Jamie's Jewels

3ds Max 2012 Hotfix NOW available for download

Hi All

Please be aware that the first Hotfix for 3ds Max (and Design) 2012 has now been released. Please ensure you download and install this update as this resolves a number of important performance and stability related issues.

 

· Click to Download Hotfix 1 – Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2012

· Click to Download Hotfix 1 – Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2012

 

Details of what is fixed in the Hotfix, installation info and supporting operating systems can be found here. The PDF also highlights additional resources:

 

Click here to view/download the ‘Readme’ (pdf – 114Kb)

 

The hotfix is available for the below languages:

1. English
2. German
3. French
4. Japanese
5. Korean
6. Simplified Chinese

 

This 2012 hotfix solves the below issues: (Click To Enlarge).

 
 

Happy Max’ing

3ds Max Tips from the UK M&E channel partners - Part 1 of 2

Hi All

Our team of experienced 3ds Max channel partners in the UK have shared a selection of tips and tricks. These videos have been produced to answer questions that they regularily receive when visiting users. 

The first 3 videos can be seen below. (More to follow tomorrow)

Created by: Elliott Smith, Jigsaw Systems Ltd

 

Created by Nebille Al-Wahid, CABS-CAD

 

Created by Paul Grimston, Excitech

 

Happy Max'ing

3ds Max related links and Twitter accounts

Hi All

Which 3ds Max related links and Twitter accounts do you regularily follow?

Below is a selection of Twitter accounts, in no order, that I keep an eye on (apologies if I've forgot anyone). You can also view my "Blog Roll" for an up-to-date look at the websites that have helped me out in the past.

• @3dsMax_Ent
• @3dslondon
• @mattclinch
• @alistardean
• @craftanimations
• @dj_buckley
• @shawnhendriks
• @rewindfx
• @MasterZap
• @AutodeskMFG
• @WayneRobson
• @cgarchitect
• @3dsMax
• @chrismurray
• @MaxUnderground
• @AMVisualisation
• @Design_Viz
• @mikejrutter
• @lynetteclee
• @mpetit
• @pariahrob
• @The_Mudroom
• @brokenpoly
• @mattguetta
• @pixaranimation
• @uniformtweets
• @scottsh115
• @3dtotal
• @carlbass
• @cgpov
• @thinkboxsoft
• @3dartist
• @ronenbekerman
• @mjcass
• @davidfano

Why not add the tweeters or websites you follow in the comments section at the bottom of this page or you can email me directly and I will create a list so that everyone can benefit.

On a side note, I will be presenting at Excitech's Design Visualisation forum today. Registration was full weeks back, so if you managed to grab a space, then make sure you say hi today.

Happy Max'ing

 

Download 130 Free Foliage items for 3ds Max from Xfrog Inc

Hi All

Those nice folks over at Xfrog Inc. have released 130 free items of foliage for you to use in your next 3ds Max visualisation. These free models are fully 3d and created to a high standard from real life examples. 

 

These collections provide an easy way to add life and realism to your projects. Many of the items have 3 to 9 age variations allowing you extra flexibility for randomising the scene.

To download and for more details click here.

 

Why not use the mental ray 'Multi/Sub-Map' map type to add subtle variations into the planting diffuse colour, with the added benefit of letting 3ds Max and mental ray do all the hard work for you. The easiest way is to load a seperate 'Color Correction' map onto each new additional diffuse texture slot and slightly change its properties, but reusing the original diffuse texture bitmap.

Ensure you take note of the first 3 options in the 'Multi/Sub-Map.' My preferred selection method is to use 'Random' as the placement selection method ('Swith Color/Map based on' option). By doing this you are also optimising your scene's memory footprint for rendering. (Click on below screen shots to enlarge)

  

Happy Max'ing

CGschool are offering 5 free, on-demand, 3ds Max webinars

Morning All,

Brian over at CGschool has just released 5 free webinars for your viewing pleasure. All of the new webinars have been produced by leading figures and experts in the design visualisation field, so are definately worth an indepth look.

