I have noticed an increasing number of posts on cinema 4d help...which got me thinking...
What makes someone choose that program over some of the other industry leaders like, Max, Maya, Softimage....etc

Is it price? or hard to find warez copies that are easy to install;with max you need to crack the product key...with maya you need to create an environment variable etc...
( the reason I mention warez is this: lets face it, people warez programs and learn to use the products with their copies...and may or may not admit it....shit I learned to use Max on a warezed copy before I bought my own....I mean seriously...who is gonna pay $3000 for a program they aren't even sure they'll be able to use.)
with that said...

what makes a program good for you guys?
programs like Bryce are mostly automated.. and supports next to no mesh modeling ...so high end users barely use them...well maybe for the sky maps

I use max because I can do everything I need in it. not to mention so many user plug in's are available that can automate many things that previously you needed to have a serious working knowledge of max script to do.

yeah, I'd support an argument that Maya is better...it is... it's nurb handling is remarkable...and Softimage has one of the best real time renders on the market.

I stick with max due to my familiarity with the program and how widely it is supported. as well as the game dev tools that it supports for the games that I play. with my limited time available( having a full time job and all) time is everything when I work on a project...so max helps me keep my work times down as low as possible. and lets face it...learning a new 3d program once you already know another is almost harder than learning one from scratch. something you might have to "unlearn" just to be able to work efficiently.

anyways, I'd like to know your take on this.

peace
UE

I'll bite and hopefully not offend anyone

Simplicity and laziness... Most people that get into 3D see those crazy renderings on Deviant and want to be able to make their own, immediately. This means that the learning curves involved in 3dsmax and maya are not an option. Cinema 4D and Bryce however are pretty much drag and drop 3D options that generate the abstract renders they want, and in very little time.

But like all things that are easy, so are the level of results. One would hope that the 3D experience drives the user to create their own models and start getting a bit more advanced and move on to true 3D creation tools like 3dsmax etc...

Bryce and C4D are great starting blocks, but you're nowhere near tapping into the world of true 3D creation until you get into the "from scratch" more advanced software utilities.

Faken

true,

But faken, You never took that road...I mean I know you asked me for models for stuff you were doing in flash. But never opted to use bryce or C4d. In fact you asked so many questions about max that I think that is what fueled you creating this site..( ok that last part is just a guess)

what made you decide NOT to take the quick road?

UE

I use cinema4d for its easiness. If your not gonna go into proffesional stuff and you are going to stay with the basics then there is no need. I have recently gone from abstract to modelling in c4d.

-rodersirmble

I chose C4D because I could get the simple abstracts I wanted quickly and easily, because I use renders in my designs from time to time but don't need anything fancy, just some eye candy for a background...

Ive never used 3D Max before ive only used C4D and i like C$D for its simplicity but if i was going to take a proffession in 3D i would choose 3D Max because its much more complicated and you can do better stuff with it

James

To be honest, I started using 3DSmax because I needed to be able to create my own complex models of actual objects, not just random abstract shapes. So I had no choice... I'm glad I decided to because with good knowledge of 3DSmax or Maya, you're pretty much limitless on what you can do.

Faken

i chose 3d studio max cause its the only thing my college teaches

but next year we'll be going onto maya,combustion and cinema 4d