MAX Plugins.de News Archive

Archived Plugin News  –  July 2015
 

Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v3.20.03 are:
- V-Ray renders dynamic meshes, instances and VRayProxy objects faster
- Deleting an image from the VFB history now sends it to the Recycle Bin
- Optimizes VRayDistanceTex calculations when 'inside separate' and 'outside separate' are both off
- Enables deleting of all but the last point in VRayVolumeGrid diagram and gradient controls
- Enables markers in VRayVolumeGrid gradient controls to be moved across their neighbors
- Fixes V-Ray render settings dialog progressively opening slower and leading to a crash
- Max no longer freezes when selecting the 'Cache limit type' option in the DR settings dialog
- Fixes V-Ray rendering black images with texture baking and image auto-save
- Fixes V-Ray crashes with Embree hair in specific situations
- Fixes stuck buckets in V-Ray with Embree in specific scenes
- Single channel .exr files are now loaded as grayscale in V-Ray
- Fixes VFB+ tool windows being inactive when rendering with V-Ray
- The thumbnail preview render for exposure control plugins now works with the V-Ray VFB enabled
- Fixes a Hair&Fur crash during light cache calculation
- Fixes a freeze with static subdivision / tiled textures when the displacement map was missing
- Fixes artifacts appearing with 'cached normals' on displaced objects with 'subdivision' method
- Fixes physical camera shifted view when rendering with a distortion map
- Rendering with direct illumination enabled in VRayLightMtl no longer unhides lights in viewports
- VRayOrnatrixMod Ox Hair from Mesh Strips now respects Ox render settings
- Fixes HairFarm hair not respecting light include/exclude lists
- Fixes inconsistent rendering results with texture mapped materials applied to VRayFur
- Loading V-Ray settings from the history now refreshes the VFB Render Setup UI properly
- Fixes a crash when the V-Ray VFB resolution is different from Max and there are G-Buffer channels
- VRaySun is now correct in the viewport when using Physical Camera exposure control in Max 2016
- Fixes VRayVolumeGrid UI flickering when enabling the Auto Range option
- V-Ray RT export no longer slows down when exporting a lot of frames for animation
- Objects with VRayDisplacement mod are now rendered in V-Ray RT when VRayVelocity RE is present
- Fixes V-Ray RT rendering randomly stopping during animation sequences
- Distortion type and CA's of the Physical Camera for Max 2016 are now translated to V-Ray RT
- VRayFur is now motion blurred with the geometry it was assigned to in V-Ray RT
- BerconNoise texture UVW coordinates are now exported to V-Ray RT when distortion is disabled
- Fixes incorrect light cache interpolation in V-Ray RT GPU causing flickering in animations
- Fixes V-Ray RT GPU not rendering Vertex Color textures inside a Composite texture properly
- Fixes incorrect V-Ray RT GPU render of textured rectangle lights in some situations
- Fixes V-Ray RT GPU rendering flakes for car paint material with the wrong normals
- Texture baking in V-Ray RT GPU no longer produces incorrect results after a regular render
- Displaced geometry in V-Ray RT GPU is now included in the light cache
- Objects with camera visibility OFF now cast shadows in V-Ray RT GPU
- Fixes sub-optimal rendering of motion blurred displaced meshes in V-Ray RT GPU
- Fixes a V-Ray RT GPU CUDA driver crash with hair and light cache
- Fixes VRayHairInfoTex using 'Random by strand index' producing solid colors in V-Ray RT GPU CUDA

V-Ray is available for Max 9 to 2016 and costs $1040. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Animation

Changes for Build 9.0.0.0144 include:
- Adds new GPU accelerated DY-SPH and DY-PBD solvers
- You can now use a Maxwell scene as a base for rendering out from RealFlow
- Adds a new Hybrido OpenVDB mesher
- Adds a new OpenVDB mesher
- Hybrido Flip simulations are now faster and more accurate with better memory management
- Adds a new Crown daemon to allow for easy generation of the typical 'crown' fluid effect
- Daemons now have a falloff area
- Adds new Spline nodes which can emit fluids from an object and control forces
- Spline nodes can be imported from SVG format files
- Adds a new text tool for creating spline emitters and primitive objects
- Adds a new option to create new objects and MultiBodies from text
- The UI has been greatly enhanced
- Adds a Spreadsheet panel for visualizing, filtering and modifying particle and object values
- Adds a new ColorGradient Python module
- Adds two new license modes: Faculty and Student
- And much more... A full changelog can be found here

RealFlow is available for Max 2013 to 2016 and costs €1995. Updates from previous RealFlow can currently be purchased for €995 (normally €1225) and include a bonus 1 year Maxwell Render license. This special upgrade offer ends September 30th, 2015. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Modelling

Laubwerk Plants are an easy way to use high quality, botanically approved plants with multiple variations, ages and seasons in Max. Visual plant library browsing, a wide range of Level of Detail Options and much more comes through the bundled Laubwerk Player, a piece of software that brings the plant dataset to life.

