I never could wrap up my head around Lightwave despite being very interested in it. I was more a 3DSmax type of guy, now a blender guy. (since version 2.5)
Modo was great, I used it for several years about a decade ago, but I think the rising popularity of Blender was its downfall. Modo is (or was) the closest commercial equivalent to Blender, but not only is it pretty much impossible to compete with Blender on price, Blender's development is also way faster, it has a much larger community and more learning resources.
Blender development is fast if you look at raw numbers of features but some of the core fundamentals haven't been worked on for years. Can you drag & drop all file types to import ? Do you still have to manually set the camera far clip plane in the viewport ? This is all stuff modo (and all the Autodesk tools I imagine) has been capable of for decades. I wish Blender wasn't open source sometimes because I feel it's only attractive for contributors to work on new renderers or grease pencils or w/e and not "unsexy" things like swapping from Y / Z up axis (modo could do that >15 years ago) or maintaining Collada file format support (3dsmax can still load files from the DOS version in the 90s). I wish Blender was better so I could enjoy using it, but atm it's a downgrade for gamedev work.
@@HiddenAsbestosunless you just used them as examples, you can fix all of those problems easily on your end. changing far clipping: just create your own starup file that has the right values already set on the camera. same with the axis just tilt the viewport view, or set your import/ export axis.
@@mr.m2675 I genuinely appreciate you offering solutions, but they're not adequete imo. As a user why do I have to edit/fix Blenders clipping planes myself? In modo it is fully automatic. Wouldn't Blender be better to have this?
I am a modo user since 2009. Although painful, it is also not surprising. Let me emphasize that the fault here soley lies with Foundry. They have free, non commercial versions of Nuke and Mari for years now but refused to release one for modo. They refused to adapt their business model to a changing market and did ZERO marketing all while the community was BEGGING them to do something. And then they wonder why it's not generating revenue. Also, it is NOT just a modeling software. It's a fully featured DCC app and can take care of every step of a pipeline. However, Foundry themselves advertised it as modeling tool which again shows they never really had any real interest in or knew what to do with the software. I thank the developers and modo community for all their hard work over the years. modo, in some cases, is still years ahead of the competition but it's all in vain if Foundry simply doesn't care. modo started out as a modern reimagining of Lightwave and if that app can come back from the dead, then maybe, just maybe, so can modo some day. But for now, it's time for a lot of us to reevaluate things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna be be busy somewhere going through the five stages of switching 3D software.
If Modo can get the same kind of user switch up that LightWave got, then it definitely can make a comeback, but there has to be the same kind of dedication to reviving it that LW3D has. Does Modo have that willing community?
Hey, I'm very sad to hear about Modo. I just got curious, five stages of switching 3D software? I'm curious because I did this switch recently: Maya equivalent (modeling, sculpting, UV) features to 3DCoat, with a big plus, which is 3D painting. They'll offer a promo soon, I really recommend it.
They should have never have sold out to The Foundry. I always saw it as a bad pairing, because the primary tools that are used with Nuke are Maya, Max etc. making promoting Modo awkward for the Foundry. This kind of end was inevitable. I hope they either open source it or sell inexpensive perpetual licenses before the end.
Well the reality was that they where out of money and HAD to sell. I think the most viable scenario is if foundry would be nice to just give it away or to buy it out from foundry. Selling cheap licenses would most likely not give foundry at lot if money and just create a hassle / overhead.
i hope they make it open source. sadly a lot of discontinued software can't be made open source because they rely on propietary software libraries. or they are afraid it will make them look like they are open sourcing "trash"
Yeah Modo UI is easily on the level of C4D. This is also why I started using MODO back then, because it was the only other 3D app that had an intuitive UI and not something that makes you want to puke from all the searching and mode switches that other applications have, especially Blender. I am using the Modo colour scheme on Blender and just that already makes the entire UI so much more readable compared to the dark grey mess the default one is...
It's your loss man! Thiis tool is one of the best, the ease of use, logical order, so fluent UI! I was using it since v201, later Foundry was putting in every crap from rendering to animation, but before that was a fast stable 3d modeler, like Nevercenter Silo, basic but sooo good!
@@SkSafowan Have you ever used MODO to model? It's the same for why some use XSI. It makes modeling an enjoyable experience. I use other apps like C4D and blender, but I prefer modeling in MODO.
3dsmax also will suffer the same fate, it's a redundant 3d program, but lucky for them architecture people still stick with it. tbh, i don't feel the need to use 3dsmax anymore, blender already cover the half of it. and Maya cover the next half Maya & Houdini is still safe, Blender won't catch up to them anytime soon, but, this should be treated as a writing on the wall. they should bring back their 2011-2018 new features excitement again, or else blender zombie army will take over, they're notorious for copying features from other program, and financially backed by Tech giant who want to avoid paying licenses for 3d software
I don't think if vivisection of mode would get anything useful for blender, I mean amount of work of analyzing and adapting parts of mode to blender would probably require more time and effort than writing things from scratch, but yea, making it open source wouldn't hurt
Another option is to initiate a discussion to the foundry of the cost / timeline to make that happen. Most likely they would want to wait to see if there is any possible revenues (most likely not) from still offering it. But say they agree that in 1 years time they would be fine with either just offering it open source no effort / strings attached. Or they would like a potential buyout (from different parties. Either now maybe a set offer could be agreed on or in one year. Regardless if / when such is possible they would give a time period to secure those funds. Like ok. If you can secure xxxx$ before date xxxx we agree to make it open source. Then those who want to run such can set up a kickstarter / crowdfunding to try to secure that sum and then if successful buy it out to open source (or even if say the goal is not totally reached at the time that the kickstarter closed enter negotiations if a lower sum is sufficient. That would be how I would approach it. After all this is more or less how Blender went from closed commercial to open source / foundation based software. What this needs however is: A person / group who is willing to own such negotiations and such kickstarter/crowdfunding campaign. What is your response / opinion on above? Would be very nice to hear you out
This really sucks. Modo was absolutely amazing and was easily the best modeler out there. The rendering engine was incredible and it did a lot of stuff very well. It was really the only software I felt like a full studio in one package. I know many people will scream about Blender but Blenders modeling/deformation/animation tools don’t hold a candle to what Modo had. So sad :(
Agreed. Blender can do a lot and for free, but after incorporating Blender along with Modo into my workflow, I would almost always go back to Modo to do certain modeling tasks that Blender could not do or just not do quickly. While I get blender is free, I sometimes will be working in it and come across a situation where that ‘free’ aspect comes through by way of something just not working quite right that I know Modo will have solved.
