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it depends a lot on what you need to do — you can model and design something in a specialized app like ArchiCAD in 2 days what would take you 2 weeks in a generalized programme like AutoCAD.

if you were doing 3D animation, and needed procedural behaviours, particles, and vast datasets — Houdini is the top of the bunch for 3D Rendering and Animation.

needs define software.

ArchiCAD (free trial, requires registration): http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads/

Houdini (Apprentice Free Version): http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_download&task=apprentice&Itemid=208

best regards from toronto island
jp

• Scripting in Houdini (python, etc)
• Nuke in python
• Maya scripting in python and MEL.
• Softimage scripting (python, etc)
• 3dsmax in python and MAXScript

or a hard-mod.

but the best bet is to use RivaTuner as described here.

But how CS4 does its detection is another thing.
Normally, (at least for games) D3D caps detection is used instead of using device ID's and such.
But if they are only supporting nvidia pro stuff, it might be device id based.

And if you want to go into profesional level aps there's

http://www.softimage.com/downloads/XSI_Mod_Tool/default.aspx
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_download&task=apprentice&Itemid=89 (though if you don't like blender for lack of a standard interface, houdini might not be for you)

Those two, while they do produce watermarked work and have res limitations, are good enough to play around and learn a little bit.. :)

where's the Maya/3DS/LW/Softimage alternative? It doesn't exist (dont be a bone head and suggest Blender here, its like comaring a 79' VW to a Ferrai).

Maya is ported. So is a little thing called Houdini. But you probably never heard of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Final Fantasy X, or X-Men...

Also, to call Blender a '79 VW compared to any of the above is ignorant. No, it's not Houdini, but it will easily take on any of the modellers you mentioned, and there are some pretty nifty renderers available, too.

What Linux really lacks is the equivalent of Digital Performer. And no, rosegarden or any of the others don't even come close. :-(

Incidently, Houdini 8.0 has just been opened up for a public beta. Anybody can download it for free from www.sidefx.com. Check out the "Apprentice" link at the bottom!

Incidently, Houdini 8.0 has just been opened up for a public beta. Anybody can download it for free from www.sidefx.com. Check out the "Apprentice" link at the bottom!

On the other hand, the question is about windows. Here's the best freeware list I've found, taken off of the neowin.net forums. These are not guaranteed Clean, but most of them are. Also, you might want to check tinyapps.org, which specializes in SMALL apps (usually not enough space for ad/spyware).
Category 3D Graphics: ----JunkCharactersToDefeatLameness/CharacterCountF ilterForAValidList----
3Delight Free - http://www.3delight.com/index.htm
Anim8or - http://www.anim8or.com/
Aqsis - http://www.aqsis.com/
Blender - http://www.blender3d.org/
gmax - http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/
Houdini (Free Edition) - http://www.sidefx.com/apprentice/index.html
Maya Personal Learning Ed. - http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services...ple/i ndex.shtml
Now3D - http://digilander.libero.it/giulios/Eng/homepage.h tm
OpenFX - http://www.openfx.org
SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP - http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/
Toxic - http://www.toxicengine.org/
Wings 3D - http://www.wings3d.com/
Category Anti-Virus:----JunkCharactersToDefeatLameness/Char acterCountFilterForAValidList----
AntiVir - http://www.free-av.com/
Avast - http://www.avast.com/i_idt_1018.html
AVG - http://www.grisoft.com/
ClamWin - http://www.clamwin.com/
Category Anti Spyware:----JunkCharactersToDefeatLameness/Charact erCountFilterForAValidList----
Ad-aware - http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
Bazooka - http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html
Diet K - http://www.dietk.com/
SpyBot Search & Destroy - http://spybot.safer-networking.de/
SpywareBlaster - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.htm l
SpywareGuard - http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html
Category IRC Clients:----JunkCharactersToDefeatLameness/Charact erCountFilterForAValidList----
BersIRC - http://www.bersirc.com/
BitchX - http://bitchx.org/download.php
HydraIRC - http://www.hydrairc.com/
TinyIRC - http://www.tinyirc.net/
XChat - http://www.silverex.org/news/
Category Audio Players:----JunkCharactersToDefeatLameness/Charact erCountFilterForAValidList----
1by1 - http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch
Billy - http://www.sheepfriends.com/?page=billy
CoolPlayer - http://coolplayer.sourceforge.net/
DeliPlayer. http://www.deliplayer.com/
Foobar 2

Correction: D3D is the de facto standard for "video game" graphics. Sheer volume isn't evrything --- $17,000 buys you a whole lot of copies of Quake! When Maya and XSI choose D3D as their primary API, then we can declare it the de facto standard.

