Luxology takes customer feedback seriously and often releases updates. The latest is modo 203, a free update for previous owners. Embassy Visual Effects used modo for the new GMC Yukon spot, Respect. All images courtesy of Luxology.

More and more these days we are living in a world where customer feedback is as much a part of the evolution of a particular piece of software as corporate machinations were in the past. This is part of a larger trend that can be seen in the business world, encompassing ventures as widely varied as automobile manufacturing to digital media downloads. The commonly used phrase, "The customer is always right," has found the ear of many products and services resulting in an era where customer feedback is finally regarded more like the potential gold it always could have been. Customers may not always know what is best but they can certainly be part of the process in figuring out what is.

Luxology, developer of modo, has been taking customer feedback seriously and using it to deliver a better 3D solution from the start. In terms of satisfying their customers, the company has done nearly everything right. The first step came when they released modo and Luxology chose to target the focused modeling, surfacing and rendering user group, intentionally avoiding the mountain of work required to also get animation right. One way to look at this choice is as a decision to take the scenic route, learning as much as possible along the journey. Rather than deliver a full-featured package that included first generation attempts at 3D modeling, surfacing, rendering and animation, Luxology chose to zero in on a great user experience for modelers and texture artists, delivering a polished package that also included an excellent renderer from the start.

Luxology has kept pace with the competition by continually putting out updates that are focused on both addressing user feedback and focused on improvements aimed at a particular group of users. The latest release is modo 203, a free update for previous owners.

This 203 update boasts improvements to working with UVs. A move and sew option allows users to easily work with UVs and the common seam issues that crop up. modo is used by Massive for World in Conflict, the strategy PC game due out this year.

Users that are unfamiliar with modo will find a 3D application inspired by the good bits from previous generation programs as well as providing a unique vision for improving on the tools that frustrate users. The learning curve in modo is not very steep; in fact, it is even less so for users already with 3D software conventions. The application also ships with some excellent documentation including tutorials.

Upon launching modo users find a clean uncluttered workspace. UI customization is readily apparent both within the individual application windows as well as the handy Layout menu. The individual application windows all include a small unobtrusive dot in the upper left hand corner, which can be dragged to float that window. Dragging the floated window to another window joins it to that other window. This allows for extensively customized user interfaces, an advantage for users that either switch between widely varied workflows or have the need for a single focus. The Layout menu includes some well thought out layouts that should prove useful for folks getting started with modo. Users can also save their custom UI layouts for accessibility in the Layout menu.

UI customization is a great feature, one that is just the start of what makes modo special. The modeling capabilities in modo are some of the best available. The software offers a standard toolset for manipulating polygons, edges and vertices and excels at a variety of modeling tasks. Hard surface modeling or organic creature development can be accomplished with the tools in modo. The subdivision modeling tools are a highlight of the package.