Autodesk 3ds Max

AutoDesk 3DS Max is a 3D design software for modelling, animation and rendering.

AutoDesk 3DS Max helps you to create massive worlds in games, stunning scenes for design visualisation and engaging virtual reality (VR) experiences.

Key Features:

• NEW: 3ds Max Interactive:Access integrated tools for creating VR visualisations without leaving your 3ds Max workspace.
  
• NEW: Arnold 5 for 3ds Max: Version 1.0 of the MAXtoA plug-in is now integrated into 3ds Max, giving you access to Arnold's latest features.
• NEW: Data Channel Modifier: Extract information directly from a model, which you can use to help inform other types of modifications.
  
• NEW: Blended Box Map: Morph visible seams by blending as many as six materials applied to an object.
• Motion Paths: Manipulate animations directly in the viewport and get direct feedback when making adjustments in your scene.
  
• Character animation and rigging tools: Create procedural animation and character rigging with CAT, biped and crowd animation tools.
  
• General animation tools: Use keyframe and procedural animation tools. View and edit animation trajectories directly in the viewport.
  
• Particle Flow effects: Create sophisticated particle effects such as water, fire, spray and snow. (video: 1.11 min.)
  
• Physical Camera: Simulate real-life camera settings such as shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, exposure and other options.
  
• Improved ActiveShade rendering: Iterate quickly with interactive rendering.
• Asset Library: Access 3D content on your local computer and network in a single view, making content instantly searchable.
  
• Improved pipeline tools integration: Gain tighter integration with several pipeline tools with an extended and improved Python/.NET toolset.
  
• Smart asset packaging: Create, share and update portable assets that are flexible, connected and react to changes in design data.
  
• High DPI display support: Run 3ds Max on modern HDPI monitors and laptops.
• Mesh and surface modelling: Efficiently create parametric and organic objects with polygon, subdivision surface and spline-based modelling features.
  
• Texture assignment and editing: Perform creative texture mapping operations such as tiling, mirroring, decal placement, blurring and spline mapping.

Autodesk 3ds Max - Features

3D Studio Max is a 3D modeling, animation, and rendering product for game development, design visualization, feature film and television effects and education.

Features include:

