http://www2.futureware.at/projects/Moonlight/
Check out the FAQ %| http://www2.futureware.at/projects/Moonlight/wiki/MoonlightFAQ
So, my question is: why do they spend time on duplicate efforts? Why not just contribute to Blender instead? Art Of Illusion is another example… both these are Java apps, tho. Maybe that’s it - the authors are familiar with Java & not C. Would be nice if the efforts/expertise were pooled, tho.
That would be like putting all your eggs in one basket, though. A little competition helps, imo.
Nothing wrong with Java, but isn’t there already a project to make a professional open source modeling software ? No, don’t mean Blender.
For modeling only there is wings3d, it is written in erlang, which the vast majority of programmers are not familiar with, and which is not a language that serves a particular niche well so no reason for programmers to learn it.
Is there another open source ‘proffessional modeler’ you were thinking of?
LetterRip
professional by what standard?
It hasn’t had a CVS commit in 3 years. The limited functionality it appears to have seems be mostly based on putting an interface on an NURBS library developed elsewhere.
Limited functionality and abandoned isn’t generally what I’d call professional.
LetterRip
Hey, I didn’t made it.
again, duplicating efforts… just glanced at it, but its exactly what blender already accomplishes (and as LetterRip points out, is light-years beyond it.)
Yeah, its certainly healthy to have other options out there, but in the Open Source world (where the author(s) doesn’t directly profit) why should there be? There’s already tons of competition in the payware world to come up against.
Now, if its filling an unmet need or niche (say, for example, a POV-Ray specific modeller, or mathematical visualization, or something along those lines) then that’s one thing. But to start from scratch on something that does exactly what blender already does is kinda whacked, IMHO. Yes, I know, many of these guys were there “first” (like POV et. al. or Anim8or) - but that’s what I liked about hearing that Nurbana code got “donated” to the BF way back… what a cool attitude to join forces and make a great solution for all!
Should blender return Nurbana the favor ?
Nurbana was donated since the author didn’t have any time to continue with the project, and thus he released Nurbana under a license compatible with Blender so that his code wouldn’t go to waste.
LetterRip
Look what the website says about blender:
http://www.blender.org/ aging, hard to use open source modelling and animation tool
lol. aging? sure. so is maya, 3ds max, lightwave, c4d, etc… hard to use? only if you don’t want to learn. it’s easy after about a month.
Wings3d is professional, imho. I produced full games with it, and quite money gets to the company for it. (not for me, sigh) I can only call it professional. No hangs (unless I provoke em) , speed of light in modelling, flexible.
I think any tool can become professional if has the needed stuff and helps u in crunch time as neck saver.
Just each and every feature of a package is not divine perfection. Hamapatch in splines modeling is really good in certain areas, compared even with expensive software. And so on.
And the right of each author do his own creation. Imho that’s real freedom, not the need of everybody get into a single bag. Is an option like it is another to do a collaboration effort, specially one of the best out there : Blender.
" why should there be? "
Several flavours of 3d software? It is essential. As is important different opinions, different cultures, different colors, different points of view. A solution is not allways The Solution, and in good attitude each can learn of the others and viceversa. imho.
Well, from what I saw in moonlight 3d, there isn’t really much there, unless I’m missing some key shortcuts, but there’s no manual or documentation with it.