[Maximus3D]

Hehe

But why not Silo which is dead cheap right now or Modo which costs more but gives you texturing and all that jazz in one big package. If you're willing to model everything by hand with quads/polys then Silo is a great investment.

/ Max

[Fernando Tella]

I've just received the prices of FormZ for Spain and Portugal. It's quite expensive: one license= 1990€ As for now they still haven't open their offices in Spain the sale will be done from Portugal so the tax should not be added to the price. If you buy more licenses the price is smaller.

I've made some tutorials and I'm starting to like it. That price is big though.

[big K]

sometimes there are offers at ebay. you can check the serial number with autodessys if it is a legal copy before you buy it.
so maybe go for an older version and then update. might be cheaper.

michael

[glebe digital]

Well lets say you've got 1900 Euros to spend........you already have Max so fmz isn't really going to bring you anything new.
If it were me, I'd get something that would deliver me a completely new angle, maybe modo or rhino, or current fetish which is Realflow.........you could build another X2 for that money as well........

[lebbeus]

I'm curious as to why you're changing from MAX?

It's nearly the defacto software for Archvis and you're looking for new software that gives you the functionality and workflow like MAX…seems like your answer is that you shouldn't change and you should spend your money on something else like a new machine or a laser cutter or a tabletop cnc (though they're most likely more than 1900euros) or better yet, spend it on marketing yourself…

and as far as I know--buying software from a non-reseller/tranfering licenses usually isn't legal so be careful with the ebay route

[glebe digital]

Modeling is definitely FormZ's strong point, but I still find it very frustrating after more than 10 years of using it.
Jack

Well that for me is the deal-breaker. No way do I want to be frustrated after 10 years, Lightwave is a fraction of the cost, has a good render engine with 1000 nodes, LWCAD for productivity...........surely the jury wouldn't be out for that long.

[Fernando Tella]

I'm just gathering information to see if it's worth the change. I've been using max since 3DR4 for MSDOS and also face some frustations and lack of specific useful tools for architecture. That's why I'm searching a better product for what I do. Probably I would be happy just with a plugin or group of scripts for architecture modeling for max.
Up to now I have found some interesting tools in FormZ that max doesn't have; I want to know too those things formz cannot do or frustate you. After that... I'll make a decision. It's not easy to change the modeler...

[mgroeteke]

I'm just gathering information to see if it's worth the change. I've been using max since 3DR4 for MSDOS and also face some frustations and lack of specific useful tools for architecture. That's why I'm searching a better product for what I do. Probably I would be happy just with a plugin or group of scripts for architecture modeling for max.
Up to now I have found some interesting tools in FormZ that max doesn't have; I want to know too those things formz cannot do or frustate you. After that... I'll make a decision. It's not easy to change the modeler...

the area which is less strong in FZ is it's freeform modeling. even if it has the tools to do so, i wouldn't create a character with it! modo, LW or even silo will do a much better job here, imho.
another point is of course it's non standard interface, which makes it less easy to learn. once used, it's not difficult anymore. the big advantage of it's interface is that nearly everything is customizable, all the shortcuts, but also the icon sets. a so called scene palette stores all the settings for view, selected layers, object visibility, view parameters, etc for a one click recall of a project visibility setup.
if architecture is your daily business, then you will appreciate very much all those special tools in FZ, like the terrain modelling, the stair tool or the unfolding tool, for example. i don't know if it is the same in max, but in FZ you can open as many project files as you like at the same time and copy and paste between them, which is very handy.

markus

[lebbeus]

How about VIZ?

It has dedicated architecture tools like stairs, doors, windows, trees, pipes (which are useful for beams, angles, pipes, etc.) amongst others (I think there's a terrain tool as well, but I may be confusing it with another program). Plus it's built on the MAX core meaning it's pretty darn identical to MAX and it has strong linking to AutoCAD (especially the 2007 versions). It's animation capabilities are pretty light and there are no particle systems available out of the box.

Current price? (USD) $1995
not having to learn a new program that can leave you frustrated even after 10 years? priceless…

[Dexel]

oh my... no unbiased modeler talk in this unbiased render forum..
well then.. believe what you like. anybody using a software for ten years in spite of suffering specific frustration is his own tormentor.

[Fernando Tella]

Those tools are in max too and are quite bad. Usually is faster for me to make a stair from scratch than making it with the stair tool. That's frustating too.

[Fernando Tella]

oh my... no unbiased modeler talk in this unbiased render forum..
well then.. believe what you like. anybody using a software for ten years in spite of suffering specific frustration is his own tormentor.

I'm sure that there's something in your modeler program that sometimes make you say: "what a shit program"

[Dexel]

oh my... no unbiased modeler talk in this unbiased render forum..
well then.. believe what you like. anybody using a software for ten years in spite of suffering specific frustration is his own tormentor.

I'm sure that there's something in your modeler program that sometimes make you say: "what a shit program"

Naaah I would never talk like that....
these days it's rather the renderer that causes me frustration.... and my own lack of skill of course..

[Fernando Tella]

Naaah I would never talk like that....
these days it's rather the renderer that causes me frustration.... and my own lack of skill of course..

[lllab]

i would recommend rhino or formz.
i know both. max is good but inferior to rhino or formz i think, in respect to arch- modelling.

cheers
stefan