Changes for v4.0.39717 include:
- Adds Pulse / Monitor communication
- Adds slave throttling
- Reduced network load when synchronizing job folders
- Adds dynamic concurrent tasks
- New multi-threaded remote command execution
- Improved Mac OSX experience
- New user interface and theme options
- Fixes the 'Failed to assign process to job object: Access Denied' bug
- And much much more... the whole list of changes can be found here

Deadline is available for Max 7 to 2010 and costs between $110 and $140 per node. A demo version is available here.

Changes for Build 1728 are:
- Shader optimizations
- Upgraded real-time shaders
- Shader model 2 support for the Infinity Shader plugin for Max

Changes for v1.4 are:
- Fixes some bugs with the V-Ray material

SnowFlow is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs €48.

Changes for v1.0.441 are:
- Replaced Max Plugin with IPR functionality (2009 32-bit and 64-bit versions)
- Fixes nested environment samples to return black, as some shaders do not check return codes
- Default finalgather sampling to directly sample and not to use the caching algorithm
- Adds preferences option to enable finalgather sample caching

Rendition is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $395. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.2.3 are:
- Adds 'Submesh Naming' settings to the Meshes page
- Adds 'Always Create New Submeshes When Merging' setting to the Meshes page
- Adds more checks to prevent 'Submesh' object types from being selectable on bones
- Adds more precision to the light attenuation spinner controls
- Adds logic to enable/disable the 'Customize Submeshes' controls in the Object Settings dialog
- Fixes a bug with LOD techniques not having any effect in OgreMax materials

OgreMax is available for Max 8 to 2010 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.

This is a solver that enables the animator the use of both IK (inverse kinematics) and FK (forward kinematics) in the same hierarchy, making it useful for all kinds of character limbs. The animator can easily switch between the modes using the IKFKBlend value. A value of 0.0 sets the hierarchy in forward kinematics mode, meaning that the movement of each node is inherited to its child. In this mode the animator can easily define arcs of movement. A value of 100 sets the hierarchy to inverse kinematics mode, meaning that the nodes will try to reach the position of the IKGoal helper. In this mode the animator can easily attach the foot or the hands of the character to the ground or other objects.

Changes for v9.4.1 include:
- Adds 'x64' to the title bar of Craft Director Studio in 64-bit mode
- Adds a 'Check for updates' feature
- Adds a 'Look at Target When Braking' checkbox for Craft Spline Speed-Controller
- Adds a box icon for all the Freeware tools in the information window
- Adds a checkbox specifying how the resimulate function should work
- Adds a checkbox in the Resimulate dialog called 'Update viewport'
- Adds an extra icon to indicate which children of a tool are set to be recorded
- The Configuration window now puts the selected tool's configuration in focus
- Renamed Craft Firepower's Resistance value to 'Air Resistance'
- Sinusoid_01_Reference_Node is now selected at creation
- Using the scroll wheel on the mouse no longer affects spinner values
- Fixes a bug in Craft CrawlerTracks that could cause Max to crash when saving
- Fixes all Spline Speed-Controllers in the scene being cloned when importing a Pre-Rigged Model
- Important message boxes should now show even if Silent Mode is enabled
- The Undo/Redo keyboard shortcut should now work even if the main window is focused
- The tool tree list order is now loaded the same way it was saved
- Tools in the creation dialog are now sorted after their license status

Craft Director Studio is available for Max 7 to 2010 and proces range from $99 to $1199. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.1 are:
- Wind, Bomb, Atractors and any custom space warps now interact with Pdi bodies or fracture bodies

Pull Down It Pro is available for Max 9 to 2010. At the moment I have no pricing information for the plugin. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.1.5.25076 are:
- Fixes errors on file reset/reopen when scene nodes are present in schematic view
- Scripted schematic node now functions properly
- Progress bar now displays when downloading, creating and loading composite templates
- Multiple template-related fixes
- Fixes connection wire not always showing up when writing textures between each other
- Adds missing files

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

SnowFlow is a commercial MAXScript that creates realistic snow. You just pick an object and SnowFlow does the rest for you, letting the snow fall on your 3D objects and scenes at the click of a button.

