MAX Plugins.de News Archive

Archived Plugin News  –  April 2011
 

Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v11.01 are:
- Wavefront reading performance has been improved
- Material names are now sorted alphabetically
- Object scale is now kept when reading and saving a 3DS file
- Updating the 3D Photo Browser thumbnails generates a refresh of the Explorer thumbnails
- Thumbnails computed for the Explorer are now cached for 3D Photo Browser
- Thumbnails now display in Windows XP Explorer
- Fixes missing toolbars in the Viewer and Polygon Cruncher under Windows XP
- Zip thumbnails are no longer recomputed each time a folder is opened
- Exporting information no longer crashes the application
- Faces are no longer incorrectly sorted when reading files
- Fixes a problem with illegal characters in Collada file names
- The rotate control in the Viewer is now correctly drawn
- 3D animation can now be played

3D Photo Browser for 3D Users is available for Max 6 to 2011 and costs $69. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Animation

Changes for v1.55 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Unfortunately, due to a few bugs in the built-in Physx plugin (MassFX), a few features such as Interactive Demolition are not available yet. NVIDIA have already fixed this bug in their latest development build, which will be available at a later date.

RayFire Tool is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $325. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Updates: Peter Watje recompiles for Max 2012

I've finished recompiling Max 2012 versions of most of the Peter Watje plugins, and I've done a couple of others that I had the source code for.

Peter Watje
- 3D Painter Prototype v1.02
- Blob Mod v1.2
- CAlpha v1.0
- Camera Map Animated v1.0
- Cellular 2D v1.0
- Chase Gravity v1.0
- Conform Modifier v1.0a
- CrossSection Object v1.3b
- Cylindrical Gravity v1.0
- Deflector+ v1.1
- GAlpha v1.0
- Hair v0.93
- Interpolate Spline v1.1
- Mesh to Spline v0.4b
- Noise 2D v1.1b
- Object Combustion v1.1
- Object Deform v1.0a
- Object Texture v1.01a
- Particle Combustion v1.61
- Particle Control v1.03 (v1.03 adds support for lockable tracks)
- Particle Displace v1.2
- Particle Gravity v1.0
- Particle Spline Object v1.01b
- Planar Gravity v1.0
- Radial Object Select v1.0
- Remove Dead UVs v1.0
- Reverse Spline v1.0
- See Buffer v1.0
- Spherical Gravity v1.0
- Spiral Gravity v1.0
- Texture Map Blender v1.02
- UVW Unwrap+ v1.2
- Vertex Combustion v1.1
- Wave 2D v1.0b
- Zoom Camera v1.0 alpha

Daniel Santana
- AdvanceNoise Material v1.2.9

Andrei Zmievski
- Area v1.0 (also for Max 2010 and 2011)

The missing Peter Watje plugins are BlobMesh2, Linked XForm+, Mask Modifier, Particle+ and Scatter. I need to do a bit more work on them to get them running in the new Nitrous viewport. If anyone out there has got something they want compiled AND they've got the source code, just mail me.

Don't forget, if any of nearly 200 plugins I've recompiled are useful to you in any way, maybe you could think about clicking on the Donate button on the left. It doesn't get used that much...

Edit: I've removed the link to Particle Blend, because it's part of the Particle+ package, and that's not finished yet.


New Plugin: Modelling

RappaTools3 is an advanced modeling toolset for Max that offers a wide range of tools for creating various types of subobject selections as well as a set of modeling tools which will make many tasks in everyday modelling a lot easier. It also has many other features such as 50%/25% Render, Quick Light/Cam select, Toggle maps display in viewport, Random Material/Wirecolor, Make multi material from textures in a folder, and much more.

RappaTools3 is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $15. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v3.17 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

RPC is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $249 for an annual license.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v4.4.14 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

PolyTrans-for-MAX is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $395. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)

RichDirt is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €79. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v4.52 are:
- The mirror tool now works correctly in all versions of Max
- Updates the installer to fix a problem with deinstallation

BonesPro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €299. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Modelling

Subdivision Reversion is a commercial MAXScript that will recreate the subdivision levels of an already subdivided mesh with 100% precision. Possible uses are reconstructing the first subdivision level of a purchased 3D model to unwrap or rig it, or retrieving the subdivisions of a mesh you had to collapse due to production pipeline restrictions.

