I've got some experience with 3D programming (I created a program that made 3D plots and loaded and displayed results fom ANSYS CFX in DirectX) and also I've done sprite-based stuff in 2D (also DirectX).

I wanted to try my hand at creating some 3D characters and then try a simple platform game. I know most of what I need for the programming aspect, but I don't know where to start for creating textured and animated 3D models that I can use in with DirectX.

Does anyone here know where to get started (like maybe a guide on how to create a simple animated stick man and export it to a well-documented format)? I used Blender (and I'm pretty sure it can do everything I need) a long time ago to make some static scenes just for fun, but I've forgotten how to do anything in it. Suggestions?

4/2/2010 7:58:56 PM

http://www.xna.com/

http://creators.xna.com/en-US/downloads

You can use Blender, it supports FBX, and have fun with it. You can of course use 3D Studio Max, but you'll have to plunk down big bucks, and honestly Blender is pretty damn competitive for a hobbyist 3d developer.

But really, with XNA you can dive in pretty quickly and there's a pretty huge community out there for code samples, tutorials etc. The best part is, you can compile it to your PC, to a xbox 360 or a WinPho7 device basically with a simple change in target.

4/2/2010 8:42:58 PM

http://forums.xna.com/forums/t/14340.aspx

4/2/2010 11:27:01 PM

blender3D is an awesome program fo' free. I use it fairly regularly when clients want stuff in 3D or need a sweet video transition.

If you're going commercial on a budget try Lightwave. If you're wanting to play serious you need 3dsMax or Maya.

4/3/2010 3:24:36 AM

Quote :

"sweet video transition"

also, this thread is relevant to my interests. I took a break from xna to try to learn android

4/3/2010 8:08:57 AM

I have no intent of going commercial. I've been a programming hobbyist since I was about 10 and I've never made anything anyone could possibly want. Except a PC version of Scrabble with customizable board layouts and rules... but I don't want to get sued out of existance by Hasbro so I kept it to myself.

4/3/2010 8:51:07 PM

I would highly recommend XNA. I don't have much experience with 3D stuff, but I've made several half-finished 2D games (it's easier to do shitty 2D drawings than shitty 3D models). I learned everything solely from the documentation, the tutorials on the XNA web site, and the forums (which are ridiculously helpful--a lot of the developers regularly post and help people out on there).

4/3/2010 9:13:02 PM