Modo's basic engine is the same as Lightwave's (NT dev team ~ politics happened ~ team split etc..) There are so many file format conversion utilities out there now that the initial modeling package makes little difference. Many packages are available in a limited demo form ... try them out ... see which one feels best to you. I personally use Lightwave simply because the interface uses no icons, its just buttons with text on them saying what the button dose. Also as I said earlier, this stuff is v. complex, I dont have time to learn multiple packages.
Although CGTALK wont allow direct comparisons of software (too many flame wars ~ it got soo boring) you will within the various software specific sub-forums and in the gallery sections get a very good idea of the different softwares abilities and shortfalls.
Ultimately, as has been said before, its down to you and your personal needs. If, for example, the end goal is to produce models that can be used within TG2 rather than to complement TG2 into a full production sweet you may find that less fully featured software suites your needs better.
Quote from: calico on June 26, 2007, 07:43:50 PM
Is Modo a good / great / lousy package to export an object for importing it (as a Wavefront object) into TG2?
To answer your question. Yes Modo is great, but not necessarily better than any of the other top end packages.
Happy rendering~modeling
Richard