 

Each video class consists of a 1-hour overview of the courses currently offered at the CGschool. The 5 free classes are:

• Texture Baking in 3ds Max –  Brian Smith
• mental ray –  Jennifer O’ Connor
• V-Ray 2.0 –  Torgeir Holm (Vray.info)
• Architectural Photography –  Lon Grohs
• Photoshop Advanced –  Lon Grohs

 

To view the on-demand webinars, you will need to register (free) or login as a free member here.

Happy Max'ing

More 3ds Max Books Added to Recommended Reading List

  
Morning All,

I've updated the books list with a few extra personal recommendations and descriptions. These are books which have proved invaluable to me over the past few years. Click here to learn more.

Mental Mill For 3ds Max 2011

Hi All
 
Below you will find links to download the latest Mental Mill ‘Standard’ Edition from mental images for 3ds Max/Design 2011. This will use your existing 2011, 3ds Max/Design, license.
 
If you are not familiar with Mental Mill, then this application allows users to create their own MetaSL shaders (materials, as an example) using a node based interface.
More information, including video tutorials, can be found here.

• mental mill Standard Edition will not install or initialize on machines with the 2010 product family (or earlier releases)
• mental mill requires an Autodesk product license to run. The license is automatically retrieved from one the installed Autodesk product (3ds Max, Maya or Softimage)
• The functionality is not supported with applications running in the trial mode.

Click here to download 32-bit Windows Version.
Click here to download 64-bit Windows Version.

Happy Max’ing

IRAY + NVIDIA GPU INFO

Morning All
 
Nvidia have released an interesting webpage that describes the new Iray renderer (3ds Max/Design 2011 Advantage Pack Offering) in more detail.

It also covers considerations for you when purchasing new graphics cards. On the web page you will find some video tutorials of Iray in action. I recommend you view these if you have not seen this powerful technology within 3ds Max/Design 2011.
 

Click Here to View full article 

 
But why GPU (Graphics Card) rendering?

The below chart, (taken from the weblink), shows a comparison of an Intel Quad core system with GPU’s, and the subsequent performance boosts this leading technology brings.
 

 
 
The latest Nvidia drivers can be found below. They claim an impressive 35% performance boost over consumer cards.
Archived 3ds Max Performance Drivers can be found via the link. 

 
32-bit -
XP/Vista/Win7, Release Date: 9/21/2010
 

64-bit - XP/Vista/Win7, Release Date: 9/21/2010
 

 
Please take the time to familiarise yourself with this “Rendering Revolution” information, as this continues to generate a large amount of interest within the community due to the way it is changing how we all think about rendering.



Top image- 3ds Max iray using only a CPU after 2 minutes.

Bottom image - 3ds Max iray using a Fermi-based GPU after 2 minutes.

 
Happy Max’ing

QUICKSILVER FEATURE LIMITATIONS

Morning All
 
Below is a list of known limitations for the ‘Quicksilver’ production renderer in 3ds Max / Design 2011.
This list will provide a comprehensive basis when using this very powerful toolset for the first time.

Video memory resources are consumed quickly if you have many lights with shadows in your scene. The system might render slowly or reset video cards.

1.High antialiasing settings could lead to a black render.
2.Waves map does not render correctly in Quicksilver or in the viewport renderer.
3.Very large shadow maps (i.e. 4096 x 4096) can cause render errors. Using smaller sizes (i.e. 512 x 512) will correct this error.
4.GTS 8800 cards can cause some objects to flicker.
5.Rendering of scenes that contain large number of textures could potentially cause image artifacts when rendering a sequence of frames.
6.Under certain conditions, usually compiling very complex material trees, the video card can be forced to reset on the Vista operating system and the Windows 7 operating system. The Windows XP 32-bit operating system may become unstable.
7.Quicksilver can render black frames under certain sampling settings depending on how much memory the video card has. Typically this is when memory is close to 512MB.
8.Object properties are not supported – in particular Rendering Control visibility.
9.Exclude/Include for lights is not supported.
10.Groups cannot have reflection – they need to be exploded.
11.Vertex colors are not supported in Quicksilver.
12.Only one layer of transparency is supported. When several transparent objects overlap, only the first will be drawn.
13.The thumbnail background of the material editor is not supported.
14.Gamma is not applied under command line rendering.
15.The following are unsupported maps in Quicksilver:
    i. Combustion                               
    ii. Cellular                             
    iii. Flat Mirror                             
    iv. Particle Age                              
    v. Particle MBlur                             
    vi. Thin Wall Refraction                         
    vii. Vertex Color
16.The following are not fully supported maps in Quicksilver:
    i. Falloff: Only perpendicular / parallel with viewing direction supported.
    ii. Gradient Ramp: Normal Gradient Type not supported.
    iii. Noise: Only Regular Noise Type supported.
    iv. Normal Bump: Additional Bump not supported.
    v. Raytrace: Certain adjustable parameters under Raytrace map are not supported.
    vi. Reflect/Refract: Certain adjustable parameters under Reflect/Refract map are not supported.
17.Quicksilver does not support Refraction.
18.Quicksilver does not support certain output parameters. This issue impacts all map types.
 
