Dumb Question Regarding 3D Modeling Software

[The Virgo]

Just a dumb question that hopefully someone can help me understand:

Regarding Maya, 3D Studio Max and Softimage XSI: How the hell can anyone justify charging 3,500 dollars for 3D modeling software?! I mean, it's really outrageous, especially since they are all difficult to use! Then you have to pay extra for tutorials! For $3,500, I can get a Roland Fantom G8 keyboard!

I mean, Blender has major user-friendly issues too, but it's free. It's hard to hate something that's FREE.

Can someone justify the cost of $3,500 for modeling software? Also, why does one company sell three different kinds of modeling software? Maya, 3D Studio Max and Softimage are all sold from the same website, yet they basically do the same thing. What's the difference?

Fun Fact: The captcha is "know your rights".

 

[Nihlex]

Over all quality and compatibility is better with more expensive software. You can buy a pen for $1 but a $100 pen will generally look better, or feel better. As with most things it's down to what you use your tools for, if you use it for fun then yeah Blender does the job because it's free, if your running a multi-million dollar operation you will need better tools then someone working in their basement.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Overall design, compatibility, and reliability is what makes those brands stand out from the free things, usually.

But hey, if you're looking for some free, decent quality 3D rendering software, I recommend GMax. I used it often back in my days of modding for the Halo CE community. It takes a while to learn, but it's well worth it. The only thing that really sets it apart from things such as 3Ds Max and other programs is the quality and user interface. Other than that, they practically do the same thing.

Here's a link to the program if you're interested. I'd recommend it.

http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax

 

[The Virgo]

Over all quality and compatibility is better with more expensive software. You can buy a pen for $1 but a $100 pen will generally look better, or feel better. As with most things it's down to what you use your tools for, if you use it for fun then yeah Blender does the job because it's free, if your running a multi-million dollar operation you will need better tools then someone working in their basement.

Okay, I can understand that, but define "quality". All a model is is a group of polygons being connected together. How does one program do a better job of that than another.?

 

[Nihlex]

Over all quality and compatibility is better with more expensive software. You can buy a pen for $1 but a $100 pen will generally look better, or feel better. As with most things it's down to what you use your tools for, if you use it for fun then yeah Blender does the job because it's free, if your running a multi-million dollar operation you will need better tools then someone working in their basement.

Okay, I can understand that, but define "quality". All a model is is a group of polygons being connected together. How does one program do a better job of that than another.?

How fast the program can render the polygons, and how it renders them. Along with how the polygon reacts to particles and animating or modelling. It's not so much as Polygon number 1 is nicer then polygon number 2, it's more the tools available to you in the program give you a nicer finished product.

 

[dorkette1990]

Part of it is the quality of the program. I'm not sure about softimage, as I've never used it, but Maya and Max have different tool sets and different layouts. It comes down to the artists' preferences. I notice that you define a model as "a group of polygons being connected together". It's the multitude of ways the program can let you effect those connections and polygons. For example, I can use google sketchup and create a 3d model of a desk, or I can use Max. Max will take me longer to do it, but the eventual model has more options - it has UVW mapping, modifiers, animation systems, lighting systems, and rigging systems (to name but a few features). So if you're looking to make a dinky desk model, it makes sense to avoid the more powerful programs. However if you're looking for a character model....
Also, artists don't usually pay out of pocket for these - game studios buy licenses for it or have proprietary software for modelling. The price is high because it's uncommon for an independent artist to buy it, and usually people don't get it just for a hobby.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It took them alot of time and money to make those would be the simplest answer.

Blender has user supported development, the others are developed by companies where everyone needs to be payed.
But I'll be honest I can't see the actual pricetag reason either, I guess they keep it high due to exclusivity -> not many buyers so the price needs to be high as possible to cover the expenses.

BTW, if you are looking for something really simple look up Google Sketchup, very simple and natural to use, hasn't got all the fancy toys but you can export to any other modelling tool.

 

[Erana]

These programs are tools of the trade. People make their livelihood off them.
They were never designed with casual hobbyists in mind, and the prices reflect that.

Spoiler

The Fuck Yeah Art Newbie Owl is right.
Real art supplies are painfully expensive, and its not just the fancy software.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Way back in the day, I tried to use some 3d software that was dirt cheap, like $30 or so. It was so utterly terrible - user-hostile, it was completely unusable. All my 3D experience came form doing maps in q3radiant, but I could tell that was simply terrible. I don't remember the name of the program (un)fortunately. Milk-something I think.

Well actually all these 3D modeling tools are a brick wall of learning before you can do anything, due to all the possibilities they have hundreds of tools all of which require their special setup and geometry that they work on, and usually each tool works in 3-15 different ways.
There really is nothing user friendly about any of them, Google Sketchup has the lowest entry point but a newbie will still get completely lost unless he gets some tutorials.

And that really is the big difference, who is the tool for.
Blender is as capable as all the others, but it is an open source community project, if something goes wrong you are completely relying on the community for support, which is all fine and well for the individual.
But should you run a company on a tight schedule and can't afford to lose hours or days on faulty projects you need reliable support, and that is what you really pay for, no tool is perfect but with someone to fall back to all issues are sure to be resolved.

 

[skywolfblue]

I mean, Blender has major user-friendly issues too, but it's free. It's hard to hate something that's FREE.

It's the difference between buying a tractor, or sowing all your crops by hand. Sure sowing it by hand may be "free" compared to an expensive tractor, but it's orders of magnitude more difficult.

 

[ThriKreen]

Much like how Photoshop is like $700+ or something, you're barely scratching the surface for what these tools are capable of doing in the hands of an experienced artist.

Add in motion capture support, cloth simulation, radiosity rendering, network rendering, an SDK for writing export/import plugins for your game engine, scripting language to automate tasks, etc., etc.

Also, they differ quite a lot. I've only used Max and Maya, and the interface is quite different between them. I've found Max's interface good for environment modeling, but Maya is much better for animation.

And part of the cost in the package's price also includes like a year of support from Autodesk. Also, upgrade prices are much cheaper (to encourage studios to upgrade every year).

 

[Arachon]

I mean, Blender has major user-friendly issues too, but it's free. It's hard to hate something that's FREE.

It's the difference between buying a tractor, or sowing all your crops by hand. Sure sowing it by hand may be "free" compared to an expensive tractor, but it's orders of magnitude more difficult.

To be fair, I'd say that Blender in it's current incarnation is about as easy to use as the major commercial 3D packages. But it took them 13 years of development to get to that point. And it still misses some features that leaves me astounded (no 'Bevel Edge tool'? W.T.F?). I still quite like it though, definitely prefer it to the "lighter" commercial 3D packages out there (such as Cinema4D for example).