Plants Kit 6 includes the following temperate deciduous trees: Japanese Maple, Pyramidal European Hornbeam, Pink-flowering Dogwood, De Vilmorin Handkerchief Tree, Copper Beech, European Ash, Honey Locust 'Sunburst', Norbert's Magnolia, Lombardy Poplar and Black Cherry Plum 'Nigra'.

Laubwerk Plants Kit 6 is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and cost €149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.3.5.6 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016
- Adds support for V-Ray 3.2

MultiScatter is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs €200.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Displacement has been completely re-worked
- Adds new 'Keep Edges Together' functionality for displacement
- Displacement is now also available as a modifier - CoronaDisplacementMod
- Displacement is now adaptive
- CoronaBitmap now supports cropping visually in a popup window
- Adds support for compressed TGA files to CoronaBitmap
- CoronaBitmap now samples opacity maps faster
- Fixes incorrect blurring of stretched textures in CoronaBitmap
- Fixes CoronaBitmap working incorrectly with CoronaScatter
- Adds support for the Max 2016 Physical Camera
- Adds support for the 'Area to Render: Selected' option
- Adds support for Max atmospheric effects
- Adds a seed spinner to MultiMap
- The standalone Corona Sun is now targeted and displays proper illumination in the viewport
- Textures in CoronaScatter now support vertex color as well as other extra mapping channels
- MultiMap now has 100 maximum slots (some of them are accessible only via MAXScript)
- Adds a new improved proxy exporter script
- Adds an 'override enviro distance' option to the z-depth render element
- Adds an 'override enviro color' option to the CTexmap render element
- Adds an 'Override EV' checkbox to CameraMod
- Only active MultiMap submaps are now displayed in Slate
- CoronaScatter now has an 'enable' checkbox
- Adds a new 'Duplicate to mesh' button to Corona Proxy
- Adds 'Remove selected' and 'Clear' options to the material override UI
- The 'Show VFB' action will now always bring Corona VFB to the foreground
- ColorMap is now the default selected tab in the VFB
- When dragging, VFB spinners now reset to the last value before dragging started when right-clicking
- Changes default motion blur segments to 6/3
- Distributed rendering slaves now use all available CPU cores by default
- Fixes unexpected results if using geometry-based Corona texmaps in the environment slot
- Fixes unexpected results if using geometry-based Corona texmaps in the CTexmap render element
- Fixes saving VFB as monochromatic PNG
- Fixes crashes caused by interactive and displacement texmaps
- Fixes a freeze when using subdivide modifier and geometry motion blur
- Fixes problems with instancing being parsed incorrectly when using world space modifiers
- Fixes a crash when using an empty RaySwitchMtl in the global volume mtl slot
- Fixes linked objects being incorrectly included in masks of their parents

Corona Renderer is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs €24.99 per month. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- The Oblong Void mesh no longer breaks when the Length and Width values are equal

Oblong / Oblong Void is available for Max 2014 to 2016 and costs $6.


New Plugin: Utilities

Quick Scripts is a set of additional MAXScripts for the free pass manager LPM 2.0. Using Quick Scripts you can create commonly used passes (mask, UV, ambient occlusion, zdepth etc.) with just one click. Scripts like 'Object set by layer', 'Light set by layer' and 'Pass by layer' allow you to quickly setup passes. The 'Shots from ProSequencer' script helps you create a set of shots using the data from the popular ProSequencer script.

