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A foreword

I'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone who completed the survey, as well as all the company staff/directors who've offered input and comments. The response rate has been a little overwhelming, but the survey has provided a unique 'pulse' of user opinion from a truly neutral perspective.  So I hope the insights of the results are of value to you.

Software covered

software_porportion

The survey kept the options open as to what software you picked, so the programs covered in this summary are effectively every one that gathered enough user feedback to provide a reasonable degree of accuracy from the 2022 responses we received (the chart to the right shows the proportion of results by software). Any software with too few responses was discounted.

To convert the results into scores (i.e. to numerate the segments) a points scale between between 0 and 50 was applied for each of the answers (completely disagree, mostly disagree, mostly agree, totally agree).

The results of each question have then been displayed in a bar graph to offer a preview summary for this article - we will be investigating the distribution in answers for particular questions in future articles along with articles tackling particular software/company results in their own right.

 

Each software gives me lots of new features

1_new_featuresThere is little to separate the top pack, with Blender, Modo, Cinema4D and Houdini receiving very similar scores.  Lightwave and XSI scored very slightly lower, but are very much in the running. There was, however, a clear separation here from the rest with 3ds Max and Maya trailing quite significantly behind.

Now, as I'll reiterate several times, this is a user-survey, not a product survey. So this result does not necessarily reveal that Autodesk are adding fewer features in each upgrade, rather users think they are getting fewer features. A subtle, but significant difference. And of course, bear in mind the difference between the newer products like Modo (which are likely to have fewer features in the first place) and the more mature products like 3ds Max.

Cinema 4D, Houdini and Lightwave deserve a special mention - both are more mature applications, so the fact they are still competing with the new boys in town for innovation and development in their upgrades is pretty good going.

User Comments:

  • Cinema4D: Was using Lightwave and Maya for years, but Cinema 4D is far better.
  • Maya: Commonly the updates are just small things or too much specific to be really useful, for they should wait a little more to launch a complete and justified upgrade pack
  • 3ds Max: Each new version has some minor updates, they just add some plugin or script and call it a new version. Lots of bugs that are there since 3 versions later. New features come and old bugs are still there.
  • Cinema 4D: Recently the advanced renderer was upgraded comsiderabbly in R11, i'd like to see support for IES lights, faster GI calculations, more render options with multi threading, and more object library resources.

I feel the upgrades are good value for money

2_good_valueIn this question Blender, being free, had a fairly obvious advantage! But Houdini, Lightwave and Modo are doing a quick and frankly awesome job to be competing so closely in user perception with a free piece of software. It really goes to show the distinction between price and value.

The big underperformers here were 3ds Max and Maya who had the most disappointing results.  Ultimately it's very difficult to detangle the perceived poor value for money from the inevitable 'Autodesk effect' that these products endure. These are no different problems to those faced by any other major market power like Microsoft in the OS market or the Big Four in the car markets.

Yet it's fair to say there must be an element of truth in the survey response - this is something Ken Pimentel has been very honest in admitting that the Autodesk team had a special point to prove in the 2010 release compared to the last two cycles "this release is different than the last couple of releases and we are trying to get that message out".

User Comments:

  • Lightwave: The price is outstanding and the upgrade policy is second to none.
  • Cinema 4D: Cinema's upgrade prices are too steep and they make you pay for every upgrade. IE if I wanted to upgrade to the current Vs 11 I need to pay the full asking price.
  • Cinema 4D: My main concern is the cost. I don't think the upgrade cost is proportional to the initial purchase - ie, it's too expensive!
  • Cinema 4D: I find this software expensive, it is hard to justify upgrading.
  • Modo: Modo is the best value for the money. The community that surrounds it is the best around.
  • 3ds Max: The price is a big problem in my country. The company should be offer diferent versions with the real user necessity.  For example, if I work just modeling and texturing, maybe a version just with the tools for this, or if I'm a animator, just tools for this.  This is a simple idea.  Thanks.
  • 3ds Max: Completely disagree with Autodesk's subscription format perticularly with the split between design and 2009 and the fact that you don't know what your paying for. I disagree with it so strongly that I have taken the decision to cancel all subscription contracts in our organisation.
  • Maya: Autodesk's tepid yearly "upgrades" for Maya are a borderline waste of money. I say borderline because they make sure they put in just enough to slightly justify the purchase. I have 2009 but I would have quite happily stuck with 8.5 if I'd realised how little the differences were.