Subdivision Reversion is available for Max 2011 to 2012 and costs $5.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.3 beta are:
- Adds a geometric shader for Mental Ray, allowing you to render massive railings and structures
- The shader converts objects on the fly to native render instances
- The geometry shader supports mrProxies
- Fixes an error in V-Ray if one object was used in several segments with different transformations

RailClone Pro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €150. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modifiers

Changes for Build 022411 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Modelling / Texturing

Changes for v4.2.6.0 are:
- Fixes an issue with Symmetry and objects with a non-zero 'Offset'
- Background colors are now properly saved and reloaded in the Project files
- Adds an option to set a solid background color
- Improved handling of texture map file names when exporting a CR2 file
- Automatic updates have been improved

Blacksmith3D Suite is available for Max 9 to 2011 and costs $299.95. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Objects

Changes for v0.94b are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v0.86 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


New Plugin: Import / Export

This is a commercial MAXScript that allows you to export camera and node animation as text files that can be imported into After Effects.

MaxToAE is available for Max 7 to 2011 and costs ¥1,500.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.3.9 are:
- Adds logic to ignore CAT bones
- Adds logic to ignore CAT 'platform' objects
- Adds logic to create a default 'Max Viewport/Render Material' when an OgreMax material is created
- Adds logic to ensure exported bone names are unique
- Modified the default handling of the OgreMax 'Viewport/Render Material' button
- Deselecting a class in the user data pages puts its corresponding XML into the user data text field

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


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.6 are:
- Fixes issues with the options dialogue
- Adds tool-tips to help explain features
- The exporter now uses the name of the mesh material if no diffuse texture is loaded
- Meshes flagged as un-renderable will export their node but not their mesh
- Adds 'Keyframe only' and 'Bookend' modes for specialised animation exports
- The MAXScript interface has been completely re-written


New Plugin: Animation

Domino Rigger is a scripted simulation-free interactive domino animation solution. The script rigs any amount of dominoes guided by selected splines, after which you can just use the slider on the master controller to make the domino animation instantly.

Main features include:
- Simple curve-based domino creation using both spline and nurbs curves
- The ability to adjust domino shape (box or chamferbox)
- Dominoes can be unique meshes or instances
- The script can place the dominoes over any custom ground
- Hierarchy option: according to the splines hierarchy, domino branches affect each other
- Allows seperate controllers for each spline or a single controller for all splines
- Easy animation and randomization controls after creation
- You can easily tweak the rotation of dominoes, and change collision and timing
- Various wire coloring tools

Domino Rigger is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $10.


New Plugin: Animation

Book Rigger is a scripted 'one click' Page Turn solution for Max, making it extremely easy to create complex and accurate page and book animations.

Main features include:
- Create and rig a whole book with any number of pages with just one click
- Interactive controls for page properties and turn-land-shuffle options
- The ability to shuffle pages and adjust overall speed using a multiplier
- The ability to assign single/double sided materials
- The ability to assign diffuse textures from animated sequences

Book Rigger is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $10.


New Plugin: Modelling

This is a collection of commercial MAXScripts for generating a variety of household items. It includes chairs, beds, bathroom fittings, kitchen appliances and general electrical items.

WB Plugins is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $15. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Texturing

RichDirt is a fast and easy way to enrich your renderings by adding simple and advanced dirt effects to give them a dramatically real look in full resolution. It allows you to age your 3D surfaces, giving them a stained look like dust or rain would affect the look of actual buildings.

RichDirt is available for Max 2011 to 2012 and costs €79. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Cannonfodder has recompiled his SMD Importer and Exporter plugins for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit).