@@rocketphysique I switched from Modo to Blender without any problems. Workflow can be completely transferred. If something is not in Blender out of the box, there is always a script.
@@zuxel6 no, there are a lot of features around the whole tool stack that can't be replicated in Blender. They're getting closer for every release but the fluidity in the Modo workflow will probably never be fully implemented. I just wish some of the Blender devs would try out Modo and get inspired.
And this, kids, is the way in which you can ruin a good product by establishing a subscription model that nobody wants to pay because there are products that are standard in the industry (Maya, 3DS) or free ones (Blender) competing against you. My condolences to the customers.
Oh no! Always wanted to try it out when it came out. Their workflow seemed interesting back then. It was in times of Blender 2.x. Unfortunately making 3d apps and Engines is barely feasible in the long term. At least they didn’t die by Autodesk. Rip XSI, we will never forget you 😢
I used Modo Indie for many years. It was amazing. The tools and workflow just made sense. But yeah, it had some bad limitations and they priced the full version out of the hobbyist and home user market. Damn shame, i liked it a lot better than Blender.
And here ladies and gentlemen is why online activation means that you do not own what you bought. Even if you have a perpetual license. Anyone over modo 10 is essentially screwed.
As an animator, modeller, over 28 years since 3ds Dos R4.. this is sad... But when Modo sold to the Foundry - the writing was on the wall. The market is small. Just opensource it.... Blender's rise will slowly eat into the Autodesk and Foundry unsustainable large corporate practices, where admin, finance, HR, and marketing departments are in the short term growing and incentivised, and the actual developers and growing client needs are ignored.
I started using modo on version 302 and stopped paying for upgrades after modo 501. The modelling tools are the best in its class, I still miss them when using blender. Maybe now that modo is no longer being developed, blender can adopt some of its modelling workflows. I think this is really good news for blender, there will surely be an influx of new users in the coming months. 🎉
This is heartbreaking. modo was my entry into 3D and remains to this day my favorite application for pure modeling. The workflow was just stellar. If only they could have gotten the licensing model right. I have been on Maya for years now but I never stopped daydreaming of a modo renaissance.
Modo was such an interesting tool. Great modelling application and some super innovative things came out of it that other software incorporated later too. The main issue with it was the whole photoshop like layering for rendering. Never really felt great to use that stuff. They did alot of things right, but ultimately they were never really known by most people in a world that is pretty much dominated by max,maya,c4d and blender.
Modos workflow is incredible. I always prefered it way over anyting i could setup in blender. Haven't used it in a while but iremember, that i wanted to set myself on fire trying to adopt to blender coming from modo.
Same. I've been using Blender in my professional work quite awhile now - I've managed to make it do what I need it to do (with help from some paid addons and other 3rd party software). But there were things about the Modo modelling workflow that were in another league compared to even where Blender is at today, and I still find it incredibly frustrating to think Blender may never catch up in some ways to a program that is now effectively dead.
I started on MODO 101 and it was a great way to learn 3D modelling and grow with the program. Far superior to LW modelling workflow. Great community. Began to get expensive, overly complex, poorly supported, and the sale to Foundry was misjudged, - Brad Peebler's exit liquidity I guess. I topped out at 10.1 I think. Blender killed it, but on price and reach only...
Pretty normal; people hate paying for a software which they won't own and will stop working when they get out of an endless payment circle. Well done foundry, you killed it.
Yup, it's totally unreasonable. I used to make 3D painting using Mari, but the price was totally off and I just couldn't keep the licenses going. And they used to increase the cost each year, I mean, come on! Thank God I've found 3DCoat.
If I’m not mistaken , since it’s EOL, you can download and get a license for free. So for anyone who wants to try it out, go ahead. It’s a great program. Modeling tools are second to none.
RIP MODO, The whole Blender UX redesign was just lifted directly from MODO. Sad to see Foundry fumble this. I also think this is the future for Maya as well, Autodesk doesn't seem to care that much about Maya anymore.
@@hereb4theendwhy do you think Modo was a blender copy? Can you elaborate this a little more? I started using Modo in 2005 and back then I didn't like blender, UI and everything..later with blender 2.79 I was a much better experience for me. Imo Modo had a very nice jumpstart, I was very hyped..but then they left the fast innovative lane, I guess they run out of money for the dev team.
That was my first 3d polygon subdivision app eve, after trying to learn max and maya , i settled with modo. someone should buy this and lead this project, make the price affordable and community will be there.
Foundry just refused to give modo a chance in the modern market. It doesn’t have the adoption to complete in the big vfx studio workflows, never became the standard in any large industry (like C4D in motion graphics) and in the indie space, blender is free, but more embarrassing is that Autodesk has a cheaper price point! Why would anyone even bother. Sad truth is that Modo was early in on the indie licensing scene, but limited the software a little too much, always lagged a version, and then just abandoned updating it (though they still sold it, even to mac users even though the indie version doesn’t even run on the M# architecture). Way to encourage discontent in the software.
Are they? The are many excellent plugins that significantly improve modeling in Blender. I believe those plugins use approaches used by other software, possibly even Modo. I think that with plugins you can get very close to peak modeling experience using Blender.
