[Sheik]

I am mostly using SetchUp and ArchiCad for my modelling, but I am thinking of getting a application that will handle ”the curved stuff” better. I was looking at Modo first, but noticed I will not be able to take my models from SU to (or from) Modo because obj is the only common file format, but for some reason SU obj exports crashes Modo. There is no format from Modo to SU.

I remembered C4D is said to work well with SketchUp and it has an ArchiCad plugin. And it has a Maxwell plugin!
I am a bit worried about the learning curve of C4D? Is it user friendly and intuitive?
Is it as good at modelling as Modo, Hexagon or Silo? What is the main difference?
How does the ArchiCad plugin work if I want to render with Maxwell?
Do I need the advanced rendering package?
Is Body Paint 3D also used for creating normals maps, or bump maps? Do I need it? What other modules are recommended?
When is C4D 10 expected (is this a good time to by)?

Sheik

[Becco_UK]

It's probably easier if you tried the C4D demo from the Maxon site to see how you get along with it.

http://maxon.net/index_e.html

Perhaps download the manuals before trying the demo. These will give you the info' you need about features etc.

In recent years I used TrueSpace but never really got to grips with it. Changed to C4D and BodyPaint in 2004 and have been very pleased with them. Both are user friendly after a short amount of time. Would be unlikely I would change to anything else. I suppose Max and Maya people say the same though!

BodyPaint isn't essential if you do only occasional texturing and UV Mapper Pro should be ok for making UV templates. C4D will generate Normal Maps.

[Stephen]

I know Rhino is NURBS, but you should try the 30 day trial of that too. It can import and export pratically everything.