Max 2015 Features announced.

[RichardBang]

Thank you Autodesk for announcing whats in 2015.

Today was a bit of a surprise.

I visited facebook and saw the announement of Unity3d V5. I watched the video, I read the details. I drooled, I wanted it so bad it hurts.

I went back to facebook, I saw the Max2015 announement. I watched the videos, I read the details. I decided that I'm very lucky that they posted this a few days before my subscription renewal. Because now I wont bother. For 3 years the only thing I got out of max was that it no longer crashes all the time.

I saw the Maya 2015 video. I got really peed off. The only way Autodesk will get another penny from me is if they allow me to cross grade from max to maya, but I cant see that happening. So I guess its so long autodesk.

I can get Modo for less than the price of the Max renewal, so why on earth would I stay.

[sales]

Same here - 4 days for my subscription to end and I was lucky enough this year to know ahead of re-subscribing what's in store - Well - Nothing really is there.

Mostly plugin-purchases or small scripts that I can get for free online.

WOW ! They even added a startup  screen with scriptspot and maxplugin.de .....

I use 2012 and 2014 - even one year later - still is unusable for me.

AUTODESK - ARE YOU JOKING ????

NIR

[phloog]

Sadly my renewal is in January, so I am among The Burned.

[jneilon]

Wow, I just saw the new features. This was extremely disappointing, more so than usual. Autodesk must be slowing down the development of Max like they have for Softimage to focus on Maya. The #1 feature request Quad Chamfer is a $20 script you can buy online a few years ago from Marius Silaghi's Store.

[sales]

QuadChamfer is a bit pricier 40 US$ (or Euros...)

[phloog]

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@sales wrote:

QuadChamfer is a bit pricier 40 US$ (or Euros...)

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I didn't realize that - probably should be in the sales pitch "Max 2015 is worth twice as much as you thought!!!"...knowing that it was a $40 product totally lightens the pain of this $500 renewal.

[lightcube]

For my part, I am looking forward to the new scene explorer updates and hopeful about the viewport performance increases. ADs apparant push for Maya really does create a lot of ill will in my book... but I'm eager for these items nonetheless. And although I feel like the business has not been exceptionally honest or fair... my gut tells me that the new crew really does have some fire behind them that will drastically alter the scene next year and beyond. I think that some bean counters are starting to realize that we would rather move to Blender than Maya in many circles... or another commercial competitor.

AD will continue to get my support and promotion for one more year at least. I want to see what the new team dreams up. (It is kind of sad that the new Max comes out any day now and I'm more eager to see what next year brings... even before I have this year's version.)

After that, it's up to how things are going. But it will NOT be with Maya.

Come on Eddie, Tom and crew! Help validate those of us who are embracing you!

[darawork]

Tbh, after reading so much in recent weeks about impending 2015 I knew not to expect too much this time around.

I'm quite happy to see viewport performance increases, ShaderFX, populate updates and working scene states.

I have no use for fluid FX, CAT advancements, multithreaded particle systems. Modelling flooded ArchViz buildings might be fun but it is not needed in this office. To be really quite honest I knew Maya was for VFX and slime years ago. Anybody who I knew who was into that line of work always used Maya.

I'm not surprised that the MAX/MAYA ground fault devides further and that more and more people are falling into it with gasps, groans and blood curdling screams, but it was quite obvious it was coming for a while.

Viva MAX Design ArchViz. That said, the new splash screen better be dam good.

[svb3d]

Yes you guys are right, not much new in 2015. I was hoping for at least the egg spline would have developed in to a whole omelett, but the way i look at it. $500 a year and makeing my living doing 3d. I can live with that.

[Pyro777]

Shawn, Thanks for putting my exact thoughts so eloquently.

Dean

[paulneale]

Lots of over reaction here. Lots more new then every one is claiming. 

As for Max development, well Max is not being dropped for Maya like XSI. Max still out sells Maya just in the Media and Entertainment arena. In fact the development of Max has had a major step up over the last several months. It is not greatly affecting 2015 but it will greatly affect 2016. There is a new head to M&E as the old one was not allowing development of Max. The new one knows where the money is. There is also a new PM for Max, many new programmers and designers and lots of new enthusiasm that has not been seen for a while. 

Personally there are many things in 2015 that are fantastic in my opinion and the huge speed boost is just one of them. Good luck mowing the grass on the other side, looks just like the grass on this side. 

