MAX Plugins.de News Archive

Archived Plugin News  –  November 2013
 

Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.7 are:
- Adds a new script 'Smart Sub-Object Selection' (includes Smart Loop Selection and Smart Ring Selection)

miauu's Script Pack Volume 2 is available for Max 9 to 2014 and costs €17.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.2.3 are:
- 'Delete Empty Folders' option has been added to right click menu
- Adds the ability to change layer properties on multiple selected layers
- Adds a right click option to save out folder info into layer name
- 'Select Objects within Highlighted Selection' button enhanced to also select highlighted objects
- Question marks changed to mouse select icons to make more sense
- V-Ray framebuffer / Max Help Window no longer obtain incorrect focus orders
- Layer color changed in default layer manager/layer properties now updates in NLM
- Adding % or \ to a folder name is no longer allowed in the UI and API
- A layer with no name can no longer be created through the API
- Dragging multiple folders of the same name to the same parent now correctly renames them
- Creating objects in an expanded layer now shows up in NLM straight away

Nested Layer Manager is available for Max 2009 to 2014 and costs €12. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.0.7 are:
- New iToo Forest Pack 4.1.3 (or higher) option available upon installation
- Convex hull can now be selected for rendering
- Fixes the player always using the default model when network rendering
- Improved asset management to include additional files referenced by the master lbw file
- Laubwerk Browser can now scale thumbnails and has a search option
- Adds a simple installation mode to simplify
- Fixes skeleton models completely disappearing at a certain distance

Laubwerk Plants Kit 2 is also available now with the same fixes.

Laubwerk Plants Kit 1 and 2 are available for Max 2010 to 2014 and cost €149 each. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.0.3.0 are:
- Matrix3 now contains methods for creating rotation transforms
- The Xform3 constructor taking rotations now assigns them
- Box2 fields can now be modified
- Rectangle2 now uses Position instead of Corner to specify translation
- Adds Rectangle2.Contains( Vector2 )
- Frame_FormClosed now calls SetFocus on the owner handle to bring the owner back into focus
- If Lab window is outside of current screen space on load it is brought back
- Class wrapper outputs now always produce unique names
- Source files can only have .cs extension for now
- Node.GetOutput now allows null/empty name to be passed
- Numerous fixes for dealing with XML and binary template IO

Lab is available for Max 2009 to 2014 and costs $250.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.6 are:
- Adds icons for all of the scripts
Attach&Link:
- Adds support for Spline objects - Lines and Editable Splines
- Point and Selected object can be attached to the snapped knot using the SNAP button
- Can now be Mass Attached to the selected knots
- Rotation Alignment Type OFF lets objects/points Z axis be aligned to the snapped Edge normal
Easy Peel:
- Adds hotkeys to mark, unmark and select edges, unwrap with Pack On, unwrap with Pack Off
- Adds options for Pack UV's
- Can extract the UV's from objects that are not unwrapped with Easy Peel
Align Verts To Vert:
- Adds support for splines - Lines and Editable Splines
- Can now align knots to the last selected knot
- Can now use Snap to Vertex to align the selected verts to the picked vertex

miauu's Script Pack Volume 2 is available for Max 9 to 2014 and costs €17.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for Build 1825 are:
- Bug-fixes
- Adds animation trigger example


Plugin Update: Modelling / Animation

Changes for v2.3.5.0 are:
- Mesh from strands modifier no longer twists the very last vertices in the wrong direction
- Adds a distribution map for proxy objects in Ox Mesh From Strands
- Fixes a crash when adding a proxy mesh with no texture coords to Ox Mesh From Strands modifier
- Mesh from strands modifier now inherits edited normals from incoming proxy meshes
- BakedGuides object's MAXScript .GetGuides() function now works
- Transforms generated for each hair root are now aligned along the surface
- Generated hair is now properly transformed into strand space
- Fixes flickering due to curl flipping in the Ox Strand Curling modifier
- Fixes a crash with affine interpolation
- Updated documentation to reflect changes

Ornatrix is available for Max 2009 to 2014 and costs $499. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.0.5 are:
- Adds support for procedural textures (Noise, etc)
- Adds Skin option to export separate files for skeleton and skinned mesh

AXE Pro is available for Max 7 to 2014. At the moment I have no information on pricing. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v2.7 are:
- Adds transition animation-dynamics for TR keys
- Adds new 'Unbreakable until frame' option for fracture bodies
- Fixes seed failing with uniform shatter
- Fixes update transform failing in frames other than the start frame
- Fixes shatter locator being ignored when it's outside the object
- Fixes local shatter pattern shears for large thin objects
- Fixes pdi start frame not updating when changing Max start frame
- Fixes previously computed fragment keys being deleted when resetting
- Fixes update transform failing with scale changes
- Fixes Pdi Shatter locator losing position after undo
- Fixes secondary cracks going wrong after changing fracture body mass
- Fixes reset slow down with many objects in scene
- Fixes fracture body creation slow down with many objects in scene

Pull Down It Pro is available for Max 2010 to 2014 and costs €395. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Animation

This commercial MAXScript allows you to break an object into pieces by detaching each face to a separate object, restore the normals according to the smoothing groups of the object and form this object again by manipulating the position, scale and rotation of each piece. You can also animate your object disintegrating by making the animation go backwards.

