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Hands down, Rhino3d (https://www.rhino3d.com/ https://www.rhino3d.com/) It is an amazing piece of 3D modeling software. After having used it, other 3D modeling

Hands down, Rhino3d (https://www.rhino3d.com/ https://www.rhino3d.com/) It is an amazing piece of 3D modeling software. After having used it, other 3D modeling software seems software seems clunky in comparison. Rhino3D is the best mixture of command line, auto complete, and a mouse based interface that I have ever seen. Lots of CAD software combined the two, but Rhino does an incredible job. The commands are also incredibly well named, to the point that you can often just guess what you want to do, and the command is right there. If you mean well architected, the RTOS that ran on the Microsoft Band is some of the best code I'll probably ever have the pleasure of working with. The lead architect on it reviewed every single code submission to ensure consistency in quality and style. Imagine hundreds of thousands of LOC with all the variables being well named, the same conceptual layout of code in every source file, all written against an incredibly well designed run time. The abstractions in the RTOS were all pure and consistent, you didn't run into surprises. In terms of UI, a lot of specialty software actually falls into this category, it just has a learning curve, but the software is all driven around a single purpose and once you have learned it, that shows. Photoshop is actually like this, once you have learned it, the UI is incredibly powerful and the different abstractions used are at the right level of complexity to get the job done. (No idea how that code base looks though... :) ) The WPF Framework in the .NET Micro-Framework is another bit of good code. I think I am one of a handful of people to ever use it, but wow, is it a nice graphics API to write against. (Super limited, but that is kinda the point, it kicks butt at its one job!)

panic 8y ago
The company behind Rhino, Robert McNeel & Associates, has also managed to stay small (http://www.mcneel.com/contact http://www.mcneel.com/contact) and user-focused (from http://blog.novedge.com/2007/03/an_interview_wi_3.html http://blog.novedge.com/2007/03/an_interview_wi_3.html): > In the last few months, there has been a lot of talk in the CAD community about proprietary file formats and how companies protect them. I would like to know how a CAD system like Rhino was able to succeed with a file format that is open, documented, and free (OpenNURBS). The CAD users need and want open high-fidelity data exchange. Unfortunately, open file formats are not in the best interest of investors. Investors would rather bet on companies that have a protected proprietary market. Unlike most CAD companies, we are not a public company nor are we venture capital funded with plans to be public. That means that our only customer (and source of income) is our users. > Rhino users had to wait a few years between Rhino 3.0 and the new Rhino 4.0. In the mean time, they enjoyed a continuous stream of improvements and bug fixes delivered to their PCs by the Rhino automatic updating system. Based on how well this system has worked, are you considering moving from a release-based system to some sort of subscription-based system? No. Again, those systems are usually in the best interest of the investors. Our users have the luxury of not having to buy upgrades until we provide something that is actually useful to them. In addition, all current users get to be involved in the development process are every stage, not just for a couple of months at the end. Since we don’t pay any attention to what other CAD companies are doing, we rely on the users to provide the direction for each new release.
- com2kid 8y ago
  Rhino is such a joy to use, I honestly wish I had a reason to do some 3D modeling just so I could justify purchasing it, and have an opportunity to use it. An absolutely amazing bit of software.

panic 8y ago

The company behind Rhino, Robert McNeel & Associates, has also managed to stay small (http://www.mcneel.com/contact http://www.mcneel.com/contact) and user-focused (from http://blog.novedge.com/2007/03/an_interview_wi_3.html http://blog.novedge.com/2007/03/an_interview_wi_3.html): > In the last few months, there has been a lot of talk in the CAD community about proprietary file formats and how companies protect them. I would like to know how a CAD system like Rhino was able to succeed with a file format that is open, documented, and free (OpenNURBS). The CAD users need and want open high-fidelity data exchange. Unfortunately, open file formats are not in the best interest of investors. Investors would rather bet on companies that have a protected proprietary market. Unlike most CAD companies, we are not a public company nor are we venture capital funded with plans to be public. That means that our only customer (and source of income) is our users. > Rhino users had to wait a few years between Rhino 3.0 and the new Rhino 4.0. In the mean time, they enjoyed a continuous stream of improvements and bug fixes delivered to their PCs by the Rhino automatic updating system. Based on how well this system has worked, are you considering moving from a release-based system to some sort of subscription-based system? No. Again, those systems are usually in the best interest of the investors. Our users have the luxury of not having to buy upgrades until we provide something that is actually useful to them. In addition, all current users get to be involved in the development process are every stage, not just for a couple of months at the end. Since we don’t pay any attention to what other CAD companies are doing, we rely on the users to provide the direction for each new release.

com2kid 8y ago
Rhino is such a joy to use, I honestly wish I had a reason to do some 3D modeling just so I could justify purchasing it, and have an opportunity to use it. An absolutely amazing bit of software.