@@PeterKoperdan close, but not close enough, and definitely not with a simple workflow that doesn't involve pie menus or keyboard shortcuts (which become really messy for every plugin added). Relying on a plugin that might stop development, stop working or all of a sudden cost money isn't sustainable. I wouldn't mind some of the Modo polygon modeling tools being implemented directly in Blender.
I still use an earlier version of Lightwave. It may not have the modern features but it does most of what I need it for and in a way I like. Tried Modo but never gelled with it. There was nothing wrong with it, it simply wasn't for me. Any software 'dying' is never good for those that use and like it.
@@GaryAus Even if I did them, it wouldn't be much of an interview as these days I only use it for basic model editing etc. Most of my work is 2D based and I was never proficient with LW but I liked it and that's a big factor for me using software. I did more with it in the distant past and started with Imspire 3D but have forgotten a lot. What's the name of your other channel, I'll try to check it out. 🙂
I think deep down, previous/present users of Modo knew this was going to happen, just was a question of time. I think there were many factors including: Loss of a great community when they sold out to Foundry the introduction of their licencing costs/decisions A buggy product in my experience even up to this date and of course the rising popularity of Blender in combination of low costing modelling apps There are so many great things about Modo. The Modelling user experience in Modo was second to none IMO. Very, very sad
@@HiddenAsbestos lol, sorry, i mean what do you mean by "if only Blender was even half as good"? really curious. Asking as someone who happen to work in 3ds max and maya for long time in past. Would like to know more about stuff I would miss quitting from modo to one of these apps
@@SlayerDUDE1993 Ah ok - I personally find modo's workflow to be very intuitive and its behaviour were good. The best way I can put it is felt like someone who knew what they were doing designed the software, and the attention to detail was there. When I've tried Blender I can see it can do things, but it all feels a bit half-finished and janky - and the new features never seem to be focussed on "fundamentals" for modelling, instead on rendering and grease pencils and stuff I don't care for. People talk about Blenders fantastic pace, but it's really really slow IMO - it only just got (half baked) support for drag&drop files to import , you still have to manually set the viewport clipping planes , working with curves in 2D gives you all kinds of random Y values , you can't switch between Y up and Z up, etc. etc. I'm hoping I'll be able to stick with modo as it does all I need it to. But there's a reason Blender is free imo.
Modos poly edge and selection tools where the best I've used, but they slowed down the update cycle and i switched to blender. I hope they'll open source it, probably not though.
That is sad. I used Modo for nearly 10 years, but haven't been doing any 3d work other than in Blender for 5. It was a great tool at the time and they should definitely consider open sourcing it.
So sad to hear this! As a professional Lightwave Animator in the 90s and early 2000s I bought a Modo license through version to 7. I really liked it's beautiful interface and for a while it was the best sub-D modeler $$ could buy... Unfortunately after the sale to Foundry the program seemed to stagnate... As stated a sad way to see it go and would love to see it go Open Software or at least freeware for the latest version, sad day indeed... :(
I have started with Lightwave and still use Modo on daily ! I've made Test Drive Unlimited2, Gear Club Series, Smurfs Kart, The Crew Series cars, Classic Racers and so much more ! I still cannot believe this is hapening. So sad. It's like my whole professional life is whiped out.
Modo and Lightwave - man that takes me back to the days when 3D Studio Max and Character Studio and rolling your own importers was the name of the game.
Modo is a great program. I worked with it for 4 years on a project. Only downside for my was the texture tree, that made texturing a pain in the butt..... sorry to hear this.
Modo went wrong when they expanded it from a pure Modeler to a full 3D animation endering... suite and started charging waaay too much for it.. It sold well when it was a $699 Modeler.. My 2c
That's actually what made it more attractive to me as an indie dev - meant I could avoid Autodesk and use it end-to-end for all my gamedev needs. But I got in when you could get a perpetual license and it wasn't too expensive to upgrade, when it went subscription only the cost of a new license was way too big compared to the compeition and then Maya Indie started existing and Blender and yeah ... this was inevitable wasn't it. Shame because it's better software and deserves a better fate. Now I know how the Softimage guys felt bitd :'(
It was planned and developed as a full suite from the beginning. Release as Modeler-only was just a way to bring in revenue while the rest was completed.
so you haven’t used it in a decade and just read out the contents of the Foundry web page ? IMO in Luxology days Modo was possibly one of the finest creative programs ever made
Modo used to be waay ahead in terms of intuitivity. Felt way more modern than 3DMax, Maya, etc. But today all one really needs is Blender and it's free so it's no surprise to see Modo being shelved.
That's really sad. It's never a good thing to hear that a software like Modo is dying. Many development and learning years down the drain. Foundry really lost an opportunity to innovate Modo and marketing it properly. I'd like to suggest 3DCoat. I recently switched lots of things that I used to do in Maya/Mari/Mixer/Blender to start using in 3DCoat. Their prices are awesome as well, and they'll make a promo this month. It really worth it.
I used modo for several projects, but around modo 12, The Foundry let it shrivel and die in a really depressing way with updates nobody cared. And it was having such a boom! Even as a Dota 2 official cosmetic tool and such
I did like MODO, i had a license about 10 years ago. But Blender has become so good at modelling (that was MODO's strong suit) that I just didn't use it anymore
Surprised it lasted this long. Not disappointed though, because there is plenty of alternatives. I remember buying full into it at work, right before they pulled the plug. And what sucks about modern software is that you can't just keep it licensed forever, back when you had the key and the program outright. Now with tools migrating into the cloud, we're at the mercy of software developers, who can pull the rug at any time for any reason. Blender is becoming a Swiss army knife of 2D/3D with AI filling in the gaps. I'm almost worried about Houdini at this point. They're having an identity crisis, where everyone who wanted and was capable of learning Houdini, already did. Licensing and cost of employing Houdini artists is outrageous. Blender may not be as advance, but it's evolving like mad and it's still free (aside from some useful addons). But Modo... yeah. A failed experiment in a saturated market.