Break and Form is available for Max 2010 to 2014 and costs $1.99.


New Plugin: Utilities

Autoweight is a commercial MAXScript which helps you to speed up the skinning process of characters and machines. You define special polygon regions and the script finds the appropriate bones, calculates the appropriate skin-vertices and sets up smooth transitions between those regions.

Autoweight is available for Max 2010 to 2014 and costs $39.95. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.3.8 are:
- Adds modifier Indigo Settings for mesh subdivision settings
- Adds detection of missing UV's or missing texture files
- Fixes incorrect handling of missing textures or with relative paths
- Some minor fixes in installer
- IndigoMax now appears in Windows Programs and Features for uninstall
- Set the default downsize filter to match Indigo 'safe' defaults


Plugin Update: Connection

Changes for v2014 include:
- Adds support for FBX scenes with textured geometry and cameras (ASCII or binary)
- Camera motion can now be imported and exported as .FBX as well as Nuke .CHAN files
- Vue xStream 2014 now outputs all render layers in a single multi-layer 32Bit OpenEXR 2.0 file
- All passes are available in either 32-bit or 16 bit
- Adds a World Point Position (or XYZ) Pass
- Adds a new scientifically accurate photometric sunlight model
- You can now assign physically accurate values to all light properties
- Adds user selected tone mapping filters
- New Natural Grain mode produces natural color variations
- EcoSystem Clumping replicates plants tending to grow in close patches
- Highly optimized algorithms to accelerate the rendering of EcoSystems
- Improved Plant Factory compatibility
- The Vue 2014 Function Editor was redesigned for improved performance on modern computer displays

Vue 2014 xStream is available for Max 2008 to 2014 and costs $1,695. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.3.0 are:
- Adds the ability to create tiles on uneven surfaces

Cando is available for Max 2011 to 2014 and costs $34.


Plugin Update: Objects

Changes for v1.1.8.53478 are:
- Improved Nitrous hit testing performance in Max 2013 and Max 2014
- Fixes loading OBJ mesh files with relative indices


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v4.1.4 are:
- Adds support for V-Ray 3.05.03 beta
- Fixes a rendering error in Octane when there is no Custom Object assigned

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 9 to 2014 and costs €190. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v2.1.6 are:
- Fixes a potential lockup on scene save

RailClone Pro is available for Max 9 to 2014 and costs €190. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v1.015 are:
- You can now explode by 5 levels (Face, Element, MatID, Smoothing Group, UV Seams)
- Explode only selected contiguously by face selection
- Smoothing is kept so that your exploded objects appear smooth
- All devices with pick buttons now display truncated names when they are too long
- 'Copy Keys to Script' parameters now work without needing to initialize
- 'Copy Modifiers' now copies only valid modifiers
- Added stability for Chinese users

Animators Tool Kit is available for Max 2010 to 2014 and costs $25. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.14.4 are:
- Adds support for Max 2014
- Fixes export of strings returned from the user data MAXScripts in Max 2013
- Fixes export of UVs when vertex colours and vertex alpha are applied to a mesh
- Fixes the saving of .cpp and .h files from the Standalone version
- Fixes the loading of the profiles from the registry


Plugin Update: Bitmap I/O

Changes for v4.0.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 2014
- Modified 'diff' value so it now gets the absolute difference between input/output textures
- When exiting with modified textures you can now cancel the closing process
- Fixes ETC1 Compression when padding to block sizes
- Modified KTX file load/save to pad data appropriately for each scanline


New Plugin: Particles

Grid Master is a toolbox for Thinking Particles and Max to create lines following a grid. You can create abstract random patterns with multiple options to play with, and you can use deflectors so your grid will reveal a 3D object.

Features include:
- Generate particles from the surface or volume of any 3D object
- Select the number of particles and create them from the beginning or per second
- Use a 2D or 3D grid
- Velocity and random velocity per particle
- Time to change direction and random time per particle
- Select a curvature to have a smooth grid
- Simple or complex behaviour
- Use a deflector to keep particles inside a volume


New Plugin: Texturing

Cando is for creating random tile patterns, and it can output tiles in three dimensions or as textures. It can be used to create bricks, mosaics, tiles, parquet etc.

Features include:
- Easy to install
- Layer based
- Create multi/sub-object materials
- Create random UVW map for each tile
- Visual user interface
- Ability to create diffuse, bump and normal bump textures
- Ability to change Multimaterial parameters
- Ability to rotate tile direction
- Create random extrude, chaos, reflect, glossiness, bump and diffuse
- Includes default Multimaterials
- Includes default mask

Cando is available for Max 2011 to 2014 and costs $34 for two licenses.


Plugin Update: Import / Export

Changes for v2.5.0 are:
- Increased the precision of the scene scale 'divided by' setting
- Removed the 'OgreMax WinViewer' option from the global settings dialog
- Fixes a Max 2014 crash bug when using enhanced menus together with the OgreMax menu
- Fixes a bug with the compiled help files not being included with the installer

OgreMax is available for Max 8 to 2014 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v2.0.2 are:
- Fixes a bug that caused Max to crash when used with V-Ray 3.0

Ky_Color Variator is available for Max 9 to 2014 and costs €43. A demo version is available here.