3ds Max 2020 update 3 released!

[hagen.deloss]

The 3ds Max Team is pleased to inform you that 3ds Max 2020.3 update went live today!

Summary

The 3ds Max 2020.3 update extends Viewports support for Arnold lights, Arnold Procedural and Alembic objects and more. With the latest Autodesk Translation Framework (ATF) update, you can now import JT 10.5 files and CATIA V4 files created from CATIA V5-6R2019. Additional work has been done to improve the quality of JT imports, as well as SketchUp imports. We’ve continued to improve the Chamfer tool, with new Chamfer Mitering types (Radial and Patch) available in EditablePoly, as well as algorithm improvements that will produce more predictable and accurate Chamfer results.

General Max issues resolved

• A user on the public forums identified issues with how SketchUp files were being imported when using 3ds Max 2020.2 Update. Issues were found with edge visibility and welding imported geometry.
• A manufacturing customer reported that JT files were being misrepresented in the Scene Explorer compared with industry standards. After a thorough consultation, this has been fixed in a manner consistent with how other formats are imported.
• Over a dozen defects were fixed for Chamfer that caused unexpected results, and that improve the overall stability.
• The Transform Toolbox has been fixed so it now uses world units.
• Several issues related to Unwrap UVW have been fixed, including:
  • Texture selection fixed when changing Material ID.
  • Texture drop-down no longer loses all textures when reset.
  • Select All and Inverse no longer selects hidden or frozen uvs.
  • Zoom Extents Selected now zooms to the selected geometry as expected.
• An incompatibility between MAXScript and Python due to case sensitivity, which caused some members of Python modules imported into MAXScript to be inaccessible, has been fixed.
• PySide2 was updated 5.12.4 to match the version of Qt used by 3ds Max. This fix will resolve instability issues.
• Physical cameras can no longer get into a state where they become unusable, making it impossible to see anything in the viewport.
• Bitmap files used in an OSL map can now be edited outside of 3ds Max, as the file no longer locks.

You can see the full list of issues resolved issues here!

3ds Max Arnold updates

• Update to Arnold 5.4.0.1.
• Arnold lights are now supported in the viewport.
• Arnold procedural and alembic objects now have a viewport representation.
• Exposed the clip_geo shader.
• You can now opt to have no background.
• Arnold alembic object now supports layer information.
• You can now change render settings while in ActiveShade.
• All of a scene's shaders can be overridden simultaneously using the shader_override node.
• The ability to Bake normal and height maps is now supported.

The above information is taken from this documentation here. 

3ds Max 2020.3 update is available via the Autodesk Desktop App and for download on your Autodesk Account.

The 3ds Max Team also released the  3ds Max 2018.4.8 Security Fix and 3ds Max I/O 2020.3 update today.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for providing valuable information about the update of the 3Ds Max application. It will help to improve myself and learn new features to create exciting models and designs.

[whitebirchstudios]

Installing now. About an hour into it and 1/2 way done. Again, why so slow on these updates? Before you say, "I don't know what you are talking about", do a search on the forum. 

I am looking forward to the update! Thank you, Autodesk.

[PropChad]

Yeah, these update times are crazy. I just did the entire farm and my workstation. Perfect time to clean the crumbs out of my keyboard I guess. Then twiddle my thumbs.

[whitebirchstudios]

My BOXX Render Pro II has been churning away on it for two hours now and it is a 1/4 done. My main workstation took about an hour 1/2 way and then the second 1/2 went a little faster. I have been complaining about this for about, I don't know, a decade.  I posted about it when I installed an early service pack a couple of months ago and AD treated it like it was the first they heard of the issue. 

[PropChad]

I don't remember having this issue before 2014, nothing more than 15 minutes. But it seems to go longer and longer with each release. I don't know what it is doing in that first half, but yeah, after that it goes fast. Most of our machines will do it in about an hour. And the CPU usage is hardly used the entire time, and the hard drive lights barely flash...it's like it is sleeping on the job.

[markus_s]

Do we need to set aside an entire day for updates now? The installation time for this update was ridiculous!

Anyways, I came here because I wanted to rant about how unstable Max 2020.3 has been for me. I recently switched from 2019.3 and so far I'm having a lot of unexpected crashes, sometimes without any recovery file saved. I'm a Vray user and I also upgraded Vray, so there could, of course, be another culprit. Is anyone else experiencing instability in 2020?

[PropChad]

Yeah, update times are insane. I can install the entire Creative Cloud Suite and still have time for a beer for how long it takes. It's been like this for a while now. Funny part is disk, network, and cpu usage is near zero the entire time. Whatever the update is doing, it's taking its sweet time doing it.

We have not upgraded VRay yet, but 2020 is less stable than 2019 in my experience so far. Not near as bad as my time with 2017, but still a noticeable difference from 2019. It has gotten better from the 2020.1 update, but still needs improvement. I'm still jumping between 2019 and 2020 depending on the job, since nPower still hasn't updated their plug-ins to 2020. And 2021 is right around the corner, so who knows if we'll get another update.

[aon.914858227]

I can`t agree here.

2020.x is rock solid here, much more then 2018-2019. Even on my crappy laptop.But then i don`t use many plugins. I don`t use VRay but i know Vray has/had stability problems with 2020. Not sure if they have sorted it out yet.

[jibijib]

It has crashed approximately 6 times since I've been using it since August 2019. 4 of those crashes has completely hung my system. I've come to accept that's just what it does now and I have autosave every few minutes, but 6 times isn't bad at all for four months, 8 hours a day.

Apart from a few silly new 'defaulted' implementations with tools (chamfer - I don't want it defaulted to 2 segments or Tri chamfer, I can set it myself if I wanted that).

[ackick2000]

You post a message saying HEY! all new fixes to max 2020.... NO LINK TO THE PLACE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT?! 

[ackick2000]

Update after update of Max is an Embarrassment.. Looking through how you even do your documentation, website, is an embarrassment. A BASIC FUNCTION is broken every time you release a product.. every time you fix it eventually in an update.. ALL I WANT IS THAT UPDATE and its NOT EASY! 

[PropChad]

The 3ds Max update downloads are located where they always have been found for years. If you can't find them, that's on you. If your account doesn't have access to them, that's on your admin.

If something breaks during your update, report the bug. They won't get fixed if they are not aware of them. You also seem to be complaining in a post that is more than 4 months old.

[EHSANIAN-MOFRAD]

I could not find any Install Update 2020.3 in the autodesk! no link to download it

[lynn_zhang]

Hi @EHSANIAN-MOFRAD 

Did you mean you can't find it in your Autodesk Account? Have you checked your Autodesk desktop app? See: Install updates, add-ons, and enhancements

[jon.bell]

Hi Ehsanian,

Did you log into your Autodesk Account, go to All Products and Services > 3ds Max 2020 > Updates and Add-ons and download the 2020.3 update>

Please let us know, and we hope to hear from you soon!

[EHSANIAN-MOFRAD]

Hi Jon, I went to my account but there is no 3dsmax 2020.3 in the updates and add ons. as you can see in the below image.

[DarrenP]

your image doesn’t show everything

is this a student account?

[EHSANIAN-MOFRAD]

Yes it is a student account. The image shows that there is no 2020.3

[jon.bell]

Hi Ehsanian,

Are you a member of a specific academic institution? If so, can you contact your school admins or art teachers to see if they have access to updates that aren't available to you?

Please let us know, and thanks!