walkthrough software

[J]

Does anyone have any recomendations, as to which walkthrough software would make the best purchase. I have gathered some information about 3DS MAX, NavisWorks, Design workshop, and Autodesks' VIZ. I was hoping that people with any sort of experience might be able to comment on software that is available, which they might recommend, why they would, and also ease of learning/useage. I would appreciate any and all helpfull responces, thank you.


J

[CADTutor]

If your starting point is AutoCAD, it may be best to go for VIZ or MAX, see the walkthrough tutorial here: http://www.cadtutor.net/dd/studio/walkm5/walkm5.html. Alternatively, if your budget is limited or you need something quick and easy to learn, I recommend Bryce </shameless plug>. See the tutorial here: http://www.cadtutor.net/dd/bryce/anim/anim.html.

[sp]

As for the best, I'd have to say navisworks. We do large full scale models of ships. I then export to navis and you can fly, walk, run do barrel rolls just like you were a house fly. You can view all potental problems before they happen. Navis is not cheap but it is worth every penny. You can also record avi files and take pictures of any shot you want. pretty cool

[f700es]

Does anyone have any recomendations, as to which walkthrough software would make the best purchase. I have gathered some information about 3DS MAX, NavisWorks, Design workshop, and Autodesks' VIZ. I was hoping that people with any sort of experience might be able to comment on software that is available, which they might recommend, why they would, and also ease of learning/useage. I would appreciate any and all helpfull responces, thank you.


J

Well it's a long shot but I remember a guy who used Discreet's (3D Max's developer) free game modeler GMax to make a walk-through that ran through the Quake 3 engine. Oh, found the link...http://www.discreet.com/spotlight/sp_files/sp_gmaxtempest.html
I download the map a while back and it was very different. Well anyway, a nice example of using a free game editor to do an architectural walkthrough.

F7

[J]

I appreciate your reseponces. My boss has told me that he is leaning towards the Autodesk Viz software to do a walkthrough of a structure I have designed. Will this be possible, to do a walkthrough, or would I need a proram like MAX to do this. I checked the Autodesk website, and in its section under Viz it listed all of its lighting and rendering capabilities, which are not really a concern, I am just concerned that I will be able to make a walkthrough with the software. Also, as I obviously do not know to much about Viz, how difficult would it be to learn how to make a walkthrough, or a basic knowlege of the sortware? Thank you.


J

[CADTutor]

In most respects VIZ and MAX are very similar - all the core functions are the same and they differ only in more advanced features. For example, you could just as well use the walkthrough tutorial I mentioned above with MAX or VIZ - there would be little or no difference in the procedure.

So, Yes, you can use VIZ to create a walkthrough.