I feel the frequency of upgrades/new versions is about right

3_frequency_of_upgradesHoudini stretches well ahead here.  It was interesting to observe that Houdini users even found this a difficult question to understand as the SideFX team have brought their users so close to the software development cycle. Maya & 3ds Max again seemed to be most out of sync with their userbase, though there's also many complexities in over-analysis. Given the industry-standard status of 3ds Max & Maya, these may be being used in larger, more complex studios. So it's important to look at this as user opinion, rather than a gold standard for release cycles. Though that said, most of the others can point to large productions where they too are used...

It's also worth noting that the point here may not be whether you are giving users too many or too few upgrades, rather how you are delivering the updates. A lot of the comments highlighted the problems of frequent large updates and how much resource it absorbed continually having to upgrade software.  Maybe the users of more agile, iterative software like Houdini have simply built upgrading into their production cycles. Furthermore there may be a combination of users having to wait to pay for the latest version of software for features to become more stable.

In short the users of software with rapid iterative updates for bugs and poor design elements, and new toys and features being kept for larger iterations, seem to be the happiest crowd.

User Comments:

  • 3ds Max: I wish the new versions came out every 18 -24 months. It takes a while to learn new features completely.
  • 3ds Max: Considering the price of the software the company launches new versions very quickly, wich results in lack of support for the previous versions. The gap between max 2008 and 2009 is very small, I think.
  • 3ds Max: Updates are too frequent and without any good value for money (as compared to companies like Adobe or software like Zbrush) not enough WOW provoking new features.
  • XSI: Most people disagree with me here, but i think it is important that softimage come out with timely updates, full version updates once a year every year,  they are not so good at this.  Biggest hole in the program is the lack of uv unwrapping, i thought it would be updated 2 versions ago.  We have version 7 but don't use it yet for project reasons.
  • Blender: The release cycle and flowing feature entegration is brilliant along with the most outstanding information rate from the Blender Team and Supporters. Everyone else could learn something from the level of communication that reaches the end user from Blender. 5 Stars!

Each upgrade seems to contain more bug fixes than new features

4_bug_fixes_before_featuresThis question was not about the actual reality of updates. As users pointed out, given the massive range between what each company and thus users considers a point release, an update, an upgrade etc. However, it does reveal what users feel their company is focusing on.

It's interesting to note that Cinema users here felt their company developed new features significantly more than other software.

User Comments:

  • Modo: New features are added but never debugged to a desirable level.
  • Modo: Luxology combines bug fixes with major new feature releases. I would prefer much more frequent small bug fix releases - modo users have to live with bugs for a long time between updates.
  • Blender: Old versions do well if correctly used. It is not necessary to update every few months, and if, it has often more to do with hardware, 64-bit, additional import and export plugins, not with the software itself.
  • Houdini: SideFX is the only company where you get almost daily fixes for all bugs they fix and the major version releases do include a lot of stuff in addition to that.
  • 3ds Max: Too much money for useless upgrades. Major bugs are always there...
  • 3ds Max: Service packs and hot fixes need to be integrated into one.. too many bug fixes of this kind are misleading to users.  many important old features need an urgent recode. like environment effects, video post.  many render elements discrepancies need to be checked for better integration in post work.
  • Maya: I dont really give a damn about new features.  Just fix the bugs and get the thing running smoothly.  We shouldnt have to deal with instability, program crashes, and "features" that dont work the way they should.  I would pay so much more money for an upgrade like that than i would one with a 100 flashy new features
  • Maya: I am willing to purchase an upgrade for additional features that I may want. Unfortunately I often feel required to upgrade to solve bugs that should be fixed for free.
  • Lightwave: Lightwave went flakey with version 6. They lost their market share by not making stable upgrades, and ignoring user-friendly advances in other 3d software for too long. Their MacIntosh upgrades tend to be from flakey to very flakey and crash prone, though they seem to have fixed that with the latest iteration. Advance features are a morass of vague options, and things like dynamics are as difficult to make do what you want - and I mean basic things - as when they were introduced years ago

The company focuses on developing the features I need first

5_features_firstBlender was particularly strong in this category and stands out as a very community-driven piece of software. Modo, Houdini and Cinema4D were also strong contenders here with their users.