I've been using Modo for a very long time. from about 2003 to 2014. At that time, Modo was an excellent program and offered many cool features - customization, fast CPU rendering, etc. But, since version 12 of Modo, development began to fade away. And there was no point in using Modo, since at that time Blender began to rise. GPU renders also started to pick up. It's ironic that many people underestimated Blender in the 2000s. And now Blender has defeated almost all the others. Who's next Max, Maya, C4D?
I loved Modo. I grew up using Max and Maya.. And a little bit of Softimage XSI for a while. But Modo was the first 3d modeling program that I had fun using. I used 201 and 302 for the longest time. It would be really cool if they did release it for free after it's officially killed off though. I doubt it though.
They should make Modo OpenSource for all 3 platforms. It's good, but Blender gets too much updates, and it seems there is only room for Maya, Blender, Cinema 4d and 3ds Max.
Ive very much expected this to happen for a long time. At around 701 it basically turned into Autodesk innovation. It's a good classic modeler with some other things tackled on. Better than competition in the classic modeling. By the modern standings with the technology available it's not even a good modeler anymore.
Back in the days when i was wanted to switch from 3ds max, but potentially avoid blender which i was already know a bit but hate because of its ui/ux and other problems, i give a try to maya, c4d and modo. Modo was give me even more headache than blender, which. honestly, was really-really surprizing. Honestly im no wonder they decided to shut it down. I dont believe modo was have a solid user base comparable to other payed DCC.
Glad I made the switch over to Blender in 2018. I remember Blender has way better real time rendering for ages. I just had a hunch Modo would be old news by then when they tried to go subscription model. But even then it was a solid alternative to 3ds max and did a lot of what Maya did too. I remember the UV tools and the procedural booleaning stuff was legendary. R.I.P
Wow, thought it would be Silo that went before Modo. Modo always got more development than Modo but Modo was always way too expensive for hobbyists and individual studios while Blender was around.
It's a shame, it was a great modeler in it's prime but between the Foundry buying it up and switching to subscription and Blender's ascendency there wasn't really any point to sticking with such a niche piece of software.
Yep i was considering buying Modo i had lightwave lisense. I only heard good things about Modo including heavy industry support and use. But i decided to just use Blender at the time about four years ago. I had figured long term Blender skills is tge better option.
not surprising, it was only popular back in maybe 2014? It's fallen off since and the company only makes money off of Mari and their compositing suite.
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Reminds me of another good 3d modeler Rocket3F which is also dead same as DragonBones
I was there, Gandalf. I was there 3000 years ago (90s+), when Lightwave and then Modo were relevant!
Lightwave the White has Returned
I remember using Lightwave on an Amiga 2000 with VideoToaster.
@@Isaacrl67 hey, pretty cool ☺️i never got to try the toaster, just the GenLock.
I never could wrap up my head around Lightwave despite being very interested in it.
I was more a 3DSmax type of guy, now a blender guy. (since version 2.5)
@@erikals kids from today...lol :)
Modo was great, I used it for several years about a decade ago, but I think the rising popularity of Blender was its downfall. Modo is (or was) the closest commercial equivalent to Blender, but not only is it pretty much impossible to compete with Blender on price, Blender's development is also way faster, it has a much larger community and more learning resources.
Blender development is fast if you look at raw numbers of features but some of the core fundamentals haven't been worked on for years. Can you drag & drop all file types to import ? Do you still have to manually set the camera far clip plane in the viewport ? This is all stuff modo (and all the Autodesk tools I imagine) has been capable of for decades. I wish Blender wasn't open source sometimes because I feel it's only attractive for contributors to work on new renderers or grease pencils or w/e and not "unsexy" things like swapping from Y / Z up axis (modo could do that >15 years ago) or maintaining Collada file format support (3dsmax can still load files from the DOS version in the 90s). I wish Blender was better so I could enjoy using it, but atm it's a downgrade for gamedev work.
@@HiddenAsbestos You can drag & drop files into Blender now. Not absolutly every File, but the number is growing ;)
@@HiddenAsbestosunless you just used them as examples, you can fix all of those problems easily on your end.
changing far clipping: just create your own starup file that has the right values already set on the camera.
same with the axis just tilt the viewport view, or set your import/ export axis.
@@mr.m2675 I genuinely appreciate you offering solutions, but they're not adequete imo. As a user why do I have to edit/fix Blenders clipping planes myself? In modo it is fully automatic. Wouldn't Blender be better to have this?
No, Modo died because Foundry neglected Modo for years. It lacked too many features Foundry didn't do anything for years.
Modo has been slowly dying since Luxology sold it. The writing has been on the wall for years.
Facts.
I am a modo user since 2009. Although painful, it is also not surprising. Let me emphasize that the fault here soley lies with Foundry. They have free, non commercial versions of Nuke and Mari for years now but refused to release one for modo. They refused to adapt their business model to a changing market and did ZERO marketing all while the community was BEGGING them to do something. And then they wonder why it's not generating revenue.
Also, it is NOT just a modeling software. It's a fully featured DCC app and can take care of every step of a pipeline. However, Foundry themselves advertised it as modeling tool which again shows they never really had any real interest in or knew what to do with the software.
I thank the developers and modo community for all their hard work over the years. modo, in some cases, is still years ahead of the competition but it's all in vain if Foundry simply doesn't care.
modo started out as a modern reimagining of Lightwave and if that app can come back from the dead, then maybe, just maybe, so can modo some day. But for now, it's time for a lot of us to reevaluate things. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna be be busy somewhere going through the five stages of switching 3D software.
If Modo can get the same kind of user switch up that LightWave got, then it definitely can make a comeback, but there has to be the same kind of dedication to reviving it that LW3D has. Does Modo have that willing community?
Forgive my ignorance but what's a DCC app?