LPM 2.0 Quick Scripts is available for Max 2012 to 2016 and costs $9.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.2.0.0 are:
- Fixes an issue with license activation
- The Max 2014 version (v1.4.0.0) has also been fixed

WebGL Exporter is available for Max 2014 to 2016 and costs $149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.4.0.0 are:
- Fixes an issue with license activation

OBJ Exporter is available for Max 2014 and costs $149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Objects

Changes for v2.0 beta are:
- Adds support for keeping simulation data in external cache files


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.3 are:
- Adds new 'Use Mat ID Distribution' setting
- Adds rules to PropLine Props CA to limit object to specific material IDs
- Adds a Randomize Spacing option when in Spacing distribution method
- Adds support for spline bases that have been extruded or had geometry added to them
- Adds several buttons to get parameters and settings from other PropLine objects in the scene
- Fixes the placement of props when using the Interpolation spacing setting
- Add two macroscript functions: Activate All PropLine and Deactivate All PropLine

PropLine is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs $10.


Plugin News: Nvidia Flex in Max

EPHERE Inc. have published a video on Vimeo showing one of their current R&D projects, showing Nvidia FleX physics working in Max. It is currently very early days, and hopefully they will be posting more videos showing their progress in the coming months.


Plugin Update: mental ray Shaders

Changes for v1.8.1 are:
- Improves domeAFL_FOV_Stereo and Maya domeAFL_FOV preview mesh shape alignment
- Adds support for V-Ray 3.2 in Max 2016 beta shader files


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.3.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v4.64 are:
- Fixes various bugs in the 'Mesh controller'

Parametric Array is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and normally costs $150. Until October 1st 2015, all licenses are being offered with a 30% discount, taking the price for an individual license down to $105. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.075 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016
- Adds support for V-Ray 3.2

VRayPattern is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs €150.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.0.16 are:
- Fixes some problems with the browser sometimes not displaying correctly
- Improves Mawell material setups
- Fixes some problems with special characters in the library path
- Materials now use V-Ray 3 Opacity Mode when available (3ds Max)
- Resolves some Max 2016 display problems
- Adds a check for Max 2015 SP1 to the installer

Laubwerk Plants Kit 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are available for Max 2010 to 2016 and cost €149 each. A demo version is available here.


Plugin News: VIZPARK Summer Sale

VIZPARK are running a summer sale until the end of the month (July 31st) where you can get a 30% to 40% discount on all of their products. All of the discount prices can be found here.


Plugin News: New Backburner version available

Autodesk have posted an updated version of Backburner 2016 that fixes the Manager losing job metadata after being restarted, as well as some other stability fixes.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v2015.5 are:
- PlantFactory 2015 compatibility (PlantFactory 2015.2 or higher)
- New ultra-realistic wind animation model
- Edit and animate new plant species
- Seamlessly edit plants in PlantFactory
- Create and save new species directly to your Carbon Scatter library
- The redesigned Content browser handles large numbers of files swiftly
- You can now display large previews of your items and instantly change the size of previews
- You can now show collections as individual tabs or as a hierarchy of folders
- Finding content is now easier using the quick search field
- A dedicated tab lets you easily identify recently used items
- A new Favorites tab lets you highlight your favorite items and view them all
- You can now convert populations to native Maya instances for use with your renderer of choice
- The Maya ConvertTool means you can freely share your scenes without requiring Carbon Scatter
- Adds support for Max 2016 and Maya 2016
- Fixes potential Max/Maya scale issues with old PlantFactory specimens
- Fixes potentially invisible instances in Max/Maya when frustum culling is enabled

Carbon Scatter is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs $207. A demo version is available here.


Plugin News: Controller Genius trial version

Controller Genius, an upcoming commercial plugin that enhances the workflow with controllers in Max, has been released as a fully functional trial version that will expire August 21st. Currently there is no information on possible pricing.

Controller Genius provides a new improved way to access and operate on controllers, a way that breaks many existing limitations, so it makes the process of rigging way faster and way easier, and yet incredibly powerful. To test it yourself, go and get the trial version.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v2.0 are:
- You can now clamp the furthermost weights
- You can now copy bones settings on symmetrical objects
- All calculations are now fully multithreaded
- Each module is now 64-bit without memory limits
- Fixes a few bugs
- Adds a few smaller improvements
- Adds a free 30 day trial version

WeightPro is available for Max 2013 to 2016 and costs €59. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v3.056 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016
- Adds some custom controls

MadCar is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs €200. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.5.01.138.1355 are:
- Adds a Fresnel ramp procedural
- Adds coating absortion color
- Adds visibility on materials (under clipping section)
- Adds general improvements inherited from Thea 1.5 such as improved shadow catcher
- Improves RealFlow support
- Fixes sync problems between Max native Sky System/Thea Physical Sky
- Fixes issues with some controls like displacement height or BSD min radius
- Various other small undocumented bug-fixes

