›

Greetings!

Welcome to Scifi-Meshes.com! Click one of these buttons to join in on the fun.

Sign In Register

Quick Links

LW Plugins

fluxfirefluxfire181 Posts: 604Member
edited April 2007 in Technical Questions and Answers #1
I am thinking of getting some LW plugins i would like some recomondations as to which ones i should get i was thinking of getting Dynamite for starters. Are there any other ones that would be very usefull?
Post edited by fluxfire on

Posts

  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    #2
    dynamite, fprime 3 and vertibevel 2 are 3 great ones I can think of, you should have got LWCad free when you bought LW
  • mattcmattc181 Perth, AuPosts: 322Member
    #3
    Flay.Com - LightWave 3D News and Resource site is a great resource for free plugins

    There are alot of good ones.
  • fluxfirefluxfire181 Posts: 604Member
    #4
    I do have LWCAD I was just curious as to what other ones to get.
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    #5
    if you're into modelling vertibevel 2 is a must, no matter how big or small, every model I've made since I've had it will make use of it

    dynamite is great if you want to do dust/smoke and fire effects, and fprime is just brilliant because of the speed you get when using it to render and the way it'll improve your workflow with the interactive preview window, but for me vertibevel is the most important

    also there's a motion vectors plugin you can find if you browse the CGTalk forums, it's free so you should get it, it enables you to do much better motion blur than from LW in post using after effects, and also it'll make your LW renders faster because you don't need to up the AA to get smooth motion blur, I haven't used the motion blur option in LW at all since I've had this plugin (I say that it's free but you'll have to pay for the blur plugin for AE if you really want to use it)

    I only mention these because these are the only 4 I really use, LW straight out of the box is fantastic already, apart from the bevelling - which is why vertibevel is the most important, I can't really remember making much use of any other plugin right now
  • fluxfirefluxfire181 Posts: 604Member
    #6
    Yeah i realy want the dynamite one just cause i plan on doing lots of explosions and it would make a good adition. As for speeding up render times hell yeah i am gonna find that one! I don't do much modeling as of yet but i am gonna start on a project that i have wanted to do for a long time. So i will check that plugin out as well.
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    #7
    well don't forget in order of importance fprime would come last for me, LW can do everything fprime can do already, and LWs own renderer is getting faster with every version, just fprime does speed up render time some more and improves the workflow, dynamite won't help you create good explosions as much as it will help you make smoke/dust, if you want a good looking explosion in any cg app you're better off with stock footage, vertibevel is a must because LW can't easily do good bevels without it
  • DAveDAve0 Posts: 0Member
    #8
    FPrime is a must (IMHO) especially with nodal support coming in LW9.2.

    Does vertibevel work with LW 9? I thought I remebered there were probelms with it?

    DAve
  • mattcmattc181 Perth, AuPosts: 322Member
    #9
    Vertibevel works in 9.0 just fine.

    M
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    #10
    DAve wrote: »
    FPrime is a must (IMHO) especially with nodal support coming in LW9.2.
    well it isn't as important as something necessary like vertibevel, that's the point I'm trying to get accross, and the nodal support needs a little more work but it's excellent
  • tobiantobian226 Posts: 1,600Member
    #11
    I find these indespensible too Symmetrix Design Works - 3D Architectural Specialists New for LW 9+ - wonderful set of edge tools, which LW9 lacks really!

    And IRML, - depends on whether you are a modeller or a renderer - Vertibevel isn't that useful as a rendering tool :P While Lightwave is all about being a multipurpose tool, people tend to specialise a little, and a lot in the industry! :)
  • IRMLIRML253 Posts: 1,993Member
    #12
    all the cool people are modellers :p
  • tobiantobian226 Posts: 1,600Member
    #13
    Well there's surfacing and lighting too - those are both tricky! :)

    Sadly Nodes are just HARD, if very cool :D
  • fluxfirefluxfire181 Posts: 604Member
    #14
    Tobin
    And IRML, - depends on whether you are a modeller or a renderer - Vertibevel isn't that useful as a rendering tool :P While Lightwave is all about being a multipurpose tool, people tend to specialise a little, and a lot in the industry!
    Thank you Thats exactly why i use LW9 for its rendering features I am not a modeler i do dabble in it but i am more a movie renderer then any thing i like being the one that edits the final product.