Features include:
- Self-explanatory UI with integrated help
- One-click-solution in most standard situations
- Advanced settings to get the best out of SnowFlow
- Different reality levels to control object interference
- Full control over the calculated mesh
- System unit check and conversion to achieve full snow details
- autoTune options for better performance
- Caching system to prevent unnecessary recalculations
- Procedural V-Ray snow material created automatically

SnowFlow is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs €48.

Changes for v1.43 are:
- Adds support for Max 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v3.17.0 Beta 1 are:
- Adds support to import compressed meshes using Marcus Geelnard's OpenCTM format
- Recompiled using VS2008
- Due to the recompile and some other optimizations, the program is now 10% faster
- Adds support in the .OBJ mesh importer to read ZBrush's Polypaint vertex colors
- The Max and Maya exporters/importers can now save/load vertex colors
- You can now retopologize the highpoly's vertex colors

iCube R&D are running a special offer for 3 days only (26th, 27th and 28th January 2010) where you can get a 30% discount on any of their products including bundles.

The discount is celebrating the upcoming release of their new plugin MultiScatter. The plugin includes all of the functionality of VrayScatter but also works with Mental Ray.

Changes for v1.1.2.29115 are:
- Textures and parameters now update correctly on time change
- Fixes views going into an infinite refresh when MR is used to render materials
- Fixes major slow-downs when using MR to render materials in Zookeeper
- On preview floater creation nodes not inside its bounds are removed to improve efficiency

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.5.6.0 are:
- Increases maximum for segments per frame from 10 to 1000
- Tidied up registration dialog so 'go to site' button works

This version of Ghost Trails is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $99. A demo version is available here.

This is an X-File exporter that can export Biped / Skin / CAT rigs with skinning information. It also supports gizmos, multiple UV's (including vertex color) and Particle Flow, among others.

DirectX 9.0c X-File Exporter is available for Max 9 to 2009 and costs ¥5000. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.11 are:
- Adds automatic adjustment of render quality to increase performance on low spec cards
- Adds an automatic fallback shader for PS3 spotlights
- Improved precision quality for large scale scenes
- Fixes problems in Vista/Win7 with Data Execution Prevention enabled
- Fixes compatibility issues with Geforce 7 series
- Fixes compatibility problems with graphics cards without anisotropy filtering support
- Auto unwrapping on objects without smoothing groups and/or multiple elements now works
- Fixes loading of autounwrapper solution

Click-VR Visualizer is available for Max 5 to 2010 and costs €1,180. A demo version is available here.

Mir Vadim has announced that the RayFire Tool v1.49 Beta with 64-bit PhysX support is ready to use.

Due to some new PhysX plugin restrictions some old features are not available at the moment, which is why the plugin is v1.49 Beta. For now there is no glueing and you can't use grouped objects, but the most-used features such as dynamic simulation and interactive demolition work fine.

More information on availability can be found here.

RayFire Tool is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $285. A demo version is available here.

Di-O-Matic have published a break down of what to expect from them for the coming year. They are currently working on updates of their major tools such as Voice-O-Matic, Character Pack and Facial Studio.

They are also working on a new animation software that will be compatible with all major 3D applications including Max, Maya, Motionbuilder and Softimage. They will be revealing it soon on Di-O-Matic.com.

Changes for v3.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds support for After Effects CS4
- Improved After Effects to Max support
- Improved error checking
- Minor bug-fixes

MAX2AE is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.2.15 are:
- Adds feedback in job view/execution viewer if filesystem couldn't be mounted
- Failing tile compose/merge can no longer continue for ever
- Adds built-in read-only web interface optimized for mobile phones
- Adds an option to copy commandline or environments to clipboard
- Slow nodes no longer get unsynchronized and cause blind dispatches
- Group view/hide states in job submit are now remembered
- Adds support for e-on software Vue 7 and Vue 8
- Improved support for wildcards in renderer paths
- Modify nodes now remembers previously entered values
- New desktop option only executes job on FXC's running as a logged in user
- Adds '-continueOnError' additional default arg for Max
- New advanced option 'UI job' only dispatches to nodes running FXC as a UI
- Updated dispatch info for jobs
- Adds support for TAGS
- Adds support for dismounting previous filesystems if mount failed