Thea for 3dsMax is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and normally costs €395. For a limited time (until August 10th) you can get a license for €245. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Connections

Changes for Build 007262 are:
- Fixes a potential Standalone Renderer/RenderNode crash exiting scenes with procedural terrains
- Fixes RenderCow Affinity and Port menus being potentially disabled
- Fixes the Timeline having the wrong minimum size, size and layout
- Fixes the scene preview recomputing when modifying the perspective camera
- Improves EcoSystems LOD management for PlantFactory vegetation in manual mode
- Improves the EcoSystem stacking algorithm, with rocks typically
- Fixes potential Terrain Editor crashes when interacting with the Function Editor
- Fixes a potential Terrain Editor crash when resetting 3D sculpting with scene preview running
- Fixes a potential Terrain Editor crash changing terrain resolution with scene preview running
- Fixes a potential crash with PlantFactory species when the scene preview is running
- Fixes rare MacOS crashes when using menus
- Removes the OpenGL wire-frame offset around selected meshes in the main view
- Fixes Alembic import of animated meshes when no transformation keyframes exist at zero time
- Fixes transformation when exporting a group of objects into Alembic format
- Fixes SolidGrowth (.veg) Plant Export with specific parametrizers
- Fixes a potential crash when exporting terrains
- Fixes sky export image dimensions
- Adds a Python GetScenePath() function to retrieve the last saved path

Vue xStream is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $1695. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.040 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016

SplineLand is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs €130.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v2.027 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016

CityTraffic is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs €360. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: MCG

Changes for v1.01.00 are:
- Adds slice functionality


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.49 are:
- Adds a 'Convert to JPGs' function
- You can now auto-relink missing bitmaps
- Fixes a few problems when collecting project paths

Bitmap Tracking/Resizing is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $9. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: MCG

This is an MCG modifier for calculating the Centre of Mass for odd/asymmetric shaped objects. The Max centre to object uses a bounding box that does not suit odd shapes. This will find the CoM by volume or vertex distribution.


New Plugin: MCG

This MCG will flatten your object in X, Y or Z, in either direction. It can be used on a single object or on a selection of objects, and can be flattened with an absolute (local) value or a percentage.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.0 beta are:
- Fixes slow exports when using explicit normals

Wall Worm Pro is available for Max 2012 to 2016 and costs $30.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.61 are:
- Adds support for the V-Ray 'Track Mouse while Rendering'
- Selecting colors in the white balance color picker now shows immediate feedback
- Selecting colors in the custom background color picker now shows immediate feedback
- There is now a separate build for Max 2016
- Fixes the 'Save all history images' and 'Save all render elements' buttons
- Fixes VFB+ not loading in Max 2009-2012 if the Windows user name has non-ANSI characters
- Fixes saving elements when an image has multiple identically named render elements

VFB+ is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $19. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: MCG

Changes for v2.00.00 are:
- Adds an option to delete the mesh
- Adds a workaround for the SliceMesh operator problem


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for Build 007230 are:
- Improves branch painting
- Various memory and speed optimisations

Plant Factory Studio is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $995. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v1.081 are:
- Adds a new twist system for arms and thighs
- Fixes flip problems
- Adds a new system for quadruped bones
- Fixes same name convention problems
- Adds 'key all' and 'delete keys' buttons
- Fixes problems with neck axes

LH | Auto-Rig is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs €59 (€99 for the Cartoon version).


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.1.0.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016

Rich Dirt is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs €79 (Standard edition) / €129 (Extreme edition). A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v4.63 are:
- Adds support for Mathsurf v3.0

Mathsurf v3.0 is a library that includes more than 120 Paraflows (.para files) which enables Para 3D users to explore mathematical geometry in Max. Once you load a Paraflow (.para file) from the library, Para 3D generates the geometry as well as the rules and logic behind it. You can then manipulate different components of the generative model and alter its parameters. The package is free, but you must have a commercial version of Para 3D in order to load Paraflows.

Parametric Array is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs $150. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v2.0.10 are:
- Fixes OpenEXR support
- Fixes 'sync' checkboxes in the 3Delight Hair material


New Plugin: MCG

This combination of MCG and MAXScript allows you to collapse/pointcache objects with spacewarps while preserving their pivot and hierarchy.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.21 are:
- Fixes a bug if any of the source geometry nodes do not have any mesh data

PropLine is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs $10.