    Thanks for the different plugins guys.
  • DAveDAve0 Posts: 0Member
    #15
    Personally I'm more of a modeller too, I've just never got around to buying vertbevel - the built in tools are OK (although I'm sure vertbevel would be better :))

    But FPrime is a big help for my weakest areas which are texturing & lighting.
    The instant feedback make it a superb learning tool (again IMHO)

    DAve
  • JeffrySGJeffrySG321 Posts: 477Member
    #16
    Thanks for the cool plugin link tobian! it looks like a cool one. vertibevel2 is def. on my list of plugins to get...

    Well... I'm happy to announce that I just place my order for LW! So I'm sure I'll be joining everyone asking all stupid noob LW questions soon enough! Gotta go in an change my profile to show LW now. ;)
  • tobiantobian226 Posts: 1,600Member
    #17
    I should do a cheat sheet! :) Oh wait, I should probably get back to learning it myself ! :D

    Hope you get into Lightwave. I hear Silo is a very good modeller. Lightwave is also a good modeller, but it is a little eccentric at times. Vertibevel, any version is damn cool, though you can replicate a lot of it's effects (less quickly) using multishift, which does have some advantages, such as it's range of profile options :)
  • JeffrySGJeffrySG321 Posts: 477Member
    #18
    tobian wrote: »
    I should do a cheat sheet! :) Oh wait, I should probably get back to learning it myself ! :D

    Hope you get into Lightwave. I hear Silo is a very good modeller. Lightwave is also a good modeller, but it is a little eccentric at times. Vertibevel, any version is damn cool, though you can replicate a lot of it's effects (less quickly) using multishift, which does have some advantages, such as it's range of profile options :)

    Ohhhh!!! a Cheat Sheet!!! that sounds Niiiiccccceeeee! :D

    I'm sure I'll really like LW... I'm looking forward to using 9.2 on my intelmac!

    I really do love Silo too, but there are many things it lacks especially for hard surface work. It's just a dedicated modeler too - but for 100 bucks you can't beat it!
  • mattcmattc181 Perth, AuPosts: 322Member
    #19
    Just remember that Flay.Com - LightWave 3D News and Resource site is your friend when it comes to free and commercial plugins.

    M
  • mattcmattc181 Perth, AuPosts: 322Member
    #20
    DAve wrote: »
    But FPrime is a big help for my weakest areas which are texturing & lighting.
    The instant feedback make it a superb learning tool (again IMHO)

    DAve

    There's nothing better for texturing and lighting previewing than FPrime 3.01. Period.

    M.
  • DAveDAve0 Posts: 0Member
    #21
    Other plugins that I've not actually used (yet) but keep hearing are indespensible are the PLG UV mapping plugins (http://homepage2.nifty.com/nif-hp/index2_english.htm).

    DAve
  • JeffrySGJeffrySG321 Posts: 477Member
    #22
    ^that page isn't loading for me DAve... did you have a different url?
  • tobiantobian226 Posts: 1,600Member
    #23
    Haha take the bracket off the end of it! :)
  • JeffrySGJeffrySG321 Posts: 477Member
    #24
    tobian wrote: »
    Haha take the bracket off the end of it! :)

    ^hahaha I'm a dumbass.....
  • DAveDAve0 Posts: 0Member
    #25
    JeffrySG wrote: »
    ^hahaha I'm a dumbass.....

    Nope that would be me for the bad link :)

    I've fixed it in the above post now.

    DAve
Sign In or Register to comment.