Changes for v2.0.1 are:
- Fixes a bug in Max properties which caused crashes in releases less than Max 9

Changes for v1.5.7 are:
- Adds utility to render height maps
- Adds utility to render terrain maps
- Adds cubic map support to the OgreMax Render Texture
- Adds functionality to the Object Settings/Entity dialog page for adding / removing mesh animations
- Adds additional logic to support multiple mesh animation note tracks
- Adds more information to the OgreMax About dialog
- Adds scene setting to allow hidden Max layers to be skipped during the export process
- Fixes a bug in the handling of manual shader parameters
- Fixes a bug that caused a crash when switching from OpenGL to Direct3D
- Adds viewer support for rendering dynamic cube map render targets
- Adds the DynamicEnvironmentMap sample scene
- Modified the signature of OgreMaxSceneCallback::CreatedRenderTexture()

Just a quick update on the SimbiontMAX story: none of the Simbiont plugins are going to be freeware any more. The plugins will only work if you buy a copy of DarkTree for $419. At the moment only Max is affected by the new policy, but eventually all of the other applications will be affected too.

I still don't understand how people who used the free plugins in the past are going to be able to go back to old scenes that have SimbiontMAX materials in them. The way it looks, they can basically throw them away...

Changes for v1.072 are:
- Minor bug-fixes

Di-O-Matic have announced that all of their Max 9 plugins are also compatible with Max 2008. They have also made new installers for Max 2008 which you can ask for here.

I've just removed SimbiontMAX from the databases after Metin Seven kindly let me know that the plugins are no longer freeware.

I've got no idea why Darkling Simulations have changed their policy on this, as the plugins have been freeware since Max 2 or 3, and the Simbiont plugins for other programs are still free. I'm also wondering what people are supposed to do if they have previously used the plugins in scenes and need to go back to work on those scenes.

If I find out what's going on, I'll post it here.

Changes for v1.071 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- All of the Freebie operators are now multi-threadad
- Adds a 'Simple Mix' filter for Video post

The developers of NodeJoe have released a new public beta version for testing (v0.862).

Changes for v0.862 are:
- Adds a new statusbar with current render queue, zoom factor and zoom / pan
- Renamed nodes within the nodeview via context menu or the new shortcut (F2)
- New selection mode: Select Tree for selecting a complete material tree (Ctrl-T)
- The Viewbutton now works for bitmap nodes
- Fixes the Preview-Update bug
- Fixes the Delete-Selection bug
- Gradient Ramp in Max 8 no longer crashes
- Various minor bug-fixes

Changes for v2.5.141 are:
- Adds support for Max 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v1.5a are:
- Adds 'Global monitoring', a powerful new injection mode
- Removed dependency from installed DirectX 9.0 update version
- Fixes a crash when compiling shaders with errors
- Recommended parameters are only saved at the beginning of the OBJ file
- Objects are now annotated with rendering states in OBJ file
- More recommended parameters are shown (including less reliable ones)

Changes for v2.0 are:
- Incorporates Expotron User Property Settings into import and export
- Introduces Scale factor for importing meshes
- Introduces Vertex Welding option on import
- You can now optionally add a Normal under Bump map
- New 'NWN2 MDB Utility' which is like the Expotron Utility but works with all versions of the tools

Changes for v1.5 are:
- Adds automatic FOV and Aspect ratio determination
- FOV input editbox moved to import plugin interface
- Hooking strategy changed to be less intrusive and more stable
- Removes dependency from installed DirectX 9.0 update version
- Updated to DirectX 9.0 August 2007 update
- Capture files are now named 'frame[date]_[time].3dr'
- Fixes minor bug in DrawPrimitiveUP() and DrawIndexedPrimitiveUP() capturing
- Fixes 'Ready to capture' label blinking randomly
- Fixes 'Ready to capture' label not appearing

Changes for Build 292010 are:
- Fixes metaCloud render in Ozone
- Fixes bad Ozone sun position in XSI when loading a Vue scene
- Fixes clamping of values in C4D, LW and MayaSoftware
- Fixes transparent objects and wrong shadows in MentalRay for Max

Ozone is available for Max 7 to 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit) and costs $199.

Changes for v2006.11.2 are:
- New support has been created for .mc and .pc2 point cache files
- Adds many enhancements to optimize the transfer of files
- Adds support for image maps on almost all channels on import and export
- Adds support for Multiple UV maps/sets
- Adds support for Decay rate / Decay start / near and far attenuation for light properties
- Photometric lights are now converted to Standard lights on export
- General enhancements have been made toward export stability
- Improved Image map stability
- High resolution .jpeg images no longer cause Max to become unstable
- Fixes inaccurate warning on texture export
- Addresses stability issues when using Embed with Convert to TiFF option
- Fixes texture map issues where a Max file would not import certain texture maps into Maya
- Fixes issues with the exporter if textures used any files that were missing
- Editable polygons (e-poly) now export vertex color
- Fixes a sporadic problem with the import of certain trimmed NURBS
- Fixes a problem with unsupported light types
- Normals now give consistent values on export
- Fixes a bug with inverted specular level and glossiness textures on export
- Meshes from .fbx are no longer converted to trimeshes on import
- Improvements have been made to the way normals are imported

Autodesk have posted the trial version of Max 2008, which means that it has officially started shipping. I'm in the process of making the site 2008-ready, and it looks like most Max 9 plugins will work in Max 2008, so I will probably just add all Max 9 plugins to the Max 2008 database and see what happens :o)

Changes for v1.5.6 are:
- Adds a utility to render cube maps
- Add a utility to generate frames from a video
- Adds a cube shape to the OgreMax material viewer
- Increases the default brightness for the diffuse light in the OgreMax material viewer
- Fixes a bug with the bitmap format conversion not working correctly

Changes for v0.76b are:
- Adds support for Max 7 and 8
- Increases the value-range for spinners
- Adds support for vertex colors

Changes for v1.5.5 are:
- Adds binaries for Ogre 1.5.0
- Adds project configurations for Ogre 1.5.0
- Adds the Version and OgreMaxRenderWindowIterator .cpp/.hpp files
- Adds a new OgreMaxScene::Load() method, which takes an OgreMaxRenderWindowIterator instance
- Adds an Ogre version check to the scene loading process
- Removes the Lua script bindings that accepted floating point values as angles

Changes for v5.12 are:
- Adds support for v5.12 of the PathEngine SDK
- A full list of changes can be found here

groundExport is part of the PathEngine SDK, and is available for Max 6 to 9. A basic license for the SDK costs €5000.

Changes for v9.12 are:
- 'Save Scene as Image' now exports animation when it is used in a script
- Improves alpha channel usage when printing a catalogue or exporting to HTML
- Fixes a display problem with a gradient as background of the thumbnails view
- Fixes a problem when displaying icons in report or detailed mode
- DirectX initialization now works when creating a DirectX device on certain computers
- The noise filter now modifies the image
- HTML preview is no longer truncated
- HTML preview no longer displays an unlimited number of dialog boxes

3D Photo Browser for 3D Users is available for Max 4 to 9 and costs $69. A demo version is available here.

The latest new build of Brazil r/s v2, build 1387, is now available from the SplutterFish FishMarket Account (if you have upgraded to Brazil r/s v2). You can find a full list of enhancements and bugfixes here.

Changes for v1.5.3 are:
- Adds support for exporting the configured Ogre resource locations
- Reduces the default brightness for ambient light in the OgreMax material viewer
- A load of enhancements to the viewer (full list of changes here)

Di-O-Matic, Inc. will soon be releasing 64-bit versions of all of their commercial plugins. Members of the Di-O-Matic VIP program will get theirs first, followed by other registered users. I'll let everyone know here when the 64-bit plugins are released.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for 64-bit Max 9

Based on Thomas Luft's Ivy Generator, this plugin lets you grow ivy on any model scene. The growth of the ivy can be animated, and it has a load of settings to help you try and keep your ivy under control.

Changes for v1.4.2 are:
- The plugins have been recompiled for the latest version of Panda3D

Changes for v1.02 are:
- Adds support for 32-bit Max 9

Changes for v1.01 are:
- Adds support for 32-bit Max 9

Dieter Morgenroth has uploaded a new version of his VRayISO plugin for V-Ray v1.5 with a new expiry date.

Changes for Build 292010 are:
- Fixes metaCloud render in xStream
- Fixes bad Vue sun position in XSI when loading a Vue scene
- Fixes clamping of values in C4D, LW and MayaSoftware
- Fixes transparent objects and wrong shadows in MentalRay for Max
- Fixes a crash when exporting camera path on the mac
- Fixes a crash when loading an animated Vue scene with xStream
- Fixes a crash when exporting plants with maps enabled
- Improves rendering of boolean objects involving polygonal objects
- Fixes output connexions when adding function nodes via python commands
- Discards synchro data if active camera isn't the synchronized one when saving
- Fixes bad HyperVue renders over hybrid networks
- Fixes HyperVue multipass output when not all rendering layers are selected

Vue 6 xStream is available for Max 7 to 9 and costs $895. A demo version is available here.

I've only just noticed that greenworks organic software have uploaded a new alpha (Alpha 5) version of their XFrog plugin for Max. This one adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit).

You can download the Alpha version at the XFrog for Max forum.

Thanks to everyone who offered help replacing the 2 plugins I was missing. I've now got everything I needed, and the plugins are now being hosted here. Dave

Changes for v1.5.1 are:
- Adds an events tab to the Scene Settings dialog
- Adds a tutorial on using the new events feature

If anyone out there has got a copy of Marsel Khadiyevs' Scene Manager v1.0 for Max 4 and 5 (filename e_sm1_R5.zip), or his Schematic Material Editor for Max 5 (filename something like SME......_setup.exe), I would be very grateful if you could let me know. My copies have gone missing, Marsels site is dead, and I wanted to host them on my server...

Thanks in advance, Dave

Changes for v1.5 are:
- Adds a custom material system
- Adds a real time Ogre material viewer to display OgreMax materials
- Adds support for the Max 'render to texture' feature
- Adds a feature to copy textures to a directory for conversion during export
- Adds an OgreMax menu item to allow viewing of the Ogre log file
- Adds per-mesh settings for vertex colors, edge list and tangent generation
- Adds a setting for exporting meshes as points and lines
- Adds more settings for texture shadows
- Adds an Ogre tab in the Scene Settings dialog
- Adds a Light tab in the Object Settings dialog to enable the setting of a light's specular color
- Adds custom properties to the Object Settings General tab
- Adds automatic detection of Max Plane objects
- Adds additional logic to detect unused biped bones that need to be exported
- Adds a few messages that appear in the Max prompt area during export
- Modifies the Object Settings dialog to allow multiple selection
- Modifies the way mesh instances are detected
- Modifies sky dome, sky plane, and plane to have their own tiling settings
- The 'About' dialog now lists the Ogre version and plugins in use by OgreMax
- Skeleton animation export uses default sampling rate if none is specified and there are no keyframes
- The 'exportlogs' directory is no longer created when exporting the scene
- Fixes a bug in the Object Settings Entity tab where sample rate was not saved
- Fixes a bug when exporting vertex colors
- Fixes a couple of mesh animation export bugs related to unusual rigging situations
- Fixes a bug with normal generation that occasionally caused a crash
- Recompiled with Ogre 1.4.5

Changes for v3.5 include:
- New ABF algorithm for quicker and cleaner unwrapping of organic meshes
- Improved HUD functionality
- The Auto Save function is now configurable
- Adds adjustable navigation speed for graphics tablets
- Improved HTML documentation

BodyPaint 3D is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $895. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v5.0.46 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit only)

ADG Exporter is available for Max 4 to 9 and costs $199. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.4 are:
- Adds support for Max 2008
- Improved compatibility with Mental Ray
- Fixes a installation bug with Non-English versions of Max

The free version Forest Pack Lite has also been updated.

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 4 to 2008 and costs €250. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v0.9.4 pre2 are:
- Adds manual install for when the installer doesn't detect Max correctly
- Fixes a bug that crashed Max 9 when using the helpers
- Fixes too much memory being allocated for textures
- Adds two sided support for composite materials
- Fixes a small memory leak in the Options class
- Geodes, offset transforms and drawables are now exported with a name

Changes for v2.7.3 are:
- Updated to work with PhysX 2.7.3
- Adds support for Max 7 and 8

The latest new build of Brazil r/s v2, build 1375, is now available from the SplutterFish FishMarket Account (if you have upgraded to Brazil r/s v2). You can find a full list of enhancements and bugfixes here.

GuruWare are going to be releasing a Max plugin version of Thomas Luft's Ivy Generator soon. At the moment there is just a render showing the ivy, but it looks good, and judging by the other GuruWare plugins, this will be a great plugin.

Changes for v2008 include:
- Adds support for the Blend Material
- Adds support for fxo shaders and advanced HLSL shaders
- Adds a new video capture system (including .wmv)
- Adds Debug Tools and a Scene Optimizer
- Adds Nova Widgets
- Adds a graphic particles editor and a Lens Flares graphic editor
- Adds the Action Builder
- Adds import of Collada files directly into Nova Explorer

For a complete list of new stuff and changes, take a look at the product brochure.

Nova Ω is available for Max 6 to 2008 and costs €7000. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0.9 are:
- Adds scene export
- Adds export of node animations into seperate file
- Export of submeshes optimized
- Adds user-defined Binding Pose for skeleton animated meshes

Changes for v9.11 are:
- The folder tree no longer crashes the application when a subfolder contains a zip
- Fixes several folder tree problems
- Selecting several folders no longer opens the temporary windows folder
- Fixes a problem when browsing a folder containing files with a Unicode name
- The application no longer crashes due to a bad implementation of hash functions
- The catalogue now keeps the exclude file list when it contains only excluded files
- The index points bounds is now checked on import
- Rotation control, faces and points indexes are now displayed in OpenGL
- Generating a quad patch no longer crashes the application
- The DXF parser now handles planar coordinates (Polyline token)
- Fixes a crash when a DXF file contains a closed polyline
- Groups are no longer created as curves when reading a 3DS file
- 3DS files now work when a mesh has 10 characters or more
- Adds a minor correction to the AVI parser
- Stereo filter no longer crashes when selecting the same image for left and right eyes

3D Photo Browser for 3D Users is available for Max 4 to 9 and costs $69. A demo version is available here.

If you were a registered user of Th0r or Druid from Sisyphus Software, I would love to hear from you! I've recompiled Th0r and Druid for Max 8 and 9, but due to licensing restrictions I can only give this update to registered users. Just send me an email with your name and serial number, and I will send you a copy of the update.

I will only be able to send this out to people who are on the list of registered users, so if you never bought either of the plugins, don't bother sending me a mail asking for it.