@@iLikeCoffee777digital content creation
Hey, I'm very sad to hear about Modo. I just got curious, five stages of switching 3D software? I'm curious because I did this switch recently: Maya equivalent (modeling, sculpting, UV) features to 3DCoat, with a big plus, which is 3D painting. They'll offer a promo soon, I really recommend it.
@@iajhy He meant the 5 stages of grief. Ultimately it ends with acceptance.
They should have never have sold out to The Foundry. I always saw it as a bad pairing, because the primary tools that are used with Nuke are Maya, Max etc. making promoting Modo awkward for the Foundry. This kind of end was inevitable. I hope they either open source it or sell inexpensive perpetual licenses before the end.
Well the reality was that they where out of money and HAD to sell.
I think the most viable scenario is if foundry would be nice to just give it away or to buy it out from foundry. Selling cheap licenses would most likely not give foundry at lot if money and just create a hassle / overhead.
i hope they make it open source. sadly a lot of discontinued software can't be made open source because they rely on propietary software libraries. or they are afraid it will make them look like they are open sourcing "trash"
@ Even if Apple acquired it it would be better. I know they would sell an affordable perpetual license.
I wish Blender took the UI design and ease of use from Modo. The tools just made so much sense.
Yeah Modo UI is easily on the level of C4D. This is also why I started using MODO back then, because it was the only other 3D app that had an intuitive UI and not something that makes you want to puke from all the searching and mode switches that other applications have, especially Blender.
I am using the Modo colour scheme on Blender and just that already makes the entire UI so much more readable compared to the dark grey mess the default one is...
And the tools were just at another level! It's UI was so logical!
Good bye modo, it was nice not knowing you
I only found out about them when I was researching Lightwave's uncanny valley rendering engine
It's your loss man! Thiis tool is one of the best, the ease of use, logical order, so fluent UI! I was using it since v201, later Foundry was putting in every crap from rendering to animation, but before that was a fast stable 3d modeler, like Nevercenter Silo, basic but sooo good!
I am one of those who still use MODO to this day. It's a real shame that Foundry dropped the ball on this one.
Why man Why, When there is 1000x time better free option ?
@@SkSafowan Have you ever used MODO to model? It's the same for why some use XSI. It makes modeling an enjoyable experience. I use other apps like C4D and blender, but I prefer modeling in MODO.
3dsmax also will suffer the same fate, it's a redundant 3d program, but lucky for them
architecture people still stick with it.
tbh, i don't feel the need to use 3dsmax anymore, blender already cover the half of it.
and Maya cover the next half
Maya & Houdini is still safe, Blender won't catch up to them anytime soon,
but, this should be treated as a writing on the wall.
they should bring back their 2011-2018 new features excitement again,
or else blender zombie army will take over,
they're notorious for copying features from other program,
and financially backed by Tech giant who want to avoid paying licenses for 3d software
@@SkSafowanYes, there is Wings3D, but not better. Also, Blender is not better modeling app. In ten years from now, Blender wont be better than modo.
There is not @@SkSafowan
I had the privilege to work on modo development, and I owe modo a hell of alot. farewell old friend.
If only Modo became open source, or they could donate the project to Blender foundation.
I don't think if vivisection of mode would get anything useful for blender, I mean amount of work of analyzing and adapting parts of mode to blender would probably require more time and effort than writing things from scratch, but yea, making it open source wouldn't hurt
If only modo had a plan for buy and own...
Another option is to initiate a discussion to the foundry of the cost / timeline to make that happen.
Most likely they would want to wait to see if there is any possible revenues (most likely not) from still offering it.
But say they agree that in 1 years time they would be fine with either just offering it open source no effort / strings attached.
Or they would like a potential buyout (from different parties.
Either now maybe a set offer could be agreed on or in one year. Regardless if / when such is possible they would give a time period to secure those funds.
Like ok. If you can secure xxxx$ before date xxxx we agree to make it open source.
Then those who want to run such can set up a kickstarter / crowdfunding to try to secure that sum and then if successful buy it out to open source (or even if say the goal is not totally reached at the time that the kickstarter closed enter negotiations if a lower sum is sufficient.
That would be how I would approach it. After all this is more or less how Blender went from closed commercial to open source / foundation based software.
What this needs however is:
A person / group who is willing to own such negotiations and such kickstarter/crowdfunding campaign.
What is your response / opinion on above? Would be very nice to hear you out
@@retroman3252 🏴☠
They should make it open source. But they won't.
This really sucks. Modo was absolutely amazing and was easily the best modeler out there. The rendering engine was incredible and it did a lot of stuff very well. It was really the only software I felt like a full studio in one package.
I know many people will scream about Blender but Blenders modeling/deformation/animation tools don’t hold a candle to what Modo had. So sad :(
Wholeheartedly agree.
Agreed. Blender can do a lot and for free, but after incorporating Blender along with Modo into my workflow, I would almost always go back to Modo to do certain modeling tasks that Blender could not do or just not do quickly. While I get blender is free, I sometimes will be working in it and come across a situation where that ‘free’ aspect comes through by way of something just not working quite right that I know Modo will have solved.
@@rocketphysique
I switched from Modo to Blender without any problems. Workflow can be completely transferred. If something is not in Blender out of the box, there is always a script.
@@zuxel6 no, there are a lot of features around the whole tool stack that can't be replicated in Blender. They're getting closer for every release but the fluidity in the Modo workflow will probably never be fully implemented. I just wish some of the Blender devs would try out Modo and get inspired.
@@strangnet
For example, what features?
Foundry also killed Mischief, the infinite canvas drawing app.
i was wondering whatever happened to that
yep, it was a nice little app that went no where. They were also working on an SDF sculpting tool that I guess was never released.
That one hurt the most, it was affordable too
I remember Mischief, it really was tragic.
I still mourn the loss of Mischief. It had so much potential.
And this, kids, is the way in which you can ruin a good product by establishing a subscription model that nobody wants to pay because there are products that are standard in the industry (Maya, 3DS) or free ones (Blender) competing against you. My condolences to the customers.
