It's incredible to see what was possible nearly 30 years ago with 3ds Max and what it can do today. The tool just keeps getting faster and easier to use! I’ve always been fond of this one project I made around 1997-1998. To me, it represented the apex of what 3D Visualization could achieve. To be able to create an architectural interior in software that looked realistic was exciting. It was one of the first interiors I ever made, as I was mainly a product visualizer in 1995. Unfortunately, I’ve lost the project files over the years and only small renders survived but I decided to see what I could make now, with all the incredible tools we have in 2024.
The 1998 renders hold up on some level if you have nothing to compare them to. But upon deeper inspection, you realize their limitations.
There is no GI light bouncing around to fill in the scene. That was all faked with invisible lights placed around. Bump and Normal maps were not as prevalent, so materials always appeared flatter or shinier than in reality. Modeling wasn't as easy, so objects had faceted or sharp edges. Polygon smoothing and mesh smoothing were not as powerful as it is now. You see on the forward corner of the table that it’s really not radiused but is small straight sections. The same poly count model today would not look like that.
It’s a wonderful time to be a 3D Viz artist. Our tools are only becoming more powerful and user-friendly. Combine what we can now do in real-time with tools like 3ds Max combined with the emerging world of real-time-rendering game engines, and the excitement just boils over!
I look forward to the next 30 years of development.
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