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.12 are:
- Fixes incorrect render results when mirrored geometry is used as a pattern
- Fixes incorrect cropbox orientation in some geometry

VRayPattern is available for Max 2008 to 2011 and costs €150.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v1.7.2 are:
- Fixes a crash on GLX implementations that have no FBConfig support
- Fixes trouble with buffers on Mac OS X
- Fixes the shadow samplers in Cg shaders
- Fixes for relative mouse mode on OSX
- Pdeployed apps on Windows no longer show a console window
- Fixes relative file paths for license files in pdeploy
- Ppatcher no longer writes out faulty checksums
- Fixes plugin failure to read from cache
- Includes the missing X11 extension libs in runtime distribution
- Fixes disappearing windows with CEGUI's OpenGL renderer
- Fixes for makepanda on FreeBSD
- Fixes a LightRampAttrib crash
- Fixes a bug with two-parameter Lens::set_fov


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v2.5.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Maxwell Render is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €895. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.5.1 beta are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- The standalone renderers devices tab is now dockable
- Fixes a bug that showed the CL devices clock to be equal to the available memory size
- Fixes several problems with Catalyst 11.3
- Fixes a problem with Max 2011 in the installer


Plugin Update: Materials

Changes for v2.6.00 are:
- Adds support for Max 2011 and 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.1.2 beta are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Improved performance and reduced memory footprint for very large objects in V-Ray
- The use of render instances has been optimized
- Proxy file search now works properly on network render
- Proxies are aligned correctly when using Geometry->Flip

RailClone Pro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €150. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Updates: Itoo Software freeware plugins for Max 2012

Itoo Software have recompiled their three freeware plugins Glue, Clone and ColorEdge for Max 2012. You can grab them here.


New Plugin: Texturing

Bitmap2Material is a powerful filter that can help you generate seamlessly tiling materials from any bitmap image directly in Max.

Features include:
- Transform any photo into a seamless tiling material
- Generate multiple maps at once: diffuse, normal, specular, height, AO
- Fine tune all resulting maps
- Randomize the results to get infinite variations from a single source
- Cancel shadow and highlights from your original images

Allegorithmic are running a special offer for Max users on subscription, allowing you to save up to 50% on the purchase price. For more details, head over to this page.

Bitmap2Material is available for Max 2012 and costs $149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.0.3 are:
- The trial version can now render trails which were set up with the freeware Ky_Trail plugin

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 9 to 2011 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for Build 20110413 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Skeleton checking has been disabled


Plugin Updates: Recompiles from Last Jedi Outpost

Pavel Kuznetsov has started recompiling his freeware plugins for Max 2012. The following ones are already done:
- Ky_Trail v3.7.3
- Ky_MilkyWay v3.0.1
- Ky_SurfaceBlur v2.3


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 6 to 8

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


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.52 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Liquid+ is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs ¥46,200. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v3.02 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds new function to Pencil+ 3 Line: Mask Hidden Lines of Other Line Sets
- Enhancements to parts of the scripting functions
- Fixes a problem with display of effect names in the UI
- Fixes a problem with render elements sometimes not outputting correctly
- Fixes a problem with saving 'Normal Copy' parameters
- Fixes irregular behavior when the plugin is registered simultaneously on different types of products
- Fixes a freeze when an invalid material was assigned

Pencil+ is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs ¥52,500. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Updates: FumeFX and Afterburn for Max 2012

Sitni Sati d.o.o. has released Afterburn v4.0d and FumeFx v2.1c which both add support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit). The updates are available for download in the Afterworks members area.

FumeFX and Afterburn are available for Max 9 to 2012 and cost $845 (FumeFX) / $545 (Afterburn).


Site News: No updates this week...

I'm out of the office this coming week, so there will be hardly any updates. I'll be catching up on everything the week after.

Dave


Plugin News: Modelling / Animation

Exlevel have released a beta version of GrowFX (v1.6.0 beta) to licensed customers which has the following changes:
- Adds support for Max 2012 and Max Design 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds the ability to save / open model presets
- You can now scale the objects used in 'Instanced geometry'
- Fixes some minor bugs

This version of GrowFX is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $325. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

These versions replace the ones I recompiled for Max 2012, because they don't cause any problems on Japanese systems, and there are also 64-bit versions. Many thanks to the guys at Hallucino for recompiling them.


