Communcity's choice DTS development tool
by Brian Hunter · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 12/10/2005 (9:42 pm) · 8 replies
Looking to get some opinions on the community's choice on DTS development for TGE and TSE. I ask because the company I am with is set to begin some serious development and I am beginning to look at the available tools and what would be most cost effective, efficent, and has the eye of the community (and GarageGames) for continued support in the future.
So the questions I have to ask of everyone is.
- Where are the best options in support and functionality for development tools for DTS ?
- Where is the current trend going for support, both in the community and by GarageGames themselves ?
- What is your personal preference for development tool and a brief explination why ?
We are currently looking at Maya 7 or XSI 5, inparticularly Im interested in feedback from Maya 7 (or other version) developers as the company is staffed by several very proficent Maya gurus. All feedback appriciated, though I kindly ask that replies not take the time to start any arguements on "*this* is better than *that*".
P.s. and apparently I cant spell ... what I get for being in a hurry ....
So the questions I have to ask of everyone is.
- Where are the best options in support and functionality for development tools for DTS ?
- Where is the current trend going for support, both in the community and by GarageGames themselves ?
- What is your personal preference for development tool and a brief explination why ?
We are currently looking at Maya 7 or XSI 5, inparticularly Im interested in feedback from Maya 7 (or other version) developers as the company is staffed by several very proficent Maya gurus. All feedback appriciated, though I kindly ask that replies not take the time to start any arguements on "*this* is better than *that*".
P.s. and apparently I cant spell ... what I get for being in a hurry ....
About the author
Nostalgia, Interactivity, and Entertainment!
#2
12/10/2005 (10:43 pm)
Silo, which is as good as Maya for modeling and only costs $99, is my dts editor of choice. Mixed with Milkshape3d for animation and to export to dts. 
#3
12/12/2005 (4:49 pm)
I've read in this thread that there's no DTS exporter for XSI. So if you end up choosing it, you will probably want to get Milkshape 3D for $25 and use its XSI importer and the DTS exporter (there's one that comes with ms3d and a better one provided somewhere on this site).
#4
Part of this is Torque keeping a somewhat open art pipeline. Instead of tying down the developer to 1 product
they have a bunch of tools that work.
I would like to see not on GG's side but on the 3d tool company side, would like to see them be more aggressive
with Indy business and supportive of the export pipeline tools for DTS.
Special pricing too for the starving artists (INDYS!)....
The thing about the pipelines today is for the most part they are unsupported in terms of errors and bugs.
It's a "crap shoot" as to what might happen and a major headache. The constant question? Which is best..
At least with DIF constructor should be the Mac daddy...
What do I know.. ? I suck at 3d art anyway... just sayin it could be improved on the DTS side to make it more of a "sure thing"
Instead of a leap of faith..
12/12/2005 (5:00 pm)
Well it's interesting subject. Because I too feel there is no defacto DTS tool out there. Part of this is Torque keeping a somewhat open art pipeline. Instead of tying down the developer to 1 product
they have a bunch of tools that work.
I would like to see not on GG's side but on the 3d tool company side, would like to see them be more aggressive
with Indy business and supportive of the export pipeline tools for DTS.
Special pricing too for the starving artists (INDYS!)....
The thing about the pipelines today is for the most part they are unsupported in terms of errors and bugs.
It's a "crap shoot" as to what might happen and a major headache. The constant question? Which is best..
At least with DIF constructor should be the Mac daddy...
What do I know.. ? I suck at 3d art anyway... just sayin it could be improved on the DTS side to make it more of a "sure thing"
Instead of a leap of faith..
#5
12/12/2005 (5:40 pm)
Silo might come with an animation module with the upcoming 2.0 version; i am not sure, have to check with their website again. i also like silo for its features/price and interface - not to mention its size (few megs)
#6
thing but QuArK does work for DIF creation too).
But I am still curious where we should take DTS creation. So far Maya seems the answer just because we have manpower there but these new applications have some backing and I will be checkign into them in the near future.
I am too curious about responses from GarageGames on what options we should be looking at.
Also curious if the answers are the same for TSE as well, or is there a more supported DTS pipeline there (which we will be picking up TSE in the near future as well so might as well get started with asking the tough questions now).
All responses thus far appriciated, thank you. Keep them coming.
12/13/2005 (8:58 am)
The DIF answer is clear. With the scripting language and offical GarageGames support most likely Constructor will be the answer to all problems (not to mention I hate the But I am still curious where we should take DTS creation. So far Maya seems the answer just because we have manpower there but these new applications have some backing and I will be checkign into them in the near future.
I am too curious about responses from GarageGames on what options we should be looking at.
Also curious if the answers are the same for TSE as well, or is there a more supported DTS pipeline there (which we will be picking up TSE in the near future as well so might as well get started with asking the tough questions now).
All responses thus far appriciated, thank you. Keep them coming.
#7
12/13/2005 (9:19 am)
The most supported exporters for Torque are the Max and Maya exporters. The original exporter was the Max exporter, and from what I heard, Clark Fagot (the original programmer of 3Space) coded both the Max and Maya exporters. I would highly recommend using Maya in your case, since you have artists that are skilled in the product. 
#8
12/27/2005 (3:12 pm)
I use Blender, the tools are world class and there is very little it cannot do. Every professional review that I have seen has always been glowing of the feature set animators need for creating content. 
Torque Owner Jeffrey Bakker
I, personally use Blender. It is very rich in features, designed for workflow efficiency, and can produce very professional looking work, plus it's completely free!! On the downside, the user interface has a steep learning curve (unlike Maya, it's not something you can just take one look at and start using), and the DTS exporter for Blender is a nightmare at best the first few times around.