes great backgrounds for complex scenes
*Originally posted by Gope *
**Stay away from 3dsmax at ALL COSTS, it as absolute trash, i spend countless hours working with computer graphics, and have used around half a dozen 3d programs and i can tell you that 3dsmax is by far the WORST OUT THERE!!! **
I’ve been searching in reference sites and so far it looks like 3dsmax is the best. Or at least one of the best.
Blizzard uses MAX for all the cinematics.
*Originally posted by ChrisH *
**I have found the printed books sent with the earlier versions of 3DStudio to be very helpful. (I’m learning on 2.5, I gave all the newer versions to students)
**
If you wanted to go even farther back in the dark ages, I still have 3D studio r4 from '97 
As far as the main question, just one tutorial or book isn’t going to make you an expert, or even proficient. The best way to learn 3D studio is to practice, read, practice, read, and practice 10 times more.
As far as whether 3d studio max is the best software out there, the answer should be a question asking for what purpose.
Remember that almost all movies with affects were done using custom software and/or custom plugins. To compare what is availible to students and to movie studios isn’t fair, even if the software is similar.
Max is the best, there is no explaining what it can do. It is very powerful, if you know how to use it.
*Originally posted by Gope *
**Stay away from 3dsmax at ALL COSTS, it as absolute trash, i spend countless hours working with computer graphics, and have used around half a dozen 3d programs and i can tell you that 3dsmax is by far the WORST OUT THERE!!! **
So what? You have to use it for your animation. That prohibits staying away from it. :rolleyes:
That said, it looks good to me, not that I have used anything else.
Wetzel
Opinion stated aboveIt seems like 3dsmax is the most popular for modeling for 3d games and Maya is the most popular for movies. I’m almost positive Pixar uses Maya is some way, heavily modified though. I’m also pretty sure the final fantasy movie was made in maya. And Blizzard uses 3dsmax. I also saw a screenshot of the GTA3 map open in 3dsmax on rockstar’s website so I assume they use 3dsmax for everything as well.
Either way, both Maya and 3dsmax are great and very popular. I guess lightwave is fairly popular as well, but anything else you learn chances are when you look for a job the companies won’t be using what you learned.
Max5 is real purdy… Hopefully we will get copies of that and this will end this silly debate. We must use max, and max5 is definately better than 4 (in my humble opinion)
Dude…this entire debate on which 3d program is the best is totally moronic. Its entirely based on personal preference and what programs you have used in the past/what you are used to and how well the interface works for you. Try them all out, theyre all decent, but the major players in this are 3dSMAX, Lightwave, and Maya. They all have their Strengths and Weaknesses and none can be claimed to be above the rest. Theyre all tools that one can use to reach one goal, its just the one that fits best in your hand. They are all extremely powerful and they have most of the capabilities of each other.
*Originally posted by Chris Nowak *
**Dude…this entire debate on which 3d program is the best is totally moronic. Its entirely based on personal preference and what programs you have used in the past/what you are used to and how well the interface works for you. Try them all out, theyre all decent, but the major players in this are 3dSMAX, Lightwave, and Maya. They all have their Strengths and Weaknesses and none can be claimed to be above the rest. Theyre all tools that one can use to reach one goal, its just the one that fits best in your hand. They are all extremely powerful and they have most of the capabilities of each other. **
Well said. I must input one thought though, Lightwave, in my opinion, is more for cameras and lighting, Max is more for low polygon count, and maya is for stunning complexity which makes comparing the three useless. In all three of these programs anything is possible.
Thought I’d post a link to our local colleges 16 week intensive course for animation. http://www.mmdclab.com/ They use Maya for their course. If you are interested in 3D animation I understand that this is a first rate course with a high rate of placement in the industry. Have fun
Ken
Ok. I think I have enough references now. I found a few other websites by searching and I found the following: www.3dlinks.com, www.3dcafe.com, www.raph.com/3dartists, and www.zoomorphix.com. Thanks for all of your help guys.
I personaly prefer Lightwave. The control panels are simply arranged MUCH better than MAX’s and I like Lightwave’s animater/renderer a bit more.
*Originally posted by MBiddy *
**Blizzard uses MAX for all the cinematics. **
That alone is good reason enough to use it!
i cant wait to learn max … it looks like such a flexible rpogram…
Well, I’ve finally completed some things. To see some of my work, although I’m still gradually getting better, go to www.turbosquid.com and search for Hailfire in the main screen. There, you’ll find some of the things that I’ve made. You can download them at your will since I made them free for download. Others, however, place a price on their work. Search around and you’ll be able to find lots of great examples.
I like your choice of subjects to model . You seem to have learned enough to exhaust the possibilites of simple-poly modeling… I’d strongly reccomend you do the MAX 5 tutorials starting on Pg. 47(you can skip this) and Pg. 221… Meshsmooth NURMS models are fun 
Yeah, I would but, one of the other team members has the 3dsmax5 tutorials. So unfortunately, I can’t look at the tutorials just yet.