a question about editor customization for a total beginner to Unity

Hi, I Just downloaded unity 5 an hour or so ago and am messing around to get to know the editor controls.

I have experience making maps for id games, and they used radiant based editors- for anyone who is familiar with this, is there any way to get the unity editor control schemes to me more like this editor,
i.e in terms of face selection, vertex selection, manipulations etc.

Its probably a long shot but do let me know,

Many thanks for reading.

 

You won't be doing face/edge/vertex selections in unity unless you get a mesh editor from the asset store. The unity editor is not a modeler, it is for compositing already created models into scenes. There are mesh editors on the asset store, but honestly, you can do better by getting a dedicated modeler (such as Blender, which is free: www.blender.org)

 

alright thanks, I have access to 3ds max, is this a good 3D model editor?- is it easier to use than Blender or would you recommend Blender over this?

 

I like 3ds Max about 12,000 times more than blender - and it's free if you're a student. I'd recommend it more than blender by far.

 

and it's free if you're a student.

thats how I have access to it, thanks for your advice!
Do people typically make whole levels in max and then just import it into Unity?

 

You can, but not typically. Typically you make the pieces, and then import them individually. For example, if you were making a village scene, all the people would each be separate models, all the buildings, and indeed each piece of furniture would be a different model. This makes it easier for the engine to optimize everything (it can do instancing), and easier for you to composite the scene -- need two chairs instead of one? Just duplicate it and move it.