Best tools and cheap/free alternatives

Hello everyone,

I have been absent from developing for a few years and need to get back into it. I am searching for good tools for content creation or developement and if there are cheap or free alternatives available.

So as an example:

[Textures]
- Photoshop -> Gimp+gimpshop /
- Paint.net
- Xnormal - normal map generation (http://www.xnormal.net)
- MapZone - free procedural texture generation (http://www.mapzoneeditor.com/)
- SSBump - Normal Map and Parallax Occlusion Mapping (http://ssbump-generator.yolasite.com)

[Modelling]
- 3dsmax -> Blender
- Zbrush -> ?
- Wings 3D - free open source subdivision surface modeller
- Sketchup - great for architecture
- MakeHuman - Good place to start for free Character modeling that comes out nice (http://www.makehuman.org/)
- Daz3d (http://www.daz3d.com/) FREE
- Truespace (Site down, anyone got a link?)

[plug-ins+tools]
- free Autodesk FBX Converter (necessary to import Daz3D models into UDK)
- World Machine - terrain generator

[Audio]
- Audacity for simple audio waveform/file editing and converting/encoding
- Reaper powerful, professional, and fully functioning DAW (digital audio workstation) -> milkytracker, garageband

[Coding+Scripting]
- Decoda a LUA editor/debugger
- LuaJIT makes Lua run faster by doing Just In Time compiling of lua scripts into assembly


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I will try and update the list when suggestions come in. So please tell me what are you using to to Develop for the Rift apart from the Rift-SDK and Unity/UDK/torque/etc.

Links to sites with good tutorials or helpfull communities are welcome too.

Thanks to MarinoAlperon, Kojack, yubinhydin, 320x200 and fschulze for participating!

EDIT: added suggestions and links