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Thread: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

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    Active Member Kaotik's Avatar
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    Question 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Sorry for seeming ignorant but I work for an architecture firm and we use Autodesk Revit to build our models and get working drawings done. It works absolutely perfect for that, but AccuRender just doesn't cut it. We need a much better way to render and be able to have walk-thrus, fly-bys, and more realistic visualizations for our clients. We just purchased 3DS Max to solve that problem and up until today i was sure it was the best way to go. I just learned about Autodesk buying Alias and when i looked up the website i learned its supposed to be the "best 3D modeling program available"-i thought thats what 3DS Max was? So are they competing software? are they both the same? is one better than the other? or are they for completely different markets? Just hoping someone could let me know what they feel would be the best way to go for animated architectural visualizations. Thank you very much for your time!

    Sincerely,
    Brian Andresen

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    The Silent Type Mike.Perry's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Hi

    Hopefully the below will help...

    Alias Maya - 4 results from Autodesk web site.

    Autodesk announces buyout of Alias from Ars Technica

    Autodesk, Inc. Acquisition of Alias Announcement from Autodesk web site

    Autodesk Acquires Alias from upFront.eZine

    Have a good one, Mike

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    I could stop if I wanted to de-co1's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    What I have heard is that both MAX and MAYA are predominately 'base' applications into which you add further plugins and rendering engines to create 3D motion graphics for the commercial / film industries. They were never really designed specifically for the architectural type markets.

    Thus the release of VIZ - specific for the architectural market, but simply a smaller, less stable spin-off of MAX with AEC objects for trees, windows, stairs et al. I use MAX over VIZ purely for it's stability on larger scenes. I used to use VIZ to create the AEC objects and then bring them into MAX, but if I'm not mistaken, later versions of MAX now incorporate these (can someone verify this?).

    I have also tried my hand at MAYA. MAYA has a rather more complex GUI surrounding the mouse button pop-ups, but certainly seems easier to model with - spline and polygon modeling. When it comes to your problem, I really don't think the quality of either one of the products will supercede the other, simply because you are importing a completed REVIT model, so there will be no real modeling involved and you no doubt primarily use it to apply lights and materials, and render, or possibly only render the model.

    VIZ is much cheaper and would have done the same job, and no doubt you get similar results from the three applications. In your situation, it's my opinion that unless your company intends developing 3D skills in the office, then MAX or MAYA is overkill.

    On a basic level, architecture doesn't take advantage of the true modeling capabilities of these packages, and we really only utilise lighting, materials and rendering engines. Bearing this in mind, I think it comes down to user preference in the end, and what you're more comfortable with.

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    Time Lord Steve_Bennett's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Quote Originally Posted by de-co1
    Thus the release of VIZ - specific for the architectural market, but simply a smaller, less stable spin-off of MAX with AEC objects for trees, windows, stairs et al. I use MAX over VIZ purely for it's stability on larger scenes. I used to use VIZ to create the AEC objects and then bring them into MAX, but if I'm not mistaken, later versions of MAX now incorporate these (can someone verify this?).
    Yes, later versions of MAX now include these AEC tools.

    As for the rest of what you just said, I couldn't agree more!
    Steve Bennett |BIM Manager
    Taylor Design | Adventures in BIM

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    AUGI Addict hand471037's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Quote Originally Posted by brian.77073
    ...and when i looked up the website i learned its supposed to be the "best 3D modeling program available"-i thought thats what 3DS Max was?
    Uh... many people would differ with the opinion that MAX is the 'best 3D program available'. Anyways.

    Well, while they can largely do the same things, they have become standards within different industries for various reasons. Maya is the 'standard' for movie houses for a couple of reasons, MAX is the standard in the Game industry for others. Both have about the same built-in rendering engines, with Maya's being a bit better. But 90% of the good stuff you see out there was done with external rendering engines, and both Max and Maya come with one such engine, which is Mental Ray.

    I, too, like Maya's UI more than Max. But since you won't be doing much modeling within Max, it's not something I'd worry too much about.

    Also Maya doesn't have the ability to import Revit models with the materials intact like Max does, so it's largely moot. If you want efficient workflow, you have a choice of Max or Viz currently. No other 3D package understands Revit models with materials other than Accurender for AutoCAD (give it a try! it's a hoot! Revit models exported to DWG & opened in AutoCAD + Accurender retain all the Accurender information!) which is what you're trying to get away from.

    Also, keep in mind what you're after. Are you a viz house? That only does rendering work? That really needs the very best rendering available? Or do you just need a way to do renderings faster and better? There's a lot of dead-ends here that you could wander down, and in the end wind up spending a lot of money (on something like a Renderdrive) or a lot of time (on something like Maxwell) to only arrive at the same point (faster and better renderings) might not really be in your best interests. But if you got the cash...

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    I could stop if I wanted to de-co1's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey McGrew

    Also, keep in mind what you're after. Are you a viz house? That only does rendering work? That really needs the very best rendering available? Or do you just need a way to do renderings faster and better? There's a lot of dead-ends here that you could wander down. . .
    That's probably the most important thing to consider... where you are and what you do now, compared to where you (or your company) want to be, and what you want to achieve. It is unfortunate, but if you are, or your company is a relatively small operation, then the endless supply of rendering software and hardware can easily cripple a company. Very few architectural firms make use of anything better than VIZ, purely from a cost point of view.

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    I could stop if I wanted to dellis's Avatar
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    Default Re: 3DS Max or Alias Maya?

    Its been my experience that depending on the size of the company, the speed at which they need the renderings and how often they do renderings will determine if an in house solution is warranted or sub contracting out to freelancers or dedicated visualization companies. Having said that, with some bias, i think that MAX is the best suited tool for Arch Viz stuff. Yup, it is a little higher in price then VIZ but i think all the xtras are worth it, especially particles and the many other features that come standard as well as the third party plugins and renderers that you can buy ie. Vray. Ultimately it comes down to what you need and what you can pay for...for me....i use MAX. I've tried MAYA and i feel MAX makes more sense from a user standpoint and its light years ahead of VIZ. I would rather have the features and not need them, then to need them and not have them.

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