MAX Plugins.de News Archive

Archived Plugin News  –  August 2011
 

Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.8 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

The download link above says that the plugins are for Max 2010 (the top entry under Latest Updates), but they seem to actually be for Max 2012.


Plugin Update: Materials

Changes for v3.4.100 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Possibly fixes the bug where the 3dsmax process wasn't terminating on exit
- The installer can now locate both 32-bit and 64-bit installation folder on 64-bit Windows


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.1 are:
- Adds a live slice preview in the viewport
- The grid / slice color in viewport can now be edited
- You can now show different slice information in viewport
- You can now render in columns or rows
- Adds setup for start and end slice coordinates

SliceRender is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €12.99.


Plugin Updates: 2012 recompiles from Neil Jedrzejewski

Neil Jedrzejewski has recompiled all of his plugins (VTF Texture Import v1.7.5, SMD Exporter v1.6, SMD Importer v1.0 and VTA Exporter v1.0) to support Max 2012. There are no other changes except for the VTF Texture Importer now also supporting version 7.5 VTF files.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.5.02 Beta are:
- Fixes wrong gamma on solid colors displayed in the viewport
- Fixes special normals being flipped in some cases
- Slate editor shift and drag is now working normally
- Slate editor no longer shows the extra 'frymap' node for better clarity

Arion / Fryrender Max Plugin comes with the Arion and fryrender renderers, which are available for Max 2008 to 2012 and cost €795 (fryrender and Arion single-GPU) / €995 (Arion multi-GPU). A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.2.2 are:
- Soft shadows are now default in Max 2010 and above
- Two sample cubemap pairs are now included with 3Point Shader Lite
- All Pro and Lite cubemaps now have correctly filtered mipmaps
- ViewThief is now included with the Pro install
- Adds animation output to ViewThief
- Adds a 'Clean UI' option to ViewThief
- ViewThief now has command line execution
- 'Unique number' is now a tag in ViewThief, not a checkbox option
- 'Unique number' now uses 4 digits

3Point Shader is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $48. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for Build 1679 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Brazil lights/shadows (excluding area shadows) now support Nitrous
- The exposure spinner in VFB no longer crashes when clicked and dragged
- Adding a Map to the reflection focus slot no longer causes Assertion Errors
- Fixes various problems with the Slate material editor being open while rendering
- Viewport to VFB script no longer crashes without environment map
- Maps now link to correct map slot in Compact Material Editor

Brazil r/s is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs $995. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Modelling

maxUnChamfer helps to produce low poly objects in less time with less effort. Benefits include:
- Remove chamfers without having to manually position every vertex
- Reduce polycount at lightning speed

maxUnChamfer is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $10.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v5.0.6 are:
- Fixes flickering when rendering

The RealFlow 3ds Max plugins come with RealFlow, which is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €2995. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.8 are:
- Small changes to the interface
- You can now assign materials to surfaces
- Adds a new mirror function
- You can now assign keyboard shortcuts to 4 buttons
- The script now remembers the dialog position in undock mode

Polygon Creator is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $55. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.14a are:
- Fixes a bug with incorrect pattern previews

VRayPattern is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €150.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.08b are:
- Fixes a bug with slow viewports when MultiScatter is turned off
- New Preview option 'Cross' has been optimized for fast viewport performance

MultiScatter is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €200.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for SP5 are:
- Fixes an issue when Caustics are used in a scene
- Fixes a crash with fR-VolumeSolid
- Animation ranges have been been fixed for fR-Proxy objects

These fixes also apply to the standard version of finalRender and finalToon.

finalRender is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €995 (Standard) / €1295 (Studio Edition) / €495 (finalToon). A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.10 are:
- Adds support for Max 2011 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds an option for export of tangents for the first UV-channel
- The specularColor slot is now used for specular map export to A3D
- Fixes an error with bounding box export


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.24 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for Build 1358 are:
- Adds a ChamferOp with 'Uniform Mitering', QuadChamfer and UnChamfer
- Adds more MacroScripts
- Adds a RightClick menu to +Save and Adjacent
- Adds Isolation Mode
- Improved GeoPolygon the outline feature
- QuadMenu

RappaTools is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €30. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v3.33 are:
- Tangents are now re-calculated when copying or swapping uvsets
- Adds support for normal maps