Plugin Updates: BlurBeta plugins for Max 2012

I've just uploaded the BlurBeta plugins recompiled for Max 2012. I haven't had very much time to test them, so if you notice anything wrong, please let me know. You can grab the zip file with all of the plugins here.

I'm away from the office for the next week, and when I get back I'll start on the Peter Watje plugins.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v3.5.6.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

This version of Ghost Trails is available for Max 2009 to 2011 and costs $100. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modifiers

Changes for v9.1 are:
- Fixes a crash bug when cloning the modifier


Plugin Updates: Next batch of recompiles for Max 2012

Here are the next load of recompiled plugins for Max 2012. Next up are the BlurBeta plugins, but I'm not going to be able to do any work on them next week, so it may be the week after that before they're finished.

Fabio Policarpo
- Relief Mapping v1.8

Mark Williams
- Color Replace v1.1
- Disperse/Refract v1.0
- Graph v0.9
- Mosaic v1.0
- Pen v1.1
- Scratch v1.2

sio29
- Metasequoia Exporter v1.04
- Metasequoia Import v1.12

HABWare
- 3:2 Pulldown v9.0
- ACI to MAT v9.0
- Billboard v9.1
- Carrera v9.1 (v9.1 fixes a crash bug when cloning the modifier)
- ColorTab v9.0
- DEM to MAX v9.0
- Exclude v9.0
- HMesher v9.1
- HSpline v9.1
- IBitmap v9.0
- Interlace v9.0
- Genesis3D KEY Exporter v2.0
- MLI to MAX v9.0
- Moebius v9.0
- Genesis3D NFO Exporter v2.0
- Panorama v9.1
- Patchwork v9.0
- Particle Texture v9.0
- Roller v9.1
- SGI Logo v9.0
- SnapShot v9.0
- Spider v9.0
- Sticks v9.0
- Terrain2 v9.0
- ToyTrain v9.0
- Water2 v9.0
- XIdMary v9.0


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v5.2.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.3.8 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds 'up' and 'down' buttons for the texture unit frames list
- Double-clicking an item in the texture unit's animated frames list now displays the 'replace' dialog
- Adds support for exporting the material names of manual LODs
- Adds an 'Export Mesh' checkbox on Entity page
- Modified the display of file names in the texture unit frames list
- Fixes a bug with texture unit's animated duration not working in the real-time viewports
- Fixes a bug with parented camera and light rotations being incorrect

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


Plugin Update: Modifiers

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Updates: Di-O-Matic plugins for Max 2012

Di-O-Matic have announced that all of their commercial plugins are now available in Max 2012 versions for registered users with an active VIP or Premium+ support package. The official release of all Di-O-Matic updates will happen in early May 2011.

All of the details can be found here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.5.0.3 are:
- Adds 14 new Wood materials
- Minor bug fixes

V-Ray Material Presets Pro is available for Max 2009 to 2011 and costs €75.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.2.8.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

MaxDotNet is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $675. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2012.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- FBX Help Documentation changes
- Improved import/export performance
- Morpher targets
- Vector Displacement Maps support
- Visibility inheritance behavior enhancements
- Lines/Splines support
- New Triangulate export option
- Auto-key type support
- Mudbox layered texture blend mode support
- Importer File/System FPS statistics
- Global Ambient light setting
- Materials custom attributes support
- Substance materials export support
- Nested layered textures support
- COLLADA (.dae) support improvements


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.13 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Unwrella is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €149. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.11 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

UV-Packer is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs &79. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.61 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Improved network rendering in combination with MAXScript
- Fixes path issues with Network rendering
- Fixes Flatiron keeping control of the netrender manager

Flatiron is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €299. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v4.51 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Fixes incorrect MetaBone display in the Track View editor
- Fixes an occasional slowdown in Max with realtime MetaBones enabled

BonesPro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €299. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v1.2.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Fixes a crash bug when using Random by Instance in the Material Editor

Ky_Color Variator is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €29. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Updates: First recompiles for Max 2012

I've started recompiling Max 2012 versions of all of the plugins I've got source code for, and this is the first batch that I have finished testing.

