Autodesk 3ds Max

Autodesk 3ds Max
	File:Max9interface.JPG Version 9 interface
Developer(s)	Autodesk Inc.
Stable release	9.0 / August 2006
Operating system	Windows (2000, XP or Vista)
Type	3D computer graphics
License	Proprietary
Website	www.autodesk.com/3dsmax

3ds Max is a full-featured 3D graphics application developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It runs on the Win32 and Win64 platforms. As of August 2006, 3ds Max is in its ninth version.

The original 3D Studio product was created for the DOS platform by the Yost Group and published by Autodesk. Autodesk purchased the product at its second release mark and internalized development entirely over the next two releases. After 3D Studio Release 4, the product was ported to the Windows NT platform, and originally named "3D Studio MAX." This version was also originally created by the Yost Group. It was released by Kinetix, which was at that time Autodesk's division of media and entertainment. Later, the product name was changed to "3ds max" (all lower case) to better comply with the naming conventions of Discreet, a Montreal-based software company which Autodesk had purchased. At release 8, the product was again branded with the Autodesk logo, and the name was again changed to "3ds Max" (upper and lower case).

Overview

3ds Max is one of the most widely-used off the shelf 3D animation programs by content creation professionals. It has strong modeling capabilities, a flexible plugin architecture and a long heritage on the Microsoft Windows platform. It is mostly used by video game developers, TV commercial studios and architectural visualisation studios. It is also used for movie effects and movie previsualisation.

In addition to its modeling and animation tools, the latest version of 3ds Max also features advanced shaders (such as ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering), dynamic simulation, particle systems, radiosity, normal map creation and rendering, global illumination, an intuitive and fully-customizable user interface, its own scripting language and much more. There is also a plethora of specialized renderer plugins that can be bought separately, such as V-Ray, Brazil r/s , Maxwell, FryRender and finalRender.

Modeling

Polygon modeling: Polygon modeling is more common with game design than any other modeling technique as the very specific control over individual polygons allows for extreme optimization. Also, it is relatively faster to calculate in realtime. Usually, the modeller begins with one of the 3ds max primitives, and using such tools as bevel, extrude, and polygon cut, adds detail to and refines the model. Versions 4 and up feature the Editable Polygon object, which simplifies most mesh editing operations, and provides subdivision smoothing at customizable levels.

Version 7 introduced the edit poly modifier, which allows the use of the tools available in the editable polygon object to be used higher in the modifier stack (i.e. on top of other modifications).

3ds Max is also supported by advanced 3rd party modeling tools, such as Orionflame, which allows for more freedom and ease by introducing new tools to the base package.

NURBS or Nonuniform rational B-Spline: A more advanced alternative to polygons, it gives a smoothed out surface that eliminates the straight edges of a polygon model. NURBS is a mathematically exact representation of freeform surfaces like those used for car bodies and ship hulls, which can be exactly reproduced at any resolution whenever technically needed.

Surface tool/Editable patch object: Surface tool was originally a 3rd party plugin, but Kinetix acquired and included this feature since version 3.0. The surface tool is for creating common 3ds max's splines, and then applying a modifier called "surface." This modifier makes a surface from every 3 or 4 vertices in a grid. This is often seen as an alternative to 'Mesh' or 'Nurbs' modeling, as it enables a user to interpolate curved sections with straight geometry (for example a hole through a box shape). Although the surface tool is a useful way to generate parametrically accurate geometry, it lacks the 'surface properties' found in the similar Edit Patch modifier, which enables a user to maintain the original parametric geometry whilst being able to adjust "smoothing groups" between faces.

Modeling with predefined primitives

This is a basic method, in which one models something using only boxes, spheres, cones, cylinders and other predefined objects from the list of Predefined Standard Primitives or a list of Predefined Extended Primitives. One may also apply boolean operations, including subtract, cut and connect. For example, one can make two spheres which will work as blobs that will connect with each other. This is called blob-mesh modeling, or metaballs.

Predefined Standard Primitives List

Predefined Extended Primitives List

Dynamics

3ds Max has traditionally come with several basic particle emitters. As of version 8, there are 6 basic particle emitters (not including Particle Flow) exhibiting specific behaviors. The traditional particle emitters are:

Spray
Snow
Blizzard
PArray
PCloud
Super Spray

Particle Flow is a sophisticated non-linear, event-driven particle system developed by Oleg Bayborodin as one of MAX's seven particle emitters. Unlike most particle systems available in today's 3D packages, Particle Flow allows the user to design the behavior of a particle based on a series of user-defined Events (Procedures) in a streamlined and intuitive GUI.

3ds Max includes a physics engine, called reactor, originally created by Havok. Reactor can simulate rigid bodies, soft bodies, cloth, gravity, and other forces. Like many physics engines, reactor uses a simplified convex hull, but can be customized to use all vertices, at a cost in processing time.

Rendering

Scanline rendering: The default rendering method in 3DS Max is scanline rendering. Several advanced features have been added to the scanliner over the years, such as global illumination, radiosity, and ray tracing.
mental ray: mental ray is a production quality renderer developed by Mental Images. mental ray is integrated into the later versions of MAX, and is a powerful rendering tool, with bucket rendering (similar to Maya’s Satellite Rendering), a technique that distributes the rendering burden between several computers efficiently. The 3ds Max version of mental ray also comes with a set of tools that allow a myriad of effects to be created with relative ease.
RenderMan: A third party connection tool to RenderMan pipelines is also available for those that need to integrate Max into Renderman render farms.

Features

MAXScript: MAXScript is a built-in scripting language, and is used for a myriad of functions in MAX. Plugin modules can be created entirely in MAXscript.
Character Studio: Character Studio was a plugin which since version 4 of Max is now integrated in 3D Studio Max helping user to animate virtual characters. The system works using a character rig or "Biped" which is pre-made and allows the user to adjust the rig to fit the character they will be animating. Dedicated curve editors and motion capture data import tools make Character Studio ideal for character animation. "Biped" objects have other useful features that automated the production of walk cycles and movement paths, as well as secondary motion.

Licensing

Earlier versions required a special copy prevention device (a dongle) to be plugged into the parallel port while the program was run, but later a software copy prevention method was implemented instead. Registration involving personal information such as name, address and e-mail address is now required.

External links