Talking about dead software, Modo is now free for the next 10y.
I'm still not sure how long Foundry will allow this, as I first thought it that it only available for existing customer, but for the time been you can download 16 or 17, and use the free EOL license.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVhKfDvezqE

To me it's still the king for precise SDS modelling today, with probably a better user experience out of the box (no addons required) than Blender.


Edit : Well actually that v17 is a crash party, at best it's an alpha version. Looks like 16.1 is the stable version. I almost forget how unstable Modo is :O)

For speedy modeling in seconds to Moi and true free...in OBJ if needing...
the cool Hexagon 2

Export at OBJ format - level 0 : 220 faces
here Hexagon 2 - level 2 : 3520 faces



In Moi
SubD / Create from File in Moi : 1 second : 2 solids 28 faces

Modo option seems nice...going to check it out.
I managed to make something ...just testing this out...
but it seems to me ...it would be faster to export and boolean certain parts in Moi.

for wheels, chassis and mechanical parts ...I would not even try with polygons lol.

free TopMod --> free Hexagon 2 (if 3D deformations wanted) --> Moi 3D
Free MeshMixer if repair necessary



for inside Moi for any reason...

@Matadem

Well, even that car body is not that organic imho to justify using SDS poly modelling. It should be possible to build it in Moi directly without too much trouble, especially now that you have some sort of "draft" poly version.

Bojan Koturanović does a great job creating imaginary medical devices combining Moi3D and Modo in his video tutorials:

https://bojankoturanovic.com/view/22/

Wings 3D has a cool history as it was heavily inspired by Nendo and Mirai which I had always wanted to get my hands on. I remember Bay Raitt using it for 3d modeling back in the 90's. As some of you may know, he was the lead facial modeler for Golem (Lord of the Rings trilogy) at Weta.

Also of note, Wings3D was created using Erlang, a functional programming language which is not typically used to build 3d software. Very cool!

https://www.united3dartists.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5791

https://youtu.be/ubgvomRTW80?si=r5c0tSBPCJfd1V8s

And the Wings 3D under Steroïds : "ManifoldLab" who add tones of crazy functions!

By Ggaliens
Manifold Lab fork of Wings 3D! (maybe not the last version...
site : http://manifoldlab.net/ is not more accessible!
So this is better than nothing! ;) By Ggaliens
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3cwsi5kvm0jeiae/AACWabcUIFe8UObZoyOvSQ6Ca?dl=0

Structures following can be made also very easilly in seconds by the Free TopMod!
https://people.tamu.edu/~ergun/research/topology/download.html

@Paq
Yes it is simple enough to try in Moi but I have other more complex things I am trying to do in the future.
I think Plasticity would be a good option too but Ill buy it next year.(for xnurbs)
Everything I do at one point start or go thru Moi. I guess I am comfortable with the ui.

@Gary
I bought that tutorial it is what got me going with Moi3d.

@Frenchy
I tried wings 3d but Nvil still seems faster.

I tried doing the same thing in Nvil and Blender. and I was faster in Nvil...so I removed blender...because I am not going to use it for now.
I tried Modo...but my laptop seems underpowered for it :/

I might try it later...but then again I might never need it.
One thing I also look at is program startup time.....that is one thing I do not like about bigger programs...affinity takes a while to load.
I want to be in and out as quickly as possible.
Tnx!

Wings 3D is not a model of Interface user! :) Old School !

Plasticity is the more Dynamic modeler that you can find...but you must love shortcuts! :)
See videos by Arrimus3D who was also a Moi3D user!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chilP-56nJY

Hi,

Silo is a solid polygonal software, it had new updates lately.

Very instructive for the Poly Box Modeling!

Just got plasticity...Xnurbs seems awesome...
UI is weird to me...

So it seems it will end up the way I am using vcarve....Everything is done in Moi then send to vcarve....
Hopefully Moi can get xnurbs as well in the future...

I love Hexagon, It is a very easy 3D modeling app. And free from DAZ3D. I would also recommend Wings3D which is also free.

https://www.wings3d.com/

I tried Rocket3F and NVil. Prefered Rocket3F as Nvil has a very confusing ui (IMHO) and much preferred the commercial app Silo3D over both.

Hexagon3D has some more advanced tools then Wings3D. Silo3D also has a some advanced tools over Wings3D but not as much as Hexagon3D.

Hexagon3D can be prone to crashing on Windows 10 or 11 as it has not been supported or updated in several years.

Curvy3D is an inexpensive app that is fun to play with. https://www.curvy3d.com/ but I rarely use now that I have 3D Coat.

I bit the bullet and fought with Blender, now that I understand it, it is quite simple. But it took me close to 6 months to get comfortable with it.
And there are a ton of addons (both free and paid) that can simplify things quite a bit.

I now longer use Hexagon3D or Silo. However I will fire up Wings3D a few times an year.

I would suggest try Wings3d or Hexagon3D (but beware it can be quite unstable). But going the Blender route will pay off in the end.

I agree 100% on Solo3D being easier then Nvil.

I thought Truespace had a bad UI. Nvil is a close 2nd.

Does the FREE Modo license include the Mesh Fusion plugin?

I was a big fan of Groboto3D until the developer stopped developing it and opted to concentrate more on the Groboto plugin for Modo - Mesh Fusion.

The free Clavicula is also a cool one!
https://clavicula.link

Ok, I downloaded Modo v 17.1 and it does include MeshFusion.

All is free or you must be an old Modo licensed user ?

Modo is free to download with its license...got it from their site.. but I got the V16 Since PaQ mentioned the newer version crashed allot.
Nvil seems daunting...but once you get used to it ...it is very quick and relaxing to work with.
What actually sold me on Nvil was this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjU31ij6BzA&list=PLJDFMG25S3D8yzhjUo4UWi1hnVZYzUVmP Zbrush,Nvil to Moi3d....on top of that that clean looking ui.
You can modify the ui completely to your needs...but I just need dark mode in the apps I work with and I am good.
Coming from Moi which is the only 3d program I work with basically every day...to polygon was very confusing (even after all the years looking at blender tutorials and making nothing )
On top of that learning a new program.....I asked allot and I mean allot of questions(pages).. He took the time to answer all of them...including posting youtube videos
Of what I was stuck with...he deserves my money lol.
https://www.youtube.com/@mrshikun/videos

its even on steam now 50% off https://store.steampowered.com/app/592350/Nvil/