Autodesk, Inc.
- Bake Radiosity v1.0
- Physique2Skin Utility v1.0
- mr Geometry Shader Object v1.0

J. Antonio Amblés
- LightMesh v0.9

John Burnett
- BindPoints v3.31.2011
- ForceViewer v3.31.2011
- InfoTexture v3.31.2011
- NullHelper v3.31.2011
- UVW to RGB v3.31.2011
- Warp Texture v3.31.2011

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

Lesha VH
- Color Picker v2.01

Martin Collberg
- max2ms3d v1.12

Martin Enthed / Creative Tools AB
- Ego v1.14

Mike Biddlecombe
- HiddenDOSCommand v1.0

Sisyphus Software
- Grass-O-Matic v1.2
- MaxTrax v2.2
- Proteus v1.1
- Special Purpose Particles v1.4

Stan Melax
- PolyChop v2.0.0.02

Kees Rijnen
- Delete Protection v1.0

Martin Ridgers
- 3 Point Rectangle v1.0

Last Pixel Pty Ltd.
- Autogamma v1.0

pmG Worldwide, LLC. / David Baker
- messiahMAX Connection v5.0

David Baker
- SolidColor2 v1.2
- ctrl_Colors for Max v1.1
- CoolPicker v2.3.2
- Motion2 v1.0

The next lot should be coming later on this week, and will be all of the HABWare plugins plus a few others.

I've updated the links to some of the plugins, because I got them wrong... If you had trouble downloading anything, then try again, because they should all work now.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v11.0 are:
- Adds a search feature for finding similar images or duplicated files
- Windows File Explorer now displays 3D Photo Browser thumbnails
- Improved preferences dialog for file association with the application
- Adds Windows 7 task bar shortcut support for a direct access to most popular folders
- Twain feature has been improved
- The fast access window (Tab key) is now more readable
- Adds Sketchup file support (read only)
- Adds XSI Softimage file support through Crosswalk 2011.5 (read / write)
- Adds a select tool for getting information on the selected object
- Adds a new Zoom Selection feature
- Transparency is now fully supported as well as color modulation
- Improved preferences for supporting OpenGl extensions
- Lightwave import has been optimized
- Wavefront I/O now supports material transparency
- Maya and Max exchange plugins now require less memory and allow exchange of bigger files
- The Material dialog now lets you edit ambient, diffuse, transparency, specular and smooth factors
- Face and point indices are now displayed with a shaded color
- Memory optimization and memory bottle neck suppression in Polygon Cruncher
- The multiresolution mesh generation step in Polygon Cruncher is now faster
- Adds liquid rescale feature for images
- Adds EXR HDR image file support
- Adds support for the latest raw format (thanks Dave Coffin!)
- Adds SVG file support
- And much much more... a full list of changes can be found here

3D Photo Browser for 3D Users is available for Max 6 to 2011 and costs $69. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.8.0.16503 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 / Max Design 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Switched to new schematic view skin (WIP)
- Fixes a problem with refreshing layers after merging another scene
- Fixes view shading modes not capturing/switching when in Nitrous mode
- Fixes 'pick camera' dialog appearing when switching to a state set with viewport camera change
- Numerous internal changes and optimizations

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $249. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for SP3 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 and Max Design 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds a new render element: 'fR Atmospheric'
- Adds a new include/exclude feature for atmospherics in 'fR Complete'
- Visibility tracks in finalToon have been stabilized
- Fixes possible issues with the ambient occlusion render element
- Fixes a problem with pyroCluster
- ParticleLight can now update Gradient
- Fixes an issue with the ocean material Foam Map
- The random resetting of the Foam Map filename has been addressed

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


Site News: Max 2012 compatibility...

As you've probably all noticed, Max 2012 has been released to subscription customers, which means there will be a flood of recompiled plugins over the next month or so.

I'll add the Max 2012 page over the weekend, and I'll start releasing 2012 versions of the plugins that I've got the code for soon. Around 70 of them are already done, I just need to test them a bit more. Updating them this time isn't as easy as it normally is, because of the massive changes to the viewports, but I'll try and get through them as quick as I can.

