3D STUDIO MAX

Concise Technical Specifications

Architecture

True Windows NT design - 32-bit, object-oriented and multithreaded throughout for a high level of salability. Familiar Windows interface uses extensible dynamic linked libraries (DLL) architecture for all components.

Object Oriented through out - all processes in the scene are objects and obey the same rules of operation, making MAX easy to learn. Selection-sensitive commands, intelligent cursors, consistent methods, and class references benefit from this architecture.

Everything is Animateable - just click on the always available ANIMATE button and change nearly any parameter in MAX to create a keyframe. Everything from creation parameters to volumetric lighting can be animated by this method and every graphable operation has interactive function curve control.

Everything is Editable - a history of modeling modifications is stored in an editable stack that stays with objects for as long as you wish.

Everything is Extensible - Plug-In Component architecture seamlessly supports the addition of any new functionality that third-party developers and users create. Plug-Ins know how to work with one another by design and behave like core features.

True Referencing Architecture - goes beyond simple object instancing and allows references, derived from master objects, to have their own modeling operations while still sharing the instanced history.


Interaction

Unified User Environment - All modeling and animation tools are used in one unified user environment.

Fast, Interactive, Texture Shaded Viewports - operate with standard Windows NT displays. All viewports update simultaneously and can be shaded to display an unlimited number of textures. 3D hardware acceleration supported for faster interaction.

Modeless - operations do not place you in a "mode". Freely interact between different commands and methods without being delayed.

Adaptive Degradation - maximizes performance by dynamically changing levels of displayed detail to ensure optimum user/scene interaction on any given hardware.

View Options - include perspective, axonometric, current spline, current construction grid, spotlight, camera, front, back, left, right, top, and bottom. Views have dynamic pan, arc-ball rotate, zoom, zoom all, zoom selected, transparent pan and zoom snapping. Creation, editing, and animation playback supported in all views.

Undo & Redo - is user definable in depth with separate streams for scene and viewport actions.

Film Quality Rotoscoping - 24-bit viewport background display with comprehensive animation synchronization options. Customize video-safe frames include live area, action, and title safe.

Time - SMPTE, frames, absolute, or custom. Internal calculation with 1/4,800 second intervals ensures accuracy and compatibility.

Lights & Cameras

Light types - include ambient, omni, free spot, target spot, and directional. Lights are named objects, unlimited by number, and have individual exclusion and inclusion lists controlling object illumination and/or shadow-casting. Lights can be automatically located according to desired highlight placement.

Spotlights - with animated control of color, multiplier, cone shape (circular, rectangular, elliptical), penumbra size, distance attenuation, target, shadow-casting parameters (shadow-map or ray traced), and projected material maps. Volumetric lighting and shadows with animated atmospheric parameters assignable per light.

Cameras - include targeted and free (roll/pitch/yaw). Cameras are named objects and unlimited by number. Interactive cursor zoom, roll, orbit, perspective, dolly, horizon indicator, and field-of-view control. Animated control of field of view (with selectable e stock lenses), environment ranges, and near/far clipping planes.

Modeling

Geometric Classes - parametric, spline, polygonal mesh, and Bezier patch objects are included while supporting any new class that third-party developers may choose to introduce. Models can be interchangeably edited as either parametric, patch, or mesh. One object can be cut and pasted into another even after the animation is complete.

Parametric 3D/2D Primitives - include box, sphere, cylinder, torus, tube, cone, polyhedra, teapot, quadpatch, and tripatch objects;Bezier line/spline, text (TTF and .PFB), n-gon, donut, rectangle, circle, ellipse, helix, arc, and star splines.

Loft Objects - model from multiple spline cross sections of any number, size, or arrangement. Defining splines and deformation curves (scale, twist, teeter, bevel, and fit) can be animated. Resulting geometry can be edited as splines or meshes.

Boolean Objects - include union, intersection, subtraction. Booleans are interactive, nondestructive, maintain individual edit histories that can be animated and combined with additional Booleans.

Space Warps - include explosion, ripple, wave, gravity, wind, deflector, displacement. These are scene-based effects that deform bound objects as they change relation to one another over distance or time.

Particle Systems - include all-purpose spray-like and snow-like systems (with adjustable emitters) that can be constrained with wind, gravity, displacement and deflection space warps and viewed in real time.

Object Modifiers - include bend, taper, twist, skew, noise, ripple, wave, optimize, displace, extrude, Xform, linked Xform, editmesh, editspline, editpatch. These work with object or subobject selections, contain Animateable parameters, and have apparatus "gizmos" that define their influence and can be animated as objects.

Displacement - models geometry based upon pure geometric fields and/or bitmaps.

Polygonal Modeling - extensive vertex, face, edge, and mesh-based tools including vertex magnet, interactive face and edge extrusion, planarity control, and face normal modification and display. Polygon optimization is included with separate levels of detail for display and rendering with material/smoothing preservation. All modeling transforms can be animated.

Patch Modeling - flexible vertex, edge, or patch-based tools respect selections, have localized detail control, and can be animated.

Spline Modeling - extensive vertex, segment, and spline-based tools respect selections and can be animated.

Transforms - translation, rotation, scale, nonuniform scale, and squash in any coordinate system about any point. Modeless keyboard entry of any transform supported. Multi-axis mirroring and array. Hierarchies can selectively inherit transforms in any combination.

