[Fritsch]

Hi, I'm currently using Sketchup 8 with the latest Maxwell plugin for ArchViz and I'm discovering that Sketchup get's quite slow once I start adding hi-poly objects like mesh terrains and trees, so this has go me searching for an additional application to finish modeling my scenes with these hi-poly objects.
I've been looking into Modo 601 and have just begun a trial but I would like some more advanced users feedback relating to the stability and any limitations of the Maxwell plugin for Modo 601 before I invest in another piece of software.

[AlexP]

I went with maya, I had same decision to make and tried modo too as newbe, but it was really unstable and viewport display is so slow compared to maya and cinema (was testing proxy only scene)... Modo plugin is ok, but last time I tried it it didn't have grass.

[Fritsch]

After testing Modo 601 over the weekend with a simple residential duplex collada file (exported from Vectorworks) I have to agree about the refresh rates being slow. Modo often crashed as well with this model and their forum is plagued with stability issues...so I think I'll look into Cinema 4D Visualize edition as I can't afford Maya...and I think it would be overkill for my Newbe needs. What was your experience like on C4D? Do you do ArchViz mainly?

[AlexP]

C4D has faster viewport then modo, but is it still slow with proxies - I forgot to report it to JD. Also C4D is about 3x times slower in export+voxelization process (tested with proxies only) then maya. I used C4D just for testing and maya as educational right now as I do archviz in Rhino. Still right now Rhino doesn't have proxies so you can wait some time to export big scene with trees. Blender is for free, but doesn't have fire in mx plugin. If I were you I'd keep SU and use proxies.

[Fritsch]

Thanks for the input much appreciated, I think I'll do exactly that and hope for a better release of SketchUp in the future. Besides, I'm pretty efficient with SketchUp already and I always have to keep up with Vectorworks and Maxwell training so a new program may be too much dilution for me anyways at the moment.

[AlexP]

What I see from 701 is faster viewport. It's still slower then maya about 1.5x then normal renderer and 3x then viewport 2.0. I haven't checked stability cos still no maxwell plugin...