On the topic of 3D modelling programs, a few of the major players are warming up to the fact that they can get a bigger pool of beta testers and end users by simply giving away nearly fully functional copies of their software. Among the foremost of these is Side Effects Software. Through their Apprentice program, they allow absolutely anyone to use the latest version of Houdini - a 3D suite that's made its way into some very big movies, like Spider Man, X-Men, Final Fantasy X, and so forth. They have both a Linux and a Windows version. More importantly, they have a sane approach to watermarking. Unlike the Maya PLE, which has so-called "unobtrusive" watermarks that actually make it rediculously difficult to work, or view renders, or even export any files, Houdini Apprentice has a small logo in the bottom-right of renders, and some tiny text in the bottom-right of viewports.

Aside from the watermarking issues, Houdini Apprentice is limited to 640x480 renders, which seems reasonable. These guys have their heads on straight. They offer a solution that benefits potential learners without making pirates of them all, as well as themselves without hemorrhaging insane amounts of cash.

Along the same lines, Oracle, mySQL and Trolltech's QT use a licence that allows free personal use, but require purchase for business use, right? I'd say that's a very good business model for any of the major software companies with multi-thousand-dollar software packages aimed at enterprise-level customers. Why keep trying to sue the pants off of the small fry when you can turn so-called piracy into free publicity (the positive kind) and advertising?

Good high-end alternatives that are also available on Linux are Softimage XSI and Houdini. Both offer free evaluation/learning versions like Maya PLE, with the exception that they're available for Linux x86 too.

Another interesting commercial 3D suite available for Linux is Realsoft 3D, and it's a lot cheaper than Maya or the programs mentioned before.

There's also a free version of SOFTIMAGE|XSI, that runs on Linux. SOFTIMAGE is generally considered to be Maya's primary competitor in the high-end 3d graphics industry, though Maya seems to be more popular at the moment (then again, that appearance could just be caused by Alias's advertising). There's also a free version of Houdini. Houdini is kind of a niche product in the cinematic effects industry, very powerful though not as well known as either Maya or SOFTIMAGE.

It's all nice and good that Maya's free for noncommercial use, but the watermarks are terrible. They say that they're "unobtrusive" and won't prevent people from evaluating your work. In reality, they're horrible. They're put over every last work surface imaginable, as well as your renders.

Now, compare this to that of Side Effects Software's Houdini. They give you a full modelling/animation/compositing suite, with only a tiny watermark that appears in the bottom-right. Before you go saying that this is a small and useless piece of software that nobody's heard of, it has had roles in The Grinch who Stole Christmas, Fight Club, and Final Fantasy 10. Check out their references.

Also worthy of praise, they have a Linux version out too. I'm trying to put it onto a LiveCD so that I work with it wherever I'd like.

Bah, give me Houdini or give me death.

Others have mentioned Maya PLE but there are free / learning editions of most of the top commercial 3D apps these days:

SoftImage XSI|EXP

Lightwave Discovery Edition (takes a while for them to mail it, though)

Houdini Apprentice (a lesser known but very powerful 3D app used by major studios.)

the first major high-end 3D package to be comercially ported to LINUX was HOUDINI from sidefx. alias' maya and sidefx Houdini are like the pepsi-coke of high-end 3D.

they've also got a free 'Houdini Apprentice' programme, so you can try it - works on Linux!

they used Houdini to animate gandalf's fireworks, and animate the rushing river horses in lord of the rings. they've used it in the star trek movies, Terminator 3D, and just about every sci-fi effects flick out there - check it out:

www.sidefx.com

a lot of the most interesting highend 3D technologies started with HOUDINI - Procedural Motion and Graphics OP networks were invented by
the Programmers at Side Effects.

some of the things you can do with their 3D animation
software (Houdini 5.5) are:

- In-Viewport editing generates procedural 'memory' of construction history.
- Support of multiple geometry types: 3D NURBS, Bezier, Mesh, Poly, L-systems (itterative geometry), and Metaballs.
- Procedural 3D Surface Modelling (SOPs > "Noun").
- Procedural Waveform/Motion, Audio, and Channel Editing (CHOPs > "Verb").
- Procedural Particle Systems (POPs) for simulating Smoke, Fire, and Gases.
- Procedural Shader generation (SHOPs).
- Procedural 2D Compositing (COPs).
- Softbody Inverse Kinematics & Character / Facial Animation capabilities.
- Organic modelling of plant growth over time via L-systems algorithms.
- Integrated Metabolic, NURBS, and Polygonal Sub-Division Surface modelling.
- Integrated VEX RenderMan-like shading language for mantra Renderer.
- Integrated Scripting and Expression Languages.
- Integrated RenderFarm capabilities.
- Extensive Scripting support in: hscript, tcl, etc.

