3D World Studio by Leadwerks: Software Review
Game Level Design Made Easy with Constructive Solid Geometry
Feb 2, 2009
3D game creation is a time-consuming venture, whether the game is produced by a team of professional designers, or by a hobbyist or independent game developer. Of all the disciplines involved in designing and making a game, perhaps the most time-consuming aspect of 3D game creation is creating game art assets.
3D World Studio, developed by 3D specialists Leadwerks Software, provides a single software solution that speeds up the game making process by offering a simple to use but comprehensive toolset for creating game level terrain, buildings and static objects.
Leadwerks 3D World Studio Features
As a Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) modeler, 3D World Studio creates low-polygon models that are perfect for use in games by applying CSG operations such as hollow, carve, extrude, slice and split to primitive shapes such as cubes, spheres and arches.
The intuitive interface provides all the tools needed to quickly model game objects without the learning curve of more expensive modelers such as Autodesk Maya or 3D Studio Max.
Texturing in 3D World Studio
UV mapping in 3D World Studio is an automatic process. 3D geometry created in the program can be textured in real-time. The whole object can be textured at once, or multiple textures can be applied by selecting any given face of a 3D object and applying a texture to that face.
In effect, textures are painted on to model geometry rather than exhaustively mapped and wrapped as in most other 3D modelers.
3D World Studio 3D File Format Support
3D World Studio supports a wide variety of formats, including exporting to several proprietary game engine file types, such as:
- 3D Game Studio .WMP Map file.
- Torque Game Engine .DIF Map format.
- DarkBasic .DBO Object file.
- Blitz3D .B3D Model format.
- Half-Life .MAP Map file.
3D World Studio also exports to the widely used Microsoft DirectX .X format, providing support for game engines like Aurora, TrueVision3D, 3Impact and the FPS Creator. Of course, 3D World Studio is particularly recommended by Leadwerks for use with the Leadwerks Game Engine, which is currently under development.
How Much Does 3D World Studio Cost?
A digital download of the Standard Edition of 3D World Studio retails at $79.95, though for an additional $40, a licensee can upgrade to the Builder Edition.
The Builder Edition is effectively the same as the Standard Edition, except that for that extra $40, the licensee receives a disk of pre-built game content, including over 100 professional quality textures, and over 60 modular map meshes.
3D World Studio Review Conclusion
3D World Studio is an ideal game level creator for hobbyist or independent game makers. The Standard Edition of the program is competitively priced, the product support provided by Leadwerks software, both in supplied documentation and in online forum and tutorial support is first class, and 3D World Studio itself is easy to learn, simple to use and has a comprehensive toolset.
Of particular use to either an independent game developer, or a hobbyist who mods existing games, is the excellent export support to specific game engine file types. Users of the Torque Game Engine will find 3D World Studio particularly useful, since exporting game art assets into Torque from any other 3D modeler currently available on the market today is, at best, a long, difficult process, and at worst, not possible due to lack of the .DIF file format support.
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