can i us Google SketchUp for modeling (like buildings and stuff) for my games? because at http://sketchup.google.com/download/ it says and add them to google earth etc, and do i need the pro version for commercial use?
This is another question which could easily be answered by google.
Research
free version is for non-commercial use… im annoying you CJS arent i…
Not really, i’m just trying to teach you that Google is a very very very very very useful thing in this world
You need the Google Sketchup PRO version to export terrain meshes from Google Earth to Unity3d. I’ve done that with my ski game… it’s really cool to pull a ski resorts’ terrain in and then ski it! 
Actually, there is a free exporter somewhere on these forums.
Here’s a video screencast tutorial on grabbing Google Earth terrain via Sketchup and importing it into Unity.
I use this for bringing sketchup buildings into unity:
When it asks you if you want to convert textures to png sa no (they’re huge)
After importing into Unity, in the buildings project panel properties, set normals to calculate.
what about that?
You’re probably better off using Blender. Its quite popular among Unity users and from what I’ve tried to use of Sketchup the interface just makes no sense to me (unless you’re used to it).
If you want to model/texture things for your games, I’d say go with Blender too - has a lot more functionality.
Both interfaces make my eyes bleed but I’m used to commercial packages 
I have used both Blender, and google sketch up. And i have to say, they are INSALELY HARD! your better off using Wings3D. it is so freakin easyier!!! im a noob at it and i made a human model with the quality of a intermediate level of a modeler using blender within 1 hour.
check it out: http://www.wings3d.com/
All programs do the same basic things, and that’s all you need to make most models.
Extrude, loop cut, select and move edges, points, and faces, delete faces, merge points, the key tools for ALL 3D models. Even bevels and insets can be made with extrude, it just takes a bit more work than a true dedicated bevel tool.
Most 3D artists either make a box, then loop cut/surface cut the box and move/tweak points around to make the shapes they want, or make a polygon and extrude edges and make cuts to make the shapes they want. Every program does one or the other, or both. Blender allows both, but not ngons (faces with more than 4 sides) Wings only allows one method because it doesn’t support open meshes, but allows ngons. In either program, you want to avoid a “final result” with ngons, so 4 or 3 sided faces only when you export.
Don’t use sketchup, it’s a really nice program, and while you CAN make things with it, eventually you’ll end up with poorly optimized meshes for polygon counts because it has to convert to polygons when it exports, and you don’t have much control over how it does that. This is because sketchup is a nurbs modeler, not a polygon modeler.