Just so you know, the ones I haven't done yet are the BlurBeta plugins, and all of the stuff from Peter Watje. If you really desperately need one of those before I've got around to doing it, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Oh yeah, don't forget that there is a Donate button on the left side of this page :o) Regular clicks on that help to motivate me to get the recompiles done!


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.5.0.2 are:
- Adds 80 new Gemstone materials

V-Ray Material Presets Pro is available for Max 2009 to 2011 and costs €75.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.1 are:
- Adds support for video/audio objects which permit media file playback
- Adds support for management of an audio playlist which will play in background
- Adds support for customizable 3D object interactions during the AR Visualization
- More animations types can now be displayed, such as rigging and morphing
- You can now save and load custom configurations

AR-media Plugin & Exporter is available for Max 2008 to 2011 and costs €249. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Bitmap I/O

Changes for v1.2.4 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- Adds support for scattering trail particles from immovable emitters

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 9 to 2011 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v3.5.0 beta are:
- Adds full 3D scattering using UV surface coordinates
- New Forest Color texture map for adding color variation to Forest items
- Point-cloud performance has been greatly improved
- The Library Browser now supports 3D objects
- Random Tint with Gradient now uses the right colours in Mental Ray
- The 'Freeze All' parameter is now handled in a different way
- Display->Hide Custom is now off by default (unless Mental Ray is the active renderer)
- Adds 'Hidden items' to Forest Stats (Custom Edit mode only)
- Random Tint has been enabled in Forest Lite (including the new Forest Color map)
- The Surface List can now be edited from MAXScript
- Improved V-Ray proxy file search in network render
- Distribution Maps using ColorCorrect are now updated properly

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 7 to 2011 and costs €180 for a one year subscription license. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: New Stripes alpha version

Mankua have released a new alpha version of their upcoming Stripes plugin, which is being developed to add Ptex support to Max.

New features in Stripes are:
- You can now load and save painting projects
- Adds 'Load Ptex to layer' and 'Save layer to Ptex'
- You can now save merged layers to Ptex
- Adds paintable options for layers and objects
- Adds a Flip X option for stencil

New Features in Ptex Tools for Max
- Increase and Decrease size of Ptex file in Create Ptex file window
- Adds mental ray support in Max

If you are interested in becoming a beta-tester, then head over to this page and download the alpha version.

The commercial release of Stripes is planned for the second quarter of 2011.


Plugin Update: Post FX

Changes for v1.0.1 are:
- Fixes a small bug with the distribution of trail particles

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 9 to 2011 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

This update fixes a bug in the trial version that made Anima stop running on March 31st 2011. This will soon be added to the official package, but until then you can download the patch here.

Anima is available for Max 2008 to 2011 and costs $339. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Post FX

This plugin is designed for rendering images of trails / traces behind moving objects in 3D-space (e.g. jet exhausts, tracer shots, etc.) Based on his popular freeware Trail plugin, Pavel Kuznetsov has completely reworked the plugin for this first commercial version.

New features and improvements include:
- The rendering algorithm has been completely reworked
- Adds multi-threading support for rendering trails
- Significant performance increases when using particle systems as emitters
- Adds a new type of emitter - Vertex Emitter
- Adds advanced control of trail time
- The life of the trail particles can be influenced by emitter properties
- Adds new types of particles
- Adds the ability to control trail particle parameters according to time
- The size of the trail particles can now be influenced by emitter properties
- Adds a new model for describing the color of the trail particles
- The color of the trail particles can now be overridden by emitter properties
- The intensity of the trail particles can now be influenced by emitter properties
- Improved scatter control of trail particles
- Adds parameters to control trail warping
- Adds inertia settings for trail particles
- Adds a new blending mode
- Adds support for RGBA 32-bit floating-point framebuffer

Ky_Trail Pro is available for Max 9 to 2011 and costs €89. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v11.1.4 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012/Max Design 2012
- Adds support for Maya 2012
- Adds support for Softimage 2012
- Adds support for Japanese Windows 7

Craft Director Studio is available for Max 6 to 2012 and prices range from $99 to $1199. A demo version is available here.