Modeling in 3dsmax

You could use a boolean intersection to subtract out the holes.

Yeah but a boolean intersection usally make really crappy meshes

OK, so how else would you make holes in the side of a gun barrel without using some normal mapped alpha channel texture on the barrel? The only way I could think to do it would be to start with the booleans and then manually clean up the poly faces in that area.

Honestly, though- I would like to hear of a better and faster way.

I'd do it this way.

[Blocked Image: http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8427/barrelwz8.jpg]

Make one hole plane, array and bend. I dont know if this is a bad way but hell, I'm just trying to help :-p

make one unit of the barrel and cut the holes into it - fix it up and then copy and paste it... not sure if this is what skdr described but i think that's the fastest way. after you've added the first copy to the barrel you can look if there's a chance to save polys - then copy both of them together (if you've saved polys) and paste it in again - look if poly saving is possible and so on...

array is the best way to "copy/paste" stuff in this case. Also max's vertex weld modifier is handy too when done with array tool.

I guess I'd do it sk's way. If it would only be for the normal map I'd cheat tho with floatings

Is this for ingame use or just for a pretty render?

I would personally also follow skdr's method. However if its a render you can use a lot more cuts, preventing you from having those arctifacts.

I would personally use splines to make the basic "cube" with a hole in, like sdkr has with the difference that I would let the cuts run along the lenght of the thing. Once bend the whole thing shouldnt give any probs because for every vertex theres a horziontale line if you get what I mean.

[Blocked Image: http://users.pandora.be/Hourences/cuts.jpg]