3ds max vs Unity

[nikolay-spb]

Hello fellow modelers!

Please tell me, i am beginner and want to make some parts in KSP.

Which program shall i use, 3ds max or Unity, what are pros/cons?

People who model parts which program prefer?

[Tiberion]

Unity is not a 3d modeling program, and as such there is no need to choose. You will in fact need both a 3d modeling program like 3DS Max and also Unity with the KSP Part tools script installed to properly export a .mu model file that KSP will load properly.

Unity is in fact a game engine (like Unreal and others) as well as a game development environment. KSP runs on top of a Unity executable. Modders use Unity in a few ways, part makers specifically use its editor along with the KSP Part tools script (made by KSP Developers) to set up a 3d "scene" containing the models for their part (with textures assigned) as well as animations and vectots that describe certain functions called Transforms. (These can be the direction of thrust, which way a docking port connects, the direction a landing leg points when deployed, and so on.) Once its setup properly they use the script to export the entire constructed scene as one model file and any textures it uses. These files can be loaded by KSP, and with the proper CFG file they'll be recognized as a part and show up in the part menu in the VAB to be used in game.

So to make a part you'll need 3 basic things:

A 3d Modeling program; You know of 3ds Max. Some other choices are: Blender, Wings3d, Sktechup. There are quite a few more, some may produce models supported by Unity and KSP easier than others. Some are free (like Blender) and some cost a lot of money (like 3ds Max)

An image editor to create textures and bumpmaps for your models; Photoshop, Paintshop, gimp (general imagine manipulation program, gimp.org), Paint.net (somewhat like the original Paint for windows but with many more features.) Again, some of these are free (Paint.net, gimp) some cost as much as normal software (Paintshop) and some are again quite expensive (Photoshop)

And finally unity with the KSP part tools script. The good news is that the normal Unity package is free to most hobbyist and students.

As for what is best; impossible to say. They all excel at different things, they have different interfaces and all of them will take some time to learn. You should probably hit up Youtube and watch some videos of them in action, it might help you decide which one to tackle.

I personally use Blender (from blender.org) and Paintshop Pro X14

Edited May 11, 2015 by Tiberion

[nikolay-spb]

Tiberion, thanks very much for the informative reply! I saw in this section unity so i thought it is also (i though "light") modeling tool (besides the engine). 3ds max is very heavy (installation was around 1 hour) and cost is unreal, so i am now on 30 days trial. I see that it is very professional tool, more like commercial, and i need something for learning purposes and beginners, and not very costly or free. Also in KSP graphics is not so important so i will probably download some free tool like blender. But here i dont see any tutorials for blender, only for maya and 3ds max.