Autodesk 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
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Originally 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.
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Pricing
Autodesk 3ds Max
Unreal 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 Max
Unreal Engine
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Flex pricing available for limited usage. Minimum plan $300 for 100 tokens. 3ds Max costs 6 tokens per day.
Scenarios where Autodesk 3ds Max is well suited: 1. Modeling less complex geometries. 2. For beginners it is good, meshes, poly's, vertexes etc can be easily understood. 3. Easy UI and interoperability. Scenarios where it is less appropriate: 1. Inbuild Rendering (Scanline) can be made better. 2. Performance over low end/Old Pc's need refinement. 3. Bulky Size on disk. 4. Animation is the area which can be made better also.
Despite the fact that Unreal Engine is generally used to create games, I tried combining it with Revit to generate 3D models of construction plans and renders, and it worked very well indeed. The level of detail in Unreal Engine renders was higher than that of normal architectural rendering tools. There were also a lot more customization choices
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.
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
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.
I use Blender, Maya is expensive learned it once but about the same as 3ds Max, just more expensive. Blender is great, open source and hard to learn, but work it. But since I have so much experience in 3ds Max it is my go to software.
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 and I find that it's more intuitive. Plus, I still believe UE is more cutting edge
Having to take comments on and re-render a set of single multi-camera shots wastes a lot of time, as there is also an error "batch render." Slows down my completion of a job, even for the most minor image updates.
Not being able to offer my freelance/contractor services period in-house on studios that are exclusively Mac. They don't even offer Autodesk 3ds Max as an option because they have never been able to see it in action. Huge loss of potential hires, with my 33year 3DStudio/Autodesk 3ds Max experience
When most current version is needed I jump onto the subscription temporarily and this eats severely into my profits. As clients want lower and lower prices with international and AI competition. Especially when I know many International houses for a fact use pirated 3D software.
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.