There's a distinct drop in morale here for the Autodesk users. One would assume that XSI is starting to slip also from this effect. One difference I guess that's worth noting is that the industry-standard status of 3ds Max & Maya means that a greater percent of their users will be using it as a requirement, not by choice and so this may have influenced their frustrations.

User Comments:

  • Maya: I'm forced to use this software to make a living but I resent it every minute.
  • Maya: After using maya for a long time, I wish they would fix the tools they already have instead of adding new features.  Maya is falling behind, the only people that get good use out of it are big studios that can write their own software.  It is sad when free 3d modelling software, wings 3d, has better modelling tools than maya.  I hope modo challenges maya as a complete solution software!
  • 3ds Max: 3ds max is my preferred software and would rather not transfer unless it was required by work. But i would like to see new upgrades to improve the functionality of exsiting features and not to add filibuster features such as the viewCube
  • 3ds Max: I use both Max and Maya, the former for work, and gets the most use. Its also the platform I\'m most comfortable with. However as an animator I've been waiting forever for them to upgrade the animation tools (not rigging, animation). Same for Maya.
  • 3ds Max: A lot of the times it feels like the developers do not listen to the artists. Some tools that have been in max for ages and always had problems, they are just left as they are... Come on let's fix the old stuff clean up the code and then move onto the new stuff.
  • 3ds Max: I spent too much time learning this software to completely shift but the software has a high number of problems (with simple scenes) and they don\'t add the features that people request. Instead they add stuff they "think" people want. Look at Rhino for a program that really works the way its customers want.
  • Lightwave: Over time LW has just gotten better and better. While it is of course, lacking certain features that would make character animation great (ala XSI), 9.6 has taken LW in a great direction.  CORE, with it going entirely nodal, will be much more powerful. In the direction of Houdini, which I am greatly looking forward to utilizing!

I am a big fan of the company that makes this software

6_big_fan_of_companyHuge breadth of results here with Blender, Modo and Houdini stretching ahead.  These three seem to enjoy an almost carnal relationship with their users who gave a massive vote to them - don't know if there's something subliminal in their rendering engines, but their users seem to have a love/love relationship with the whole team. A visit to their sites is interesting - for example, Luxology site really does reflect the importance the company places on its users, regular 'modcasts', tutorials, blogs and an active forum are all very popular with the end users.

The separation between 3ds Max and Maya is perhaps revealing, with Maya users feeling far less supportive of Autodesk than 3ds Max users. This is likely to be the knock on from the acquisition and the changes implemented since the days of Alias. The effect doesn't seem to have sunken in to XSI users yet, though it was reflected in a lot of comments that they were referring to previous ownership. But Autodesk clearly have a lot of work to do to even get Maya users up to the level of 3ds Max, which itself isn't exactly a vote of confidence.

User Comments:

  • 3ds Max: I am currently seeking or using replacement solutions for all of them in an attempt to break dependence on Autodesk software.    I completely disagree with how Autodesk runs itself as a company, nor do I feel it holds my best interests as a customer very highly at all and therefore refuse to continue giving them money for nothing.
  • 3ds Max: There used to be a time when updates meant significant upgrades and improvements with 3ds max, this is not the case anymore. I still use version 8 and cannot justify the price of an upgrade. The jump from v4 to v6 was a huge leap - the changes from v8 to the current version seems to lack the improvements that I would have liked. Autodesk should take a risk and actually make CHANGES to the program rather than add little features that I don't need.
  • XSI: After 8 years of using XSI I am "forced" to learn Maya due to the simple law of marketshare and increased oportunity in the CG market. Yet I remain faithful to Softimage.
  • Modo: It is an awesome software and Luxology is a great company with a nice forum

The support for this software is excellent

7_excellent_support

If there's one thing this question revealed, it was that Houdini users really believe in SideFX's customer service. So much so that it cast a shadow over Modo's results, which themselves were exceptional. In reality both companies deserve a big pat on the back for the clearly superb support they offer their customers, so it seems only fit to not say too much and leave it to their users to say the rest:

User comments:

  • Houdini: The fact that daily builds are available, and the support staff is almost perfect, makes Houdini a great value. Even though annual support seems pricey, it is worth being able to contact SideFX any time with questions, and have access to major releases, not just daily, minor updates and bug fixes (which they're constantly working on!)
  • XSI: This was true until redeemed by Autodesk Softimage. I have some doubts about the satisfaction I would get in the future...
  • XSI: Under Autodesk, my answers will be completely different. My Maya Dev sales and support people are terrible. I dont look forward other involvement with Softimage. Oh wait some got fired recently ok thats good.
  • 3ds Max: I hate the support of Autodesk, they never answer, and you cant speak with someone for support
  • Maya: It would be amazing for maya to have better hotfix/upgrades. There are still bugs in maya 2009 that I reported to autodesk from version 8.5

It'd take a lot to get me to move to a competing software title

8_take_a_lot_to_moveI guess this question really reveals the monetary payback for the various companies. All the effort they put into customer service, supporting users, listening to them and developing to their needs pays back in terms of customer 'stickiness'.