Plugin News: RenderMan for 3ds Max

TD Mahmoud Hesham has posted some information on what he's been working on recently: an inofficial RenderMan integration for Max. There is plenty to see in this blog entry, and he has also posted a video showing the integration in action.


Plugin News: thinkingParticles BlackBox Repository

cebas VISUAL TECHNOLOGY Inc. are gearing up to start a repository of thinkingParticle BlackBoxes from TP users for TP users. If you are a thinkingParticles user and have created a BlackBox that might be useful to other TP users, get in touch with cebas. All of the information about the project can be found here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v1.11 are:
- I can't find any details right now, if I do I'll update this post

MotionFX is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $25.45.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v2.0.7 are:
- Adds a 3Delight Hair material
- Adds the ability to use a custom shader with the Hair and Fur modifier


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v0.52 are:
- Adds automatic relink for multiple Max files
- You can now search and relink assets in multiple .mat (material library) files
- Fixed to resave older .mat files to new version

Library Track and Relink is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $9. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: MCG

Changes for v1.03.00 are:
- Fixes a crash when no parent is picked and you scrub the timeline
- You can now pick a clone by itself or the parent of clone(s)
- Removed the Weld option due to problems with high res clones


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.19.07 are:
- Adds support for Thea Renderer
- Adds support for Final Render
- Adds support for Indigo Render
- Fixes a minor issue with saving the settings for render-presets
- Fixes an issue with interactive filtering when showing all files from subdirectories

Project Manager is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $75. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Animation

Changes for v2.4.1.59038 are:
- Fixes RealFlow BIN Y-up coordinate system not being converted to Z-up Max space
- Adds support for Unit Length Scale metadata in RealFlow BIN files
- Adds an option to disable the motion blur from camera motion
- Fixes some UI issues on international Windows OS installations

Krakatoa MX is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and pricing starts at $1000. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.05.00 are:
- Adds support for Thea Renderer
- Adds support for Final Render
- Adds support for Indigo Render
- Fixes a minor issue with saving the settings for render-presets
- Fixes an issue with interactive filtering when showing all files from subdirectories

Models Manager is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $30. A demo version is available here.


Site News: MAX Plugins.de was 15 years old yesterday!

On the 12th of July 2000, MAX Plugins.de went online after a month or so of getting everything set up. 2000 seems to have been a good year for Max sites, because both MaxUnderground and ScriptSpot also started in that year. Since then the site has been getting more and more popular, and although I was worried for a while that the site was looking a bit old, people seem to like the fact that I've kept it simple. I'm sure changes will be coming, but I won't be changing the look of the site too much, just improving the functionality.

Up to the end of June, the site has had almost 22 million pageviews (2014 - 19,295,890, 2013 - 16,772,804, 2012 - 14,590,431). Unfortunately my page impression statistics only go back to 2005, so the actual figures are probably a bit higher than that.

The database has a total of 8,508 free plugins, 257 mental ray shaders, and 704 commercial plugins. The free plugins total looks high because many of the Max 4 plugins also work in Max 5, so they've been counted twice. The same goes for Max 9 / Max 2008 and Max 2010 / Max 2011, Max 2013 / 2014 and Max 2015 / 2016.

I'd like to say a big thank you to the very few people who have actually helped support this site. You know who you are, and this place might well have disappeared by now if it wasn't for your support. Most people never seem to notice the PayPal button on the left, and over the last year only a handful of people have donated anything at all (a special thanks to Marcin!). All donations, no matter how small, help to keep the site going, so if this site has helped you out at all in the past, or if it helps you out in the future, please think about clicking on the PayPal button.

Time to get started on the next 15 years! All the best, Dave


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v3.0 are:
- Completely restructured internally to make it faster and more stable

SplineBrancher is available for Max 2012 to 2016 and costs $14.99. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v3.50.11 are:
- Minor bugfixes to the Max 2015 / 2016 plugin


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for Build 1932 are:
- Bug-fixes


New Plugin: MCG

This MCG modifier puts clones on the vertices of your emitter object. It works with and without vertex subobject selection and/or soft selection. With soft selection, it will auto scale the clones based on the feathering.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Adds new Prop Distribution method: Probability
- Adds new Padding and Padding Randomization parameters
- Adds new transformation parameter Upright
- Adds Probability property to the PropLine Transforms custom attribute
- Adds a sub-rollout to Propline Source Nodes section for nodes with a PropLineTransform CA
- Adds a 'Show Override Changes' button
- Updates the function for adding custom attributes to source nodes
- Moves the Allow Overrides setting to the Transformations rollout
- Swaps the order of the Spline Base UI group and the Source Nodes UI Group

PropLine is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs $10.


