Basically I'm hoping someone can give advice with a comparison of the modeling tools in Hexagon, Vue 6 and Cinema 4D.

I have Hexagon and am working through the docs/tutorials right now.  I'm also interested in getting either Vue 6 or Cinema 4D.  I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time with Hexagon?  Is the modeling feature set in Vue 6 or Cinema 4D greater?  Would my time be better spent learning those tools?  I've heard great things about Hexagon in terms of it's flexibility but if it turns out Hexagon's modeling tools are only a subset of what's possible in Vue 6 or Cinema 4D then is it really worth my time to learn Hexagon?

I have a similar question comparing Vue 6 to Cinema 4D.  What are the main distinctions between the two?  Is there anything you simply can't accomplish with one of them that you can with the other?

Vue is not a modeler. It is landscape/foliage 'environment builder'. It does some other stuff; but that is by far it's strongest area. It's a pretty good renderer too. Great environment builder.

C4D is 'full featured' 3d application. It has all of Hexagon's functionality, in general; and can do many things that Hexagon is not designed to do.

I don't use Hexagon; but have been told that it is a good modeler.

There is a good Vue -> C4D workflow. Vue xStream integrates well into quite a few other applications. C4D is one of them.
I'm not saying it's entirely impossible to build a Vue environment in C4D alone; but it would be damn hard and take FOREVER to do it.

EDIT - You could well find that you prefer making models with Hexagon; but still want C4D for all of the other things that it can do that Hexagon never was meant to.

That really helps a lot!  Thanks!

BTW, is the problem with booleans the production of unreasonably complex meshes?  Do you have a link to more information on that?

Problem with booleans is messy meshes. Lots of odd triangles and ngons. The true nightmare starts when you subdivide.

No links.

Ahhh.  Got it.

Cinema leaves Hexagon far, far back in the dust.  If you have Cinema 4D, I can't see why you'd spend much time at all with Hexagon (I don't).  Of course it's more money though.

I think this is the case:

Hexagon - just a modeler (a very good if you know to model)

Vue - an lanscape creator that can interact with C4D in the XStream version (lots of money here)

Cinema 4D - complete 3D solution with model, render, animation, hair, particles and other features (lots of money here too)

In resume you can use all them, but first take you time to Cinema 4D if you have the money to buy it. At same time for almost the same price you can think in XSI 7 too that have the same tools but its more used in big productions.

Boolean: a problem in ANY software, you need to know what you are doing, the better way is using extrude to get the same result, more work but better results. In general box modeling can be very helpfull in this case, so just try to avoid booleans.

Booleans and polygon meshes 99% mean trouble. They are more for the nurbs world, where different rules apply for modeling compared to tpolygon meshes.
That said, nurbs are not in fashion right now, unless you're in the CAD/CAM/CAE business...

Manoloz you are right, but theres a low price 3D softare called Moi that can do a lot of things and its Nurbs only:

http://moi3d.com/

I don't know what to say.  You guys have really given me a lot more depth of response than I dared to hope for.  Thank you all for the thoughtful replies!  Meanwhile I'm busy trying out trials of pretty much everything.  It's too bad Softimage trial has a 30 day limit as it takes longer to really get a sense of whether a given app meets one's needs and fits with the workflow.  I'm tempted to enroll in school just for the educational pricing.  I don't care if I can't make commercial works with it.  It's just something I expect to become a serious hobby.  Moi looks pretty cool too.

GKDantas,
In that you are right :) I've heard a lot of good things about Moi, but I use Amapi for my nurbs stuff. You could also use Rhino, but it is a bit more expensive.
entera_voss,
Just remember that eventually, you'll have a mixed-app workflow, so don't get TOO married to an app, it can be counter productive in the long run.
Just my two cents.
If you are just for the hobby part, look into Houdini by SideFX. IMHO it is the most complete 3d app out there, and there is a learning edition which is free, and a "starving artist" edition which goes for $100 US (just not for commercial work). The complete edition is even more expensive than Maya, 3dsmax, or Softimage, though...

