Want to design a warship for a game.

I've been wanting to do this for awhile but am having constant conflicting feelings about what program I want to decide to use to create this model with. The model that I want to create will be the BB-63 Missouri / Iowa Class Battleship, and it will either be drawn to scale or downscaled based on official multi-view plans bought from an online store which sells them.

I am fully confident in my ability to create this model in AutoCAD, and although it might take a very long time to achieve completion, I know that I can get a steady amount of work done on each sitting. 3ds however, I am just starting to learn and have never created anything from ever before, while I have constantly been working with ACAD for the past year and a half, with a good number of completed 3D projects. Although I understand that even if I decide to draw it in AutoCAD, that I will have to eventually import it into 3ds anyway to save it as the correct type of file which can then be compatible with the game.

Is it worth it to learn how to use 3ds to create this if I know I can? Many people told me it would be "better" to make it in 3ds, but I was never able to tell what they meant by that, as it was never really explained. Some people said it could be done in ACAD, but also that the importing process might not work all that well and screw it up a little.

Max is more forgiving than Autocad, when it comes to creating non-linear models. And it has a much greater toolset which allows you to create models freely, without any restrictions or limitations. That's why it's easier to create models in Max than it is in Autocad. Max was made for doing stuff like what you're planning on doing.

And yes, there are problems with Autocad models when brought into Max. Sometimes poly faces get flipped and sometimes they just disappear completely. So there's always repair work to do. But if you're planning on bringing your CAD model into Max anyway, then I would suggest building it in Max from the start. It will be easier, less problematic and much less time consuming.

The downside is that you're a beginner with Max and the learning curve is pretty steep. Before embarking on a project like this, I would recommend starting off with smaller, less complicated models and learn the program.

The good news is that there are tons of free tutorials all over the internet, (see THIS thread), and you can always come here and ask questions when you get stuck.

So to answer your question, yes, it is worth learning Max. Especially if you will be doing more of this stuff in the future.

this thread is old...

but..

designing a game is not for the faint of heart or those who give if easily so you can only continue if you really put your mind to it.

you will 3ds max and a game engine because max itself does not make games, you need a game engine for the models to interact. you will need to program so you can give up if you dont want to learn a programming language like c++

you can sure create a simple cone with a cylinder and call that a spaceship if your new, but the artist that create eye catching impressive models have years of experience. if your new i can predict that you will need at least a year of experience to create something "acceptable"

keep in mind you can create an extreme photo realistic model but it will be un useable in a game because the computer can not keep up with its details.

creating a game depending on the type is not easy thats why there are teams. but freelancers can develop stuff that are simpler like an i-pod or cell phone. but dont think the psp because even though the psp looks simple, it took a team to develop the games that run on it.

long story short.

game design is not easy.

This thread is over 2 years old.

But anyway, he was not trying to create a game, he was trying to create a game "asset", meaning a custom object to put into the game. I used to do this back when I was really into gaming. I would create custom models and use them in my own game levels. You don't have to be a programmer and you don't need a game engine to do this. Most games come with a sdk, (software development kit), which allows you to create your own game mods with your own custom models.