FX|Cluster RenderStudio is available for Max 8 to 2010 and costs €129. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.1.1.30957 are:
- Changing between Max or Windows color scheme now updates Zookeeper window colors right away
- Fixes an internal notification referencing message bug
- Re-enables insert into wire object menu containing all compatible nodes currently in the view
- Adds 'Clear all inputs' option to disconnect any currently used inputs from selected nodes
- Some internal cleaning
- Adds preliminary template download functionality (WIP)

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

Changes for Build 1727 are:
- Shader optimizations
- Upgraded real-time shaders
- Shader model 2 support for the Infinity Shader plugin for Max

Changes for v4.1.23 are:
- Removes warning when a BIN mesh has 0 vertices
- Fixes RFMeshObject in animations with motion blur enabled and a large shutter time

Changes for v2.0.26 are:
- Adds a new Maxwell Render proxy object which can be used to instance meshes
- Adds Pack'n'go, which is accessible as an option in the export MXS dialog and in MAXScript
- Material export adds an option to also copy the dependencies of the material
- When using referenced materials, the plugin now looks for missing MXM files
- The 'maxwellMaterialExport' MAXScript command now works with 1.x materials
- Adds support for merging two layered materials
- Adds duplicate item, import, export and merge actions to the RC-menu of the material tree
- Texture interpolation option is now correctly set after dragging a texture file
- Making Maxwell Render the active renderer with MAXScript no longer causes an error message
- Turning on motion blur no longer causes instances to disappear
- Realflow mesh objects now export correctly to Maxwell Render
- When exporting an animation sequence, the last frame is now written

The Maxwell 3ds Max plugins come with Maxwell Render, which is available for Max 7 to 2010 and costs €895. A demo version is available here.

Alexander Kramer has released an alpha of the upcoming version of his FilePathFinder Pro plugin. New features include a DotNet interface and an image preview list, among other things.

FilePathFinder Pro is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $25. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v6.02 are:
- Fixes support of Intersense IS-1200 tracking device
- Fixes collision bits of ODE Geom Transform objects in ODE Geom Group
- The translator now loads in Max 2010 on Vista 32-bit and 64-bit

VR4MAX is available for Max 6 to 2010 and costs €1100. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0.8.21261 are:
- Composite templates are now stored in separate folders
- Dummy controls can now not be referenced to prevent save errors
- Fixes a small slowdown when disconnecting/connecting maps as sub-maps
- Hitting OK in name dialog will now accept changes and close the dialog
- Hitting OK in license server ip popup will now accept changes and close the dialog
- Fixes sporadic schematic render preview errors when rendering previews for objects
- Fixes some errors in certain cases when dragging out output of a control node
- Previews are no longer redrawn after a pan operation
- Cosmetic changes

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

This commercial MAXScript allows you to easily create smooth polygonal surfaces using 4 splines or NURBs curves to control the shape of the surface.

Polygon Creator is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $15.

Changes for v1.01 are:
- Improved performance of the items loading
- You can now include multiple models at one time to Models Categories
- Refresh now works better
- Closing the script should be faster
- Change thumbnail sizes should be faster

HCG Asset Browser PRO is available for Max 2009 to 2010 and costs $50. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.2.2 are:
- Adds support for V-Ray materials
- Adds more checks to ensure that degenerate meshes are skipped
- Adds more logic to determine whether a shader program should be listed
- Adds support in user data documents for configuring a 'visibility data item'
- Modified export of bone initial transforms / keyframes to skip scales close to identity
- Modified OpenGL sampler parameter controls in the Pass rollout to prevent negative values
- Fixes a bug with default values not being used when specifying a user data class
- Fixes a bug with exported bone names using the object/node prefix scene setting
- Fixes a bug with the exporter accessing invalid mapping channels

OgreMax is available for Max 8 to 2010 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.