I think that Houdini for hobby its a big adventure... Houdini its getting place to be one of the best effects software now with fluid and particles better then Maya now.
If you want a hobby I think that Blender that its really frre is the better way to go... BUT theres a lot of others softwares like TrueSpace that now its free too... well the list never ends. Try all and use what you think is better for your workflow...

Ah, but both Blender and Truespace sport the most un-user-friendly interfaces (not my words) in 3d.
Still, they're free, so they're worth a look anyway.
But as you say, trying out your hand in all of them and deciding for yourself is really the way to go.

Yes... I have Truespace 6.5 and never dedicated time to learn it... Blender its a cool tool with lot of plugins for almost everything BUT the interface its a little strange, and even knowing Lightwave a lot, Carrara and a bit of Maya I couldnt understand it without reading...

If you want to model polygonal meshes using the essential basics of winged edge topography based box modeling and Catmull Clarke subdivision without the distraction or clutter of a lousy and unintuitive GUI...  And if you want to manipulate your 3D objects using powerful and innovative vector operation based tools...  And you want a program with those features, yet easy enough such that you start getting results in under a week... And if you want to get a somewhat decent UV mapping system tossed in just because...

...Ok you probably guessed it, yes it's another plug for Wings3D. And yeah, it's really that good despite being free and open source. It's worth checking out sometime. Exports to .obj and .3ds, so it works well with other programs.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to make and your personal workflow. Most polygonal modeling applications can be used to make anything you can think of but you have to be able to work in the app without feeling like you're fighting it to get what you want. So try out the demos and learning editions of programs you are interested in before making your purchase, as it would suck big time to buy an app only to find out you hate modeling in it.

Houdini apprentice is fantastic for the price.

Blender I would support - it's UI is not that bad, workflow is good if you can use your keyboard ok, and it's very fully featured for a freeby. Even better if you hate the UI there are branches of the code stream with different UIs.

Quote - as it would suck big time to buy an app only to find out you hate modeling in it.

That happened to me with both RayDream Designer and Carrara.  So I only used them for rendering.

But on the rendering end (staging, setting attributes, and drag and drop materials) Carrara is actually pretty darn nice and I'm even willing to say newb friendly. But yeah, I agree the modeling side of the app it can be a bit figety and leaves alot to be desired. (But there are so many compatable modeling apps - some of them free, it makes up for that.)

I always liked Amapi and Hexagon for modeling back in the day because I didn't have to think about the GUI.  I just focused on the modeling, which was more like 3D sculpting.

Modo is also worth a try. It's not cheap, but it's lovely to model in.

C4d is a fairly top-end modeller and renderer. Hexagon is more limited but at a cheaper price. Vue and carrara are more landscaping generators, and do it very well. You wont waste time learning to model in Hexagon, you may need some time to learn what the tools in a new software do .

Booleans can cause problems in meshes, because you get some strange polygons unless you take a lot of time with alignments. After you do a boolean remember to merge points , and cleanup the mesh.   If you are using booleans to drill holes , it can be better to split up the mesh so each hole goes through only 1 or two polygons . Drilling lots of holes in a disk will give you a nasty mess in most modellers. It will look fine in tyhe modeller but export it as an obj and thats where it gets fun. 

C4d is right up there with Max and Maya. However, if you're just learning, I'd say try a combination of Wings and Blender. Both free, both excellent programs to learn on.

Houdini has an edition that goes for 2000.

Lightwave is also an excellent program I have great respect for. Also used a lot in the industry.

Hey... How does Silo fit in in comparison to Hexagon?

Silo is now a "me too" modeler.  Very successful and very well supported by its leader and community.  A lot of Wings3D people adopted it.  If you have a modeler that does UV mapping that you like using already, you don't need Silo.