@teaCup:
I have to hand it to Alias|Wavefront. There's no tool (package
) that has quite so streamlined interface as Maya.
But, as I said, I'm used to using both Maya and 3DSM, (Not at work, but in school) and once you get used to it, 3DSM can be faster than Maya.
Maya is, however, much better when it comes to animation. Think "Making the Final Fantasy movie" (which they, on a side note, did use Maya for, as does Pixar and all those other folks that make 3D animated movies).
That's where Maya is much better.
But you can achieve the same result with 3DSM, it just takes a little longer.
But, since this question was asked on a computer game forum, I take it the poster wants to make graphics for games. And then, there is no contest. 3DSM is the most favoured tool on the market, and rightfully so.
I won't delve into why 3DSM is better, since a comparative article of that kind would be a pain in the arse to type here on the forum.
But trust me, for his purposes, 3DSM is way better. And with time and patience it's just as good as Maya when it comes to making 3D Animations.
Oh, and 3DSM
is the game developer's tool/package. There are far more games created with 3DSM than with Maya (OFP being one) and the only game developer I can name right now that I know uses Maya is Westwood Studios.
Cheers, KTottE