Houdini users really stood out here with Modo and Blender users also proving really hard to shift. This is a really critical benchmark for any company as it reveals the likelihood of each company hanging onto their users in the face of competition.

User Comments:

  • XSI: Speaking as a power user of Softimage products for more than 10 years I can say quite honestly that I believe that while this software may be advanced technically in some respects for the most part it is dead in the market.  No user base, no third party development and now in the hands of Autodesk.  Goodbye XSI the love affair is over.
  • XSI: referring to when XSI was owned by Avid, cant say anything about now that is Autodesk. Yet.
  • 3ds Max: We need more rivalry in 3D market. One company cannot have the 3 main 3D softs.
  • 3ds Max: I think 3D Max is the most complete 3D software, but the price is high too. Modo is changing the 3D software price mark. It´s easy to use, cheap to buy and works on Macintosh.
  • 3ds Max: I would switch to something else in a heartbeat.   Just need to convince the boss holding the purse strings.
  • 3ds Max: I´m just stucked with Max. I´m learning by myself the C4d Software because Max is too slow compared to the others.
  • 3ds Max: Max is good at many things but I don't believe it is irreplaceable by other more affordable packages. I do much of my modeling in freeware Blender because the flow is nicer for some things - especially organic modeling.
  • Blender: The Blender development team have my utmost respect and admiration. The big software companies have been fleecing users for too long. Blender is a first class open source alternative to commercial 3d programmes.
  • Maya: I've moved to XSI.
  • Lightwave: I mostly use this software for personal projects as most studios DO NOT use lightwave(esp last 5 years).  Maya has most of professional market share and most jobs request Maya as mandatory application.

Overall

9_overall_scoreSo here's the final user summary. There should be no big surprises here from the general trends of the survey results.

Each positive score has been weighted and tallied to give an overall 'rating' and Blender and Houdini come out as the strongest in the upgrades topic. The rest of the gang have done pretty well with only the Autodesk likely suspects dropping significantly from the crowd.

Conclusions

I will be exploring a lot of the topics and themes raised in this survey in upcoming articles, focusing on a particular observation each time and involving interviews with some of the companies involved. However, what I'd stress at this point is that this survey, like any survey, doesn't reveal facts, statistics or evidence - it reveals moods, emotions and feelings. The fact that the smaller, more nimble companies have more happy users is nothing that should surprise people as the users will feel closer and more important in the community than in the larger, more established companies where you can feel forgotten or overwhelmed in the mass.

That said, there is real tangible evidence that you can experience by visiting the various homepages. I'd probably note that there is no 'killer feature' that the successful companies have used; all have forums, blogs, mailing lists, tutorials and all the other standard components. However it's really about the effort that is put in and the dedication they make to their userbase. Go visit the SideFX forums, the development section of Blender.org or listen to a Luxology Modcast. All are alive and buzzing with activity and pull the users closer to the company. There's definitely some great lessons for the wider industry here.

Overall, despite the doom and gloom, I think the CG community have lots to be delighted with if recent events are anything to go by.  As I suggested in an earlier article, downward economic cycles tend to really raise the power of the user. In upward trends, industries tend towards assuming sales growth and therefore the customer is less important (though of course never overtly so!). Looking at the recent upgrade announcements from Modo, Lightwave, Blender and 3ds Max there has clearly been a lot of effort into raising the bar in each product release - we've got two complete rewrites, masses of new features in Modo and even the 3ds Max 2010 feature set has got the Autodesk-bashers quietened. Obviously the proof will be in the pudding, but you can even see in the marketing efforts by the companies that there is a much greater effort going in to not just the software but to supporting and listening to the userbase. The intriguing Modo sneak peeks, the mysterious Lightwave CORE launch and even the presence of Autodesk staff in forums like CGSociety has really helped users feel appreciated.