they've also got an offshoot for doing cool realtime 3D graphics ('TOUCH' - used on the RUSH tour this summer) at:

www.derivativeinc.com

cheers!

john.

the first major high-end 3D package to be comercially ported to LINUX was HOUDINI from sidefx. alias' maya and sidefx Houdini are like the pepsi-coke of high-end 3D.

they've also got a free 'Houdini Apprentice' programme, so you can try it - works on Linux!

they used Houdini to animate gandalf's fireworks, and animate the rushing river horses in lord of the rings. they've used it in the star trek movies, Terminator 3D, and just about every sci-fi effects flick out there - check it out:

www.sidefx.com

a lot of the most interesting highend 3D technologies started with HOUDINI - Procedural Motion and Graphics OP networks were invented by
the Programmers at Side Effects.

some of the things you can do with their 3D animation
software (Houdini 5.5) are:

- In-Viewport editing generates procedural 'memory' of construction history.
- Support of multiple geometry types: 3D NURBS, Bezier, Mesh, Poly, L-systems (itterative geometry), and Metaballs.
- Procedural 3D Surface Modelling (SOPs > "Noun").
- Procedural Waveform/Motion, Audio, and Channel Editing (CHOPs > "Verb").
- Procedural Particle Systems (POPs) for simulating Smoke, Fire, and Gases.
- Procedural Shader generation (SHOPs).
- Procedural 2D Compositing (COPs).
- Softbody Inverse Kinematics & Character / Facial Animation capabilities.
- Organic modelling of plant growth over time via L-systems algorithms.
- Integrated Metabolic, NURBS, and Polygonal Sub-Division Surface modelling.
- Integrated VEX RenderMan-like shading language for mantra Renderer.
- Integrated Scripting and Expression Languages.
- Integrated RenderFarm capabilities.
- Extensive Scripting support in: hscript, tcl, etc.

they've also got an offshoot for doing cool realtime 3D graphics ('TOUCH' - used on the RUSH tour this summer) at:

www.derivativeinc.com

cheers!

john.

First thing, you should be careful with your terminology.

A modeller lets you create models and scenes. A renderer turns these scenes into 2D images. A compositor lets you turn these 2D images into other 2D images, and usually also lets you assemble them into single-file animation formats. Don't expect to do any "real" 3D work without at least one of each.

It's confusing because many modellers have renderers built in. They are usually inadequate for complex jobs. (Though, in fairness, one blockbuster 100% computer animated feature film has been made using Maya's built-in renderer, so it's not exactly useless.) However, thanks to the wonders of Open Source, the modeller is now the only part you have to buy.

Here's what I suggest:

• Get Maya Complete. This will cost money.
• Get Liquid, which will cost you nothing. This will export Maya to RenderMan(TM).
• Get Aqsis, which will cost you nothing. This is your renderer. It is RenderMan(tm) compliant, which is the de facto standard for communication between renderers and modellers.
• Get Cinelerra, which will cost you nothing. This is your compositor. (Available only for Linux, unfortunately, but it's free.)

If you find yourself making money with these, you can replace and augment bits if you find them not doing what you want. (For example, replace Aqsis with RDC or PRMan and replace Cinelerra with Shake or After Effects. You can even augment Maya with Houdini or SoftImage if you feel like spending money.)

The key here is to stick with standards so you can drop in replacements into your production line.

Good luck.

actually you're probably right about CAD, but for 3D animation, Maya doesn't run on Solaris - just Irix, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows NT/2000/XP and Lightwave is only available for MacOS and Windows. Softimage, incidentally, is also available for only Windows, Linux, and Irix, which means you'll be stuck using Houdini. Too bad Houdini's so hard to use.

Derivative's Touch Software is exactly what you're asking for. Its a real-time full-featured 3D modelling and animation program tied in with a compositing and a pile of other goodies. All aspects are modifiable in real-time and you can create your own slider interfaces to control exactly the parameters you choose. Their software is based on Side Effects' well known high end 3D effects package, Houdini. You can play around with the synth's on Derivative's website by downloading the player software or get the designer software for a free 30 day trial to see how it works.

the first company to dedicate resources to porting their high-end SGI IRIX 3D software to linux was from: Side Effects. HOUDINI's the software they used to do gandalf's fireworks, the river stallions, and the effects in 'what dreams may come' and 'the matrix' -- on LINUX!

john.

houdini is a 3d program.