Coordinate Systems - include view, screen, world, parent, local, construction grid, and selected object for creation, transform, modeling, and sophisticated object or normal-based alignment.

Selection Methods - include fence, rectangular and circle with object class filters, select-by-name and material. Organizational methods include named selections, groups, nested grouping, and hierarchy selection/navigation.

Construction - orthogonal or perspective modeling based upon viewport alignment or custom construction grids. Keyboard input or absolute/relative snap to geometric vertices and edges or grid lines and intersections in 2D, 2.5D, or 3D space. Floating-point accuracy maintained in all modeling operations. Industry standard and custom unit options coordinate with absolute unit storage to ensure international modeling compatibility.



Animation

Track View - provides channel and time control in a modeless manner. Complete function curve and precise keyboard control is available for every animated parameter in the scene. Dynamic scene links instantly show user adjustments in all viewports and allow bi-directional interaction between the scene and time.

Track View Options - include automatic keyframe reduction, interactive function/ease/multiplier curves, out--of-range looping options, metronome, stereo .WAV sounds, constant velocity, text notes, object selection, list filtering, and time based editing.

Controllers - are assigned to every track and include generic linear, Bezier, tension/continuity/bias, noise, and expression controllers for every parameter and transform specific controllers of smooth, Ruler angle, follow-along-a-path and look-at. Controllers can be layered, blended, copied and instanced to give unlimited control.

Expressions - use math equations to dynamically reference any animation track as variables to build "intelligent" relationships between object interactions.

Inverse Kinematics - is true 3D IK, with 6 degrees of freedom per joint and individual constraint, ease, precedence, and joint damping control. Closed loop solutions, branching hierarchies, pinned objects, and path-based joint constraints are integral. IK is always available for interactive operation in real time, or can compute an optimal solution by following another object.

Materials

Materials Editor - provides interactive control for creating realistic material and environmental effects. Shaders use a branching hierarchy with unlimited depth and instancing opportunities. Interactive scene renderer instantly displays materials and allows real-time adjustment of texture maps on geometry. Includes visual thumbnail browser for materials and maps.

Material Possibilities - include standard, multi/sub-object, top/bottom, blend, double-sided, and matte/shadow Material Types that include bitmap, mask, color tint, checker, mix, marble, noise, reflect, refract, flat reflect, gradient, and composite Map Types that use ambient, diffuse, specular, shininess, shininess strength, self- illumination, opacity, filter color, bump, reflection and refraction Map Channels. Multiple maps of every type can be combined with individual percentage contributions for layered surface effects.

Bitmap Options - include individual settings for texture-filtering, fractal noise, UV scaling, offset, rotation, output, and blur parameters. Every parameter can be animated and has full function curve control.

Mapping - includes procedural, lofted, face, planar, cylindrical (with caps), spherical, box, and shrink-wrap with 3D vertex locking. Spherical, cylindrical, and shrink-wrap environmental mapping. Mapping assignments can be animated as objects or by individual parameters.

Rendering

Film Quality - production scanline renderer provides an optimal combination of rendering speed and quality, rendering internally at 64-bit super truecolour with full gamma control at up to 10,000 lines of resolution for frames or fields. Extensible rendering system supports third party renderers and effects.

Multi-Threading- increases performance up to 1.9x from a second CPU with no additional RAM requirements.

Analytical Antialiasing - ensures superior images without rolling edges or scintillating lines.

Volumetric Lighting - supports animated smoke, glow, and haze effects with volumetric shadows for lights.

Atmospheres - provide fog, layered fog with horizon noise, volumetric fog, full-screen fog and distance shading effects. Variables such as density, size, uniformity, wind strength, direction and procedural or bitmap fog blending can all be animated. Extensible environment system supports third party volumetric effects.

Environmental Shaders - can be composed of bitmap hierarchies and map to scene or screen coordinates spherically, cylindrically, or shrink-wrapped. Rotoscoping synchronization is integral.

Effects/Options - object and scene motion-blur, super black luminance keying, field or frame rendering, NTSC/PAL color correction, cropped or enlarged region rendering,

Network Rendering - client/server architecture with TCP/IP network protocol allows LAN, WAN, and even Internet rendering to 10,000 machines from one licensed copy. Network management is fault-tolerant and low bandwidth. Network queue manager, with net analysis capabilities, manage network rendering processes remotely.


Postproduction

Video Post - composite an unlimited number of events and animation with precise layering control. Transition, filter, mask, input, export, and device events are all extensible.

Effects/Options - cut and crossfade between multiple cameras, fade-in, fade-out, and user customizable transitions, object or material-based glow, time-line control, image resizing and alignment, multiple image-processing effects, scene motion blur with adjustable shutter speed, masking and 3D "movie" editing.

Channels - includes RGB, Alpha (transparency) , Z (depth), and G (geometry) with material ID, node ID, UV, surface normal, and unclamped color per pixel to allow unlimited post process effects.

Formats - include .JPG, .TGA, .TIF, .RLA, .BMP, .GIF, .FLC, .AVI and .EPS.

3D Studio & AutoCAD Support

File - import includes 3D Studio .SHP, .3DS, .PRJ, AutoCAD DXF, adn AutoCAD DWG.

Full Conversion - of 3DS geometry, materials, mapping, smoothing, lights, cameras, animation, and environment settings. Imports 2D & 3D DXF files by layer, color, or entity organization with ACI color support. Export includes .3DS (geometry and animation) and DXF.