Plugin Update: MCG

Changes for v1.02.00 are:
- Tidied up the graph


New Plugin: Objects

VRayGolaem enables V-Ray in Max to render crowds created in Maya with Golaem Crowd. The advantage of the plugin is that the workflow stays 100% V-Ray native and procedural, which lets you benefit from all V-Ray features and keeps exported files very light.


Plugin Update: mental ray Shaders

Changes for v1.8 are:
- Fixes an issue with the Domemaster3D shader's LatLong Stereo menu item
- Adds the V-Ray and Arnold shader beta files to the standard Domemaster3D installer


Plugin News: e-on software discounts end July 12th

Until July 12th, e-on software, inc. are offering a 30% discount on full licenses of VUE, LumenRT, PlantFactory, Carbon Scatter and CloudFactory, and a 20% discount on upgrades. And if you buy two or more products, you get a 50% discount on the second and subsequent licenses. Full details can be found here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016

Rattle is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs €9.99.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v0.9.15 are:
- Adds a welcome tour through all the main options for new users
- Adds a 'What's New' splash screen that tells you the latest changes and bug fixes
- Adds interactive exploration of 3D files within Connecter
- You can now add new assets straight from Max
- You can now batch-generate custom previews in Max
- Adds quick-search and sort categories
- A number of interface improvements and bug-fixes


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for Build 18012 are:
- Adds new EasyConnect Dialog
- Cameras created by the Project wizard now use manual clipping planes to reduce viewport artifacts
- Adds import / export support for OCTADESIGNcustom.mat
- The Poster wizard now supports self illuminating posters
- Fixes PDF3D not being exported if objects were imported from AutoCAD

OCTAdesign is available for Max 2014 to 2016 and costs €4500. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.1 are:
- Adds an option to use VrayMaps in Standard materials

MaterialConverter Pro is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs ¥2000. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for Build 1931 are:
- Bug-fixes


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v2.23.2-2.2 are:
- Minor fixes and improvements

OctaneRender for 3ds Max is available for Max 2012 to 2016 and costs €459. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v3.10.11 are:
- Fixes an issue with keeping Target Light settings after relinking the IES file
- Fixes some minor issues with updating the plugin
- Fixes some minor interface issues
- Fixes a minor issue with relinking

FilePathFinder Lite is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $18.50. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v10.7 are:
- Adds support for Max 2016
- Adds support for Maya 2016
- Adds support for Lightwave 2015
- Adds a new batch processing option that can start from a given optimization ratio
- Adds a 'Merge by materials' command
- Adds a printing feature
- Updates the Sketchup lib
- Updates the Modo lib, improving instanciation support and advanced texture search
- Fixes a potential crash when merging by object
- Fixes a potential C4D crash with invalid indices

Polygon Cruncher is available for Max 9 to 2016 and costs $129. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.0.1 are:
- Fixes blocking between the Length and Width values
- All distance values now work with scene units
- Fixes Oblong Void breaking when the Length and Width values are equal

Oblong / Oblong Void is available for Max 2014 to 2016 and costs $6.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.04.05 are:
- Adds the ability to display all files from subdirectories
- Adds the ability to store selected items in the history navigation
- Fixes a minor issue with displaying items when searching

Models Manager is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $30. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v12.7 are:
- Adds an option that allows the catalogue to be saved as a zip-file
- Adds new status bar information about folders, hidden and excluded files
- Adds support for Max 2016 to 3D Browser and Polygon Cruncher
- Adds support for Maya 2016 to 3D Browser and Polygon Cruncher
- Adds a new batch processing option to Polygon Cruncher that can start from a given ratio
- Adds a 'Merge by materials' command to Polygon Cruncher
- Adds a printing feature to Polygon Cruncher
- Adds Lightwave 2015 support to Polygon Cruncher
- Updates the Sketchup lib
- Updates the Modo lib, improving instanciation support and advanced texture search
- Fixes a potential 3DBrowser crash or lock when changing folders
- Fixes a potential Polygon Cruncher crash when merging by object
- Fixes a potential C4D crash with invalid indices