Well they ruined the software when they sold themselves to Foundry IMO.
Oh no! Always wanted to try it out when it came out. Their workflow seemed interesting back then. It was in times of Blender 2.x. Unfortunately making 3d apps and Engines is barely feasible in the long term. At least they didn’t die by Autodesk. Rip XSI, we will never forget you 😢
I used Modo Indie for many years. It was amazing. The tools and workflow just made sense. But yeah, it had some bad limitations and they priced the full version out of the hobbyist and home user market. Damn shame, i liked it a lot better than Blender.
*hats off*
I still shed a tear for Softimage
That was a real tragedy!!! Was the best software at the time, and logoa with all the nodes was super... And they left us with crap maya
And here ladies and gentlemen is why online activation means that you do not own what you bought. Even if you have a perpetual license. Anyone over modo 10 is essentially screwed.
Softimage XSI and now Modo. What a shame.
As an animator, modeller, over 28 years since 3ds Dos R4.. this is sad... But when Modo sold to the Foundry - the writing was on the wall. The market is small.
Just opensource it....
Blender's rise will slowly eat into the Autodesk and Foundry unsustainable large corporate practices, where admin, finance, HR, and marketing departments are in the short term growing and incentivised, and the actual developers and growing client needs are ignored.
I started using modo on version 302 and stopped paying for upgrades after modo 501. The modelling tools are the best in its class, I still miss them when using blender. Maybe now that modo is no longer being developed, blender can adopt some of its modelling workflows. I think this is really good news for blender, there will surely be an influx of new users in the coming months. 🎉
This is heartbreaking. modo was my entry into 3D and remains to this day my favorite application for pure modeling. The workflow was just stellar. If only they could have gotten the licensing model right. I have been on Maya for years now but I never stopped daydreaming of a modo renaissance.
Kinda like the way Autodesk killed off Softimage
Modo was such an interesting tool. Great modelling application and some super innovative things came out of it that other software incorporated later too. The main issue with it was the whole photoshop like layering for rendering. Never really felt great to use that stuff.
They did alot of things right, but ultimately they were never really known by most people in a world that is pretty much dominated by max,maya,c4d and blender.
Modos workflow is incredible. I always prefered it way over anyting i could setup in blender. Haven't used it in a while but iremember, that i wanted to set myself on fire trying to adopt to blender coming from modo.
Same. I've been using Blender in my professional work quite awhile now - I've managed to make it do what I need it to do (with help from some paid addons and other 3rd party software). But there were things about the Modo modelling workflow that were in another league compared to even where Blender is at today, and I still find it incredibly frustrating to think Blender may never catch up in some ways to a program that is now effectively dead.
I started on MODO 101 and it was a great way to learn 3D modelling and grow with the program. Far superior to LW modelling workflow. Great community. Began to get expensive, overly complex, poorly supported, and the sale to Foundry was misjudged, - Brad Peebler's exit liquidity I guess. I topped out at 10.1 I think. Blender killed it, but on price and reach only...
Pretty normal; people hate paying for a software which they won't own and will stop working when they get out of an endless payment circle. Well done foundry, you killed it.
At like $480 a year, no wonder it is dead.
Yup, it's totally unreasonable. I used to make 3D painting using Mari, but the price was totally off and I just couldn't keep the licenses going. And they used to increase the cost each year, I mean, come on!
Thank God I've found 3DCoat.
If I’m not mistaken , since it’s EOL, you can download and get a license for free. So for anyone who wants to try it out, go ahead. It’s a great program. Modeling tools are second to none.
RIP MODO, The whole Blender UX redesign was just lifted directly from MODO.
Sad to see Foundry fumble this.
I also think this is the future for Maya as well, Autodesk doesn't seem to care that much about Maya anymore.
You got it upside down. Modo copied Blender.
@@hereb4theendwhy do you think Modo was a blender copy? Can you elaborate this a little more?
I started using Modo in 2005 and back then I didn't like blender, UI and everything..later with blender 2.79 I was a much better experience for me.
Imo Modo had a very nice jumpstart, I was very hyped..but then they left the fast innovative lane, I guess they run out of money for the dev team.
@@hereb4theend You are wrong.
@@hereb4theend Nope. You're talking nonsense. hah
That was my first 3d polygon subdivision app eve, after trying to learn max and maya , i settled with modo. someone should buy this and lead this project, make the price affordable and community will be there.
Foundry just refused to give modo a chance in the modern market. It doesn’t have the adoption to complete in the big vfx studio workflows, never became the standard in any large industry (like C4D in motion graphics) and in the indie space, blender is free, but more embarrassing is that Autodesk has a cheaper price point! Why would anyone even bother. Sad truth is that Modo was early in on the indie licensing scene, but limited the software a little too much, always lagged a version, and then just abandoned updating it (though they still sold it, even to mac users even though the indie version doesn’t even run on the M# architecture). Way to encourage discontent in the software.
Modo's polygon tools are still unmatched.
Are they? The are many excellent plugins that significantly improve modeling in Blender. I believe those plugins use approaches used by other software, possibly even Modo. I think that with plugins you can get very close to peak modeling experience using Blender.
@@PeterKoperdan close, but not close enough, and definitely not with a simple workflow that doesn't involve pie menus or keyboard shortcuts (which become really messy for every plugin added).
Relying on a plugin that might stop development, stop working or all of a sudden cost money isn't sustainable. I wouldn't mind some of the Modo polygon modeling tools being implemented directly in Blender.
Everything about Blender comes down to plugins and third party solutions, ew@@PeterKoperdan
Modo was such a great tool for modeling, but at some point it got too expensive, from there I moved to Blender and never looked back!
Hearing modo takes me back to my time with Anim8or
I still use an earlier version of Lightwave. It may not have the modern features but it does most of what I need it for and in a way I like. Tried Modo but never gelled with it. There was nothing wrong with it, it simply wasn't for me.