• Weighted Animation Controller: subsystem that enables multiple algorithms to drive any animation channel including custom expressions
• Curve Editor and Dope Sheet Control: for every animated parameter with extensive filtering to isolate data
• Character Tools: include volumetric skinning with hierarchies or spline, spring-based secondary animation, progressive morphing and FFD lattices
• Reactor: full interaction of keyframed and dynamically simulated objects including virtual stuntman dynamics and fracture collection
• Modelling: spline and patch workflow eliminates excess modifier stack operations and includes intuitive cross-section functionality, reset patch tangents and default filtering of interior edges
• Editable Polygon: integration of Meshsmooth and an Isoline Display mode
• Shell Modifier: adds depth to a selection of faces by building new polygons based on vertex or face normals. A Mech elements to a character or vehicle and use the Blobmesh metaball compound object as a modelling tool or in conjunction with particle flow for organic surfaces and cohesive fluids
• Unwrap UV Modifier: tools for editing mapping co-ordinates for up to ninety nine channels and the ability to use differing unwrapping algorithms and direct manipulation of texture co-ordinates
• Relax Modifier: smooth existing mapping co-ordinates for textures
• Hybrid Scanline Renderer: film-quality renderer providing global illumination, photographically realistic lighting tools and unlimited distributed network rendering including split scanlines for distributing high resolution still image rendering
• Command Line Rendering: enables batch operations using text files and commands from the prompt including image resolution, anti-aliasing, super-sampling, raytracing parameters, environment settings, file output control, layers and network rendering
• Region Net Render: enables portions of an image to be deployed across a network for large format and print size frames
• High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) Files: .hdr and .pic files can be loaded and saved
• Mental Ray Rendering: integrated rendering option
• Photometric Lighting Support: download industry standard IES files from manufacturers to simulate realistic lighting effects
• 2D Lighting Data Exporter: saves lighting analysis as Radiance Picture Files or .TIF format
• Surface Level Lighting Control: with seperate ambient, diffuse and specular attenuation and decay
• Pseudo Colour Rendering: with legends for lighting analysis. MAXScript access to Radiosity information enables users to query the lighting level of any point anywhere in the scene
• Vertex Paint Modifier: functions as a paint layer with Photoshop-style blending modes, interactive painting of colour and attribute information for more than ninety nine vertex channels
• Dynamic Shader UI: creates UI components for HLSL shaders based on the parameters in the DirectX .FX file
• Edit Vertex Normals: available as a modifier and as a base mesh property with a suite of tools for editing normals manually
• Channel Information Editor: view and edit per-vertex channel information in a spreadsheet-style view
• Cameras: accurate camera matching and results with an interactive clipping plane, dolly, FOV, grid overlay, orbit, roll, vertigo zoom, zoom and safe frame display
• Alignment: with horizontal, vertical or diagonal field-of-view measure and support for orthogonal projection
• Depth of Field and Motion Blur Controls: including a viewport preview mode
• Materials and Mapping: combine an unlimited number of textures to control materials
• Shading Algorithms: Anisotropic, Blinn, Oren-Nayar-Blinn, Phong, Metal, Multi-layer and Strauss with independent sampler options
• Material and Map Browser: portrays hierarchies with thumbnails and drag and drop assignment
• Viewport Interaction: WYSIWYG viewport environment with multiple textures per face, blended true transparency, Phong highlights, procedurals and display of pixel and vertex shaders
• Multiple Co-ordinate Systems: view, screen, world, local, chosen object, grid or parent space
• Interactive Axis Constraints: and modeless keyboard entry support
• Selection Methods: pick, fence, rectangular, lasso and circle with object class filters, select-by-name, named selection sets, mesh extents, backface exclusion, polygon boundary, smoothing, material ID and face normal angle architecture
• Multi-threaded Processing: for scalability
• Acceleration Support: OpenGL and Direct3D hardware acceleration and Heidi software acceleration for Microsoft Windows display
• Plug-in Architecture: extensibility for system components
• Schematic View: node-based scene graph providing access to object properties, materials, controllers, modifiers, hierarchy and non-visible scene relationships such as wired parameters and instancing
• File Management Utilities: MAX File Finder, IFL Manager, Increment On Save, Auto-backup, the Resource Collector, Dynamic Texture Reloading and Log Files
• Layer Manager: a floating table of contents for switching focus between various parts of a character, model or scene
• Load and Save Render Presets: enable studios to share rendering settings between artists, reducing scene setup times and ensuring consistency across the entire production for most rendering parameters.

New features in 3ds Max 8 include:

Modeling

• Build detail into geometry with Edit Poly Bridge.
• Have greater control of geometry with new Slide and Pinch option in Edit Poly Connect
• Select edge geometry by growing and shrinking selections along Ring/Loops.
• Simplify the process of cleaning up modelsremove edge and vertices in a single pass
• Sweep modifier.

• Pelt Mapping defines custom seams and allows you to unfold UVs according to those custom seams.
• Relax UV and Remove Distortion provide an accurate match of object geometry to texture map UVs by smoothing existing mapping coordinates.
• Direct access to quick mapping types (box, cylindrical, spherical) in the UV Unwrap modifier simplifies your modifier stack.
• Export UV Template Image allows you to export an image of your unwrapped UVs for use in paint applications.

• skin Weight Tools give you quick access to primary skinning tools.
• Vertices are assigned to a bone by default to prevent unwanted stretching and minimize the need to edit envelopes when you apply Skin modifiers.

• Automate your production pipeline with the ability to query a database using MAXScript SQL Connect and Queries.
• Build MAXScripts faster with our MAXScript debugger. This debugger follows industry standards and allows you to set break points and isolate any issues in your scripts.
• Expression controllers now have full MXS support.
• Rebuilt scripted controller supports name independence.

• Motion capture formats now include HTR Import and Export support for 3ds Max bones and TRC data import. Import standard motion capture formats directly into 3ds Max to drive your character, facial, and Biped animation.
• Load and save animation using our new XML-based motion data types. This allows you to save, load, map, and retarget animation between characters. Repurpose animation between rigs of varying sizes, proportions, and design. Break down retargeted motions into component parts to repurpose portions of the original animation for reuse.
• No longer limited to Biped motions, use the Motion Mixer to mix, edit, trim, filter, time warp, and transition motions from any 3ds Max animation.
• Limit controller enables you to ease in and out of a layered limit on top of a motion curve. This clamps motion values for greater control and smoother transitions.
• Select, view, manipulate, and work with curves more easily with the improved Track View.