3D Browser for 3D Users is available for Max 9 to 2016 and costs $69. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v3.51.01 are:
- Fixes a bug with 'Translate Paths' when used with option 'Include output paths'
- Fixes a bug with relinking asset files with the 'Rename File on Hard Drive' option
- Fixes a minor issue with relinking
- Fixes some minor interface issues

FilePathFinder Pro is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $30. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.18.11 are:
- Adds the ability to display all files from subdirectories
- Adds the ability to store selected items in the history navigation
- Fixes a minor issue with displaying items when searching
- Fixes a bug with 'Translate Paths' when used with option 'Include output paths'
- Fixes a bug with relinking asset files with the 'Rename File on Hard Drive' option
- Fixes a minor issue with relinking
- Fixes a Max 2016 issue where getting additional image information was slow
- Fixes some minor interface issues

Project Manager is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $75. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling / Texturing

Changes for v4.4.1 are:
- Fixes a rendering error with Mental Ray and Max 2016

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 9 to 2016 and costs €200. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v4.7.0 are:
- Adds support for the latest version of the KlayGE framework


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v4.61 are:
- Adds automated license activation
- Adds a new 'User Controller' so you can extend Para 3D functionality using MAXScript or C#
- Adds Math-surf 3.0 compatibility (coming soon)
- Loading and saving of Para-flows has been improved
- Fixes 'Test Controller' and 'Custom Parameter' type initialization
- Fixes a bug in showing the 'Transform controller' input list
- Fixes various bugs in 'Parametric Shape', CSV exporter and 'Math controller'
- The keyframe maker can now generate key frames for parametric meshes
- Fixes a bug when using d3 options in the 'Mesh controller'
- Fixes a bug in exploding 'Parametric mesh'
- The 'Math controller' now allows variable names to be edited
- The 'Vector controller' can convert vectors from Cartesian coordinates to other coordinate systems
- The 'List controller' now returns the sum of vectors
- The 'Node controller' now returns the material name, child nodes and more
- 'Custom parameter' can now handle strings
- Parametric Mesh can now generate a 3D convex hull
- Parametric Mesh can now create Delaunay and Voronoi meshes
- Parametric Shape can now create a 2D convex hull
- Parametric Shape now allows shapes to be reset

Parametric Array is available for Max 2011 to 2016 and costs $150. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.6 are:
- Adds support for depth of field
- Adds filmic tonemapping controls
- Adds white balance controls
- Adds support for ICC profiles
- Adds a saturation slider for the bloom filter
- Adds more LUT options
- Improves UI for the color corrections panel
- Improves compatibility with large font settings
- Slider range is now separated from the maximum range of the spinner to make them less sensitive
- Adds Ctrl+T as a shortcut for Preferences->Display->Show render time and title on image
- Images are no longer added to the history if Max is running in network render mode
- VFB+ now remembers which color correction sub-panels were last open when you start Max
- Changes all color pickers to native Max color pickers instead of .NET color pickers
- Changes almost all file save/load dialogs to native Max dialogs which support history
- LUTs now assume RGB table order instead of BGR as in previous versions
- LUT now extrapolates out of range values rather than clamping them
- Stamper image layer scale is now capped at 10% min. to avoid slowdowns rendering many images
- 'Persist images between 3dsmax sessions' is now enabled by default in history preferences
- Save and load buttons for the curves color correction have been separated
- sRGB transform is now calculated at the same phase as gamma correction (before LUT and ICC)
- Fixes a crash when trying to undock the film strip from the Max interface
- 'Copy to clipboard' now includes the stamp
- Fixes a bug where the wrong gamma settings could be applied to the rendered image
- All commands now return 1-based indices as per MAXScript conventions
- Fixes loaded LUT files potentially causing a memory leak
- The Tab key now works for moving between spinners
- Fixes curves data sometimes not being saved in color correction settings
- Using chromatic aberration no longer causes artifacts in exported PSD files
- Fixes a crash when right clicking outside the image area when chromatic aberration is enabled

VFB+ is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $19. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v3.8.1 include:
- Adds support for Max 2016, Maya 2016 and Motion Builder 2016
- Fixes MaxCryExport to match expat location
- Removes obsolete/unused crc32computer from MaxCryExport
- Removes obsolete/unused Code/Tools/MaxSDKSamples
- Removes deprecated RSASigner
- Removes obsolete Photobump and Polybump content from Tools
- Now using original tifflib and zlib instead of using multiple versions of source files
- These are the just the changes affecting the exporter itself, but the SDK has a load of other changes

The CryExporter is part of the CryEngine SDK which is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $9.90 per month.