We'll run the same survey next year and it'll be very interesting to see the movers and the shakers!

Follow-up interviews

 
Discuss (88 posts)
Johan Crous
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 26 2009 13:19:20
"Hi, Please look at this link: www.tdt3d.be/articles_viewer.php If you look at this comparison table, Blender is one of the best 3D suites available and it is free. Stay with it, Marry it and in the end you will succeed. If you one day dump Blender, you loose nothing, If you dump something else, you loose big bucks."
 #107
Dread Knight
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 26 2009 19:13:31
+1 for blender!
 #108
Chad von Nau
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 26 2009 23:00:50
"I'm going to have to agree with some of the other dissenters here. I don't know if this survey really reflects the film/advertising industry in a real way. Almost every major shop in NY & LA use primarily Maya. They may have a few seats of the niche products here and there, but I don't know that any shops are using blender. I can imagine that if this site had a similar survey for image editors GIMP would come out on top and phtotoshop would be pulling up the rear."
 #109

Dave - CGenie
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 27 2009 06:04:04
"Chad - absolutely, as I've stressed dozens of times in all the forum posts, this has nothing to do with industrial representation, this is a user representation so, yes of course you'd expect there to be more users of free software than ones costing thousands. This is meant to represent the feelings of users and users are expected to be very narrow-sighted in their view of the CG industry - as you yourself have demonstrated, is the film/advertising industry all there is to the world of CG? You've missed the design, archcad, games & entertainment, etc etc... I'd also disagree with you on GIMP - I think Photoshop would actually do pretty well, think GIMP has a long way to go and I know lots of it's users feel it's interface is a little obtuse... Keep an eye on the site, I've got lots of interviews with all the major companies lined up and hopefully they'll be able to shed a bit of light in this for you..."
 #110
NathanKP
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 27 2009 16:22:30
"Excellent comparison. As a Blender user myself I was pleased to see Blender up at the top, getting the credit it deserves. The Blender development team has been doing a lot to improve the former usability issues that Blender suffered from. I think that many people who are turned off about Blender are ones that used a really early version. Now there are enough menus and buttons to help most new users. What I appreciate most, though, is the comfortable layout of the hotkeys and the way you can model really fast using them. What is more the open projects (Elephant's Dream and Big Buck Bunny) are doing a great job of showing off the potential behind Blender as a competitive piece of modeling software despite the fact that it is freeware. NathanKP - madewithblender.blogspot.com"
 #111
3dre
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 27 2009 16:32:03
"As a professional , I use Blender now for almost 9 years. In these years i also used max, maya and lightwave. At the moment I'm 100% back at Blender. The ""Big"" apps really feel big and slow. The learningcurve is for every package the same. If you learned maya or max, then you know it takes a while to get used to the package. I use Blender not only because its open-source, but it fits me like a glove. It's lightweight, fast and powerfull."
 #112
Keith M
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 27 2009 21:56:31
"""I had better stop my rambling before you all think I worship Blender. I don't. Don't get me wrong, It is pretty cool, But I am a devout Christian and always will be."" Yes! ME TOO! I think we can use blender for God's Glory! Another thing I really like about it is, it's under 20 mb!!! Is this because it uses open GL?"
 #113
Jason R
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 28 2009 18:08:59
"I've just downloaded Blender, thanks guys. "
 #114
Agustin
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 01 2009 16:44:32
"I am an advanced user of 3Ds Max. I Used 3Ds Max for 6 years in my proffesional work. i fell good With this program, except for its severals bugs. I gave a try to BLENDER two moths ago, and in the first moment of using i compared it to a pice of shit, why? Because i didn't give to it the necesary and minimal time to learn it. After only 3 weeks of learning BLENDER and comparing it to 3Ds Max i am about to move to BLENDER and never look back. I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT IS POSIBLE THAT A FREE SOFTWARE CAN BE ALMOST AS BETTER IN SOME ASPECTS, AND BETTER IN MANY OTHER THAN THE OTHERS COMERCIAL 3D PACKAGE. -Blender has almost everything you could need. and it is really faster in many others features compared with 3Dmax like Hair and many others. -The UI of blender is one od the most customizable ot there. and the 2.5 release will become the Blender Interface as the best interface ever build in 3D Package. -The many upgrades and features that blender already have and is not in the official release yet. I.E.: Volumetrics (voxels), Deepshadowbuffer, IBL, GI Thechinques, and more! - the Blender 2.5 will be a really quantum leap, may people don't see it. - i think in the people that spend thousands of dollars in comercial 3D package, and there is a very powerful solution for FREE, and i think that i was that kind of people, and i REALLY can't believe. Agustin, 13Angel Enterprices. (Sorry for my bad english)"
