Recent reviews by Jonny10

A texture artist's wet dream. The learning curve isn't incredibly steep, but it takes some time to familiarize yourself with the functionality of each available node. When combining them the possibilities are pretty much unlimited. If you're familiar with Photoshop's adjustment layers and a node-based workflow you'll feel right at home. If you require more than already provided you can dive into FXMap nodes and pixel processing (again, fully node based).

The ability to expose any node's parameter to the end-user is where Substance is truly revolutionary. For instance, the amount of wear on an axe or bird ♥♥♥♥ on a monument can be modified in the final Substance file, should you choose to. All of these parameters can be accessed through your game code in the supported game engines. All this packed into a few kilobytes (if you play your cards right that is).

I've used nothing but Substance Designer in the last year for the high- to low-poly baking workflow. It's extremely lightweight and bakes a set of maps in less than 10 seconds.