Free Software that Makes Life Easier

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Comments

  • edited December 1969

    She wouldn't happen to have a Thorne or Sarsa custom face, would she?

    Nope, she's actually an FWdesign/ForbiddenWhispers character called "Lotus Flower." ;-)

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    You could use Meshlab to convert from .stl to .obj, or pretty much any other format:)

  • edited March 2013

    Roygee said:
    You could use Meshlab to convert from .stl to .obj, or pretty much any other format:)

    You absolutely can :wow:

    Thanks for suggesting that, there's a little bit of leftover junk from a boolean cut that I made but other than that it's still very salvageable, lol.

    Post edited by K0daKumi_8e8836aac0 on
  • Jay_NOLAJay_NOLA Posts: 1,145
    edited December 1969

    GraphicsGale

    Has a free version. I bought the shareware version that has more features and use it for any projects that require spiriting.

    if you go download page lets you download the free and shareware versions.

    http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,542
    edited December 1969

    Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I'll post this from the Xara Website:

    Xara Xtreme is the perfect graphics tool for all your drawing, photo and design needs. Whether you want to create illustrations, edit your photos, layout a brochure or create some web graphics, Xara Xtreme's fast and easy to use design tools make it a pleasure to be creative.

    Now you can get Xara Xtreme 5 for FREE! Yes, it's true, completely free, no charge whatsover! This is the full download version of Xara Xtreme 5, as previously sold for $89!

    You can read a bit more about what was new in v1 - v5, but why not just download it now for free and give it a try!

    The offer will only last until 29th April 2013, so don't hesitate!


    http://www.xara.com/us/specialoffers/designer/

    Hey, I've finally had the time to install and register this. The Tip of the Day told me that there are training movies in the Help menu. I went there and watched just the first three "Getting Started" videos suggested when you first launch that feature...
    Wow... I'm going to really make good use of this cool thing! Between having this, Genetica, Dogwaffle and then my standard image editing stuff... my 2d editing ig getting really powerful! Thanks for this!

    Now to go and check out what Jay pitched in above this! Thanks everybody.
    You know, I don't often have time to research tools. But a walk through this virtual museum of free software really helps! Thanks to all!

  • 3drendero3drendero Posts: 2,024
    edited December 1969

    Shade 3D for Unity is an incredibly useful and free tool for creating and transforming your animated 3D models into game ready content, especially for Unity 3D development.

    http://www.mirye.net/shade-3d-for-unity-overview

    New version adds import / export of OBJ and other improvements.

    Have not tried it, but I guess with the obj import/export, it works with Carrara.

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    thanks :)

    here's some free photoshop plugins courtesy of Chohole headsup on another forum section

    http://www.xero-graphics.co.uk/freeware.htm

  • RektolEksamRektolEksam Posts: 0
    edited April 2013

    Here's a link to a pretty cool vid and some links on that page to other software, haven't tried yet, just began downloading, but looks like it has the potential of making some great back ground pics:

    http://mashable.com/2012/08/09/map-of-universe-3d/

    free: http://en.spaceengine.org/
    free to schools: http://universesandbox.com/
    free for personal use: http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/
    nominal fee of $5.99: http://www.explorethesolarsystem.com/Explore_The_Solar_System.html
    free: http://shatters.net/celestia/index.html
    free: http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/Home.aspx
    the last program is not free so i didn't provide a link but a link can be found thru' the mashable site

    R.

    Post edited by RektolEksam on
  • Design AcrobatDesign Acrobat Posts: 459
    edited April 2013

    Algodoo creates a new synergy between science and art

    Algodoo is a unique 2D-simulation software from Algoryx Simulation AB. Algodoo is designed in a playful, cartoony manner, making it a perfect tool for creating interactive scenes. Explore physics, build amazing inventions, design cool games or experiment with Algodoo in your science classes. Algodoo encourages students and children’s own creativity, ability and motivation to construct knowledge while having fun. Making it as entertaining as it is educational. Algodoo is also a perfect aid for children to learn and practice physics at home.


    http://www.algodoo.com/what-is-it/

    Download - it's free (for now I suppose)

    Looks like fun, haven't tried it yet.

