TrueSpace 7.6 releases for FREE

You mean the 'free trial version' ?

 

No .. it's a bit strange but it does seem like its actually a free full version? That seemed to be what their announcement e-mail was saying. I don't quite get how they plan to monetize this or if its an effort to gain new traction before version 8 or something...

- S

 

They also made all their tutorial videos free.

- S

 

I also used to use trueSpace 2 and 3 (back when I thought I wanted to get in on that end of game dev).

I know they released version 3 for free some time ago as well, so a new "free version" is due I guess. I have no idea if the prog is any good, or how viable it is these days, but I might check this out for ole' times sake.

 

From what I gather, Microsoft is simply doing what Google did.

Google bought Sketchup and released it for free to pimp Google Earth.
Microsoft bought Calligari and releases Truespace for free to pimp Virtual Earth (oh... and XNA of course).

The funny thing is that, at the time, Google bought one of the less powerful 3D modelers, but also the modeler with an interface that is extremely friendly to new and unexperienced users. Microsoft bought a much more powerful modeler, with an interface that I've heared described as "designed by monkeys on crack". It's good to see some popular stereotypes being reaffirmed.

Anyway, free is a good deal. Unless you are actually trying to sell a 3D modeling application yourself.

 

I only see a free trial?

Am I missing something here, because all I see is free trial. If there is a legal free full version link, please share as even if I can't use it now, it's always worth it for the discount of upgrade price for future versions (like the case was with the free poser 5 back when).

Thanks

EDIT: No worries, found it buried among the blog:
http://forums1.caligari.com/truespace/showthread.php?t=893&page=5

Thanks for the heads up stanchat

 

It's been a few years since I did the 3D thing, so maybe this isn't as impressive as I think it is, but...

Those "Work in real-time" screenshots are very cool. Real-time reflection/refraction? If Max had had that back in the day I'm sure it would have broke my dev machine.

And that real-time, post-commit, boolean editing looks pretty tasty too.

 

I've already invested so much time learning Blender. Anyone able to comment whether it's worth switching to TrueSpace?

I'm downloading anyways just to take a look but, as was previously mentioned, I remember the UI being completely demented- not that Blender is without UI issues (hoo-boy!).

 

Ive never even heard of a Truespace fanboy (and I thought everything on the internet had a fanboy somewhere), or heard of anyone using it recently. Im planning to downloading a copy as well just to see how it works as a file format converter, but I seriously doubt that it has surpassed Blender or that its close to being able to compete with Maya/Max.

Edit:going through their web site, it looks like they may have better NURBS and boolean tools than Blender, which isnt saying much. They dont say it explicitly, but it might also support multiple SSS layers. Other than that...I dont see much to be excited about.

Edit 2: Nevermind about the download theres no way Im filling out that registration form

 

I second this. I've downloaded the free version and videos, took one look at the interface and decided it could wait until I had time to work out. Also, how does it compare to Max?

As an aside, who designs the interfaces for 3D modeling apps anyhow?

 

The people who make the apps?

Truespace's interface wasn't too bad in version 5 and 6, but they've pretty much lost the plot with version 7. It's a real mess, with half of it using new tech, and the other half using tech from version 6.6. They also haven't addressed the issue of shortcut keys for the camera, so using it is a real chore, except when doing small things.

The UI, or the app?

 

Not all 3D apps have retarded interfaces, just most of them. Silo 3D's UI is amazingly good, though it isn't a full lifecycle 3D app and focuses pretty much solely on modeling and UV (no animation, etc).

I gave TrueSpace 7.6 a try but the fact that the only way to use Maya-style Alt/Mouse scene navigation is through a UI widget that isn't really the same thing at all makes using the program a non-starter for me regardless of how great the features might be under the hood. I'm constantly amazed at how many 3D apps still want to buck the de facto standards of scene navigation while not giving the user enough UI modification ability to choose their own mouse/key scene navigation model. Given that you almost always have to use multiple apps in your workflow to get a finished 3D product, this sort of basic navigation standardization (or at least the flexibility to allow the user to set it up themselves) is essential, IMO, and ultimately where TrueSpace, Blender, etc. epically fail despite the fact that they have extremely powerful tools under the hood.

 

I worked with truespace (i don't remember if was 3.x or 4.x) and was a really awful experience, i spend a month trying to modeling something (without a luck), then i jump to 3ds max and i did the same in two hours.

So truespace 7.5 is free?, then thanks but not anymore.

 

The app - for instance, create a low poly mesh, UV, texture channels, skinned w/ bones (IK?), keyframes - basically steps to create characters and objects. This process can be pretty straightforward in max, and manageable in Blender, so it needs to beat both of these to be a competitor for me.

 

Truespace 7.6 can do all of those things but I have no idea why you'd bother with it if you already have Max. Personally I'd choose Blender over Truespace 7.6 as well. I think they both have pretty crappy UIs, but at least Blender's is mostly internally consistent, which isn't the case with Truespace 7.6.

 

As two professional 3D artist friends of mine told me a few months ago, when you learn Max most of the time you learn how not to crash the program .

If you already know it, stick with Blender. Its the youngest of all these programs, its development is very fast, its free, very consistent, bloat-free and these things are -imho- the sure way to make it the #1 3D modelling program in the near future.

 

I switched from TS 6 to xsi because the anim tools were weak back then. I'm not that familiar with 7 so I can't compare. XSI use to have a pretty good deal on Foundation for 600$ but they've dropped that with version 7. (I eventually upgraded to the middle range package so I could use the hair rendering stuff) XSI basically does anything I could ever want and about 10 zillion other things on top of that. Its seriously deep. I'm not sure what the new low end price on xsi will be.. I expect probably at least 2k.

But now in the lower end price wise, I think maybe Lightwave would be a good bet. At around 1000$ it seems like the most professional fully featured package, and there's no question it can produce fantastic results. I've used it just a smidge with a friend who was very good with it. It was a slightly older version.

I heard Modo has a really sharp set of modeling tools. Not too expensive and friendly user license. I think its some ex lightwave guys that started that.

If you want just basic modeling and you're not a big 3d guy then google sketch up is really intuitive and fantastic, though somewhat limited. There is a pro version but its not that cheap and I'm not sure what additional modeling tools you get. Another modeler-only package that's pretty good is silo3d.

I tried using blender for a while but it was too rough for me and the UI turned me off.