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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Autodesk 3ds Max

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk offers 3ds Max, 3D modeling and rendering software for design visualization, games, and animation. The vendor states that users can produce professional-quality 3D animations, renders, and models with an efficient and flexible toolset to help create better 3D content in less time.

    $235

    per month per user

    Unreal Engine

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/AOriginally designed in 1998, Unreal Engine is a game engine designed to build games of all type, with sharp graphics and control, using the C++ language.N/A
    Pricing
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Editions & Modules
    Monthly Subscription
    $235
    per month per user
    Yearly Subscription
    $1875
    per year per user
    3-Year Subscription
    $5625
    3 years per user
    End User License Agreement for Publishing
    Free
    5% of royalties after gross product revenue exceeds 1M
    End User License Agreement for Creators
    Free & Royalty Free
    Custom Licenses
    Contact sales team
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsFlex pricing available for limited usage. Minimum plan $300 for 100 tokens. 3ds Max costs 6 tokens per day.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Considered Both Products
    Autodesk
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Back when 3d programs were becoming more powerful and stable, 3d Studio (yes, it was 3d Studio before it was 3ds Max, more on that later) and Maya were owned by different companies. At that time, you had to
    Incentivized
    Chose Autodesk 3ds Max
    Best for rendering and geometry flexibility. Interphase is also superior. The stacking of modifiers is unique and allows for combining, and turning on and of which makes presenting options very agile, and clear without destroying the geometry. It's easily reversible. All others …
    Incentivized
    Epic Games
    Chose Unreal Engine
    Unity and Unreal Engine have gone toe-to-toe for years. At one point Unity I felt was lagging behind but lately they've relized that threat UE represents and they've upped their game considerably. Unity is unquestionably very powerful but I find UE's learning curve less steep …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    91%
    Would buy again
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    82%
    Delivers good value for the price
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Small Businesses
    Autodesk Maya
    Score9.2 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Navisworks
    Score9.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Navisworks
    Score9.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Autodesk 3ds MaxUnreal Engine
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Autodesk
    For print media for marketing and for 3d animations for web spots and TV ads/movies/programs. It is less suited for quick 3d graphics or images that you get from AI image programs, but it is much more powerful than most AI image programs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    It's really well suited for experiential uses. Sure, games are made with it, but I'm guessing that more non-gaming assets are being made with it than anyone realizes. It's a fantastic post-production for 3d modeling tasks. It's fantastic for fast nearly photo real rendering. It's almost as good at rendering truly photo real assets now that Path Tracing is becoming mature. It's fantastic for creating background and matte plates for video and film production. There are few things that do that as well as it can. It's not well suited to modeling the initial 3d object so you really need to have something to build the 3d assets in. Hard asset modeling and creating is the one area that it's lacking. But, even if it never rises to the level to compete with 3ds Max or Maya, etc., that's ok, because it's just another tool and it does what it does so well, that modeling deficiencies can be overlooked
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Autodesk
    • 3ds Max includes some of the inbuild modifiers which can be very good in the case of beginners.
    • 3rd party Rendering support makes 3ds Max a powerful software for rendering out realistic images.
    • Autodesk 3ds max in comparison to its rivals is lightweight and fast, also the animation case also.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    • Achieving proper depth effect of the background layer
    • Walkthrough videos of any given layout can be easily prepared and made more immersive
    • Creating the most detailed 3D models
    • Takes very little time to produce the required renders depending on the complexity of the input
    Read full review
    Cons
    Autodesk
    • working in 2d is very frustrating and unreliable. It just lacks the precision
    • How scaling affects units (or doesn't) There needs to be a way for modifiers to address a change of scale in the object.
    • Booleans are not intuitive. Especially for architecture, creating an opening and putting a door or a window is an incredibly cumbersome process.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    • The modeling tools are getting better but have a good way to go to really be intuitive
    • They are trying to bridge the gap between coders and artists and have done well but more needs to continue to happen to enable users who have little experience writing code to be able to use it effectively. It's not that this is a "room for improvement" thing per se, it's just that more of it needs to be done and I think they know that and are on it.
    • It's so powerful, it's difficult to find anything else that needs improvement. It's kind of mindblowing what it's capable of.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Autodesk
    It satisfies 95% of my 3d visualization need. The left over 5% is handled by a few other programs. If Max just can't perform a specific task I can do that elsewhere and then bring it back to Max to finish up. But, it's rare that this occurs in my work
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Autodesk
    It is a very difficult program to learn to use and even harder to use well. But once you get to using it it is a great software package to know how to use. Getting to be good at using it takes lots of use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    I have contacted support many times and have had a good experience. They have always been helpful
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Autodesk
    Sketch-up week to be vertically integrated to produce concept all the way to high-end render, an animation (effects, particles, soft-body, etc..) All 3 other softwares are fully capable, it just comes down to what software an operator is most familiar with and if it works in the production pipeline for the client.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    Despite the fact that the Unreal Engine user interface took some getting used to, it was rather simple to navigate once we got the hang of it. Furthermore, Unreal Engine offers unrivalled flexibility and fine-tuning tools. Twinmotion has a slightly complicated UI as well, but the number of options for personalization and fine adjustment is limited
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Autodesk
    • 3ds Max has one of the best control tools that can help someone to sculpt almost anything. With the vertex tool and polyline edit function we can create almost any complex geometry.
    • Default rendering is equipped with almost everything that is needed for process, V-Ray for 3ds Max is the best 3rd party plugin for getting crisp renders.
    • The four view port tools for viewing the model helps from each and every angle. The moment and selection tools in the 3ds Max are quit easy to operate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Epic Games
    • It's helped a tiny studio like mine to compete with larger and more financially sound studios.
    • It gives me another product from which I can derive a revenue stream.
    • Unless you are publishing a game for sale or a packaged product, UE is free to use and tinker with. You can use it to build something amazing to use in your portfolio which in turn can help you sell your skills.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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