Sunday 15 June 2008

3D Studio Max 2009, the Design version

Unless I am mistaken, the new version of 3D Studio Max (dubbed 2009 or for the ones with good memory amongst us, simply version 11!) is the first one that is separated into two different releases 3D Studio Max 2009 (for media and entertainment purposes) and 3D Studio Max Design 2009 (for design or architectural visualization). They are exactly the same software, one program, two boxes. What’s going on here?

Well for those interested to know, particularly regarding the Design version unique characteristics, you can check a great article by Mark Gerhard at the CGSociety site which takes the aforementioned version through its paces. The new UI, rendering and Mental Ray improvements, illustration, interoperability, lighting, animation and finally material features are covered in detail, giving the reader a good impression of exactly where the Design 2009 version differs both from previous Max versions but also from the standard 2009 one.

The verdict is very positive (although I have to say that the reason that we have an architectural version of Max for the first time is probably because Autodesk wanted Max to conform with the rest of its vast CAD product line!). The article can be found here and is well worth a read for all the Max users amongst you!

No comments: