Updating FBX plugin

[GKABS]

Greetings,

I am currently using 3ds Max 2009 and would like to update the FBX plugin to a more recent version. I am curious to know if this is feasible, and if so, what steps should I take?

Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,

[MartinBeh]

I doubt there is much of any update for such an old version of 3ds Max. You are using a software that is 17 years old...

[GKABS]

Thank you for your feedback. Okay, is there any other way to export the model and the animation besides FBX?

[MartinBeh]

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@GKABS wrote:

Thank you for your feedback. Okay, is there any other way to export the model and the animation besides FBX?

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Yes, there are many ways but this highly depends on what you want to do with the exported data afterwards.

Why did you want to update FBX in the first place?

[GKABS]

That is a good question, and I am sorry I didn't make that clear from the beginning. I need to export my models from 3ds Max to Blender, and I need to keep the animation intact. As you said, 2009 is an old software, so I need to get all my work into Blender. I can't afford to get a new 3ds Max license, as I am retired and money is tight.

[MartinBeh]

For Blender, FBX is probably your best bet, especially since you also want to export/import animation. But FBX is a semi-proprietary format owned by Autodesk, so the Blender folks have a hard time properly supporting it in the context of their license.

What exactly is wrong with the FBX version that you have in 3ds Max 2009?

Other formats I see on the Blender page that are able to carry animation are Collada or USD but not sure how good support for these formats is in 3ds Max 2009.

Or maybe the old .3ds format available in 3ds Max in combination with the Autodesk FBX Converter can help some?

Without animation, things would be easier.

[GKABS]

What exactly is wrong with the FBX version that you have in 3ds Max 2009?

When I export to FBX from Max and try to import it to Blender, I get this error

"Version 6100 unsupported, must be 7100 or later"

os, I thought that had to do with the FBX, and that's why I was looking to update the FBX may be I am mistaken.

Other formats I see on the Blender page that are able to carry animation are Collada or USD but not sure how good support for these formats is in 3ds Max 2009.

Or maybe the old .3ds format available in 3ds Max

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Collada and USD are not listed under Max 2009, and the 3ds doesn't support animation.  I am really lost as I have a lot of models that I can't use, and 2009 is old and limited.

Without animation, things would be easier.

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You're definitely correct, but I use these models for games, and the animation takes a lot of time to redo, and I wouldn't take that bath if you know what I mean.

[MartinBeh · Accepted solution]

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@GKABS wrote:

What exactly is wrong with the FBX version that you have in 3ds Max 2009?

When I export to FBX from Max and try to import it to Blender, I get this error

"Version 6100 unsupported, must be 7100 or later"

os, I thought that had to do with the FBX, and that's why I was looking to update the FBX may be I am mistaken.

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Take a look at the Autodesk FBX Converter I mentioned above - it might be able to convert from the older FBX version to a newer one.

[GKABS]

Thank you so much. I will download it and let you know if it works for me. Fingers crossed 🤞. 

[GKABS]

I really appreciate your help; you have truly come to my rescue! After downloading the FBX 2013.3 Converter for Windows 64-bit, I was impressed to find that it provided a seamless option to convert my files to the latest FBX format. The conversion process was straightforward, and I was able to import the newly converted files into Blender without any issues. This has made my project much more manageable and efficient. Thank you once again for your support!

[MartinBeh]

Great, happy to hear this was useful. Good luck with the transition.