Hi all, I am currently experimenting with my free version of vue 2 that I got from 3dworld mag. I'm looking forward to upgrading to 4 soon. What modelling programs do you vue users use and have found to be the most useful for import into vue?

Hi Esther! Welcome to the wonderful world of Vue-ing! :) Anything that exports what Vue will import is a worthy modeler, so just pick whichever you feel most comfortable working with. Vue 2 will import DXF, OBJ and LWO (I think). Possibly some other formats. (You can check by using Object > Import and just peek at what file formats it will accept.) Nearly every modeling program will export DXF, so you can always rely on that one. (There are some older DXF versions that Vue won't import, but if you're dealing with newer items, you probably won't run into a problem there.) A couple of my favorites: Ray Dream Studio (now defunct) and PlantStudio. I also do quite a bit of modeling in Vue itself, using the primitive objects. Actually quite a bit can be made that way! :)

I've made several things in Rhino to be used in Vue. On the lower end, price-wise, Amorphium objects import well into Vue....Thios is Vue 3 I'm talking about here, and thinking about it, Vue has never choked on anything I've tried to import, even LWO 6 objects which I've converted to LWO 6.0 objects and 3DM (Rhino) objects converted to 3DS, both with 3D Exploration. And Vue 4 will have even more support, presumably LWO 6 and I also thing that it'll be good for importing TrueSpace objects with textures intact and all that good stuff. But anyway, I've not had a problem with Vue and any modelers, even the free modeling programs such as Anim8or and Marble Clay.

I suggest Truespace 5 ,now at 299$.Vue 4 will import cob format.But ,like all modeler ,it will have a learning curve

Acually, I bought my first trueSpace (4.3) from the Caligari website, because even with shipping (and allowing import duty) it was cheaper than buying it in the UK. Then I pre-ordered the upgrade to 5 via an offer from Guildsoft, the UK distributor. So you should be able to get it at $299, it's worth an inquiring email should you be from the UK. Failing that, go here for trueSpace 1, free of charge, and all legit :) http://www.pcplus.co.uk/article.asp?id=8556

Thank you... I was looking for this for a friend:)

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I will check out the programs you suggested. With Vue 2 I have had some problems importing some dxf objects, either with the object being deformed or vue crashing while trying to import. I have tried with Amapi (sometimes deformed), Blender (crash), poser 4 (seems to work OK with figures and primitives), and spatch (deformed). Sometimes if a model crashes in vue and I take it and open and save in another modeling program it works (such as taking a blender model and resaving it in Amapi). Maybe this is just a problem with Vue 2. I have tried the free Truespace 1 but without the manual was kind of lost. I was impressed with the variety of tools and the materials editor and the reduced price for version 5 along with Vue 4 being able to import .cob files makes it sound really attractive. Does anyone know if Truespace has primitive boolean operations? It didn't seem to have it in version 1.

1. Vue 2 only imports DFX and RAW. The Vue 2.1 upgrade adds OBJ import but doesn't support MTL files so you'll have to add textures by hand. Vue 3 added 3DS and Lightwave support. Vue 3.1 added MTL support for OBJ files. 2. Truespace does, indeed, have complete boolean functions including subtract, union, and intersection. There is also a free plugin that "solidifies" nonprimitive objects so they can be used with boolean functions as well. -SMT

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

2.1 may fix those crashes toooo...

To Smallspace:where can i find this free plugin wich solidifie?By the way, the booleen operations are quite good with Truespace 5.1.Thanks

I see Mike mentioned Anim8or and marbleCLAY. If someone is completely new to modelling I would point them to Anim8or, as it is free, very easy to learn, and there is a large user base of users to fall back on. marbleCLAY...must be one of the most powerfull free modellers that I have ever had the pleasure of using...but, if you expect a help file or tutorials then you better start learning Japanese. This is a shame, because I'm sure it put's people off, but with a bit of time it does all fall into place. Cheers

 

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--------------- A life?! Cool!! Where do I download one of those?---------------

Attached Link: http://www.caligari.com/products/tsx/Free/free.htm

Martial: The plugin is called, "Solidify" (gee...how did they think up that name?) and is free on Caligari's web site. To quote: "This extension helps to solve the problem of non-solid objects in trueSpace. A Solid object is specified as an object that does not have "holes" in the surface or that it does not contain edges where the surface ends. This extension patches such "holes" and connects "edges" by new faces." Truespace can perform boolean functions on any solid. Just follow the link and download :) -SMT

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

Attached Link: http://www.openfx.org/about/index.php

Thanks for the True Space info, raven and smallspace. I d/l'd the free version 1 of it, just to see, and man... that interface....I dunno about that, but I'm trying to figure it out. Anyone know of any good TS 1 tutorials anywhere? The one at the site isn't very good. And the link above here goes to a very cool app called Open FX, which is a NURBS modeler, like Rhino. It's actually pretty good, and does booleans, plus if you can stomach the 40 MB download, it conmes with alot of prefab models, which aren't too bad, really. Otherwise, the download for the program itself, minus the extras is around 20 MB. -Mike

I might add, OFX is completely free, and among it's features, is pretty decent render engine, plus animation. I actually made a couple of neat little animations with it, and it renders fairly quickly.

Might as well also mention Strata 3D, which is free for download (version 3). It's a little awkward to start with, but there are some excellent tutorials available (most notably by Chris White who is prolific!). On the downside, Strata only exports to DXF and doesn't do real Booleans.

You know, the Truespace GUI really hasn't changed that much from versions 1 though 5. Maybe a little explanation on the history of Truespace would help. Truespaces ancestor, called "Caligari" was first released in 1988 for the Commodore Amiga. A lot of the look and function of Truespace is due to the fact that it was an Amiga program, not a Windows program. In 1993, the name of the company (previously "Octree Corporation) was changed to "Caligari". In 1994, the program was renamed, "Truespace" and released for Windows 3.1. (Thats when I first bought it, so Ive been using it on Windows as long as anybody) In 1995, Truespace 2 was released. While it contained a few feature upgrades, it was released primarily with a bunch of rewritten code to deal with Windows 95. The real upgrade came in 1997, with the release of Truespace 3 which added VRML support, inverse kinematics, physics, metaballs, 3D paint and collision detection. In 1998, Truespace 4 was released, now featuring the Lightworks rendering engine with volumetrics and radiosity in addition to a few new 3D tools. Truespace 5, released this year, is the first real step away from the original Amiga GUI, adding "4 window" support ( like Vue has), nurbs modeling, a redesigned material editor, expanded import/export filters and increased render speed. Truespace has always had that "Amiga look" to it, and out of the box isnt set up to function like your typical Windows program. Its VERY icon driven requiring the user to remember what icon does what. Once customized and mastered, however, it becomes both elegant and extremely addictive. Other more standard interfaces such a Max and especially Lightwave begin to seem clunky and cumbersome. For years I bounced between Truespace and Raydream (cursing the fact that I couldnt transfer files between them) before I finally settled on Truespace. (when it got to version 4) The older versions of Truespace had this god-awful SLOOOOW rendering engine that was completely outclassed by Raydreams, but it was soooo much easier to model in Truespace. I wouldnt recommend any version of Truespace below version 4 for anything other than modeling and exporting to another program, however, if modeling is your goal, then Truespace 3 is where the features started piling up. Since you can get it from Caligari for $99, I consider it a good value. -SMT

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!

I think I need the 4 view option of Truespace 5. It makes it easier to model. When I get Vue 4 I'll download the 30-day trial of Truespace 5. I can't wait to see how fully textured models import to Vue 4. I would like to see others' works as well.