Happy Max’ing
 

2009, 2010 & 2011 HOTFIXES

Morning All

Please see below for some important hotfix information. It is worth noting these resolve issues that many of you have recently contacted me regarding, for example the mr 16 core ‘hair’ defect, and slate keyboard shortcut override issues. Please ensure this essential information is passed on to everyone you know using 3ds Max, and doesn’t stay only in your inbox.

 

Resolved Issues in the Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009-2010.06.07 Hot Fix

3ds Max 2009

3ds Max Design 2009

Feature	Resolved Issue
Autodesk® Backburner™	3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009 is now render compatible with Backburner 2011. In various cases when changing frames while using to render strips from the Backburner Monitor, the incorrect frames were rendered. The correct frames are now be rendered. Changing render width in a job when rendering strips from the Backburner Monitor rendered a blank error frame. The blank frame is no longer rendered. When rendering with bitmaps, a program error could occur due to memory not being released; the memory is now released properly. Render To Texture (RTT) would not render to an IPv6 network. This is now possible.
Biped	When loading a Biped BIP, Xtra bones would not scale properly; they now scale correctly.
Performance	The program error on start-up, when using sixteen or more CPU cores has been fixed; also, all cores are now used.

 

 

Resolved Issues in the Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010-2010.06.08 Hot Fix

3ds Max 2010

3ds Max Design 2010

Feature	Resolved Issue
Autodesk® Backburner™	3ds Max 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2010 is now render compatible with Backburner 2011. In various cases when changing frames while using to render strips from the Backburner Monitor, the incorrect frames were rendered. The correct frames are now be rendered. Changing render width in a job when rendering strips from the Backburner Monitor rendered a blank error frame. The blank frame is no longer rendered. When rendering with bitmaps, a program error could occur due to memory not being released; the memory is now released properly. Render To Texture (RTT) would not render to an IPv6 network. This is now possible.
Biped	When loading a Biped BIP, Xtra bones would not scale properly; they now scale correctly.
Performance	The program error on start-up, when using sixteen or more CPU cores has been fixed; also, all cores are now used.

 

 

Resolved Issues in the Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 and Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2011-2010.06.07 Hot Fix

3ds Max 2011

3ds Max Design 2011

Feature	Resolved Issue
Autodesk Materials	A program error occurred if the Autodesk Materials were uninstalled and Autosave or Save was used.  The error no longer occurs and the files are saved correctly. Autodesk Materials presets failed to load correctly on operating systems that used commas to define decimals; these presets now load correctly in this environment.
Autodesk® FBX®	An empty scene was created when loading RPC assets from Autodesk® Revit® through FBX.  An empty scene is no longer loaded. When using Autodesk Revit 2011, FBX texture maps were using GUID labels for naming texture maps; texture maps now use their appropriate file names.
Help	The "Download Vegetation" link in the Help menu now loads the proper page.
Lights	When importing IES lights their orientation would rotate, this rotation no longer occurs.
mental ray®	When using mental ray proxies and setting mental ray to use BSP2 when rendering to a sequence, some of the memory was not released .  This has been fixed. When setting mental ray to use BSP2 in 64-bit versions of 3ds Max, speckled artifacts could appear when rendering; these artifacts no longer occur.
Performance	The program error on start-up when using sixteen or more CPU cores has been fixed; also, all cores are now used.
Slate Material Editor	When minimizing the Slate Material Editor, the keyboard kept selection focus with the result that the Delete key wouldn’t work; this has been corrected.

 

 

Happy Max’ing