hmm...
well, I have worked making games with Max (purchased by company) and yep, Max is quite too much more powerful than Blender.
Is not just some areas, it's a lot of them where max beat it strongly.
It is a huge team with loads of money, ppl deidcated to it everyday since many years.It's the absolute standard -yep, above Maya- in real time games. And is the only one that really saves ur neck with tight milestones in a game company.
I higly doubt in some time Blender will equal Max...as Blender will equal Max how it is now(with some luck)....Max. But not how Max will be then... Do you know what a huge difference is between Max 4.2 (may blenderheas hate Max but they knew the worst version, 3.x or lower ) and 6...? Now it is another world. Max is a total wonder. hardly can be beaten.
really if it's not as it would be really long list to make, i could perfectly list you here the huge amount of features, or implementations of it that are half way or 2% of how Max have them.And many that are not even in Blender.
Something as simple as generate a Lightmap, render with real GI without an external renderer, joint pinning, (crucial, but here we're lucky, Blender will have it) , the amount of modelling tools, etc, etc, etc, etc...it's just too long to mention all.
And what if so?
Max costs....3500$ !!!!!!!!!
Blender ZERO.
But I'd TOTALLY agree with Milesman...it's simply crazy, even ridiculous to try to say Blender equals max, or , crazier, Blender is better than Max...
Just as that preview was made with Blender...well, that person in Spiderman project may feell freaky with Blender, but sure, maya, Max, even lightwave, are too much better than Blender.
Blender imho is MUCH beter than most mid cost, or cheap tools out there, and simply, no free tool as complete as it is (yet though I think Wings3d is a better modeller) I know that many blenedr users feel hurt or just don't believe it when read these facts. But they are facts indeed.
To say it simple: Max, Maya, XSI, Lightwave, are in another galaxy than the rest of Packages, free or not.
And specially Max is a all terrains jeep with an amazing power...it surely is beaten by Maya's animation system (for the nodes system, etc) , probably is also not as good in modelling tools as Lighwave, and its renderer (not the addons and so well integrated Brazil, Vray or Final render ) its native one, is worse than LW's (that kickass totally) , in organic modelling is not only worse than Mirai ...it's clone, Wings3d, is also better at that specific part...but not too bellow it for other different advantages... XSI may beat max in many areas, but probably not in usability , compatibility (besides XSI is the most expensive one of all) ...But all round product Max is, and life saver with the load of funcionality it has (and many more added by maxscripters during years, and plugin makers) is just not something easily beatable...
I think that one can know these facts, and yet love Blender and Wings, and also yet use Blender in all his/her projects and know that Blender is extremely good...and that just Max, Maya, etc, are WAY better, but for another type of pocket...
Can be made images similar to Max ones? (but give a guy so tallented a Max, and kowledge during same years and u'll see...well, I have seen, and Max people pros at companies...really would break your jaw in the table...)
...yep, but that doesn't mean a thing. U can do extremely good images with many poor 3d packages out there, much worse than blender. A 3d package is much more...is load of more needed features, and HOW are they done, till what point of power.
I tell u, I have used at game company, and simply, u can't compare.
Anyway, I can't convince a Blenderhead (neither after saying this, that I do love Blender, they don't believe me) about this...and I almost leave it as impossible... But the earth is not flat...
Yet so, I do use Blender , like it, and like every tiny improve, and lately is growing faster and faster, and making very nice features.
And yep, the x exporter is functional now. Ben is I think adding some final stuff, but I could not say for sure if has ended already or not.
Last test I made...x files did came without unwelding, keeping UVs, weights, bones, animations...a dream come true
Thanks to that and my Ultimate unwrap I could even port blender boned animations to Max..!