Gmax, And Why I No Longer Use It

[Tracker]

First, it is indeed a good program. But is has some flaws. Namely, I cannot export or import meshes at all, nor can I really convert the file format to one that I can use.

I did make a wheel, and tried to build a model with it, but I quickly got to the point that the model crashes every time I load it. A box and some hubs is as far as I got. I think Gmax relies too heavily on the graphics card. To go any further with it (I think I will end up outstripping every card on the market, current and future, if I keep up the 48 sided primitives) will require a custom chip set with a custom OS that allows any processor in the computer, be it the main ones (I think two Xeon X7560's and one TB RAM are in order) or the GPU to share tasks (same goes for the RAM and other resources) when one is stressed to the breaking point.

To reach that point took less than 24 hours of experience time from "unboxing" to it breaking. And that model is one of the simpler ones that I [had] plan[ned] to make, never mind the multi model animations!

[McJobless]

First, it is indeed a good program. But is has some flaws. Namely, I cannot export or import meshes at all, nor can I really convert the file format to one that I can use.

Wrong. It's just that it doesn't have NATIVE exporting/importing. There are a heap of plugins, though. Go download some, son.

I did make a wheel, and tried to build a model with it, but I quickly got to the point that the model crashes every time I load it. A box and some hubs is as far as I got. I think Gmax relies too heavily on the graphics card. To go any further with it (I think I will end up outstripping every card on the market, current and future, if I keep up the 48 sided primitives) will require a custom chip set with a custom OS that allows any processor in the computer, be it the main ones (I think two Xeon X7560's and one TB RAM are in order) or the GPU to share tasks (same goes for the RAM and other resources) when one is stressed to the breaking point.

You're using it wrong. I made entire Halo maps, vehicles and characters with GMax on my s***ty system, and it always worked. You need to reconfigure your graphics properties.

To reach that point took less than 24 hours of experience time from "unboxing" to it breaking. And that model is one of the simpler ones that I [had] plan[ned] to make, never mind the multi model animations!

GMax is for people who want to learn 3DS Max, or model for Halo/FSX, for free. Animation is not support (much), and everything is pretty well stripped down.

[Tracker]

Well, I am planning to make a hybrid program that does finite element analysis, gravity simulation, collision detection with the appropriate effects, electro-opitical simulation for color, pressure simulation for both sound and movement, heat for incandescence and phase changes, and a basic chemical simulation to get the numbers that go into those equations, on top of the normal animation and rendering functions. In other words: The most accurate and useful animation/modeling/simulation software outside of Chemsim, some thing even further off on the list. (Actually, Chemsim is just a REALLY fancy version of the Powder Toy, but with particles that emulate the elementary sub atomic particles, so the reason it is farther off is just the raw power a computer would need to simulate a useful number of said particles.) I am just that annoyed by the unrealism in today's graphics.