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Maya vs Lightwave
DracoJesi0
Posts: 0Member
I am trying to decide on which, I'm about the features and abilities of each, which has the more powerful rendering ability and which is the most compatible with various file type, which has the most options, looking at both I like what I see, however it seems to me, that at first galnce their not much different, I want a program that can open and render virtually anything I can through at it.
for those of you who use both, which has the better user interface?
I was thinking of Studio Max, however I've heard it has some bugs, and takes up more resources than it should.
see this thread:
The Trek BBS: Maya VS Lightwave
for those of you who use both, which has the better user interface?
I was thinking of Studio Max, however I've heard it has some bugs, and takes up more resources than it should.
see this thread:
The Trek BBS: Maya VS Lightwave
Post edited by DracoJesi on
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I know alot of people that use maya and from what I hear maya (although more expensive) is alot better than lightwave.
Have you checked out Ciname 4D, it's easy to use, can open alot of file formats, and has an incredible renderer, and runs on low spec machines, which is good for me
That said BOTH programs are used extensively in TV and Film. LW separates its Modelling and Rendering utilities into two seperate Programs called 'Modeler and 'Layout'. Maya's interface is all in one. Some say LW is more streamlined, and others say its unnecessary. However upon first inspection UI's like Maya's and MAX's can be daunting and extremely confusing.
You're best to look at screenshots to see what you think looks more intuitive to you.
As for the split app thing, that's also changing.
M
I used maya through out my animation diploma course and i like its animation suite, although i prefer modelling in lightwave and rendering in lightwave, most production houses will use both in their pipelines, modelling and texturing with lightwave, animating in maya then bringing it back into lightwave for rendering.
its not a matter of which is better though, its which program do you think will be of more use to you.
edit: dont buy that crap "oh but gollum was made in maya" the major production houes use their own custom software for animating and modelling
Oh, so they are intergrating it now?
UI changes are slated for LW 10.0..which I suspect will turn up in 2008.
M.
is there any place that lists what files each can open?
For all your screenshot needs.
Ummm.... for my MAX is easy to use. Perhaps i too habit to MAX, thanks that i begin which 3d Studio R2 (I think that i have yet in 5" floppys! :devil: ) when i had five or six years and i didn't get a big jump from these UI to 3d Max 2.5 UI.
I tried to change of program (yes, the MAX eats a lot of power of your PC) trying other programs, but i not end to understand these UIs. Like i said, i get too habit in the 3d max, and the UIs that not are similar, get for my more complicated to use.
In a fight between Batman and Darth Vader, the winner would be Chuck Norris.
well that was for me....MAx won....although in your case..i would go with lightwave...god as any an a lot more cheaper! and excelenet rendering engine!
LightWaveAR - Go Ahead, Make A Scene
Download both demos, give them a go, buy the one you like most. For feature comparisons, both companies (NewTek and Autodesk, is it?) should be able to give you full information if you ask them.
thanks for the info
are there any online manuals? they might answer my questions lol
As for power I would say you can get the same out of both of them if you know what you're doing, so that really isn't a big issue for picking one or the other.
Also, not that it really matters for much technically but LW is much easier on the eyes than Maya, which I think looks like a remnant of Windows 95.
?
LightWave link was posted earlier I think, but here it is again. Trial version is available from that page.
Maya is now owned by Autodesk, here. Again, trial version and feature lists are available from that page.
Both are presumably showing the versions they're selling, the most recent ones. Ask the companies directly about features via email (make their sales teams work for it!) and try the demos.
It has a freely downloadable demo but is commercial software.
is it to much to ask for someone here to try and see what files they can open with each?
I my biggest concern is that I'll spend all this money and then wab't to be able to do something I can't
what about plugins, is it possible to write your own, like firefox? if so then isn't it possible to solve any problems via plug-in?
Both apps are heavily supported by plugins. Both allow you to write plugins with their respective SDK's. The LW free plugin community is quite amazing. Then there's Fprime.....and well, that is reason alone for using LW IMHO.
As for Maya being a better render....sure, if you've got TD's to write shaders and stuff for mental ray, otherwise...no way.
EDIT: I would add that NT has addressed a lot of the issues with the renderer with the 9.2 point release. The next point release will see the texture filtering pipeline addressed amongst other things. Admittedly, NT dropped the ball quite badly after the release of 7.5 and the loss of 95% ofn their dev staff, but the 9.x development cycle has really started to rectify most if not all the shortcomings of LW. There was a time when LW led the pack for features and hopefully we're starting to see it get back there.
After all, kids, it is the reason that most of us are here isn't it......
Personally, I think it's all Ron's fault....once I saw B5, that was it
Regards
Matt
SDK's?
TD's?
I've been looking at screenshots yet I'm not sure which vs i'm looking at.
from what I can see, Maya is layed out like Dreamweaver, which is a plus, however Lightwave seems to have a better visual style,
not that it would realy alter the outcome, are there skins for Maya?
Correct.
The LW SDK for Lscript and C provides you with information, headers, tutorials on how to write and compile plugins for LW.
Maya has the same thing.
M.
If you have the money to burn, then that may not be a consideration, but just thinking about it for a moment, you could get a top-end computer *and* LW 9.0 (soon to be 9.2) for the price of Maya. Unless we're talking about Maya Unlimited, in which case you can have LW, a new PC *and* a small car. :shiner:
um no, unlimited is 7k, thats a lot but a small car is like 4-5k alone, plus 2k for lightwave, thats a low end pc lol