Changes for Build 20100106 are:
- Makes adjustments to import / export of ASC files
- ASC importer now creates layers
- Fixes minor bugs in the importer and exporter

Changes for v1.0.7.29373 are:
- Fixes undescrore character not visible in treeview node names
- Fixes treeview nodes not updating layout after being renamed
- Wiring in a controller in 'Add Controller' slot of list controller no longer adds an extra wire
- Fixes composite template inputs sometimes not being connected
- Lookat controller now has a 'target' input that can be assigned a node
- Shadow types now cannot be assigned using non-assignable wires
- Created basic lights are now visible in viewport after creation
- Zookeeper now tries to launch Ephere License Server if it's not running
- Decreased schematic view zooming sensitivity

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 and 2010 and normally costs $249. For a limited time you can purchase a license for $199. A demo version is available here.

Changes for Build 1726 are:
- Bug fixes
- Upgrades real-time shaders
- Adds Infinity Shader plugin for Max (first public beta)

Changes for v4.1.5 are:
- Fixes material ambient and specular color
- Fixes material cos power
- Fixes material specular maps (check all spec map slots for map)
- Fixes material map slot enable/disable attribute export
- Adds material bump depth support (amount attribute of bumpmap slot)

Changes for v5.0.0.80 are:
- Adds support for Max 2010 (32-bit only)

Changes for v2.0.53 are:
- Output folder for RenderElements is no longer created when RenderElements aren't active
- Various minor fixes

VrayMultiStageRender is available for Max 9 to 2010 and costs $10. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v6.20 are:
- Power Translators Universal now implements JT, SolidEdge, SolidWorks, Inventor, Parasolids formats
- Major stability improvements (undo crashes virtually eliminated)
- Fillet tool should no longer lose/corrupt fillet sets
- Isocurve tool should no longer randomly ignore the user selections
- Power primitive redraw in sub-object mode sped up
- Plugin load time during Max load time drastically reduced
- Sub-object cloning within sketch tool improved (bezier handles should persist)
- Various minor bug fixes

Power NURBS / Solids / Translators are available for Max 9 to 2010, Information on pricing can be found at the Turbosquid ACAP site. A demo version is available here.

This plugin can be used to export static meshes to a custom ASCII XML format (*.meshxml). You can choose from a variety of export options for the mesh, such as exporting texture coordinates and normals. If you have applied a DirectX 9.0 shader as a material, you can choose to export the shader along with its uniform parameters. Also, you can associate an *.hkx file exported by the Havok Content Tools to provide physics properties to the mesh. Exported meshes are transformed from Max world space to DirectX world space and are also scaled according to the user's preference.

Changes for v2.01 are:
- Adds support for Max 2008 to 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds a first-class toolbar and menu for creating and controlling the simulation
- A modifier-based approach to match workflow in Max
- Adds a greatly improved artist interface to the options
- Adds a physical material system for using / adjusting properties on many objects at once
- Adds convenient constraint presets for common workflows
- Improved constraint visualization and performance
- Adds convenient ragdolls, deriving collision volumes from a skinned mesh
- You can now bake simulation results to keyframes for offline rendering
- Adds super simple samples created by engineers
- New documentation rewritten from scratch

This progress comes at a slight cost, however. Some PhysX features available in the previous plugin are not (yet) exposed in the new version. Fluids, cloth, force fields, and soft bodies are not supported with this release. As demanded and deemed important, NVIDIA will be adding features and improving the plugin for the next releases. (Look in particular for the inclusion of APEX Clothing in an upcoming release.)

Changes for v4.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2009 and 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)

I'm going to be out of the office until the 6th of January, so there won't be any updates until I'm back.

Dave

Just a reminder that there are only 5 days of voting left for the Autodesk Master nominations. I am very honored to have been nominated along with many other people that I know (of) and respect! If you want to cast a vote (not necessarily for me :o) then head over to the Area.

The Solidworks importer allows you to import native Solidworks parts and assemblies (*.sldprt and *.sldasm) created in Solidworks up to and including the latest version Solidworks 2010 into Max.

SolidWorks Importer is available for Max 2009 and 2010, and costs $150. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- Removed unused newton function
- Removed unused init_values_function

La Maison have now open-sourced the shader. The project is hosted at http://bitbucket.org/lamaison/lmwarpdistort with sources, documentation and binaries for linux and windows, 32 and 64 bit. A Softimage addon is also provided.

I'd like to wish all visitors to MAX Plugins.de a very happy and successful new year!