Max 2009 vs Design 2009??

[Anonymous]

Okay, so what exactly is the Exposure Lighting Analysis Tool? What is LEED 8.1?

What exactly is it that makes the interface different in Design to make it easier for architects? I'm used to Max, would I not want Design's interface then?

I do a little of both, working on a personal portfolio of game characters but professionally we do visualization of home properties and whatnot. Would I like the ELA Tool? Does Design have photometric light presets that regular Max does not?

I wasn't about to go into a tissy fit about this until I read that they both can't be installed at the same time. It has to be one or the other. Why can I not install both?

I'm confused.

[Maneswar_Cheemalapati]

Some answers?

http://www.worldpressdays08.com/pages/doc/products/3ds_Max_2009_3ds_Max_Design_2009_FAQ1.pdf

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=10370942

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=11007421

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=8108755

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=11007364

http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19 -- as other have said, if you have to ask, you probably don't need it, but who knows... you may and not know it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply.

What on this page is exclusive to Design?
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=11007421

Is it just Exposure1 and Exposure2? Or is there more?

Why can't all this stuff just be put together in one package? Or why can't both versions be installed at the same time at the very least?


EDIT: Also, is the material editor in Design limited to architectural materials only?

[Borislav Petrov]

Thanks for the reply.

What on this page is exclusive to Design?
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=11007421

Is it just Exposure1 and Exposure2? Or is there more?

Why can't all this stuff just be put together in one package? Or why can't both versions be installed at the same time at the very least?

EDIT: Also, is the material editor in Design limited to architectural materials only?

The Exposure videos shows the only difference between Max 2009 and Max 2009 Design.
They are otherwise the same program, running from the same '3dsmax.exe' binary.

The answer of your other questions is not as straight-forward.

In short, Autodesk wants to sell Max to all markets instead of having VIZ whose main advantage (like the Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy) was that it was slightly cheaper (but without the "Don't Panic" on the cover), and required more resources to develop as it had its own code stream that had to be constantly synced back and forth with the Max code.

Now Autodesk has a specifically packaged version of the SAME product for the two main areas (Entertainment and Design). Max 2009 and Design ARE the same software from a technical point of view. The Exposure feature was not added to Design, but rather DISABLED in Max 2009 to give architects an incentive to pick that package, which also has some other things like Tutorials, Default etc. specifically set up for that market, as well as that awful Autocad-style desktop icon. So this is mainly a marketing decision and not an engineering decision.

For exactly the same reason (as both are technically the same application using the same license, Registry keys and so on), the Installer cannot support both - just like you cannot install Max 2009 itself twice on the same system. Also, why would you want both on the same system? If you are one of those who need the Exposure feature, you would install Design anyway which will do everything Max 2009 does. If you are a plug-in developer, you most probably have access to a developer version of Max and the SDK from completely different channels, or could install Max 2009 on another machine for development purposes, or never install Design to start with, because you don't need the Exposure feature if you are a developer.

[Anonymous]

he Exposure videos shows the only difference between Max 2009 and Max 2009 Design.
They are otherwise the same program, running from the same '3dsmax.exe' binary.

The answer of your other questions is not as straight-forward.

In short, Autodesk wants to sell Max to all markets instead of having VIZ whose main advantage (like the Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy) was that it was slightly cheaper (but without the "Don't Panic" on the cover), and required more resources to develop as it had its own code stream that had to be constantly synced back and forth with the Max code.

Now Autodesk has a specifically packaged version of the SAME product for the two main areas (Entertainment and Design). Max 2009 and Design ARE the same software from a technical point of view. The Exposure feature was not added to Design, but rather DISABLED in Max 2009 to give architects an incentive to pick that package, which also has some other things like Tutorials, Default etc. specifically set up for that market, as well as that awful Autocad-style desktop icon. So this is mainly a marketing decision and not an engineering decision.

For exactly the same reason (as both are technically the same application using the same license, Registry keys and so on), the Installer cannot support both - just like you cannot install Max 2009 itself twice on the same system. Also, why would you want both on the same system? If you are one of those who need the Exposure feature, you would install Design anyway which will do everything Max 2009 does. If you are a plug-in developer, you most probably have access to a developer version of Max and the SDK from completely different channels, or could install Max 2009 on another machine for development purposes, or never install Design to start with, because you don't need the Exposure feature if you are a developer.

Hi and thank you for clearing that up.

Yeah after watching the videos, regular max is all I think I'd want. I don't need to export lighting data from a grid to an excel spreadsheet.

The one thing I found interesting was seeing hot and cool spots on the light meter. We do a lot of GI radiosity stuff so seeing those hot and cool spots before you render would be kinda neat to have in regular max. No biggie I suppose.

[robert]

I the moment design offers a few more feature, if you use it..
Else it's a good thing for autodesk to earn more money in the future by spliting Max in to 2 halfs and earn twice the money... good time to look out for new software.

[Maneswar_Cheemalapati]

Hi, I think you are missing the entire point. Max2009 "regular" has the SDK but has the advanced lighting slightly reduced. Max2009 Design has the lighting tool fully functional and enhanced since 2008, but it does not have the SDK. If you are not a developer or you do not intend to develop even in house tools with the SDK, then you would likely want to choose the Design version. SDK = Software Development Kit.

Fact is, you can install 1, test it, uninstall it, then install the other, test it and decide, if you are on Subscription... I think if you are buying a new upgrade or seat, you may have to choose at the outset, but then you can download the trial of each and test before committing.

[Anonymous]

Hi, I think you are missing the entire point. Max2009 "regular" has the SDK but has the advanced lighting slightly reduced. Max2009 Design has the lighting tool fully functional and enhanced since 2008, but it does not have the SDK. If you are not a developer or you do not intend to develop even in house tools with the SDK, then you would likely want to choose the Design version. SDK = Software Development Kit.

Fact is, you can install 1, test it, uninstall it, then install the other, test it and decide, if you are on Subscription... I think if you are buying a new upgrade or seat, you may have to choose at the outset, but then you can download the trial of each and test before committing.

I don't personally use the SDK but our programmer does to develop our exporter. What does it mean when it says "Design doesn't include the SDK"?" Does that mean plug-ins that are made using the SDK won't work with Design?

[Steve_Curley]

No. Plugins will work just fine, you simply can't create your own because there's no SDK.

The decision should be pretty simple. Need the SDK? then "standard" else "design".

[Anonymous]

I have a topic that is called "What 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009 are", it is straight from Autodesk's website and includes lots of info about the differences