Help! (3D object editing)

[onelifecrisis]

Hi peeps. I need to do some very, very simple changes to a 3D model (increase its size) and need a freeware tool to do it. I downloaded a trial copy of Blender but it won't open the .obj files that Pack3D exports. I tried to download another Maya but its so big that the download timed out. If there's no other option then I'll install a download manager and try that one again but... I figure there has to be a smaller, simpler tool somewhere that can do this. Any ideas?

Thanks a lot
OLC

[danlisa]

Don't bother with Maya (free version), you'll need a OBJ plugin, which costs.

You could try Gmax, again you'll need a plugin freely available (Google).

You can also try Wings 3D which is ready to go.

[onelifecrisis]

Looking up Wings 3D... thanks danlisa!

[flakmonkey]

Yep wings is the one most folks seem to use... If thats no good id be happy to do the resizing for you in maya.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

what are you planning this time, olc? :hmm:

[HundertzehnGustav]

Wings3d is my fave at this time.
i have had Gmax -complete and complex, but powerful.
i guess that Wings3D to maya is like Microsoft Paint to Photoshop...
rough, but gets the job done.

more important yet, you do not get overly confused and lose your courage as to the complexity.

even a Dummy like me is able to modify a model...

[HundertzehnGustav]

@Mikhayl:
i loaded the russian Type 7 Destroyer in Wings3D this lmorning.
that ship is not multiskinable, and has one fixed texture.
That texture is loaded into wings3D too(you can see it on the Hull), and made "handling" the Type 7 Destoyer very slow and rough.
(beautiful ship though, holy cow)

I was lucky that i chose the german type 34, wich was made multiskinnable by sergbuto a long time ago.
no texture is fixed on the model (no texture visible), and the handling in Wings3D is very smooth.

[flakmonkey]

I think theres a free full version of Truespace also which is pretty good.

Oooh...you can also get Cinema4d (an older version) free too.

The problem with stuff like Maya and 3dsMax is the price, when i bought maya i had a choice, buy a new car or buy maya

[HundertzehnGustav]

hey Flak how much do these things cost? 100? 200? 500?
and where would i find that? not at my usual computer store or what...

[flakmonkey]

HundertzehnGustav:
Im not sure on prices today, but back when i bough Maya (2002-3) it was around £14`000, although shortly after there was a major price drop

That was for the Unlimited version though which included mayaFur and a bunch of other crap i never use.

You can probably get a professional app for anywhere from £2000 to £10000 today (Max/Maya/Houdini etc), some of the lower end stuff like C4d can be had for £500-£1000.

But if your not using it for commercial reasons you can go for student versions which can save you anything up to 75%.

[HundertzehnGustav]

holy shytte!

14 k pounds, that is 21 k Yureus

gotta be good then, eh. I saw German Cockpit Gauges modeled and rendered in 3DSmax once - and was amazed... better than in the flight simulator!

But at these Price tags i think i shall stick with Wings3D for a while.


21k is what i make in an entire year of work...

[onelifecrisis]

Cool, I'm sorted now.

Originally Posted by Philipp_Thomsen

what are you planning this time, olc? :hmm:

Good things in OLC Env like:

• Your visual range now exactly matches the abilities of your crew. I don't want to change anything that affects sensors (contrary to popular beliefs there are several settings in scene.dat which affect sensors) so I changed the graphics to match the sensors instead of tweaking the sensors to match the graphics. For example, in zero fog in the 8km version you can now see ships up to 8.1km (same as your crew) instead of 9.4km.
• Horizon haze on the 16km version.