[dgorsman]

When new features may not be of immediate benefit to me, I can still see where they would benefit others.  I try not to limit what I consider "Good" to only what my specific needs are.  The developers may not listen to me and incorporate every one of my ideas, but again that doesn't mean they aren't listening or it being "Bad".  To an extent, listening to the users can be a very destructive trap: either they flail around trying to make everyone happy and end up getting nothing done at all, or are only able to listen to the loudest, most persistent few who may not actually represent the majority of users.

The efforts *are* appreciated.

[cresshead]

not exactly sure what's going on here but looks rather interesting...looks to be using custom textures or characters in populate

could help 'populate' non arch viz scenes maybe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxyOQk6IyaU&list=UUGJRVjRvdSoa3vD36ukIPJA

[RichardBang]

I spend most of my time either creating models for games (I run a games studio) or creating animations/cut scenes/short films.

While max has the best modeling tools Ive seen, its animation tools are pretty aweful, it was easier to make a short film in XSI five years ago than it is in max now! Without some major work in the areas of animation (get rid of the stupid ideas of selecting the biped clicking this little button, going to cat clicking this little button) max is going to even worse when compared to the competition. I want a whole scene system that reacts to the selected object so I can jump between objects and the animation timelines follow me, so I can have short clips and chain/edit them without breaking my flow.

Dont suggest Motionbuilder. I have the creative edition and Motionbuilder has not once worked out for me, thats just an admission that maxs animation system is sub standard.

I look at lightwave and its animation system seems far superior to Max, so  I'm currently evaluation a workflow of Max for Modelling and Lightwave for animation.

There would be another solution. Give me a free copy of XSI that can import my max FBX's then I can animate in XSI. Now your killing XSI there is no reason not to.

[paulneale]

Fact is no one software will do it all. Also any one piece of software will always be better at one thing then another, this comes from how the software was structured to begin with. Maya may always be a better animation tool then Max and Max may always be a better modeling tool but both can be good at the other. 

Max's animation tools have been ignored but not because the Max team wanted to. Again there were politics that got in the way in some areas. I'm sure that the Max team is well aware of the short comings and I know that they are listening to the users and using that information to help assess the directions that they should be moving it. 

Hey, I look at it this way, the new PM (Project Manager) of Max, Eddie Perlberg, has the Max logo as a tattoo, that has to be a good thing. I for one have a very good out look on the development of Max that I have not had in many years. 

[-GhosTDoG-]

 Can anyone tell me if the Mental Ray MILA shaders have been integrated?

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A small humble hint for thedevelopers of 3dsmax:

http://graphics.pixar.com/opensubdiv/architecture.html

http://www.mariussilaghi.com/products/turbosmooth-pro

(this is way more needed than quad chamfer - really don't get it ! 40 €)

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_tools/wishlist/wishlist_max.htm

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but to be fair, the releases are getting better since 2013, seems to be on the right track.

[aon.914858227]

I swear next time someone comes up with this 'Quad Chamfer is a €40,- plugin'-argument  i kick his **** into a stationary earth orbit.

You guys asked for this on uservoice. Over 700 votes. And they did it. Not only as editablePoly command but also as modifier.

Do i really need to quote some of the comments over there?

No wonder they don`t take our requests more seriously. It must be sure for them that this community doesn`t know what they want.

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[lightcube]

I probably voted on Quad Chamfer myself. But I own Marius' version already... so perhaps many people who already own it are complaining about this feature because it's something they already own 🙂 Because of that it's not a super-exciting thing for me at moment but definitely a useful addition. What I'm becoming more eager about is testing out the viewport performance increases and the scene manager. If those are as good as advertised, I'll personally be satisfied... and really hopeful that the alleged upper-management policy changes are reflected in the future of Max dev and promotion.

[darawork]

There's ShaderFx integration. Sounds like a multisub-material on steriods..

And sitting 'Populate people, with custom skins..'

Zombie ArchViz apocalypse approaches,

Bring forth the boiling oil!,

Doh! No fluids....

😞

[-GhosTDoG-]

"No wonder they don`t take our requests more seriously. It must be sure for them that this community doesn`t know what they want."

That's the general issue. If everybody can vote, it's like a vote in the yellow press. The results are often based on eye candy features and not on essential core features, f.e open subdiv.

Bombing the surface with good looking features and neglecting the core features of a tool can't be a wise solution concerning the future of a software.

It is a good thing to take the forum into account, but you shouldl also take into account industry standards and upcoming industry features und suggestions of industry veterans.

http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_tools/wishlist/wishlist_max.htm

These integrated scripts are on the market for years (most are free, except quad chamfer).

 Where are the new MILA Shaders(SSS), New Subdivs etc. The core features are still old as hell.

But as I said. They are working continiously on a core feature like the viewport performance, so I hope the rest will follow in the future.