Autodesk have released Service Pack 1 for Max 9 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). It includes a number of fixes across several functional areas, including Animation, Backburner, Batch Rendering, Biped, Editable Poly, Editable Mesh, Hair, Materials, Maxscript, mental ray, Reactor, Render to Texture, SDK and UV Unwrap.

Halcyon is a real-time viewer for Max. It is primarily designed for architects and visualizers to allow them to fly through their 3D models with baked global illumination in real-time.

Unlike traditional real-time viewers, where you have to learn an editor, the scene is set up entirely in Max. This allows you to make changes to your models without having to jump between Max and another editor, giving you speed and flexibilty to make any changes as required. Exporting is done through ASCII format, so it will work with any past, current and future version of Max.

Halcyon is available for Max 1 to 9 and costs $300. A demo version is available here.

Tentacles is a flash-based plugin that provides a new level of interactivity between Turbo Squid and Max. Tentacles gives you the ability to browse, compare, purchase and import 3D models and textures within Max.

Changes for v2.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- New AQMC GI engine
- New acceleration engine (MSP) (up to 50% faster)
- Adds fR-Physical Sky
- fR-Skin from finalShaders is now part of the core package
- New fR-Architecture material (emulates the standard 3ds max Arch&Design material)
- New fR-Light material for true area lights
- Adds fR-Ambient Occlusion, a highly optimized ambient occlusion map
- Adds a new MTD Modifier tool
- Enhanced rectangular lights
- More support for render elements
- New Render UI
- Enhancements and additions have been made to the finalRender materials
- Enhanced geometric sampler
- New details detection algorithm for faster GI
- fR-Wax from finalShaders is now part of the core package
- New fR-Fillet material for adding rounded and soft corners on sharp edges
- Adds full support for the velocity channel
- Adds fR Block Bit Map format importer/exporter

finalRender Stage-1 is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $995. Updates from Stage-1 v1.0 cost $395. Until April 30th, 2007, any full purchase of finalRender Stage-1 v2.0 will get a 12 CPU license of finalShaders 2.0 for free, and any upgrade will get a 6 CPU license of finalShaders for free.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Minor changes and a new recompile to stop a nasty crash bug

Changes for v2.52 are:
- Too many to list. Take a look at the CAT Wiki for all the changes

CAT is available for Max 7 to 9 and costs $995. A demo version is available here.

I only just posted the last update for Brazil r/s v2 yesterday, and found that I had also missed the next update to build 1177, which is now available from the SplutterFish FishMarket Account (if you have upgraded to Brazil r/s v2). You can find a full list of changes here.

Changes for v1.05 are:
- Faster polygon reduction
- Faster T-Junction removal
- New features such as Normal Calculation
- Bug fixes

Simplygon Max is available for Max 8 and 9, and costs $999. A demo version is available here.

This plugin lets you export Unreal Engine vertex animations. There are other utilities for doing this but their workflow is either unacceptable or unreliable. This plugin simplifies the exporting procedure.

Craft DigitizerCam uses a digitizer arm (from Immersion) to control the camera movements directly in the viewport. DigitizerCam can be aimed and moved in all directions with high precision. It can also be linked to other objects making the camera move relative to either a stationary or a moving object.

DigitizerCam can be used in combination with other Craft Director Tools. An example would be to attach a Craft HumanizerCam so that the recording is made to look like it comes from a hand-held camera.

Craft DigitizerCam is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $495. A demo version is available here.

I just noticed that the first new build (build 1169) of Brazil r/s v2 since the first pre-release build 1145 is now available from the SplutterFish FishMarket Account (only if you have upgraded to Brazil r/s v2). There's a load of enhancements and a few bug-fixes. For a full list of changes, take a look here.

Changes for v2.7.0.17 are:
- Too many to list here, take a look at the ChangeLog

Granny Exporter is available for Max 5 to 9, and is part of the Granny Toolkit which costs $12500.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, just recompiled for 64-bit Max 9

Changes for v5.09 are:
- Adds support for Max 9
- All other chnages 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 €4000.

Changes for v1.0.3 are:
- Adds pose (blended vertex) animation for both export and viewing
- Fixes several bugs

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, just a recompile for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.3.3 are:
- Minor bug-fixes

Switcher is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $49.99. A demo version is available here.

Kyle, if you read this can you send me a mail with a different email address I can reach you at. All of the mails I send you come bouncing back... Dave

GeoUV is a plugin used to produce a mapping from a 3D surface to a 2D plane. Traditionally the process was done by hand. Each polygon of the 3D mesh was chosen and placed, one by one, onto the UV plane. When meshes consisted of only tens of faces, this process was feasible but time consuming. Now, as meshes with thousands of faces are becoming commonplace, the traditional methods are inadequate. GeoUV can automate the mapping process, even on meshes with complex geometries, with only a little guidance from the user. GeoUV's methods are founded in new mathematical research that keeps the angles on the 3D surface and the 2D plane consistent with each other.

Geo UV is available for Max 9 (32-bit only) and costs $119. A demo version is available here.

