Autodesk VIZ to 3ds Max 2009

Hagerman & Company, Inc. Technology Bulletin

Autodesk VIZ to 3ds Max 2009

by Joy Voltenburg
Multimedia Consultant
Autodesk Certified Instructor - 3ds Max

Autodesk has announced that Autodesk VIZ no longer will be developed. Instead, Autodesk is devoting resources previously used by VIZ development into 3ds Max Design development. There are many reasons for this move, but chief among them is customer demand for more functionality than what VIZ could provide. More customers have increasingly adopted visualization and the desire to create increasingly complex animations and visualizations was a major factor in the decision to return to one product – 3ds Max. While there are two flavors of Max now being offered (3ds Max and 3ds Max Design), they are essentially the same product with a slightly different user experience (more on this below).

So, what options do you have as the owner of a current or not-so-current copy of Autodesk VIZ? Your options are these:

Cross-grade your current VIZ 2008 on subscription to 3ds Max Design 2009 for the never-again-as-low price of $249 a seat, and carry over your remaining VIZ subscription to the 3ds Max Design subscription. (Promotion runs from March 31 to July 17.)
Cross-grade your VIZ 2006 – VIZ 2008 without subscription to 3ds Max Design 2009 with subscription for the low price of $1390. (Promotion runs from March 31 to July 17.)
Stay with your current copy and maybe cross-grade to 3ds Max Design 2009 at some point later down the road at whatever the current cross-grade pricing will be at that time.

Personally, I strongly recommend you crossgrade to Max before July 17 to take advantage of these prices. You won’t regret the change and the pricing will never be lower than it is now. There are some slight changes in the user interface that are new to both Max and VIZ users (render frame window is one of them), but there will essentially be no learning curve and all your VIZ files will open in Max. To make your move easier, we will be hosting some free webexes in the future for people transitioning from VIZ to Max. Dates will be set soon, so check our website for dates.

Ok, so now tell me about the new Max Design 2009 and Max 2009.

Each version is specifically tailored to its intended audience; from learning resources and sample files, to application defaults and even new features. But otherwise, they’re essentially identical, with these exceptions:

	Max 2009 contains the SDK, Max Design 2009 does not (SDK was used primarily in the film/games industries for plug-in development).
	Max Design 2009 contains Exposure Lighting Analysis, Max 2009 does not. (More on this feature later.)
	Each version has tutorials and UI specific to their target audience. (3ds Max 2009 will continue to target the film/games industry while 3ds Max Design 2009 will target the design visualization segment.)

Anyone currently on 3ds Max 2008 subscription will receive a DVD with the option of installing either of these programs. If after installing one of the programs, you decide you want the functionality contained in the other program; you can uninstall it and then install the one you want. You will then need to re-authorize that program. You cannot have both versions installed on the same computer at the same time; although you can have a render farm that contains both versions. Also, any plug-ins you have currently for Max 2008 will need to be updated for Max 2009.

What new features are included in Max/Max Design?

Well, Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 was just rolled out last fall, so what new features are included in this release? Actually, some I’m very interested in. Highlights are listed here:

	Exposure simulation technology, exclusive to 3ds Max Design 2009, is specifically designed to help simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial lighting, and is an ideal tool for sustainable-architecture projects. This capability can facilitate the evaluation of indoor environmental quality—required, for example, for LEED 8.1 certification.
	Reveal rendering technology streamlines and accelerates iterative, creative workflows by providing precise control over what exactly is rendered in a given scene.
	Photometric Lighting in Review offers full support for photometric lights (including IES files), giving you instant feedback on how real luminaries will affect the environment. Plus, an expanded photometric light toolset now includes new types of area lights (circular, cylindrical), photometric web previews in the Browse dialog box and Light user interface, and improved near-field photometry quality and spot distribution.
	ProMaterials library provides easy-to-use, physically based materials for mental ray, built from manufacturer-related data. Quickly create frequently used building and design surfaces, such as solid glass, concrete, or professional wall paint—with glossy or matte finish.
	Recognize™ scene-loading technology delivers new levels of interoperability between 3ds Max Design and Revit® Architecture software. The FBX®-based Recognize toolset helps you quickly and accurately import geometry, lights, materials, and cameras from your Revit Architecture 2009 scenes into 3ds Max Design 2009, significantly streamlining visual communication of your BIM data.

Caption: Exposure lighting analysis

Reasons to crossgrade from Autodesk VIZ to Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009?

	Complete set of animation tools.
	The ability of 3ds Max to handle even the most complex projects.
	Access to a much larger community of peers and talent pool.
	Easy transfer of knowledge and data from VIZ to 3ds Max. (The Max UI is almost identical to the VIZ UI, so there will be no learning curve whatsoever. You’ll just notice a few more buttons and toolbars.)
	An uncompromised version of 3ds Max tailored to the needs of architects, designers, engineers, and visualization specialists, instead of a stripped down version.

I hope this information helps answer your questions. If you have any specific concerns not addressed here, just give us a call.

Notes:

There is also a new VIZ 2008 extension available for download (pro-booleans) through your Autodesk subscription portal.
After March 31, 2009, Autodesk will no longer support Autodesk VIZ. Hagerman will, however, continue to support our customers’ support needs.