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Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames 2009)LOOP 2009EVA 2009ICIDS 2009 Interactive Storytelling
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Jump to: 3ds max Model Design Software All product reviews |
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Introduction
After a couple of releases that have focused on internal issues, the latest release of 3ds Max returns to the focus on new features. 3ds Max 2010 includes a number of subtle interface changes and more powerful viewport preview options. It also includes a radical new poly modeling paradigm called collectively, the Graphite Modeling tools. These tools are presented using a new dynamic set of panels and toolbars called the Ribbon.
Other key new features include, the Material Explorer for viewing and changing multiple material properties at once; a Viewport Canvas for painting textures directly on 3D objects; and a feature to auto-render a variety of surface maps. The ProSound feature for adding multiple audio tracks to a scene is also a welcome addition.
Add to this burgeoning list of new features, menus for identifying modeling problems, several new useful modifiers, a Container structure for bundling and locked scene assets and multiple rendering improvements and the results are the most powerful version of Max to date.
Interface Modifications
The interface for 3ds Max 2010 has some subtle changes, but nothing that will severely alter any of your current workflows. The one exception is the new Ribbon interface that holds the Graphite Modeling tools. The most notable new change is that all of the standard icon buttons have been redesigned. The new icons resemble the old ones and are roughly located in the same location, so finding the commands you're familiar with won't be too much of a task.
Another key interface change is that several new icon buttons are located on the document's title bar. These new toolbars include several file buttons for loading and saving files, undo and redo commands and a help search field for quickly finding answers to specific keywords.
Another helpful interface addition is the Transform Toolbox. This panel lets you rotate, size and align the current selection with single button clicks. It also includes a button for creating a quick clone of the current object.
Viewport Enhancements
The Max viewports have progressively gotten more and more powerful, which requires less and less test renders. In 3ds Max 2010, the viewports have been improved to allow soft shadow previews (Figure 1). They can also display ambient occlusion and exposure control within the viewports.
Figure 1: Soft shadows and ambient occlusion can be rendered directly in the viewport. (click for a full-size image)
With another round of new viewport settings added to Max, the viewport menus have been getting more and more cluttered. To address this issue, the latest version has divided the viewport menus into several different sections including General, Point-of-View and Shading categories. This can be a headache for the first several times that you are searching for a specific command, but once you get the various categories figured out, it actually saves time as most the total number of submenus have been reduced.
The viewports also include a new set of menu options called the xView features. These options let you identify potential problem spots in the current scene. Some of these features include graphically showing and selecting any overlapping vertices, open edges, isolated vertices, T-Vertices, faces missing UVW Coordinates, etc. This can be a huge time-saver in identifying and fixing problems before a costly render shows these issues.
Graphite Modeling Tools
One of the key sources of new Max features tapped by the Autodesk development teams is to take a close look at the most popular plug-ins that have been built for Max. These plug-ins are then incorporated, renamed and integrated into Max, much like the Borg in Star Trek. But, unlike the Borg, the results in Max's world isn't a bad thing. By assimilating plug-ins, Max becomes much more powerful and its features often move the software in unique and interesting ways.
The latest plug-in to be assimilated is a set of modeling tools previously known as PolyBoost. These new tools are now called the Graphite Modeling Tools and they not only include a robust new set of modeling tools, but the Autodesk team also introduced a new interface element, called the Ribbon, to hold these new tools.
The Ribbon is located directly under the main toolbar and it dynamically expands and contracts based on the current selection and sub-object mode. Each of the individual panels can also be pulled away from its docked location and made into a floating panel. This makes it easy to have all the exact tools you need right at your fingertips. Help for each panel expands in a floating text box when you hold the mouse over the tool button. This help can be turned off as you become familiar with the tool's features if it becomes annoying.
These new Graphite Modeling tools include all the current tools for working with Editable Polys along with a set of Freeform sculpting and Selection tools. It also includes a number of new tools for working with edge and ring loops. The sculpting tools include the ability to create shapes, splines and surfaces using the underlying topology of an object (Figure 2). There are also other sculpting tools including Shift, Push/Pull, Relax/Soften, Flatten, Pinch/Spread, Smudge, Noise and Exaggerate.
Figure 2: The Graphite Modeling tool buttons are located on the new Ribbon interface.