I've recompiled the last few Peter Watje plugins for Max 9:
- Object Deform v1.0a
- 3D Painter Prototype v1.02
- Conform Modifier v1.0a

If anyone has got source code for plugins they want recompiled, let me know, maybe I can do it for you.

Changes for v1.4 are:
- V-Ray 1.5 support including VRayLight, VRayPhysicalCam, VRaySun/VRaySky, VRayMtl and more
- Adds depth of field pre-visualization
- Adds vertex color support
- Full support for ATI and nVidia cards
- Improved rendering performance

Redviewer is available for Max 7 and 8, and costs €190. A demo version is available here.

Power SolidWorksToMax reads native SolidWorks files and creates a next generation nPower parametric NURBS surface Solid within Max. There is no need to convert into an imprecise polygonal representation. That extra step takes time and reduces your data accuracy.

As Power SolidWorksToMax models are NURBS based they can be re-tessellated on fly to a specified user defined tolerance producing an extremely high quality image with very smooth edges that do not have polygonal artifacts.

Power SolidWorksToMax is available for Max 7 to 9 and costs $1495. A demo version is available here.

I've recompiled a few more plugins for Max 9 (32-bit only)...

From Peter Watje:
- Object Texture v1.01a
- Particle Displace v1.2
- Particle Paint v1.1
- Particle Spline Object v1.01b
- Radial Object Select v1.0
- Reverse Spline v1.0
- UVW Unwrap+ v1.2

From Habware:
- Genesis3D KEY Exporter v2.0
- Genesis3D NFO Exporter v2.0

From Aranda Morrison:
- ExtendXRefScene v1.0

From Jonathan Garcia:
- Delete Visibility Track v1.0
- Get Bitmap Info v1.0

From Martin Collberg:
- max2ms3d v1.12

From Stan Melax:
- PolyChop v2.0.0.02

Changes for v3.0 are:
- A number of bug-fixes
- Support for Max 9 (as it's a script I presume it works in 64-bit Max as well)

BIGRender is available for Max 3 to 9 and costs €30. A demo version is available here.

Dieter Morgenroth has released a V-Ray plugin for Max called Multimatte Renderelement v1.1. It generates an alpha matte based on Object or Mat ID's and puts it in the RGB channels of the render element. It allows you to render an infinite amount of antialiased alpha mattes with a single renderpass, including dof and motion blur. It will be included in future releases of V-Ray.

This plugin will only work with V-Ray v1.5 and must be put in the vrayplugins folder, not the Max plugins folder.

Changes for v2.0 are:
- Adds flesh simulation tools (jiggle)
- Adds tentacle dynamics
- Adds breakable constraints
- Adds sticky constraints
- Adds simple soft body and rigid body physics
- Adds basic cloth
- Adds the following forces: constraints, wind and normal
- Adds new shape objects: box, tetrahedron (for tentacle dynamics and collision)
- Adds muscle bulge shaping parameters
- Adds maximum deformation parameter (prevents extreme deformations)
- Optimized performance (relax)
- Adds isolation tools (for working on small areas or individual muscles of the mesh)
- Fixes the 'New' button causing a (non-fatal) error message to pop up

Skin FX is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $189. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.01 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Thanks to Lesha for letting me have the source code :o)

Changes for v0.4b are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.5b are:
- No changes, just adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Point Oven is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $99. A demo version is available here.

Craft AutoFocusCam gives you the ability to create and control focus effects in real time. Animators can now shift focus between two points in real time, either gradually or suddenly, and it doesn't matter whether the two points are in motion - this creates the perfect solution for real time cinematics.

Craft AutoFocusCam is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $99. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.17 are:
- Adds a build for gmax 1.2
- Fixes a crash when Material on Walkmesh is not specified
- Adds cropping on BitmapTextures
- Inverts FlipUV settings

Changes for v1.06 are:
- Canceling 'Pick Morph Target' no longer results in a scripted error popping up

Changes for v0.931 are:
- Minor changes to sourcecode package

Changes for v7.2 are:
- New Tools > Merge points command in Polygon Cruncher viewer
- New Command File > Open command to import any supported file format in the viewer
- New merge points option in Polygon Cruncher batch dialog
- New Import scene command in the Max Polygon Cruncher panel
- Adds STL file format support (ASCII and binary)
- Adds support for Maya files
- Improved display performance
- Fixes text translation for product activation / deactivation
- Export options are now taken into account when using batches

Polygon Cruncher is available for Max 4 to 9 and costs $129. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v5.4 are:
- Designed for complete compatibility with Max 9
- Improved speed and accuracy of hidden line calculations
- Object visibility affects the opacity of the rendered object and its lines
- Export and import of Illustrate Artistic Libraries now functions correctly
- Fixes a bug when cloning Styles
- Resolves an issue where users don't need administration privileges to authorize the plugin
- Resolves several outstanding issues

I'm not sure if this version also comes for 64-bit Max 9, I'll try and find out.

This version of Illustrate! is available for Max 9 and costs $395. A demo version is available here.

Here's another 5 recompiled plugins for Max 9 (32-bit only):
- Interpolate Spline v1.1
- Linked XForm+ v0.5
- Texture Map Blender v1.02
- Mask Modifier v1.2b
- Remove Dead UVs v1.0

I've recompiled a load more Peter Watje plugins for Max 9 (32-bit only):
- Hair v0.93
- Particle+ v2.01
- Particle Material v1.2
- Particle Blend Material v1.1
- Particle Gravity v1.0
- Cylindrical Gravity v1.0
- Planar Gravity v1.0
- Spherical Gravity v1.0
- Spiral Gravity v1.0
- Cellular 2D v1.0
- Noise 2D v1.1b
- Wave 2D v1.0b

Next Limit have finally released the Max 9 plugin (32-bit only) for RealFlow4. It is available to registered users at the RealFlow site.

RealFlow is available for Max 7 to 9 and costs $2700. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.3b are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.1 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.1 / v1.61 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.0a are:
- Recompiled for Max 9 (32-bit only)
- The original BlobMesh and this one can now be loaded at the same time

Changes for v1.63 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugin for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, I just recompiled the plugins for Max 9 (32-bit only)

Changes for v0.4b are:
- Adds Torus Knot to the extended object list

Changes for v1.05 are:
- Fixes 2 bugs in the UI update code

Autodesk have released 2 hot-fixes for 32-bit Max 9. Hot Fix 1 replaces the missing Shockwave Exporter, and Hot Fix 2 fixes the DX Material only using UV channel 1.

Changes for v3.9072 are:
- Fixes a bug with visibility sets introduced in the last update

This version of RPManager is available for Max 9 and costs $300. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit only)
- Plugs some minor memory leaks

This version of the plugin only works in Max 9. If you are using an older version of Max, you need to carry on using v1.1.

Rational Reducer is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $845. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.8 are:
- Now exports F3D version 2.6
- Multi-material fixes (needs luxinia >= 0.96)

Changes for v1.8 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds support for the Architectural Material
- Skeletons can be exported with no animations defined in the animation list
- Adds support for user/custom bone handle IDs when using Biped/Phy animation modifier
- Bones are created in a 'sort by name' mode if no custom handle IDs are specified
- Terrain (Octree) Scene Manager enabled
- New Scene Manager World Geometry support
- Clear World Geometry button added to the 'Scene' panel
- New World Geometry loaded doesnt clear the current scene objects
- Show Helpers option enabled
- Show Helpers debug size can be defined in the 'Viewport' panel
- Shader parameter editor supports system localization
- A number of bug-fixes (full list here)

Changes for v1.04 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Orbaz Technologies, Inc. have released the Box#3 SDK (Software Development Kit) for those who want to go beyond the current capabilities of Box#3 Pro. It enables you to not only modify the existing sub-operators, but also to write your own.

Features include:
- Access to the complete source code of the PFTools sub-operators
- A sample sub-operator project for use as a starting point for developing your own sub-operators
- Includes solution settings for VS 2002 (for Max 6 to 8) and 2005 (for Max 9 32-bit and 64-bit)
- Access to the private 'PFTools SDK' section of the Orbaz forum

The SDK is sold as a one-year subscription for $300. The subscription also includes one unit of SDK Support - an hour of phone/Skype consulting or two hours of e-mail/forum consulting (or any mix of phone and Internet) with a 72-hour response time. If necessary, you can buy additional units of SDK Support for $100.

Changes for v2.7.0.16 are:
- Adds support for the Max 'Normal Bump' material
- Physique bindings in Max no longer report the same bone multiple times

Granny Exporter is available for Max 5 to 9, and is part of the Granny Toolkit which costs $12500.

Changes for v3.9071 are:
- Xref support fixes
- Some .NET fixes
- Fixes a small UI bug when clearing a visibility set assignment
- Visibility set restoration no longer stops you redefining the current set by what is currently visible

RPManager is available for Max 9 and costs $300. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.5918 are:
- Xref support fixes

RPManager is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $300. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.04 are:
- I've got no idea, but I'll post it here when I find out

Changes for v1.02 are:
- Adds 'Include MorphX' option when choosing to add a new Morph

Changes for v1.33 are:
- Fixes a small UI update issue

Skin FX is available for Max 6 to 9 and costs $189. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- No changes, just a recompile for Max 9 (32-bit only)

David Gould has uploaded the Release Candidate 1 of the beta for Illustrate! v5.4 for Max 9. Registered beta testers can download it from the beta page.

SplutterFish have announced pre-release availability of Brazil r/s V2, the successor to their high-end 3D rendering package. The pre-release version is a feature complete, production tested, late stage beta, and is available for purchase now.

New features include:
- Overall rendering speed improvements
- Rendertime displacement
- 3D motion blur
- Irradiance render cache
- Light portals
- New advanced feature texture maps
- New implicit (CSG) objects
- Texture / light baking

SplutterFish have also introduced a new pricing structure for Brazil r/s, with Basic Edition starting at $795 and the Professional Edition starting at $995.