    Not meant for 3D, but I always like thought provoking software. :)

    Post edited by Design Acrobat on
  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    Algodoo creates a new synergy between science and art

    Algodoo is a unique 2D-simulation software from Algoryx Simulation AB. Algodoo is designed in a playful, cartoony manner, making it a perfect tool for creating interactive scenes. Explore physics, build amazing inventions, design cool games or experiment with Algodoo in your science classes. Algodoo encourages students and children’s own creativity, ability and motivation to construct knowledge while having fun. Making it as entertaining as it is educational. Algodoo is also a perfect aid for children to learn and practice physics at home.


    http://www.algodoo.com/what-is-it/

    Download - it's free (for now I suppose)

    Looks like fun, haven't tried it yet.

    Not meant for 3D, but I always like thought provoking software. :)

    its for kids - big nothing

  • atticanneatticanne Posts: 3,009
    edited December 1969

    bigh said:
    Algodoo creates a new synergy between science and art

    Algodoo is a unique 2D-simulation software from Algoryx Simulation AB. Algodoo is designed in a playful, cartoony manner, making it a perfect tool for creating interactive scenes. Explore physics, build amazing inventions, design cool games or experiment with Algodoo in your science classes. Algodoo encourages students and children’s own creativity, ability and motivation to construct knowledge while having fun. Making it as entertaining as it is educational. Algodoo is also a perfect aid for children to learn and practice physics at home.


    http://www.algodoo.com/what-is-it/

    Download - it's free (for now I suppose)

    Looks like fun, haven't tried it yet.

    Not meant for 3D, but I always like thought provoking software. :)

    its for kids - big nothing

    Thanks for the site. I know nothing about physics so I can learn from this. So can my 7-year old grandson. He will probably learn faster than I do.

  • Korvis BlackKorvis Black Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    netFabb is a good program for correcting meshes. It can save in .OJB and .STL format and also convert between them. Just remember to apply your repairs and remove the old model before you export.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,542
    edited December 1969

    Wow! I just started playing my favorite RPG for computer, Neverwinter Nights and Neverwnter Nights 2, with all of their expansions.
    I've never really gotten very used to creating areas and modules, etc., with NWN2, but the first NWN has such a welcoming experience for building you own adventures, complete campaigns, or simply tweaking existing modules. It's like a paint program, but the pictures are already drawn in 3d, so all you need to do is place the stuff where you want it. It has multitudes of terrain types to choose from for the base of an area. Then you can paint in water, streams waterfalls, pits, bridges, walls, castles, dungeons and dungeon dressings... anything. Even steam punk style settings have been included over the many upgrades that BioWare beefed it up with over the years,

    NWN is now being sold at GOG (Good Ol' Games) as an all inclusive installer - very convenient - for $9.99 and NWN2 is 19.99
    GOG takes the headaches away from trying to install and upgrade the games for their original discs - I bought them all, but bought them agai through GOG simply for the convenience of being able to always find my game installers. Kind of reminds me of the Daz3d convenience in that respect. Oh and both games also come with amazing soundtracks!

    Okay, I know that those aren't free. Those games were responsible for my find. Not sure if anyone mentioned this one already, but by reading some news at the Neverwinter Vault, I've found that Turbo Squid is now allowing registration (and therefore, use) of their game asset creation version of 3DS Max: GMax! It behaves a lot like earlier versions of 3DS Max, with less options - especially for exports - but many games have plugins made for GMax, allowing for asset creation and tweaking - so you get imports and exports, and GMax gives you a simplified 3DS Max to model and enhance in. I recall even having the abilities to paint on areas that respond to wind and movement like dynamic clothing works using the awesome NWMax plugin for making Neverwinter Nights MDL.

    I'm fairly certain that GMax will also make for a great modeling experience. It is now longer supported beyond forum help - as it's development is completely over - aside from, perhaps, what you get from plugins for your specific game(s)

    Check it out, and see for yourself. It requires registration to run - which is free and handled through the installation process where you must create a Turbo Squid membership. All of it is absolutely FREE!!!

    http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax

    That link also leads you to downloads for the manual, the license agreement, tutorials, etc.,

