Is unity right fit.

I am doing research if Unity is right fit for our needs. can I use unity as a rendering base for gas power plant? Would I be able to create video presentation after all structures imported and placed in position? Something like this walk around and through the structures and buildings? similar to following video.

I know that 3D max is probably better option but it is more expensive as well. I tried to import our steel and pipe structures to unity and they look very nice. And user interface of Unity so intuitive, after hour of playing with it I was able to get some understanding how its works.

 

Yep, Unity's a decent tool for this job.

If you're on a Mac, you might also consider Cheetah3D. It's a really nice modeling program, with great animation capabilities, making it easy to do fly-throughs and such. It also has more sophisticated rendering options, allowing for realistic shadows, reflections, glass, etc. Cheetah3D is not free, but it's quite cheap for what it does (about $100 when last I checked).

On the other hand, if you think you might ever want to make an interactive demo, where clients or stakeholders or whatever can explore the scene themselves, then I would absolutely recommend Unity. You don't want to unleash a 3D modeling program on unsuspecting users!

 

Unity has a showcase you can look at filled with case studies just like this. So yeah, it's a perfect fit. Also it's free to get started so get downloading

 

If what you want is a non-interactive movie then Unity isn't really the right tool for you. The point of a game engine like Unity is to make something interactive. On the other hand, if want you want is an interactive simulation, then yeah Unity is a great tool! It's unclear from your question what exactly you want.

I say "probably" however because if the simulation is highly procedural (like, say, the operations of a power plant) then it may be easier to write those rules as code in Unity and then record the interactive simulation play out. That's probably not going to be easier for most simulations however.

Also if you're being stopped by the price of 3ds max, note that Blender is a very similar 3D animation software and it's open-source.

(Incidentally, it's not really an either-or. If you want to build a power plant in Unity, you'll still need a tool like 3ds max for modeling the structure. You just wouldn't be animating the movie there.)

 

That is a rendered demo, but I basically do this sort of stuff for work in Unity. It works fine. The workflow is better and more consistent if you stay in 3dsmax and output a rendered video, but you can do demo's with Unity.

You have to do it for a good reason and application, though... Sharing executables with clients is generally not good practice while videos are commonplace. If your workflow is Unity>Screencap to video>Send to client then you could do that but it doesn't really much sense in practice. You should buy the tools you need.

 

Mac is not an option in this case. Windows only

At this point we are not looking for something interactive, just a video presentation.

I played with blender already, seems not as user friendly as unity.

We already have all modules designed and combined in BIM. We can export it and render somewhere, that is why Im looking into Unity, because its nice features as water flowing, trees, grass and much more that is very cool. Im not sure if I can get same results in blender.

 

We need more of a promotional videos for future clients. There is a need but no budget for that. I kinda take initiative to make something decent with limited financial resources and then ask for more funds later.

 

whelp Unity can certainly render graphics like that video. Whether or not it's the best tool for your specific purpose, it sounds like you've already ruled out other options.

 

I checked the price for 3dmax. Looks like its about the same as unity pro. Maybe that is the right way to go. The problem with max is that I need to buy it upfront and unity gives you chance to try it out.

 

Sounds like you just need to make a decision, then.

 

3ds max has a trial version you know: http://international.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/free-trial