Post-video thoughts:
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What is the situation with this on modern Linux? Something like a community edition, or is it only using the Windows version (lower hardware utilization?) via WINE?
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Does modern use make any sense (size, performance, registration) beyond sightseeing? I mainly want live rendering (Godot), so I'm guessing that makes it make less sense.
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Are there any model packs with models like this? Objects (low-poly room decoration etc.), or more particularly the architecture? Textureless is fine for me, vertex color or simple materials works (even if I had to do this myself from a blank model file).
I would've posted to !3dart@lemmy.world but that's dead.
There's a similar video on Animation Master as well: The 90s CGI software that fell through the cracks
Software of that vintage is notoriously bespoke and painful. Especially on niche platforms. It might make blender seem easy. Which BTW what is your pain point? Godot I've been wanting to learn etc. But blender is a prime tool to use with it. I have a decent grasp of the basics when it comes to blender, 30 years of experience.
Just never clicked with me, I guess. The workflow/layout, how certain things like modifiers often create mesh errors.
I mean Blender is perfectly fine for my uses, but I started with Maya (many years ago) and I think I preferred how that did things (and most things being nodes, though TBF I haven't looked into Blender's geometry nodes). Admittedly I also can't deal with Maya's bloat (or cost), and even the pre-Autodesk Linux version seem to be more data than modern Blender.
I also like some of the older tech like vertex colors and NURBS. Those aren't impossible with Blender either, though certainly don't seem top-drawer. For VC it takes a bit of setup (create it, materials, get it rendering properly in viewport shading modes) but the startup file helps with that... though I'm also relying on that for an ordered/set-width color palette, so I'm not sure if there's an easy way to change that in already saved files (and actually changing the vertex colors of the object is another, since it isn't just a color index that can be updated).