Hagerman & Company, Inc. Technology Bulletin

Ebul 82 - August 2009

By Joy Voltenburg,
Multimedia Consultant,
Autodesk 3ds Max Certified Instructor


 

News and Updates on 3ds Max/Design 2010

I'd like to let you know about  several items of note on 3ds Max 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2010.

Service Pack 1

The latest Service Pack from Autodesk for Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2010 and Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010 software includes nearly 30 fixes for issues with undo, performance, responsiveness, viewports, material workflow, and mental ray® software. Specific areas addressed are Biped, Bitmap Pager, Bitmap Proxies, Containers, Edit Poly, Interoperability, Licensing, Materials, mental ray, Particle Flow, Performance, Photometric Lights, ProOptimizer, Render To Texture (RTT), Rendering, UVW Unwrap, and Viewports.
Download the 3ds Max Design 2010 service pack here: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13642201&linkID=10381720
 

Connection Extension
(Available to Autodesk subscription accounts only.)

This is a really great deal for anyone who needs to translate data into solid modeling or anyone using Sketchup.  Check it out...

The Connection Extension for Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010 software makes it easier and more cost-effective to turn design data into more accurate, realistic visualizations. New levels of interoperability, based on intelligent data workflows, between 3ds Max Design and CAD software from both Autodesk and certain third parties makes it easier for architects, designers and visualization specialists to leverage existing design data and minimize rework.

Features and Benefits

  1. Import and export of SAT files for moving solids-based design data between 3ds Max Design and Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Inventor, Alias Studio, and third-party CAD products such as Solidworks, Rhino, FormZ, and others.
  2. Efficient, accurate importing of files from Google SketchUp, a common tool in the architecture and design communities, and access to thousands of 3D objects on Google's 3D Warehouse.
  3. Importing and exporting of multi-layer OpenEXR files with advanced options for transferring extra elements (camera information, scripted data, etc.) to support workflows with compositing applications, thus reducing the number of iterations required to achieve the final result.
  4. Intelligent workflows – Help save time and avoid costly geometry clean-up work with new, more effective workflows for dealing with complex scenes.
ImageModeler 2009
(Available to Autodesk subscription accounts only.)

This image-based modeling and photogrammetry software generates 3D models from photographs, enabling artists, visualization specialists, architects, and designers to view designs in the context of existing environments. In particular, Autodesk® ImageModeler® software helps you save time when working on renovations or projects in urban environments, where no documentation about existing buildings is available. Bridging the 2D and 3D worlds, Autodesk ImageModeler enables you to more easily capture reality as-built, take measurements of buildings, and create photorealistic 3D models and export them to 3ds Max Design, 3ds Max, or Maya in different formats (Autodesk® FBX® file format, OBJ, DWG).
 

MatchMover
(Available to Autodesk subscription accounts only.)

Considered a critical production tool at leading visual effects facilities, Autodesk® MatchMover™ software delivers high-quality 3D camera tracking. Using this toolset, artists, visualization specialists, architects and designers can extract accurate 3D camera and motion data from video and film sequences in order to insert computer graphics (CG) elements into a scene. MatchMover provides automatic tracking capabilities combined with the precision manual controls that professional artists and design visualization specialists demand.