Wings3D

Wings 3D is a free polygon mesh modeler inspired by Nendo from Izware. While it is mainly a modeling application, it includes a sophisticated texturing tool as well. Wings 3D emphasizes fast workflow and prototyping – it's not uncommon for a competent Wings 3D user to develop a detailed model in the fraction of the time that an equally competent Maya or 3DS Max user would require. On the other hand, Wings 3D is a simple program, and lacks the 8.24 million features of either 3DS Max and Maya. Wings 3D does not support animation, and will not until after Version 1. The release date of Version 1 is anyone's guess. In short, don't hold your breath.

Some feel that a five-button mouse is optimal, though Wings 3D will still function very intuitively with a mouse that features only two buttons and a scroll wheel. Custom hotkeys are easy to bind and use.

Wings 3D must have [this plugin] to export .LWO to UnrealEd. Unzip the files and copy them to the Wings 3D plugins folder, then load Wings 3D and install the plugin via File → Install Plugin. Note that meshes imported into UnrealEd must be triangulated in Wings 3D prior to importing. Also, your mesh may be flipped along either the Z or X axis.

This program seems to have trouble converting texture maps or texture references properly between formats. It also may have problems with converting some model formats. If possible, use native Wings Import/Export tools and applicable software.

Supported File Formats

Export

Nendo (NDO)
3D Studio (3DS)
Hash: Animation Master (MDL)
Cartoon Lines (EPS)
Wavefront (OBJ)
Renderware (RWX)
VMRL 2.0 (WRL)
YafRay (XML)
Lightwave (LWO, plugin required)

Import

Nendo (NDO)
3D Studio (3DS)
Wavefront (OBJ)
Adobe Illustrator (AI)
Stanford PLY (PLY)

Tutorials

/Getting Started - This is a ground-up tutorial meant to get you to the point of building shapes in Wings 3D.

Website and helpful links

[Product site]
[Official Development Forum]
[IZware] – The company that made the original, Nendo, is back after a long absence (8-10 years).
[ivcon] - Open-source multi-format file converter.