• Use true Euler rotation and Bezier positioning curves to edit Biped motions.
• Animate long-necked or unusual characters with greater detail and expression of motion using new neck and tail bones.
• Use Layers to retarget motion capture and key-framed motions with precise IK positions preserved.
• Twist bones with 3-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) joints to easily animate characters on a pose-by-pose basis and adjust mesh deformation.
• Ability to rotate the Biped pelvis as a ball joint (3-DOF) removes restrictions on range of movement and improves the quality of motion capture when applied to the Biped skeleton.
• Expanded support for motion capture data for fingers, toes, and the neck of your Biped. This allow for capture of greater subtlety of motionsuch as bendable toes.

• mental ray 3.4 adds powerful rendering functionality to the 3ds Max rendering capabilities. It offers a simplified user interface for working with global illumination and subsurface scattering shaders, as well as a unified indirect lighting model, which provides consistent results when switching between different 3ds Max radiosity modes.
• Quickly batch-render a series of stills from different angles, with the option to change render settings and layers in between views.

• Share, control, and manage your work-in-progress assets using Asset Tracker, our new source control solution tightly integrated with Autodesk Vault software and compatible with existing asset management solutions.
• Repath and retarget assets and their locations for better control over production dependencies.
• Quickly mask 3ds Max objects in Autodesk Combustion compositing software using tightly integrated material and render IDs.
• Bring generated image sequences into Autodesk ToxikTM and Autodesk Cleaner XL applications. 3ds Max generates information about path location, frame numbers, frame rate, resolution, and camera name that will be displayed within your Toxik workspace.
• Define and save path configuration files. The path configuration file is stored with your scene file and allows you to share paths for asset locations, easily managing collaboration among members of your creative team.
• Enjoy more flexibility and dynamic range for lighting adjustments post-render using the OPEN EXR rich file format.

• Styling and brush tools for combing hair and brushing along complicated contours with re-comb, as well as support for clumping and frizz for added realism.
• Hair dynamics tools use the dynamics engine of Shave and the dynamic forces of 3ds Max to inherit inertia directly from the Skin or any other modifiers surface movement.
• mental ray integration provides fast, memory-efficient and direct rendering using the native mental ray hair primitive.
• Use instanced geometry as individual hairs to easily create forests, fields of flowers, and other landscapes.

• Use clothing patterns as the basis for real-world clothing that reflects both fabric type and clothing pattern.
• Define the type of cloth either by setting up its properties or selecting from a list of cloth types, including silk, cotton, and woolclothing will behave as it would in the real world depending on the material.
• Build real, tailor-made clothes, not just baggy, draped cloth. Even create inner seam lines for pleats and vents.
• Save and share cloth preset types to drive artist productivity and ensure that clothing is consistent when using the same fabrics on different cloths, characters, etc.

• Use radiosity adaptive subdivision to produce higher-quality, enhanced lighting in your scene.
• Real-world measurements allow you to more accurately place physically scaled materials onto objects in the scene.
• Capture object, layer, material, camera, and light information as a "scene state" that can be saved and restored at will.
• Import/link models from Autodesk Revit software to create high-quality images of models with 3ds Max via the DWG format, and have the scene objects correspond directly to individual Revit objects.
• Access the Autodesk Inventor file format option directly within the import tool.
• Convey ideas and share designs by exporting models from 3ds Max for viewing with Autodesk DWFTM Viewer and Autodesk DWFTM Composer.

Autodesk 3ds Max - System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows XP Homeor Professional with SP1 or 2000 with SP4
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6
• DirectX 9 recommended (DirectX 8.1 Minimum)
• OpenGL
• Intel PIII or later processor or AMD running at 300Mhz minimum (Dual Intel Xeon or dual AMD Athlon system recommended)
• 512 MB RAM and 500 MB swap space minimum (1 GB RAM and 2GB swap space recommended)
• Graphics card supporting 1024 x 768 16-bit colour with 64 MB RAM (OpenGL and Direct3D hardware acceleration supported. 3D graphics accelerator 1280 x 1024 24-bit colour with 256 MB RAM recommended)
• Microsoft Windows-compliant pointing device (Microsoft Intellimouse, Wacom Intuos or similar pressure sensitive tablet recommended)
• CD-ROM drive
• Optional sound card and speakers
• Cabling for TCP/IP compliant network
• 3D hardware graphics acceleration
• Video input and output devices
• Joystick
• Midi-instruments
• Three button mouse.