Hey!

I've been creating for years using UV mapper pro which I love, but ive ran into a issue where it no longer works, as much as I've tried to find a solution the tool has stopped working it just moves really really slow even when I select a vertex and lags to a point that I cant use it to do anything

I'm trying to find a software similar to it, I don't need lots of bells and whistles, I just liked how I could import my textures and manipulate the uv map over my texture and real time see the changes on my model.

Anyone know of some similar software I should try out?

(preferably something that isn't extremely expensive)

Blender has a fairly decent UVmapping tool, and is free (open source, like Gimp). The tools in Blender does take some getting used to, but if you're not afraid of messing about a bit and reading tutorials, the basics aren't too difficult to grasp. It runs quite well on my 7 year old laptop, and it hogs less resources than a lot of other 3D programs do.

In Blender you can set UV seams directly on the model, there are tools/shortcuts to line up vertices, you can render UVmaps in any size (pngs give you a semi-transparent map), and there's several other nice UV mapping tools. When you've UVmapped the model, you can also texture it or render ambient occlusion (etc) maps in Blender itself, and even paint directly on the model so it shows on the texture (though Gimp or Photoshop may be useful for more detailed texturing).

It's maybe a few steps down from the more expensive programs (my favorite UVmapping tools are in 3D Max, which I can't use atm), but I'd say it's probably the best cheap/free alternative you can get, and close enough to the professional tools to have what you need and plenty more.

I do use blender but quite frankly hate using it as the interface is not by any means user friendly.

I know, but once you start getting the hang of it, Blender isn't too bad. The new 2.8 version is supposed to have a friendlier interface, so you may want to try it out.

I learned meshing with 3D Max, so getting the hang of Blender was pretty difficult (shortcuts are entirely different and I still get them confused), and I had a Blender rage going on for a while - but after a while with a lot of frustration and forced learning (through TS4-TS2 conversions via S4S that solely uses Blender meshes, a bunch of Youtube tutorials and google searches, plus not being abe to use 3D max on my laptop), I'm slowly getting used to it.

I don't think there are a lot of other cheap/free UVmapping alternatives that are better than Blender, though. Most of them deal fairly well with simple shapes (squares, circles,etc.), but if you work with more organic shapes, Blender may be a better alternative.

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if Blender isn't an alternative, have you tried fixing the program you use? Most of the time if a program doesn't work, it's just a matter of setting the compatibility, or maybe reinstalling (particuarly if your antivirus or a Windows update have been messing about with the install files).

If it works but lags, the problem may be elsewhere - some programs (like TS2) have cache files or similar that after a while can make the program lag because it's trying to access random bits of useless junk. If the computer you use is getting old, a desk cleanup or defragmentation might be needed to clean up some junk to make it run faster. Depending on where/how you installed the program, a lack of harddrive space can also cause crashes or lag. If not properly installed in the Program Files, the program may sometimes use harddrive space instead of or in addition to RAM when running (virtual memory/paging), which is a slower form of memory that can cause the program to lag.

Thank you for your very thoughtful and detailed response!

I’ll consider trying blender again but my gut just says it’s going to frustrate me lol

And well I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling and using it in a compatibility mode yet nothing.... I remember it working really well until I had an update on my laptop (maybe about a month or two ago) and after that it stopped working. Like I still starts up like I said, but when I ever actually try to do anything with the tool the lag is so intense the program will freeze and that’s even with simple shapes like a square, it doesn’t have to be a high poly object.

I just love how the tool works but unfortunately the creator is kinda MIA and I don’t think there’s any forums active or support for it. To me it doesn’t really seem to outdated software wise... I’m just unsure why it’s acting up