United3dArtists Archive

Hello everyone,

This seems to be a very active and nice community. Thanks for letting me join.

I have a basic question.. If TrueSpace is not going to be developed any further, is it worth it for me to learn it as a first 3D modeling program? The only alternative that I've found in my price point (ahem... free) would be Blender. Opinions?

Thanks again!

That is a good question, and I asked my self that about 3 months ago.

From what I have found out, there is not a single program you are going to find that can do everything great, so you are probably going to be using more than one program to get eveything you are looking for. I figured, for myself, this would be a great place to start. From here I can figure out what I can and can not do and add additional tools as they are needed.

Welcome! What ever programs you decide to use, remember this forum isn't only for TS.

Use both! I'd say start with TS since you are new to 3D. TS is easier than most other 3D programs. Then start learning others and adding then to your tool kit. Blender's development will continue (a new interface is on the way) and it does some things that TS doesn't but most people find it hard to learn.

As Steinie, TS ambassador that he is, has been noting, TS7 is two programs (workspace with new things and interface and modelspace which is TS6.6+) connected by the bridge. It is in transition to the new workspace. I'd say start with modelspace until you are competent with its tools. Then try other programs and see if you like workspace.

Thanks for the warm welcome and good advice.

Finis, you jumped to my next question... Regarding the differences between the Workspace side and the model side of True space. My understanding is this (please correct me if my reasoning is faulty)

- The model side is basically the "old truespace".
- The Workspace side is the new features that were under development.
- The intent was to eventually phase out the model side gradually, as new features were migrated to the workspace side.
- Before that migration could be completed, development stopped on the product.
- The last, best version that we have to work with is kind of a work in progress, that will never progress

It may help to understand what my end goals are. I want to design a house, with every log and every space detailed and accurate. I want to eventually be able to walk through this house virtually. In real life, I'm going to eventually build this house with my own hands and the help of my family. Basically... I can't do anything but dream for the next few years, so I may as well make it productive.

That being said, I'm having difficulty figuring out what each side of the program should be used for. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each side?

Thanks again.

You got it about the sides. That's the way it is.

However, while the workspace does not have the full feature set many of its tools are powerful and finished or usable. I mostly don't use the workspace since modelspace (modelside) does much of what I want.

For your walk through, workspace's real time DX rendering would be ideal. It isn't as photo realistic as some renderers but it is fast like a video game. A bad part would be that the DX textures are more difficult to use than the lightworks textures on modelside. You will need a compatible graphics (video) card since the DX render relies on that.

There are external renderers that people are using for GI (bounce the light all over for super realistic pictures, good for architecture). 3Dlight is accessible through the Dribble plug in. Kerkythea (free) ask Rayman. Some TS users are developing a plug in to connect to Yafaray (free). Vray was available for TS but not now. (Some renderers are free. I don't mean the plug ins are free).

Prodigy and Emmanuel(?) do architectural pictures professionally. They can probably give better advice.

Also note that there is a polygon limit to the complexity of a scene. If you model every part of a whole house you might reach the limit. Solution: keep the modeled parts as simple as you can and use textures to add details.

In response to your original question, I looked at Truespace and had a problem downloading it a few months ago. Went to almost all the other modeling programs to make models for 3D games.
This was the one everyone seemed to be using even though there were some out there costing a lot more.
The documentation is quite extensive (Over a 1000 pags manual, I think). It took me two packs of paper and two reloads on my cartridges to print it.
I am presently downloading some video tutorials with step by step instructions as well as forum support.
I think if this product is going to be marketed by the new owners in the future, we wil probably not be able to afford it.
This is the address I was given for the tutorials.
http://www.caligari.com/products/trueSp ... eling1.asp"
They are worth it and don't miss the ones down the side.
Good luck and welcome to the forum.
I am new.