Alias/Wavefront Maya

Houdini

Oh? You mean FREE 3d programs. hm. i have no idea. try this, though, 3d linux programs

With todays processors linux based rendering farms are really hard to beat. The two industry standard rendering programs have already been ported to linux, Mental Ray and the famous Photorealistic Renderman. On the artists side Softimage|3D 3.9 is already running on Linux. Porting XSI will be more tricky since it was developed for Wintel (it will create a fake registry in the IRIX version, you get the idea). Side FX has some products running on Linux. Maya 4.0 is also ported to Linux.
Add to this that most of those shops have developed lots of in-house tools that run on, surprise, IRIX, so porting to Linux seems a better choice than trying some acrobatic effort to make them work on Redmond's.
You want composition software? No problem, you can use NothingReal's impressive Shake
IMHO you may call those pplications which are truly useful to artists. Sure, they're damn expensive, but this is a niche market so that's not surprising.

With todays processors linux based rendering farms are really hard to beat. The two industry standard rendering programs have already been ported to linux, Mental Ray and the famous Photorealistic Renderman. On the artists side Softimage|3D 3.9 is already running on Linux. Porting XSI will be more tricky since it was developed for Wintel (it will create a fake registry in the IRIX version, you get the idea). Side FX has some products running on Linux. Maya 4.0 is also ported to Linux.
Add to this that most of those shops have developed lots of in-house tools that run on, surprise, IRIX, so porting to Linux seems a better choice than trying some acrobatic effort to make them work on Redmond's.
You want composition software? No problem, you can use NothingReal's impressive Shake
IMHO you may call those pplications which are truly useful to artists. Sure, they're damn expensive, but this is a niche market so that's not surprising.

Side Effect's Houdini is SHIPPING for Linux. Each package has it's own strengths and weaknesses. A|W is particularily strong in modelling; Houdini's strengths include a powerful scripting language and the drag'n'drop "visual procedural interface" (really COOL if you ever get a chance to use it). And of course the most important strength is Linux support today (and not just the renderer).

• Maya
• Houdini
• Realsoft4D
• (others?)

Good point. If you wanna do hard-core 3d on linux now and have $$$ to burn, check out a combo of Houdini and PRman. Of course, you'd be dropping ~$30K just for the software, but you'd have a damn good setup!

$.02,

Brian

I like Maya, really I do. I do most of my work in Maya. But I await the day when they give you a choice in renderers. (yes, there is MTOR but IIRC that was only for IRIX)
The Maya renderer is good for most things but there are areas where it falls short. I'd like to be able to choose my renderer based on what I'm rendering.
To a certain extent I miss Houdini. It let you set up Render OPs for a large variety of renderers (RenderMan, bmrt, Mantra, mental ray, even ones you wrote yourself)

Wheee... games. Big Deal. I already have an OS that does that. Windows.

What I don't have is an affordable STABLE OS which runs Alias|Wavefront's Maya software on an Intel platform. At work I use an Octane SE which only crashed once in the last 6 months [and that was due to an hardware failure]. At home I have to use NT.

However with Alias/SGI [ http://www.aliaswavefront.com] moving towards Linux for their product base... proper open gl support is the main remaining hurdle for full ports of graphics software to the linux platform. Linux Maya Renderer and Composer is already gearing up for release, I was talking to two alias engineers at Toronto's Post-Siggraph party who claim the only thing really stopping them from doing a full blown Maya/Designer/etc ports to linux was a lack of a fully complaint Opengl system. Which of course would be coming along eventually but they were not allowed to comment on that aspect of development =). Nice to see things panning out..

Considering SGI is partially backing away from NT and is on the linux bandwagon.... they need to get opengl on linux for their use ASAP.

Houndini's [http://www.sidefx.com] linux port uses Xi's OGL implementation for their display.. since it requires the use of hardware overlay planes. [I was just told that this wasn't the case with newer versions of the software]

Perhaps we'll start seeing some serious Linux graphics applications hitting the market in Siggraph 2000. I can't wait.

Regards,

Oblagon

I just wanted to emphasize that mental ray has been available on Linux x86 and Alpha for at least a couple of years now.

Another major rendering package, Pixar's Photorealistic Renderman Toolkit AKA PRman may already be available for Linux as well. I saw a demo at ACM/SIGGRAPH'98

I just hope that the various 3D modeling and animation packages are ported to Linux as well. The Sidefx Houdini port is a great first step, but I'm hoping that Alias|Wavefront Maya and Softimage|3D are not far behind.