Spiritogre
Potential Patron
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2012
I'm not really a great artist und I usually don't have the time to do modding or something like this. And while I like Open Source software and use it whenever appropriate, when it comes to professional jobs they often lack in many areas may it be flexibility, usability or speed. I try out Open Office (Libre Office), Gimp and all this stuff once in a while but I really don't like it. Open Office is way to slow and just doesn't have the plugins I use in Microsoft Office. As an alternative I usually recommend Softmaker Office but that also isn't for free so a better choice and for most people absolutely enough is Kingsoft Office. The biggest difference in the free version is, that the GUI is limited to the Office 2003 look. You can get it here, by the way: Free office software, Kingsoft free office suite 2012 the commercial versions also offer the Office 2007 look and sometimes are offered for free as well.
As someone who has worked with Photoshop at his job for years, Gimp also really isn't an alternative. The interface is crap and the speed is horrendous. Besides it is no Photoshop and more comparable with Photoshop Elements. Alas I really don't have one certain software to offer as free alternative here. I usually use a combination of some I got for free in special offerings like the Ashampoo Photo Commander. More about some of them later on.
So I do like stuff like VLC, hence the fact I prefer commercial stuff one can get on Giveaway of the Day - free licensed software daily. Today: SecurityKISS Tunnel Jadeite (6 months) - SecurityKISS Tunnel is a program that allows you to access Internet in spite of censorship and local restrictions. It also ... which often tends to have a better quality. The problem is you usually can't get free updates for most software. But I got good video- and graphics software there for free which otherwise would have cost quite a lot, like Focus Photo Editor 6.3, Zoner Photo Studio 14 or Zoom Player Professional 8 - the last being much faster and more flexible compared to VLC for example.
The problem with giveawayoftheday.com is, that you have to check out what surprise they offer each day and also installing the software is a bit tricky because it is usually limited to 24 hours. But there actually is an easy way to get rid of the giveaway wrapper, it unpacks the real program into the User\"Username"\AppData (usually invisible folder)\Local\Temp\ folder calling it *.tmp. The file is about one MB smaller compared to the setup.exe. You just have to start the installation, look which *.tmp is added into that folder and copy it from there to another place and rename it to *.exe and voilà, you got the original software and can install, whenever you like.
While Blender is a great program and often used by modders there are better commercial alternatives. The downside of this is, that these programs usually are really expensive.
But, if you're fast enough, you can download Daz 3D (the successor of Poser), Bryce 7 (landscapes) and Hexagon 2.5 (putting photos and textures on 3D models) for free: DAZ 3D - 3D Software, 3D Models, and 3D Content by DAZ 3D
Altogether they currently offer software and resources for the time being, that usually would have cost 2200 Dollar! I think every modder definetly should check that out! The time of the offer has been expanded several times by now, I would try to be fast, anyway.
Feel free to add your input and post other resources for good (free) software.
As someone who has worked with Photoshop at his job for years, Gimp also really isn't an alternative. The interface is crap and the speed is horrendous. Besides it is no Photoshop and more comparable with Photoshop Elements. Alas I really don't have one certain software to offer as free alternative here. I usually use a combination of some I got for free in special offerings like the Ashampoo Photo Commander. More about some of them later on.
So I do like stuff like VLC, hence the fact I prefer commercial stuff one can get on Giveaway of the Day - free licensed software daily. Today: SecurityKISS Tunnel Jadeite (6 months) - SecurityKISS Tunnel is a program that allows you to access Internet in spite of censorship and local restrictions. It also ... which often tends to have a better quality. The problem is you usually can't get free updates for most software. But I got good video- and graphics software there for free which otherwise would have cost quite a lot, like Focus Photo Editor 6.3, Zoner Photo Studio 14 or Zoom Player Professional 8 - the last being much faster and more flexible compared to VLC for example.
The problem with giveawayoftheday.com is, that you have to check out what surprise they offer each day and also installing the software is a bit tricky because it is usually limited to 24 hours. But there actually is an easy way to get rid of the giveaway wrapper, it unpacks the real program into the User\"Username"\AppData (usually invisible folder)\Local\Temp\ folder calling it *.tmp. The file is about one MB smaller compared to the setup.exe. You just have to start the installation, look which *.tmp is added into that folder and copy it from there to another place and rename it to *.exe and voilà, you got the original software and can install, whenever you like.
While Blender is a great program and often used by modders there are better commercial alternatives. The downside of this is, that these programs usually are really expensive.
But, if you're fast enough, you can download Daz 3D (the successor of Poser), Bryce 7 (landscapes) and Hexagon 2.5 (putting photos and textures on 3D models) for free: DAZ 3D - 3D Software, 3D Models, and 3D Content by DAZ 3D
Altogether they currently offer software and resources for the time being, that usually would have cost 2200 Dollar! I think every modder definetly should check that out! The time of the offer has been expanded several times by now, I would try to be fast, anyway.
Feel free to add your input and post other resources for good (free) software.
