Okay, so I’ve recently become highly inspired with the gaming community. I will let you know, that I didn’t go to some fancy school, or hell, I didn’t even learn coding from a school(not entirely) but I do know how to code nonetheless. And I figured that I could teach myself whatever I needed to know to fill up the gaps. I’m also new to 3D graphics, but I’ve been using Photoshop since I was 14, and I’ve done spriting for even longer. So I also figured that while some or all of these concepts are new to me, developing a simple game on my own shouldn’t be too hard for myself. I know it’s going to take hard work and determination, I’ve played music for years, and I know that this, like any other skill isn’t going to be a walk in the park…even though that can be hard for some people if they are hylophobic.
Anyhow, the point of me starting this topic is to ask a few questions on the 3D rendering program, Blender. I’m hearing that it’s great for 3D projects but it’s also a hassle when it comes to importing into Unity. I am hearing mixed opinions about Blender, and I personally want to hear everybody’s opinion before I decide to download it and learn how to use the program. And if you are a supporter of Blender, which version is best with working with Unity?
Blender is awesome and works great with Unity. The automatic import of .blend files needs some tweaking to work with the latest version of the 2.5 series (there is a thread showing what modifications to the import script need to be made), but exporting to OBJ or FBX is always an option, and that works fine. I’d recommend the latest 2.5 build from blender.org. The interface has changed a lot (for the better IMO) from 2.49.
Okay, cool. I guess I’ll have to learn how to export it properly on my own. I read in one topic that people were having trouble so I just assumed that blender wasn’t too compatible with Unity.
Alright, my first mission of business is to learn and completely master the Blender program. After that, everything else should come with ease.
The import is intended to work automatically. But as recently a new version of Blender was released, a few things changed which broke the automatic import into Unity. A few awesom guys here in the forums have solved that issue by just replacing one file. So it is possible to get the automatic import working now, or wait for the next release of Unity.
Manually exporting to fbx always worked, so you may use that as well. There are a few thing that can go wrong, but it is very likely that you find a solution for them in the forums.
At a certain point you are going to have a problem as you would with all other applications as well. Blender works very well for and I never had major issues with it so far.
I am not a modeller, but I have found that the new blender, 2.57, is not that hard to use. It’s a free tool with alot of functions, thats why I have continued the process of trying to learn it.
Blender’s weakest spot IMO still is the lack of proper, centralised and clear documentation.
Most of the documentation still is a Wiki with varying quality and amount of information.
Blender istself is very complete for a 3D software and verycapable to do most of the thins other 3D software does.
The interface IS a little obscure (still) - but I think Maya’s is just as well. It’s just how much you are used to a certain thing and how much you are willing to spend time.
Blender is pretty cool and works very well with Unity. It’s Open Source - it’s free.
For the record: Despite how much I like Blender I use Cinema4D for personal preference, being used to it and especially documentation reasons. So … see for yourself. You won’t get many truly objective answers on that opic, sadly. It’s too much of an Apple - PC / Coka - Pepsi etc. kinda thing, apparently.
Blender is as powerful as you’d probably ever need, and free!
Yes, it is a little hard to learn because of the interface, but I’ve personally found it to be easier to work with than others (after learning how to use it).