MetroModeler ®
MetroModeler costs $500, which gives you a license for a single computer, and gives you unlimited rights to all 3D models you create with the product. If you need a group or team license, contact us at mmahin@stny.rr.com for pricing. Do not order unless you have successfully evaluated MetroModeler on your computer using the free trial.Online Orders
You can order MetroModeler online using the major software payment processor SWReg. SWReg accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Eurocard, Diner's Club, Solo, Switch, JCB, Connect, Delta, PayPal, UK and US checks, and USD wires against Proformas. SWReg accepts faxes and phone orders for a $3 service charge. They also accept international orders, including payment in most major currencies.
Order MetroModeler (You can right-click this link and choose Open in New Window)
Delivery
Delivery is by electronic means. Within 48 hours of receiving notice of your purchase, we will send you a URL that allows you to download a licensed copy of the software. You can backup this program on a CD, a network drive, or one of the inexpensive backup cards such as ScanDisk that can be plugged into the USB port in the back of your computer (a $35 ScanDisk card can store many times more than the total size of the program). If your computer crashes, you can also get a free replacement copy of the installation program by contacting us.
Upgrade Policy
When you buy a license for MetroModeler, you get a file named UpgradePermissionCodes.txt which has permission codes for 3 upgrades to future versions of the program. You can upgrade for free to a new version by sending a "Please upgrade me to the latest version" email to mmahin@stny.rr.com, supplying one of these codes. If you wanted to get more than 3 upgrades, you would need to eventually send us one-half the current price of MetroModeler, which would get you the latest version plus 3 additional permission codes entitling you to 3 additional upgrades. To get the maximum value per dollar spent, licensees of MetroModeler should "space out" their 3 free upgrades (such as getting an upgrade every four months, rather than an upgrade every one or two months).
Is it worth the price?
For people who do not have a specialized program such as MetroModeler, the creation of a 3D model of a city (or even a few city streets) is an extremely expensive and time-consuming task. One source estimates it can cost $1 per polygon, which can add up to thousands of dollars to create even a small 3D city model without very much detail.
Look at the images on the Gallery page, and ask yourself "How long will it take to create images as detailed as these using the software I own right now?" This website's Gallery has some images that would take you 100 hours or more of extremely hard work to make if you were using the software you now own, because other 3D software is not specialized for making 3D models of buildings or cities. Images like these can be made in only a few hours using MetroModeler (and it is usually quite easy work). So if your time is worth $20 an hour or more, MetroModeler will typically pay for itself several times over if you have only a single project requiring you to make a 3D model of a city. If you have such projects several times in the coming years, MetroModeler will end up paying for itself many times over.
Some people use a portfolio of images as a graphical showcase to attract clients in the 3D graphics industry or to gain employment in that industry. MetroModeler is a great tool for making super-detailed city images that can be the most spectacular images in such a portfolio, and such images can help you sell yourself as a master of 3D graphics. The dollar benefit (such as new clients or a new job) that can result from enhancing such a portfolio in this way can easily end up being several or many times greater than the cost of MetroModeler.