What modeling program do you use?

#1 Modo and Lightwave.

Because I've been using them for a long time (or at least LW) and I gel well with the interface.

Use what works for you, be it Blender, Max, Maya, TrueSpace, etc...

#2 DeleD
It's easy to use, and as powerful as the high dollar apps. (ok, not quite, but you get the hint)

#3 GameSpace.

#4 If you want to make models to use in Torque, the most important factor in choosing a modelling program is whether a DTS exporter exists for it, and which features it's DTS exporter supports. You can find a list of programs that have exporters here.

#5 Gamespace 1.6, MilkShape, Blender amd DeleD.

I used MilkShape for billboard, it is way to easy in MilkShape then other software.

I used Gamespace 1.6 for players, barrels, crate and etc. For me Gamespace is very easy to use and I like the UvVmap it has. Took me while to figure the uvmap out but once I did it is very easy.

I used DeleD for dif, to me it is very easy to build dif, plus it convert the map for you. Plus I like the texture scaling in DeleD. I try others software but they dont compare to DeleD.

I use 3d max but not as much I am plan on selling some models in the future and Max way to much for most people.

#6 I use Animation Master. It's a program that I've used more and more in the past few months. It has a .dts exporter that came out just in the past year. It's easy enough for me and it's fairly affordable in comparison to other 3D programs with similar power and function. Users range from hobbyist to pro studios who use it for broadcast quality productions.

I tried MilkShape and Blender, but the interface was just too cumbersome for me. But like anything else, this stuff takes a lot of time and it depends on what you get used to.

Always wanted to try Maya or Lightwave. But I hear the manuals in total weigh more than my computer and it takes a while to really learn. The manual for Animation Master is about 185 pages. One can learn the basics in a weekend.

#7 Just try silo ( http://www.nevercenter.com/ ) about $100
That program is really good on poly modeling based. But i use 3dsmax now.
Try to migate from max to silo now.

#8 Jon,
It really depends on what you want to model. If you want to make Player or Vehicle models you will need a program that has an up to date dts exporter. If you just want to models like bases I've used the Valve Worldcraft/Hammer editor for years and it works fine (It's free). I made some models of bases with Hammer 3.4 for the game "Legends" and they worked fine.

P.S. The guys at GG do not officially support the use of Worldcraft/Hammer because of Valve's EULA.

#9 This is from the TDN
"[1] WorldCraft/Hammer has been authorised by Valve for the use of Torque products (Free and Commercial), however, the actual EULA has not been changed in version 3.4 or 3.5 (beta)."

as for programs i use
Blender, QuArK, Photoshop, Torsion

#10 I use 3ds max 8, mostly because I have been using 3ds max for years. Also the user interface is very intuitive, and highly customisable. It also has lots of tools for game modeling.

I have tried Maya, but I didn't like it. While I was able to start modeling with the max platform without any tutorials the first time. Maya took me a while to learn, and I'm not a very big fan of the GUI.

I have also tried milkshape, without much luck... : /

For new users, I highly recommend the way I started. Just buy an educational licence for 3ds max. An unlimited time licence is about $500, but a one year licence is about $150 at www.TheCADStore.com. I recommend this for many reasons. One of them being the fact that 3ds max comes out with a new version quite often and instead of buying an upgrade, at the end of the year you can just buy the latest version. While these are fully functional versions, it does say not for commercial use. But it would be great for personal/first time games.

#11 Another outstanding choice if you dont have the money for 3ds max is Lightray3d. The gui is very similiar to 3ds max but alot easier to use and it has Torque exporter.