Wish for GMAX support

#1 Downloading right now.

I have been using 3Dsmax for 6 years now and Im going to test this GMAX see if its worth anything.

I will return with a review of GMAX later if anyone is interested.

This could be good news al around.

I don't think that porting the dts exporter is going to be a problem, but what do I know that kinda stuff.

Hmmm Discreet releasing a free tool, never though I should live to see that day.
I will look into this aspect as well to see if there's a catch somewhere.

// Clocks out.

#2 I'm looking forward to seeing your review on GMAX.

#3 There are a lot of catches to the GMax "free" tool. We talked to them at CGDC, but they didn't get what GG is trying to do. They wanted to charge GG on a per seat use of the tool. In fact, the per seat use was more than the cost of 3DS Max.

Don't look for support of GMax from GG any time soon.

Jeff Tunnell GG

#4 Ouch, didn't know that. Thanks for the update.

#5 Well here is my quick review anyway, even without the support form GG.

GMAX by Discreet review by Karsten Viese

I myself is a heavy max user and have worked with 3d Studio Max since version 1.
I have been going thought all the versions from 3DSM R1 to 3DSM R4.2 that I'm using now.

I downloaded GMAX to see if it is worth the money and since its free then that is easily answered.

Yes it is worth every penny.

But is it worth the download time?

And again the answer is yes.

I quickly went through the features of GMAX and knowning where to look
it didnt take me long to see that a lot of things have been removed.
But on the other hand almost every thing you need to develope lowpoly models
for your games is still there.

Most important is the new polymesh or "Editable poly" as its real name seem to be.
This is a very cool and fast way of producing models once you learn how to use it.
Just make a simple box convert it to an editable poly.
Select faces, vertices, edges and etc... extrude, divide, cut and chamfer untill
you model is finished. Easy :)

The list of modifiers is quiet long and cover almost (if not all) all you need to
to make lowpoly game models.
The usual tools like dummys, light and whatnot is also there.

The animatoin part looks like it got all of the function that 3DSM have,
including bones and manipulators.

One thing that has changed is the material editor.
Since I'm used to the old one which hasent changed since the first version
I found the one in GMAX a little confusing.
This might not be a problem for a "fresh" user. And I'm sure its more than adequate
for lowpoly game modeling needs.

GMAX also feature a fully script language called MaxScript and this provides you with
the oppotunity to make you own scripts/plugin if this is needed.

The user interface is the same as we know it from the "Real" max, very easy to use
and fast to learn. Allthough the provided colorscheme is the worst I have ever seen.
However this is fully customizable.

So i quickly made a model, set up some lights. added a camera
and was ready to hit the render button.
And this is where it went wrong. I could not find the render button
and it's not cos I don't what it look like, I must have hit that buttom a million times.

So i hit "F1" instead to open the help function and entered "render" in the search field
only to find out the there is NO rendere in GMAX.
I know its not really needed when you make lowpoly models
since they are going to be rendered in your game engine, but it
would have been nice to be able to see you model in a better
rendere if only for the viewing pleasure.

I hope I'm wrong about this and that the rendere is in there somewhere.
Let me know if you find it :)

So the bottom line......

GMAX is good for lowpoly modeling.
Dont expect to use it for cool intro sequences
or cutscenes though.

If you dont have another 3D app or something like milkshape (and the like),
If you are a programmer that want to see what this modeling is all about,
If you are just starting out in 3D modeling then go download GMAX now.
It's worth it.

But if you already have 3D studio Max or another highend 3D app
then there' no need for you to get GMAX.

Its a good app and if I didn't already work in MAX4 then I would get GMAX.

This review is based on a 30 min session, so if you are in doubt,
go see for your self.

Karsten "Clocks" Viese

#6 From what I recall of the GMAX license, basically its impossible to make a GMAX version for GG because essentially they dont want people to make thier model formats known to third parties (so they allow its use as a "tool" for third parties, but not so that you could then give people the format).

That and the cost of the "license" is pretty bad for the developer.

All in all, not a great deal of use IMHO.

Phil.

#7 Yeah I took a gmax workshop at QuakeCon 2001 and it seems like a pretty badass little tool, and if all I did was make Quake 3 mods and I had no problems with using the plugins only for those games which will support it, then I'd be a happy camper. However, I got the strange impression they were hiding something. I knew they were going to charge the developers money to dist. plugins for their games, but I didn't know how much. Now that I hear $80-95K, that makes sense. And for that matter I don't feel bad at all now for investing in MilkShape a year ago (though I haven't used it much yet). For that matter, if you are looking to just do Quake 3 (and whatever other games will support it) mods then not only do you have something cool on your resume, but you're able to go to 3DStudio MAX real easy, so it's a good idea to go for it and use the program - like I said, it's badass. But if you want to be an independent GG developer, stick with MilkShape (like I will, probably)

Schnapple

#8 Talk about Milkshape, has their been any developments for a plugin so it can be used with the Torque engine?

#9 A Milkshape plug-in is currently in development.

#10 Discreet will never do anything that does not make them money. Is this bad? Not really. We are all trying to make money by making software, and they make great tools that are very successful.

There is such a thing as going to far though. It seems that Micheal Dell (creator of Dell computers) and Discreet are in the same boat: They would both sell their grandmothers into slavery if it made them a cool buck.

My humble opinion...

#11 $80-95k (USD!?)

What does that include? An SGI system with lightwave, max4 and maya? :)
I'm assuming that the 80-95k price has something to do with the # of machines?

#12 Well remember that gmax is a spinoff of 3DSMax, which is from Discreet. Discreet is a spinoff of Autodesk, maker of AutoCAD, another $4K a seat product. They're used to industrial strength software products for corporate clients who can afford it. AutoCAD has to be strong for what it does. If your Word Document doesn't print right you tweak it and reprint it. If your blueprint you made in AutoCAD doesn't work right, your building collapses and kills people. It's a different animal of software for that reason.

Also, AutoCAD is sold cheaply in College with strict licensing forbidding its use in commercial environments, and then any architecture firm worth its salt will abide by that rule and plunk down the cash for legit licenses. You can warez AutoCAD, but why would you? To make a blueprint? Please. However, you can warez 3DSMax as well but why would you? Well, to make levels and models for Quake 3, of course.

Their response to the budget AutoCAD consumers is AutoCAD LT, a scaled down version for ~$70. Their response to gamers is gmax, which is free and makes models for some games out of the box, and gets the gamers to pressure the game developer/publishers to fork over the dough to get supported.

If Sierra had thought that by purchasing a $95K license to it would have saved it a million or two on Tribes 2 development they sure as heck would have plunked down the cash on it. However, it remains to be seen how effective this product will be. Independent developers like us can't afford it, and most houses like id prefer to make their own editors and such (and the $4K for 3DSMax, which they use, is considerably cheaper). Hell, id makes such important games that Discreet makes the plugins for them. However, if you're Konami and you have 100+ people working on Metal Gear Solid 2 this might be a pretty sweet deal. However, since many houses lose or make little money on PC games and the console games, where the real money is at, don't have any use for redistributable plugins, they may have missed the point entirely.

Schnapple

#13 The FREE GMAX doesnt support plugins or exporters. All it does is save .gmax files. And if you click on the "puchase" link at Discreet, it gives you a phone number of a retailer nearest you which to me spells way high priced. Kind of depressing really... makes me want to start up an open source modeller/animator software project. Hmmm....


/me ponders...

#14 Don't bother starting another modeller/renderer project. There are plenty. Try Blender (not open source but the binaries are free).