    If you've even enjoyed role playing in Dungeons & Dragons - especially if you've enjoyed the use of having miniatures represent the action, there has never been a better tool for online gaming than the now 9.99 Neverwinter Nights. It includes most of the Monsters available from the books, many of the class and race choices and an incredible facility for the Dungeon Master to run existing games, or easily create new original modules - even use the toolset to recreate your favorite adventures. It's really easy, and the community at Neverwinter Vault has been going strong since the year 2000 and has a wealth of free modules, characters, campaigns, monsters, landscapes, scripts and special effects, animations, tutorials for creating games... you name it - for both NWN and NWN2.
    Interested?
    You can get NWN from GOG Here:
    http://www.gog.com/gamecard/neverwinter_nights_diamond_edition
    and NWN 2 from GOG here:
    http://www.gog.com/gamecard/neverwinter_nights_2_complete
    Both offerings include all of the official expansions and updates in a very easy installer, so it's ready to play after running a single installer! GOG also provides additional downloads to complete the package - like original artwork, avatars you can use for various forums and such, wallpapers, manuals and maps, and incredible soundtracks.
    And the NW Vault is here:
    http://nwvault.ign.com/
    Explore the various modules (User created adventures), for there are tons of them. They have script catalogs and products that provide the scripts so you don't ever have to understand the C++, but if you do, you can get the game to really do anything you want - as the commands are all there for you to see and use.

    This newest "final" version of NWN has a wonderful horseback riding system that you can include in any game, simply by dropping in a horse where your characters can access it, save, and play! The CEP (Communtiy Expansion Project) has premade widgets allowing characters to call forth their steed, be it a horse, shark, dragon... yeah... very cool... very D&D. Also look for the DM 101 module by Carlo One, which is a complete adventure that teaches you how to play the game as a Dungeon Master, so you can host games and totally enhance the experience in more ways than you could imagine, simply by using simple game controls. It's absolutely brilliant!
    (Images are screen shots of my NWN2 game - the first official campaign. Mask of the Betrayer follows that, and then Storm of the Zephyr and Mysteries of Westgate _ I'd like to note, however, that although the graphics are far superior in 2, NWN1 has a much easier to use toolset, and much more monsters andother assets)

    NWN2_SS_050613_195415.jpg
    1366 x 768 - 132K
    NWN2_SS_050513_191101.jpg
    1366 x 768 - 109K
    NWN2_SS_050513_185942.jpg
    1366 x 768 - 147K
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  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    Wow! I just started playing my favorite RPG for computer, Neverwinter Nights and Neverwnter Nights 2, with all of their expansions.
    I've never really gotten very used to creating areas and modules, etc., with NWN2, but the first NWN has such a welcoming experience for building you own adventures, complete campaigns, or simply tweaking existing modules. It's like a paint program, but the pictures are already drawn in 3d, so all you need to do is place the stuff where you want it. It has multitudes of terrain types to choose from for the base of an area. Then you can paint in water, streams waterfalls, pits, bridges, walls, castles, dungeons and dungeon dressings... anything. Even steam punk style settings have been included over the many upgrades that BioWare beefed it up with over the years,

    NWN is now being sold at GOG (Good Ol' Games) as an all inclusive installer - very convenient - for $9.99 and NWN2 is 19.99
    GOG takes the headaches away from trying to install and upgrade the games for their original discs - I bought them all, but bought them agai through GOG simply for the convenience of being able to always find my game installers. Kind of reminds me of the Daz3d convenience in that respect. Oh and both games also come with amazing soundtracks!

    Okay, I know that those aren't free. Those games were responsible for my find. Not sure if anyone mentioned this one already, but by reading some news at the Neverwinter Vault, I've found that Turbo Squid is now allowing registration (and therefore, use) of their game asset creation version of 3DS Max: GMax! It behaves a lot like earlier versions of 3DS Max, with less options - especially for exports - but many games have plugins made for GMax, allowing for asset creation and tweaking - so you get imports and exports, and GMax gives you a simplified 3DS Max to model and enhance in. I recall even having the abilities to paint on areas that respond to wind and movement like dynamic clothing works using the awesome NWMax plugin for making Neverwinter Nights MDL.