They allow you to create shapes, splines and surfaces using the underlying object topology.
The Graphite Modeling tools include several new tools involving a new and unique workflow. For users that are comfortable with the existing tools and workflows, you'll be happy to know that they are still available and unchanged. Time spent learning to use the new tools and the Ribbon workflow is well-spent and allows modelers to work quicker and easier with more flexibility, but it will take some getting use to.
Be aware that the new Graphite Modeling tools are only available for working with Editable Poly objects.
New Modifiers
Each new version of Max includes several new modifiers and 3ds Max 2010 is no different. Modifiers are small coded features that apply a specific command to objects. The new modifiers in this version include a new ProOptimizer modifier that is much more efficient and powerful than the older Optimize or MultiRes modifiers. The modifier includes the ability to preserve specific sets of vertices, like along material and texture borders. There are also options to define how vertices and faces are merged. You can also specify and use symmetry. There is also a Batch ProOptimizer utility that you can use to optimize multiple objects in one pass.
Another new useful modifier is the Quadify Mesh modifier that automatically converts the selected object into quads, which makes the object much easier to model using edge loops. Figure 3 shows an extruded shelf that has used this modifier. Objects made of quads also work much better when Mesh Smooth is applied.
Figure 3: The Quadify Mesh modifier divides the selected object into quad sub-objects.
New Material Tools
A couple of versions back, the Scene Explorer appeared making it easier to work with scene objects by exposing all the various object properties in a single easy to manage dialog box. The Scene Explorer also let you sort objects by specific properties and make property changes to multiple objects at the same time. In 3ds Max 2010, the developer's have introduced a similar interface for scene materials.
Called the Material Explorer, this interface exposes all the properties of all the scene materials and textures (Figure 4). It provides a convenient way to quickly make changes to materials without having to navigate the material tree in the Material Editor.
Figure 4: The Material Explorer makes it easy to view or edit multiple materials at once.
Another new material tool is the Viewport Canvas, which temporarily changes the viewport into a 2D canvas. This lets you paint directly on the 3D objects in the scene using the current orientation, as shown in Figure 5. The painted object is automatically added to the applied texture map. You can also change the viewport view and continue painting.
Figure 5: The Viewport Canvas feature lets you paint directly on the surface of a selected 3D object.
The Render Surface Map feature includes commands for generating a concavity, density, direction and object thickness maps. These quickly generated maps can then be used to create dust and dirt maps for the current object. These surface maps are created based on the current UVW mapping.
Finally, for creating MetaSL shaders, 3ds Max 2010 ships with a copy of mental mill, artist edition. Max's Material Editor also includes support for these powerful shaders using the DirectX Shader material.
Multi-Track Sound Support
Max's Track View interface has been improved to include a new ProSound feature that allows multiple tracks to be added to an animated scene. It allows up to 100 independent audio tracks with six output channels. Using this feature, you can now add multiple sounds as separate files without having to compile a mixed sound track in an audio editor.
Containers
When collaborating in a workgroup, the new Containers feature is a life-saver. With this feature, you can create a collection of scene objects into a single container that acts like a simple object. These containers can be opened for editing or locked for easy transport to other scenes or projects. Containers can also be unloaded from the current scene for quicker refresh rates. The container creator can also specify permissions for accessing and editing the container contents making it possible to lock a container so its contents aren't edited by accident.
Rendering Improvements
When rendering in the Rendered Frame Window using mental ray, the interface now includes several controls for tweaking the reflections, refractions and soft shadows without having to leave the Rendered Frame Window.
Renders that use a Final Gather pass includes a fast progressive feedback preview that quickly gives you a look at the results as they are rendering.
Summary
In addition to the features highlighted above, 3ds Max 2010 also includes general improvements in many other modules including Hair and Fur, Cloth, bipeds, the Particle Flow interface, UVW Mapping and more. This release is another major release with tons of new and improved features.
Overall, the new features are robust and helpful. The Graphite Modeling tools will take some time to learn, but include the promise of increased productivity after an initial learning period.
For more information on 3ds max 2010, visit the Max product pages on Autodesk's web site at http://usa.autodesk.com.
Kelly L. Murdock is a regular contributor to gamedev.net and the author of the best-selling 3ds max Bible and several other titles. He currently works for Alpine Studios, a video game studio and teaches at the local university.