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.14 are:
- Fixes a mapping bug

VRayPattern is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €150.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.3.15 are:
- Adds a script for retrieving all the shaders for a particular type of shader
- Adds support for the standard material's illumination/incandescence map
- Modified the documentation to better explain the 'Rendering Object' setting
- Limited the free version to 5 exported mesh animations and 5 exported node animations
- Fixes an issue with Chinese characters when writing material scripts
- Fixes a bug with 'track target' elements having an incorrect up axis
- Fixes a precision bug with spinner controls in the OgreMax object's light settings
- Fixes a bug with the exporter using the obsolete 'Export Meshes' setting
- Fixes a bug with the 'Export Mesh' entity setting not being used
- Fixes a bug with shader parameters sometimes being displayed with the wrong source

OgreMax is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Animation

Changes for this release are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

ThinkingParticles Classic is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €595.


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for SP1 are:
- Solves some instability issues when used on massive multi-core systems
- Adds support for the latest dual or quad hexacore systems
- Performance and code stability has been improved

finalFlares is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €299.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.0.2.1 are:
- Bug-fixes
- Improved performance

Atrium Designer 2012 is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €800. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for Build 20110816 are:
- Fixes a few bugs
- Updated the Sample Curve Algorithm to the new one in mental ray 3.9 and iRay 1.2

Shader Utilities Pro is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Output Effect now supports 32-bit file formats
- Adds a 'Replace views' option within Vimg output format
- The toolbar position is now saved with the Max UI
- Removed the 'Link Focal to Target' option
- Fixes the views amount changing when typing in the value
- Automatic key frame creation has been fixed
- Gamma correction with Mental Ray 3D preview rendering has been fixed

3D Stereo Camera is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €269. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.7 are:
- Adds 3 and 4 shapes button
- You can now undock/dock the panel
- Adds random surface colors
- Minor changes to the algorithm

Polygon Creator is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $55. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Modelling

AK3D ScatterFX is a map-controlled scatter tool with a very easy workflow. The maps you use give you absolute control over the exact behavior of every single object, and allows you to easily create hundreds of thousands of instances to populate your scene. You can use up to ten different control maps for controlling the scatter process, and the maps can be bitmaps or procedurals as well as using different mapping channels. You can even scatter fully rigged Bipeds, with complete control over where they should stand, in what direction their body should be turned and separate controls for the Head LookAt direction. Whether you are creating a forest, a city, massive amounts of bipeds or just scattering thousands of spheres, the built-in viewport performance optimizations ensure that you can still work on your scene.

AK3D ScatterFX is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs $euro;49.90.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.5.0.8 are:
- Adds 48 new Mosaic materials (Marble and Granite)

V-Ray Material Presets Pro is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €75.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v2.1 are:
- A new deform controller has been added to the library
- A custom pattern tool has been added to the subobject controller
- The curve controller can now return the closest point of the array to the curve
- A property search box has been added to the main interface
- Adds a deselect button to the main interface
- A parametric array layer is now automatically created to hold all the array nodes
- Adds a random controller for use inside a condition controller
- Automatic garbage collection has been improved
- Fixes Nurbs selection in the surface controller
- The surface controller now returns Utangent and Vtangent values of editable polys
- Fixes an error in displaying transform controller settings
- The license control system has been improved
- You can now replace array members with a new object
- Multiple Variable Override controllers can now be used inside one controller
- The magnet controller can use a vector controller instead of a magnet object
- Fixes a convert controller error

Parametric Array is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and normally costs $79.90, but until the end of September you can buy a license for $40. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v3.17.6 Beta 1 are:
- The FBX mesh importer has been completely rewritten
- Fixes problems loading the filter plug-ins in Photoshop CS5
- Re-exported all the sample JPGs to fix problems with some modern libraries and applications
- Adds a warning message if external cages have 'Use shortest diagonal' option enabled
- Recompiled using the latest libraries (Optix 2.1.1, FBX, Crosswalk)


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.5.4 beta are:
- Fixes a problem that was causing a 'pure virtual function call' error
- Fixes a CPU-GPU result mismatch
- Recompiled using the latest libraries (AMD APP SDK 2.5)
- Fixes a potential buffer overrun in VRAM memory that could generate artifacts
- Optimized the rendering speed of non-textured surfaces
- The benchmark document now contains the standalone renderer's results


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v6.2.0 are:
- Changes the way availability rules / wake ups / shutdowns interact with each other
- Fixes a security issue in the integrated web service

Muster is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $85 for a single node. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.8.52.0 are:
- GrannyEndLocalPoseAccumulationLOD no longer needs a full set of valid bones
- Fixes an infinite loop in CaptureNodeSiblingData
- Fixes a bug in the blending nodes that prevented inactive sides from being culled
- LOD Sampling is now supported in the AnimStudio Runtime
- New node type: LOD Protect
- Log functions are now routed through telemetry as well as user callback
- New function: GrannyTelemetryFrameStats

Granny Exporter is available for Max 6 to 2012, and is part of the Granny Toolkit which costs $12500.


Plugin News: Brazil 3.0 announced

Imagination Technologies Ltd. have been showing the upcoming version of Brazil 3.0 at Siggraph in Vancouver. After Brazils apparent death over the last year, this has come as a pleasant surprise, and the first impression is definitely positive. It has been completely rewritten from the ground up, and is built using OpenRL, Imagination's ray tracing API that is designed to work on any graphics hardware, including the upcoming Caustic Professional ray-tracing boards.

For the press release from Imagination, take a look here. If you are more interested in actual details on what it can and can't do at the moment, as well as some very early renderes, take a look at this post on the SplutterFish forum.


Plugin News: psd-manager v3.0 announced

Cebas have announced the upcoming release of their PSD exporter psd-manager v3.0. Due for release at the end of this month, psd-manager v3.0 boasts a load of new and improved features, including:
- 32-bit (HDR) layered PSD files
- Deep image matte extraction
- 3ds Max layer export
- Render cut-outs
- Support for Max 2012
- Customizable composition of Render Elements
- Optimized Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects workflow
- New built-in options to control image resolution (DPI)
- Alpha channels can now be exported in a number of different ways

All purchases of psd-manager v2 that are made in August 2011 will be upgraded to psd-manager v3.0 for free when it becomes available.


Site News: I'm back...

I'm back, and I've got a load of catching up to do! If anyone that's mailed me in the last few weeks hasn't had a reply yet, I'll be catching up with that in the next week. I'll also be adding news items that may be a bit old, but it's the easiest way for me to get through everything.

Dave


New Plugin: Import / Export

This new SimLab plugin adds the following import capabilities to Max:
- SolidEdge
- SolidWorks
- Rhino
- SketchUp
- U3D
- 3DXML

It also adds export support for:
- SketchUp
- U3D

On top of that it enables you to export interactive 3D PDF files from Max, and export 3D Models for viewing on the iPad using the free SimLab CAD Viewer for iPad application.

SimLab Plugin for 3DS is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $99. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Ky_Trail kernel has been updated to version 4.2
- Adds basic support for Thinking Particles
- Adds the ability to gamma-correct trail images
- Adds the ability to color correct trail images
- Fixes a network rendering bug in scenes created with the trial version

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Site News: No updates until August 15th...

I won't be able to update the site for the next couple of weeks, but once I'm back everything will be back to normal!

Dave


Plugin News: Krakatoa MX 2.0 announced...

Thinkbox Software have announced the upcoming new version of their incredibly useful Krakatoa particle rendering, manipulation and management toolkit. Due for release this Autumn, new and improved features include:
- Adds support for the conversion of Max Hair&Fur, Hair Farm and regular Bezier splines into particles
- Allows direct integration of voxel rendering in any renderer that supports native Max atmospherics
- Magma 2.0 adds multiple output nodes per modifier
- Magma 2.0 adds multiple output sockets per node
- Magma 2.0 also adds default input values and improved debugging
- Magma 2.0 introduces a multitude of new operators
- PRT Creator fractal designs generation
- Overall performance improvements

Krakatoa MX 2.0 will be a no-cost upgrade to Krakatoa customers on active support contracts.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v2.2 are:
- Adds a C++ SDK so you can create your own connectivity plugins
- One license type is now compatible with all render engines

RealFlow RenderKit is available for Max 2009 to 2012. One license is included with RealFlow 2012, but additional licenses (eg. for render farms) can be purchased for $200. A demo version is available here.