    I'm fairly certain that GMax will also make for a great modeling experience. It is now longer supported beyond forum help - as it's development is completely over - aside from, perhaps, what you get from plugins for your specific game(s)

    Check it out, and see for yourself. It requires registration to run - which is free and handled through the installation process where you must create a Turbo Squid membership. All of it is absolutely FREE!!!

    http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax

    That link also leads you to downloads for the manual, the license agreement, tutorials, etc.,

    If you've even enjoyed role playing in Dungeons & Dragons - especially if you've enjoyed the use of having miniatures represent the action, there has never been a better tool for online gaming than the now 9.99 Neverwinter Nights. It includes most of the Monsters available from the books, many of the class and race choices and an incredible facility for the Dungeon Master to run existing games, or easily create new original modules - even use the toolset to recreate your favorite adventures. It's really easy, and the community at Neverwinter Vault has been going strong since the year 2000 and has a wealth of free modules, characters, campaigns, monsters, landscapes, scripts and special effects, animations, tutorials for creating games... you name it - for both NWN and NWN2.
    Interested?
    You can get NWN from GOG Here:
    http://www.gog.com/gamecard/neverwinter_nights_diamond_edition
    and NWN 2 from GOG here:
    http://www.gog.com/gamecard/neverwinter_nights_2_complete
    Both offerings include all of the official expansions and updates in a very easy installer, so it's ready to play after running a single installer! GOG also provides additional downloads to complete the package - like original artwork, avatars you can use for various forums and such, wallpapers, manuals and maps, and incredible soundtracks.
    And the NW Vault is here:
    http://nwvault.ign.com/
    Explore the various modules (User created adventures), for there are tons of them. They have script catalogs and products that provide the scripts so you don't ever have to understand the C++, but if you do, you can get the game to really do anything you want - as the commands are all there for you to see and use.

    This newest "final" version of NWN has a wonderful horseback riding system that you can include in any game, simply by dropping in a horse where your characters can access it, save, and play! The CEP (Communtiy Expansion Project) has premade widgets allowing characters to call forth their steed, be it a horse, shark, dragon... yeah... very cool... very D&D. Also look for the DM 101 module by Carlo One, which is a complete adventure that teaches you how to play the game as a Dungeon Master, so you can host games and totally enhance the experience in more ways than you could imagine, simply by using simple game controls. It's absolutely brilliant!
    (Images are screen shots of my NWN2 game - the first official campaign. Mask of the Betrayer follows that, and then Storm of the Zephyr and Mysteries of Westgate _ I'd like to note, however, that although the graphics are far superior in 2, NWN1 has a much easier to use toolset, and much more monsters andother assets)

    Can I use ANY of this in Carrara or DS ?
    and Gmax is like done - gone long ago - it was pretty good for games stuff years ago ( many years ago ).

  • fonpaolofonpaolo Posts: 229
    edited December 1969

    bigh said:
    Can I use ANY of this in Carrara or DS ?
    and Gmax is like done - gone long ago - it was pretty good for games stuff years ago ( many years ago ).

    Directly from GMax no, you need to install a little plugin to enable the import/export as wavefront obj.
    (Don't ask me where to find it, I stopped using GMax a long time ago...)
  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    fonpaolo said:
    bigh said:
    Can I use ANY of this in Carrara or DS ?
    and Gmax is like done - gone long ago - it was pretty good for games stuff years ago ( many years ago ).

    Directly from GMax no, you need to install a little plugin to enable the import/export as wavefront obj.
    (Don't ask me where to find it, I stopped using GMax a long time ago...)

    Thats what I said .

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    thanks Dart, looks very interesting, will take a look ;)

  • Proxima ShiningProxima Shining Posts: 969
    edited December 1969

    Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I'll post this from the Xara Website:

    Xara Xtreme is the perfect graphics tool for all your drawing, photo and design needs. Whether you want to create illustrations, edit your photos, layout a brochure or create some web graphics, Xara Xtreme's fast and easy to use design tools make it a pleasure to be creative.

    Now you can get Xara Xtreme 5 for FREE! Yes, it's true, completely free, no charge whatsover! This is the full download version of Xara Xtreme 5, as previously sold for $89!

    You can read a bit more about what was new in v1 - v5, but why not just download it now for free and give it a try!

    The offer will only last until 29th April 2013, so don't hesitate!


    http://www.xara.com/us/specialoffers/designer/

    I just checked this website and Xara Xtreme 5 is still free, now untill 20th May 2013.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,542
    edited December 1969

    I just checked this website and Xara Xtreme 5 is still free, now untill 20th May 2013. I'd grab it if you haven't yet. It might not be their latest and greatest, but it is a full version with some excellent tools.

    bigh,
    I doubt you can use this inside of Carrara or DS or Poser or Hex... not even Bryce. Just sayin'

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    been free before?

    xfrog plants

    http://xfrog.com/category/samples.html

    from memory you need to fiddle with the transmaps ... invert them?

