it may a bad time to consider Max or Maya. Max just can't get the price down. lowest i've seen is $3500. Maya (and LW) are much less expensive (<$2000), but Alias is on the auction block which is never a good sign. i bought Maya for my business (it exchanges files with Alias Studio and can render CAD) but Lightwave really looks like a sweet application - esp for polygon modeling.
as noted, there are excellent options out there without the cost. i've always been partial to QuArK (tho i don't do much level editing).
as noted, there are excellent options out there without the cost. i've always been partial to QuArK (tho i don't do much level editing).