I am thinking looking to get a better 3d software package then Poser or bryce4. I am looking at Lightwave6 or True Space4. I would love to have 3D Studio Max but can't afford it. I am looking for a program that gives me the most bang for my buck at creating models and props and has a great render engine for creating and animating scenes. I am currently a student so I can use an educational discount to purchase some software. I can get Lightwave 6 for $900, which is a great price but stil pricy for me. Or I can get True Space for $280. Both use the same rendering engine and I must say that I am impressed by the work I have seen using True Space. Does anyone have any feedback for me? I would appreciate it. Thank You Lilmikee

I use Truspace 4 for all my modeling work. I am very happy with it. I have not used Lightwave so I'm unable to offer an opinion. If you need specifics I'll be happy to answer emails. PhilC pcooke@mis.net

lilmikee, if I were in your situation (i.e. a college student) I'd go for TrueSpace4 for the time being. I've been using TrueSpace for about 5 years and it goes back to my freshman year in college when I first got my hands on TrueSpace2. IMHO, there's no better entry-level 3D package than TrueSpace and it's definitely the most bang for the buck. Moreover, it comes with a number of functions that you can only find in pricy packages such as 3D Studio MAX and what have you. What's more impressive about v.4 is it comes with Radiosity function (allows you to procude more realistic render in terms of lighting) that's available only as an expensive plug-in even for 3D Studio MAX R3. TrueSpace is very versatile tool and it has lots of room to grow in. It may not have all the bells and whistles that others have but I think it will take you a while to master bones, NURBS modeling, precision modeling, Organic modeling, and a number of other cool stuff. By no means I am saying LW6 is not a good choice but only if you could afford it.... Give it a chance. You won't regret it. (Oh, check out my work at gallery. I built most of the objects used in "Morning Solitude" in TrueSpace4 because it's just clean and easy.) Hope this helps. ^_^

I use Truespace as well I don't really care for the interface to but it does a pretty good job, I don't know anything about lightwave ( way out of my price range).I think Caligari has a special going on now for TS 3 and 4 so it might be a good time to buy . If you do get Truespace 4 I would recommend the Thermoclay and Blend-O-matic plugins both by Mente Magica ( you can find thier link on the caligari home page under plugins , commercial plugins.

On the other hand, might be real smart to take advantage of student pricing while you're still a student. If you have and learn lightwave, you're in the league of pros. -Darth

If you can afford Lightwave6, then you should jump at the chance to get hold of such a good 'high end' product. This is especially true if you want to develop your 3D skills into a future career. Lightwave is a widely used pro package, Truespace isn't. Truespace is looking quite good on paper nowadays, but, with respect to the Truespace fans, the reality of using it pales beside Lightwave. BTW, you said that Lightwave and Truespace use the same render engine. I don't think this is so. Truespace4 uses Lightworks' radiosity engine in that part of its renderer, but Lightworks isn't Lightwave.

Lilmikee, what OS are you running, and what kind of computer do you have (CPU speed, memory). Lightwave is supposed to be an excellent app, but it only runs on Windows NT, Windows 2000, some of the workstation OSes, and Mac OS, IIRC. If you've got the money and a computer that can handle it, don't hesitate to get Lightwave, otherwise, Truespace should be OK (I had it running on Windows 95 on an old Pentium MMX 200 with 32 MB RAM for a while).

I really can't offer much of an opinion as to functionality (I just got LW from a friend who went to a new package :-), but I'm running 5.5 on a PII 400/64mb Ram/Win 98 w/o any problems.

I use Lightwave 5.6, have 6 (but not installed until my own computer is repaired) and I do all of my modelling in it. Go on over to the SciFi-Art web pages and forums to truly see a diversity in how the various programs can render. The majority of the professional 3D studios, like Foundation Imaging, use Lightwave. As Peter (PJF) says, jump on the opportunity to get LW 6 while you can at that price.