 #115
AD-Edge (Alex)
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 01 2009 19:29:17
"Youve gotta love Blender, the results to this survey are interesting, I would have prefered more responses for a stronger statistical result, but 2022 gives a pretty good idea of peoples perspectives. Ive been using Blender for years now, after ditching 3DsMax. I gave 3Ds a good go, spending many months learning it. But after one week of Blender i was already miles ahead of where i was at using 3Ds. Everything just seemed to work. Plus it was less than 20mb, so I could put it on a USB and take it anywhere, no need for installing it on computers manually. Its definetly the most flexable and efficient program ive ever used. The community has to be mentioned as well, there is huge community support and a very positive and dedicated crew in charge of making Blender better. A lot of people have doubts about Blender, but with 2.5 on the horizon I see a lot of those doubts being finished for good. We're about to see Blender reach its potential (as if it wasnt good enough already) Id also reccoment everyone check out Big Buck Bunny (movie),Elephants Dream (movie) and Yo Frankie (game) which have all been made using Blender. Theres plenty of other games and movies out there as well, check them out. -Alex (AD-Edge)"
 #116
Danny R
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 11 2009 12:43:24
"Good to read and I think shows very clear what people think about the software they use. Of course I havent owned them all as most people dont have such money I had tryed the demos for most of these producs, and gave a fair amount of time in each one over the last 2 years. Customer support and community means alot to me, as I need to get the most from my choice of software, and like to feel that I have somewhere to turn when I run into problems. 3ds max while I liked the software, is way too expensive for anyone that dont have their own studio. When coming close to perchasing a older used version of Max, I was told the cost of licence transfer, which followed that I had to also perchase a upgrade and a subscription in order for them to do the licence transfer. I wont go into details here, but it worked out as much as the software brought outright. This was the first reply I got from over 7 emails to them. The email was short and to the point. On the other had Maxon was very helpfull. They have always replyed to my emails, and answered any questions I had. The downside was for me to have a complete package would still cost way too much, but loved the software in most areas. Luxology Modo has a great user base, fantastic close feedback with their users, and offers alot of tools in a not yet fully loaded package. Modo has a great render engine and UI, great for hard surface modeling, but not so good for organics yet. Blender im looking at more closer now, ,as the UI apears to been upgraded somwhat since I tryed it a few years back. Blender new video demos iv seen shows its power. If the Ui gets the finnal polish ,I think its gona get me to try it again to give it another chance. XSI when owned by Softimage was another one I looked at. While not liking the UI, I could have got use to it for its abilities. Unfortunatly ther support was next to non, I got very slow responce and at that, never got any direct answers. I wanted to get Foundation when it was avalible, but needed to know right at the time of their offer for upgrade to Essencials if I could do this being I was essencialy not a exsisting user before the deal was about. I had poor responce so lost the deal on getting foundation very cheap. This are what iv experianced first hand."
 #117
paulj
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 12 2009 19:11:14
"Neat quick comparison, regardless, I'd fall into the 6% of the other category that's not covered. My attraction to cheap software or not-quite-mainstream free ones puts me in the outlier category. Still it doesn't mean those apps aren't completely irrelevant in how the big dogs get influenced. I'm one of those oddballs who could never quite get Blender. But perhaps that's because I was exposed to some UIs from even simpler software. I didn't have to delve heavily into forums or help files for features that were only available via hotkeys (and not necessarily what I'd consider logical ones at that.) Not that I wasn't interested in Blender (I could see that it could do powerful and interesting things), but the workflow that the interface presented never clicked for me. I guess the budget 3D stuff tainted me with their newb-friendly candy coatings. Which makes me wonder how I'd feel about some of the other ""high-end"" apps. But my interest may be rekindled if the UI aspect of Blender really is made flexible enough. I could imagine it being like Firefox or Ubuntu in malleability and extensibility, so I could access its features under the layouts and workflows I'm more familiar with. If I could have the file browser look and work like the one from the OS I'm using, the navigation