Plugin News: Corona Roadmap

Render Legion s.r.o. have revealed their development roadmap for the next couple of releases of Corona, and it certainly provides a great insight into the directions the renderer is taking. The roadmap itself can be found here, but perhaps more interesting is the blog post that goes along with it.


Site News: 15 years old next week!

In just over a weeks time, this site will be 15 years old (here's an archive snapshot from October 2000). In all that time, a lot has changed under the hood, and I've completely reprogrammed the site at least 4 times.

One thing that hasn't changed much is the look (as you can see from the snapshot above), and to be quite honest it probably won't be changing much in the coming years. The functional look with no bling-bling seems to be one of the things that a lot of people want to keep, and I don't intend making any more work for myself by changing it :o)

What I would like is to hear from users who have problems with the site, or suggestions for improvements that don't involve changing everything. Any little niggles you might have, send me a mail and let me know. I'll be trying to put some time aside later this year to address as many of the do-able ones as I can.

Thanks, Dave


New Plugin: Modelling

PropLine is a scripted geometry plugin that distributes props along splines with various parameters to control how the props are distributed and transformed. The transformations of the props can be easily retrieved later to export into game engines.

PropLine is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and normally costs $10. For a limited time you can get it for an introductory price of $6.95.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.15 are:
- Adds support for more than 15 MatIDs
- Adds more ID buttons - with scroll - up to 149 ID's
- Adds a switch to use the same buttons for Material ID Channel or VRay ID Effect Channel
- Adds an ID spinner with an Assign and Select button
- You can now select materials from an active SME

Material ID Organizer is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $4.50. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: MCG

This MCG creates basic noise on your geometry. Don't expect it to work like SurfaceNoise in ZBrush, because MCG doesn't handle massive amounts of polys very well at the moment. This is simply an MCG exercise into the area of subobjects.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for Build 007143 are:
- Fixes potential artefacts when using GOZ
- Fixes a potential crash when importing meshes as branches

Plant Factory Studio is available for Max 2010 to 2016 and costs $995. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v3.05 Build 702 are:
- Fixes a number of problems when running Max on an English language OS

TerrainAxe is available for Max 2008 to 2016 and costs $220. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v3.19.2 are:
- Adds support for Photoshop CC 2015
- Deprecates some old plugins
- Recompiled using the latest libraries (Optix 3.8, libpng-1.6.17, libtiff-4.0.4, lua-5.3.1)


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.8.3 are:
- Fixes a problem installing the Max / Maya 2016 plugins
- Simplifies and unifies the license
- Recompiled using the latest libraries (Qt 5.4.2)


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.0.3929 are:
- Bug-fixes

Simplygon Cloud Pro is available for Max 2012 to 2016 and costs $100 per month or $1000 per year. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: MCG

This MCG object is a primitive for creating cupboards and bookshelves. Currently they have no UV's, but that is being worked on.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v3.0 are:
- Adds an 'Offset handrail' feature
- Adds support for presets
- Improvements to the user interface

Artakan Create Stairs is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $19.99. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Connections

Changes for v8.0 SP3 are:
- Integration with SAP Engineering Control Center providing rich Document Management capabilities
- Adds 'Enable Floor Plan Conversion' and 'Room Outlines Layer' settings to the DWG importer
- Adds 'Attributes Layer', 'Title Block Layer' and 'Output Size Background' settings to the DWG importer
- Adds support for Max 2015 (should also work in Max 2016)
- Adds support for Maya 2015
- Adds support for SolidWorks 2015
- Adds support for version 10 of the JT file format
- Adds support for the STEP Compressed file format
- Adds 'Import 2D Layout' option to the Catia v5 importer
- Adds PMI ID and semantic information to PMI for supported formats

SAP Visual Enterprise Author is available for Max 2010 to 2016. Currently I have no information on pricing.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.10 are:
- Fixed to work in a Max session started as non-Admin
- The paste method is now faster

Copy Paste DWG is available for Max 2009 to 2016 and costs $4.50. A demo version is available here.