Any software 'dying' is never good for those that use and like it.
Man, I wish I could interview you for my channel [Another channel, not this one], I LOVE to talk to old users of Lightwave.
@@GaryAus Even if I did them, it wouldn't be much of an interview as these days I only use it for basic model editing etc. Most of my work is 2D based and I was never proficient with LW but I liked it and that's a big factor for me using software. I did more with it in the distant past and started with Imspire 3D but have forgotten a lot.
What's the name of your other channel, I'll try to check it out. 🙂
@Elwaves2925 Bracer Jack, but I am currently talking about some other subject for the time being, my past videos were mostly 3D.
@@GaryAus Cheers for the info. 👍
It would be nice if they open-sourced it but unfortunately there aren't a lot of people like Ton Roosendaal in the world.
This was inevitable the moment Luxology got into bed with a company funded by an investment group. They ALWAYS destroy good products.
I think deep down, previous/present users of Modo knew this was going to happen, just was a question of time. I think there were many factors including:
Loss of a great community when they sold out to Foundry
the introduction of their licencing costs/decisions
A buggy product in my experience even up to this date
and of course the rising popularity of Blender in combination of low costing modelling apps
There are so many great things about Modo. The Modelling user experience in Modo was second to none IMO.
Very, very sad
Maybe they could sell Modo back to Lightwave.
Still best Sub-D modeling tool hands down. nothing come close to it. Too bad its over. im using blender and suffering every day i absolutely hate it
Genuinely gutted. Been a customer since 601. Worth every penny - if only Blender was even half as good :'(
what do you mean?
@@SlayerDUDE1993 I'm sad that modo has ceased development.
@@HiddenAsbestos lol, sorry, i mean what do you mean by "if only Blender was even half as good"? really curious. Asking as someone who happen to work in 3ds max and maya for long time in past. Would like to know more about stuff I would miss quitting from modo to one of these apps
@@SlayerDUDE1993 Ah ok - I personally find modo's workflow to be very intuitive and its behaviour were good. The best way I can put it is felt like someone who knew what they were doing designed the software, and the attention to detail was there.
When I've tried Blender I can see it can do things, but it all feels a bit half-finished and janky - and the new features never seem to be focussed on "fundamentals" for modelling, instead on rendering and grease pencils and stuff I don't care for. People talk about Blenders fantastic pace, but it's really really slow IMO - it only just got (half baked) support for drag&drop files to import , you still have to manually set the viewport clipping planes , working with curves in 2D gives you all kinds of random Y values , you can't switch between Y up and Z up, etc. etc.
I'm hoping I'll be able to stick with modo as it does all I need it to. But there's a reason Blender is free imo.
i can smell the blender evangelists rushing to rebuke you.
Damn I was just thinking about Modo just the other day. I'm a blender user, but I do think it's a shame when there is less competition.
Modos poly edge and selection tools where the best I've used, but they slowed down the update cycle and i switched to blender. I hope they'll open source it, probably not though.
I think for that to happen a buyout situation similar to that of Blender is needed. Few just give away stuff sadly.
That is sad. I used Modo for nearly 10 years, but haven't been doing any 3d work other than in Blender for 5. It was a great tool at the time and they should definitely consider open sourcing it.
Wow, haven't heard of Modo for a long time. Used to see it on campus PCs, but we were tough Maya instead.
Kind of sad. I really liked modeling in Modo back in the day. :-(
So sad to hear this! As a professional Lightwave Animator in the 90s and early 2000s I bought a Modo license through version to 7. I really liked it's beautiful interface and for a while it was the best sub-D modeler $$ could buy...
Unfortunately after the sale to Foundry the program seemed to stagnate...
As stated a sad way to see it go and would love to see it go Open Software or at least freeware for the latest version, sad day indeed... :(
I have started with Lightwave and still use Modo on daily ! I've made Test Drive Unlimited2, Gear Club Series, Smurfs Kart, The Crew Series cars, Classic Racers and so much more ! I still cannot believe this is hapening. So sad. It's like my whole professional life is whiped out.
Make modo opensource. So it can continue to live a new life.
They're giving 10 years license for free now
The "But Blender is free" argument went away. Now it has competition. Interesting times.
Modo and Lightwave - man that takes me back to the days when 3D Studio Max and Character Studio and rolling your own importers was the name of the game.
Holy shit, I thought you said Moho! Thank God they're still okay.
Moho has a passionate user base and the guys making it seem to be doing ok, so hopefully it will keep going for a long while.
Modo is a great program. I worked with it for 4 years on a project. Only downside for my was the texture tree, that made texturing a pain in the butt..... sorry to hear this.
It looked to me like Modo was playing catchup with Blender for the past several years.
They should definitely release it open-source if they can.
Modo went wrong when they expanded it from a pure Modeler to a full 3D animation
endering... suite and started charging waaay too much for it.. It sold well when it was a $699 Modeler.. My 2c
That's actually what made it more attractive to me as an indie dev - meant I could avoid Autodesk and use it end-to-end for all my gamedev needs. But I got in when you could get a perpetual license and it wasn't too expensive to upgrade, when it went subscription only the cost of a new license was way too big compared to the compeition and then Maya Indie started existing and Blender and yeah ... this was inevitable wasn't it. Shame because it's better software and deserves a better fate. Now I know how the Softimage guys felt bitd :'(
It was planned and developed as a full suite from the beginning. Release as Modeler-only was just a way to bring in revenue while the rest was completed.
Loved modo used it for 4 years.
so you haven’t used it in a decade and just read out the contents of the Foundry web page ?
IMO in Luxology days Modo was possibly one of the finest creative programs ever made
Modo used to be waay ahead in terms of intuitivity. Felt way more modern than 3DMax, Maya, etc. But today all one really needs is Blender and it's free so it's no surprise to see Modo being shelved.