and modeling workflow of Wings3D (no more than 3 clicks deep or using the Wings hotkeys), some of the quick-to-render (basic level functions) laid out like Bryce on the left (click and get an ok looking render without dicking around much, but with more powerful stuff readily available underneath if desired), and a drag n' drop library for mats/objects and timeline on the bottom like Carrara (and instances/heirarchy or objects on the right which overlaps a little between both Wings and Carrara), then everything would be just peachy. And if hotkeys were hinted at better when using interface functions - I'm sure I'd be able to pick some of them up as well. Also I could picture unique features too, perhaps throwing in something that allows me to navigate large scenery quickly and precisely by using a typical and inexpensive off-the-shelf proportional 3-axis sim/gaming joystick. (Throttle used as speed scale multiple, with fire button pressed X and Y as dolly and pan otherwise they cover turning and pitch. Think like the UFO in FlightGear or the slew mode in other flight sims.) But only time will tell if this arrangement will be a real possibility, and then I may delve into it again."
 #118
Gino D
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 15 2009 14:50:58
"Funny.. I wouldn't be supriced if all the 2200 people that filled this in 'are' Blender users. Was this posted on a Blender forum only or something ? I would say 90+% of all the comments are from Blender users.. and according to the information above.. Blender takes 5% of the market.. So everyone from the bigger userbases (max, maya, etc) are either silent, don't care or never heard of this survey... I would say the latter is true..."
 #119
Dave - CGenie.com
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 15 2009 15:04:30
"Hi Gino D, You can see from the first paragraph and pie chart that 5% of the 2200 that filled this in are Blender users, so 95% of the respondents were using max, maya etc... We widely promoted on all the major CG forums/sites and hence there was a good representation from all areas - indeed you can see Marc Petit (VP of Autodesk Media and Entertainment) thought of the survey here: www.cgenie.com/cgenie-content/115-cgenie...rviews-autodesk.html There's certainly a lot more passion from Blender users, as you've intuited from the comments listed, but I think this is more complex than simply saying there's more of them involved in the survey - especially when the statistics completely contradict this... Hope this clarifies things a little"
 #120
Shery
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 15 2009 15:38:18
Some People are confused why dere'z so much nosie about blender ... & share only 5% of market ... I myself user of 3dsmax ... will vote for blender .. its awesome ... No other package have such features ... only using for a week now ... i love it ... i was always interested in Game Development (side hobby)..but None of other Commercial Products that feature ... 3dsmax support windows Which sucks big time ... I wanted to switch to MAC or LINUX(linux more) ... but i can't because im stuck with 3dsMax ... After watching few of Open Source Movies done in Blender .. its one hell of a pro soft ...
 #121
Kota Weaver
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 20 2009 19:16:24
"Loads of people complain about Blender's UI... Thats my favorite part Also, I love how it is available under Linux."
 #122
rusmas
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 21 2009 10:35:53
"""I'm forced to use this software to make a living but I resent it every minute."" Hell yeah - using Maya feels like doing brainsurgery on insects. With my nose."
 #123
Yony
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 21 2009 11:48:40
Yeah!!! Blender rule ;D
 #124
neo
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 22 2009 09:44:15
cinema 4d the best
 #125
lucascayres
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Nov 20 2009 21:31:52
our the person who made that comment ta loco
Maya software is the best way is not
all the software it no doubt is the best
blender and garbage in front of him
 #547
fish
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Feb 06 2010 11:01:25
Very interesting. I gave Blender a testride a long time ago and it was not my cup of thea. But maybe I should give it another shot.
Though I think the fact that Blender users hardly have any complaints about it, also has a lot to do with the fact that it's for free. In general peeps expect more from software they payed for. I know I would not complain about a freebie
#559
gfxfree
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Mar 29 2010 16:47:03
Most of my models ( more than 400) at www.gfxfree.com were modeled with Max and Maya. But i Respect Blender as a open source i means a lot......
 #562
Nickson
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Apr 25 2010 05:59:40
i ? Modo
 #582
Nickson
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Apr 25 2010 06:01:56
I mean..

I love Modo ..
#583
LuzMathis
CG Community Survey: Upgrades 09
Jun 26 2010 17:16:11
A lot of specialists argue that loan aid a lot of people to live their own way, because they can feel free to buy needed things. Moreover, some banks present secured loan for young and old people.
 #605
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