I'm REALLY having trouble finding an architectual 3D modeling program that is equipped with measurement tools. Also, I need to find one that is capable of 3Ds exporting AND JPEG texture exporting as well! P.S. I need something that is similar to Google Sketchup!
I have a 3Ds export.
You find it when you download a trailversion of
GOOGLE SKETCHUP 7 PRO (trailversion 450 min).
TIP:
If you got 2 computers:set trailversion on pc1 and set demoversion
on pc2.
Make your model on pc2 and safe as a sketchup file.
Use a usb stick or something to set the file to the other pc (pc1).
After that you can load the file and export it as a 3Ds file in a couple of min.[:)]
Try Anim8or. Im pretty sure it does both of those. Also, Wings3D does a great job of exporting drawing in high quality, but i believe it exports to .3ds and .jpg also.
I have just tried a free download of Rhino 3D. It's really sweet, and more powerful than that crappy sketchup IMO, as less cash. For students, it is $150 for the full version, otherwise it's I think $400 for non students. You get 25 free exports for the trial version.
DO NOT use Rhino. Its a great modeling tool but VERY poor at keeping the face counts down. Youll have some great looking models but with face counts you cant even imagine. Its not a good tool for designing for a video game where you need the most detail but with the lowest face count you can get away with. Rhino is more of a final product modeler, not for rendering in video games. More for print.