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    if you are using anim8or for anything Steve has just released the first update in quite a while. looks good
    not sure if there is soft select though

    http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=4644.0

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,542
    edited December 1969

    Is LibreOffice in here anywhere?
    I was planning to purchase an office suite so I can get my stonework invoices set up in a job tracking environment. I like writing in Excel, but I was hoping to find something a bit lighter on my wallet. I wasn't even looking for a free suite. I have been using OpenOffice.org for years and really liked it, being free and all - and I thought that they did a great job. Reading some reviews on the software I was looking to buy, and one reviewer said, in regards to the software I was considering: "If you want to do any opening of MS Office files, don't buy this - get LibreOffice instead. So I checked the link and it turned out to be a version spawned off of OpenOffice some years back(?), don't really recall the details. I checked out the advertisements and thought I'd give it a try.
    The one thing I was trying to get away from as far as OpenOffice is concerned, is the long load times. If I couldn't find a faster or better solution, so be it - as I feel that OpenOffice is a very good product. But Libre was SO much faster - very complete and friendly... I went back to where I downloaded it and submit a donation for each of my three computers, each time I downloaded it - just to help the cause. I think it's fantastic!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,542
    edited December 1969

    bigh said:

    Can I use ANY of this in Carrara or DS ?
    and Gmax is like done - gone long ago - it was pretty good for games stuff years ago ( many years ago ).
    Well... no. not at all.
    If this thread only contained links to stuff you can use directly in Carrara and/or DS it would be somewhat short, wouldn't it?
    At the time that I posted that, there was quite a bit of discussion going on with some friends of mine regarding games and content for games, conversions, etc., and yes... GMax was done long ago - to a point where you couldn't even make it work any more if you had to reinstall it - as they weren't giving authorization codes out anymore. When I discovered that TurboSquid gained access to authorize its use again (which likely happened some time ago - without my realizing it), I found it interesting enough to post here. It's free and it makes life easier, if you plan to get into game model tweaking. It operates an amazingly similar to how 3ds Max 5 worked - which is pretty cool.
  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    http://stile.software.informer.com/

    free texture tiling proggie, haven't used it yet
    might be handy if the texture sizes are big enough on output?

    but it says:

    Many programs available today can create seamless tiles, i.e. images that can be matched up together making a pattern with no hard edges or borders being apparent. The sTile software tile creator does this job, but it is different in that it is based on gradients where colors gradually merge together creating a 3D look to your tiles.

    It is also a very artistic tool that provides a huge number of filters and distortions that you can use on your images creating unimaginable effects on the appearance of your tiles. sTile's Multi Gradient Designer feature has been updated in this version 2.7 of the program so that it now provides you with an unlimited number of colors. The developer of sTile describes it as "a creativity exploration tool", and in this he is correct. After uploading your image of choice, try out a few of the different settings in various combinations. You won't be disappointed. If you love playing with color, the transformations you will be able to do using sTile will certainly provide you with a variety of bright colorful images. Once you discover a combination you like, the newly created image can be saved, and you can create as many different designs from one original image as you want to as the combinations are almost infinite. The program includes a help file for your guidance

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969
  • Design AcrobatDesign Acrobat Posts: 459
    edited December 1969

    head wax said:


    It may be 64 bit only, dunno for sure.

  • Jay_NOLAJay_NOLA Posts: 1,145
    edited December 1969

    Was going to download it but requires you have a Facebook or Twitter account.

    head wax said:
  • Sci Fi FunkSci Fi Funk Posts: 1,198
    edited December 1969

    Thanks to Sockratease for pointing us to this site.

    Today I've picked up photostitcher 1.5 for Free (stitch photos together to form a landscape / backdrop).

    http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/photostitcher-1-5/

  • rk66rk66 Posts: 438
    edited December 1969

    Hi,
    you don´t need a account.

    Close the window, then you can register and download the software.

    rk.

    hitfilm.jpg
    921 x 655 - 119K
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