That's really sad. It's never a good thing to hear that a software like Modo is dying. Many development and learning years down the drain. Foundry really lost an opportunity to innovate Modo and marketing it properly.
I'd like to suggest 3DCoat. I recently switched lots of things that I used to do in Maya/Mari/Mixer/Blender to start using in 3DCoat. Their prices are awesome as well, and they'll make a promo this month. It really worth it.
I spent a lot of time learning Modo. Fortunately, I ditched it around version 8. Now I realize I understood in time that it was a waste of time.
Heard of Lightwave, but not Modo or those other products. So that's probably why it's shutting down.
I used modo for several projects, but around modo 12, The Foundry let it shrivel and die in a really depressing way with updates nobody cared. And it was having such a boom! Even as a Dota 2 official cosmetic tool and such
i've never heard of modo until i saw this in my youtube feed
I did like MODO, i had a license about 10 years ago. But Blender has become so good at modelling (that was MODO's strong suit) that I just didn't use it anymore
I'm glad I lucked into the perpetual Steam license a few years ago. Nvil is still my modeler of choice though.
Foundry software are all overpriced, I try to avoid them if I can tbh.
Surprised it lasted this long. Not disappointed though, because there is plenty of alternatives. I remember buying full into it at work, right before they pulled the plug. And what sucks about modern software is that you can't just keep it licensed forever, back when you had the key and the program outright. Now with tools migrating into the cloud, we're at the mercy of software developers, who can pull the rug at any time for any reason.
Blender is becoming a Swiss army knife of 2D/3D with AI filling in the gaps. I'm almost worried about Houdini at this point. They're having an identity crisis, where everyone who wanted and was capable of learning Houdini, already did. Licensing and cost of employing Houdini artists is outrageous. Blender may not be as advance, but it's evolving like mad and it's still free (aside from some useful addons). But Modo... yeah. A failed experiment in a saturated market.
I've been using Modo for a very long time. from about 2003 to 2014. At that time, Modo was an excellent program and offered many cool features - customization, fast CPU rendering, etc. But, since version 12 of Modo, development began to fade away. And there was no point in using Modo, since at that time Blender began to rise. GPU renders also started to pick up.
It's ironic that many people underestimated Blender in the 2000s. And now Blender has defeated almost all the others. Who's next Max, Maya, C4D?
It had a bunch of innovative features, it's sad the hear of the discontinuation.
I loved working with modo when I did. It was the simplest to learn for me at the time.
What was modo? It is no wonder no one uses it.
Oh, I remember Lightwave! I had an Amiga!
I loved Modo. I grew up using Max and Maya.. And a little bit of Softimage XSI for a while. But Modo was the first 3d modeling program that I had fun using. I used 201 and 302 for the longest time. It would be really cool if they did release it for free after it's officially killed off though. I doubt it though.
I think for that to happen a buyout situation similar to that of Blender is needed. Few just give away stuff sadly.
Interesting... I hadn't heard of Modo. Lightwave yes though.
I played with it, it seemed like the best poly modeler
this is why to stay away from subscription only software. at least offer subscription to perpetual license option.
RIP XSI, RIP Modo
Lightwave, Amiga... I'm so nostalgic right now.
They should make Modo OpenSource for all 3 platforms.
It's good, but Blender gets too much updates, and it seems there is only room for Maya, Blender, Cinema 4d and 3ds Max.
Ive very much expected this to happen for a long time. At around 701 it basically turned into Autodesk innovation. It's a good classic modeler with some other things tackled on. Better than competition in the classic modeling. By the modern standings with the technology available it's not even a good modeler anymore.
( Houdini + Blender + Unreal Engine ) are the future
They’re still going to offer a 10 yr license? Lol wow that’s something.
Back in the days when i was wanted to switch from 3ds max, but potentially avoid blender which i was already know a bit but hate because of its ui/ux and other problems, i give a try to maya, c4d and modo.
Modo was give me even more headache than blender, which. honestly, was really-really surprizing. Honestly im no wonder they decided to shut it down. I dont believe modo was have a solid user base comparable to other payed DCC.
Glad I made the switch over to Blender in 2018. I remember Blender has way better real time rendering for ages. I just had a hunch Modo would be old news by then when they tried to go subscription model. But even then it was a solid alternative to 3ds max and did a lot of what Maya did too. I remember the UV tools and the procedural booleaning stuff was legendary. R.I.P
I wish allen and stuart would buy it back.
Wow, thought it would be Silo that went before Modo. Modo always got more development than Modo but Modo was always way too expensive for hobbyists and individual studios while Blender was around.
ages ago I used Modo Indie, I stopped doing 3d things, but loved that program, too bad it's leaving
I hate this. I blame this on subscription model for programs.
When Blender went bankrupt they made it open source, that's how it managed to get more 20 years of life since then... modo should do the same!!
It's a shame, it was a great modeler in it's prime but between the Foundry buying it up and switching to subscription and Blender's ascendency there wasn't really any point to sticking with such a niche piece of software.
Tbf. the only good thing about Modo was its Mesh Fusion feature.
Modo 901 was imo the last good version. Started getting bloated after that. By far the best UX when paired with the ZenUI "theme". Rip modo.
Ofcourse I heard. one of my first pirated sculpting apps 😅
I dropped everything in Lightwave universe and jumped to Blender 3D. No ragrets!
I remember back in 2012/13 one of the professors in some game design classes was trashing blender and saying modo was way better
Yep i was considering buying Modo i had lightwave lisense. I only heard good things about Modo including heavy industry support and use. But i decided to just use Blender at the time about four years ago. I had figured long term Blender skills is tge better option.
not surprising, it was only popular back in maybe 2014? It's fallen off since and the company only makes money off of Mari and their compositing suite.
Sed, Set it free boys, please set it free.
With prices like that, no wonder it's going away.
I think that piece of software might just be rebranded in the future instead of disappearing forever