Maya, Form_z or VIZ 2005

[mti]

Of the three named in the title of this thread, does anyone have a preference for any of these and if so why? We are evaluting if Form_z is the best solution as a company for us, which is what we currently use for renderings. We would like to get into high end/photrealistic renderings for animation and would like a product that is meant for that. Currently we use Inventor 8 for 3d engineering and import into form_z from there. Seldom do we create geometry in form_Z due to the limitations for output of engineering drawings (I know you don't have to say it). But our customer requires animations of the products we engineer for them whether in static jpegs or moving mpegs or avi's. Just wondering which is the best suited for that line of functioning.

[pmanahan]

I've used Maya and 3DMax. Maya works well but I would not recomend it. Many of the models on the internet are not Maya compatible. Check in the forum threads also and there are not many Maya threads compared to other software for architecture visualisation. I am not very computer savy and Maya seems to have more bugs and problems than max and I can get help from others easier on Max. I know Max is not one of your choices but it illustrates why I don't prefer Maya.

 

pmanahan

[mbr]

I'd go for Viz if all you want is rendering. I like to model in FormZ more than Max, but the rendering capabilities of Max/Viz (I use a plugin called Final Render that's pretty great) are far superior to FormZ. I should note that FormZ will have a Global Illumination incorporated soon, although I won't hold my breath about how fast it will be (I know for a fact it won't be as fast as any of the ones used with Max/Viz).

 

Of those choices, Viz offers the most compatibility and rendering capabilities. I'd look into the plugins, too (Final Render, Vray, Brazil).

[Jason Matthews]

To add to what is listed above, I have used Max/Viz and Form Z. The radiosity in Form z does not hold a candle to Viz/Max. If you want "Photorealistic" renderings, Go with Viz or Max. About the only thing I use Form Z for Is to cut plans, sections, and section perspectives in the hidden line display. I do like the VRML that Form Z offers. But Viz offers pretty much the same. From what I have used of Maya, you need a pretty decked out computer to use it to its potential. Also, if you use Autocad, you will find the navigation (zoom, pan, etc.) to be a bit of a pain in the butt.

Hope this helps.

[Vince Paske]

I use Max after many years using Viz. Agreeing with what has already been stated about the rendering capabilities, I'd also like to add that if you producing animations which require more than just camera movement, you may want to consider Max. Sounds like you do engineering work, so you may have a need for the advanced animation features.