Changes for v0.16 beta are:
- Adds a new checkbox to allow symmetric face normal blending on back side faces

Exlevel have announced that a beta version of GrowFX 1.8.0 is available to registered customers.

Changes in v1.8.0 beta include:
- Adds new 'Vertex Color' feature for all mesh builders
- Adds a new 'Random Scale' parameter for instanced geometry
- Adds a new 'Min size faces' parameter for Global Meta Settings
- Fixes some bugs with Open/Save presets
- Improved mesh updating
- Fixes some minor bugs

GrowFX is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $325. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v5.0 are:
- Adds support for iClone 5

iClone Exporter is available for Max 8 to 2011 and comes with iClone, which costs $199.95. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.54.24 are:
- The search function has been optimised

Project Manager is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $75. A demo version is available here.

Mankua have announced that Max 2012 versions of their plugins Kaldera and Texture Layers 2 are now available. You just need to mail them your serial number, and they will send back the updated version.

Kaldera is available for Max 5 to 2012 and costs $395. Texture Layers 2 is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $295. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.9.0.0 pre-release include:
- granny_text_tracks created from Max Note Tracks have been slightly altered
- The Max exporter now respects value locks in global:'Track Group' SetValue commands
- Adds GrannyExportAtomic to the Max exporter for exporting directly from Max to a named pipe
- 'GrannyHelp' with no arguments lists the available exporter script commands in Max
- amd much much more... A huge list of changes can be found here

Granny Exporter is available for Max 6 to 2012, and is part of the Granny Toolkit which costs $12500

Changes for v2011.1.370818 are:
- Enables stream support for all plugins
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds support for Photoshop CS5.5, Softimage 2012 and Maya 2012

Changes for v2.0.45 pre-release are:
- Adds some error checking for buffers to avoid possible missed buffers
- Adds Camera3D.canvasSize:Point
- Adds a parameter to Scene3D.setupFrame to render to different texture sizes
- Adds a Light3D attenuation property
- Adds vertex colors to the ColladaLoader
- Adds a byteCode read/write property to the FLSLFilter
- Changed the Light3D.setParams parameters order
- Changed scene context behavior in the Flare3dLoader
- Expanded Surface3D offsets and buffers
- Fixes issues with Mesh3DUtils.merge
- Adds removeOriginal and material parameters to merge by material
- Fixes some Light3D rendering issues
- Fixes duplicatd bones in complex skinned meshes causing incorrect results
- Fixes incorrect math in Camera3D.viewport and projection
- Fixes the RayCollision ignoreBackFace parameter
- Fixes some issues with upload/download methods
- Fixes a bug in Mesh3D.draw with the includeChildren parameter
- Fixes ParticleEmitter null bounds
- Fixes issues with Surface3DUtils transform and concat methods

Flare3D is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $496. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.7.1 are:
- Fixes tangent space export
- Adds better BSLightingShaderProperty defaults

Changes for v3.3.11 are:
- Fixes a bug with MadCarTrack Texture for trailers
- Fixes a bug with incorrect driving input in Max 2012
- Adds a new driving mode: Path Follow

MadCar is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €200.

Changes for v0.15 are:
- Small changes to the way alpha channels are handled in the per-pixel map
- Adds a new checkbox to toggle the influence of face normal blending on mono channel output

Changes for v3.17.6 are:
- Adds support for importing / exporting WebP images
- The program now respects tangents/biNormals loaded from the mesh importer plugins
- Fixes a problem in the SBM exporter for Max that caused a hang
- Adds a new experimental renderer based on Caustic's OpenRL 1.0R2 raytracing API
- Fixes a problem with dilation using the tangent-to-object-space tool
- You can now render a new map type: derivative height maps
- You can now to write image importers/exporters using Java
- The FBX mesh importer has been completely rewritten
- Fixed the problems loading the filter plug-ins in Photoshop CS5
- Re-exported all the example JPGs
- Adds a warning message if you use external cages with the 'Use shortest diagonal' option enabled
- Recompiled using the latest libraries (Optix 2.1.1, FBX, Crosswalk)

Changes for v3.7.0.36267 are:
- Adds support for Max 2011 and Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Changes to niflib/docsys scripts to handle BSShaderProperty and handle 20.2.0.7 quirks
- Adds minimal support for Skyrim

Changes for v1.06 are:
- Fixes a bug when you try to exit 'Pick 3 point to align' with RMB click
- Adds a macro to bind a hotkey to 'Pick Center Point'

Work Plane is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v1.02 are:
- Adds a new standalone licensing tool

R|shaders Core Zero is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $99 until the end of November, after that it will cost $149. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- There is now a demo version available for testing

Due to new code added for the demo version, a few bugs were found that affected the Max 2009 and 2010 versions. Until these bugs can be fixed, Furniture is only available for Max 2011 and Max 2012.

Furniture is available for Max 2011 to 2012 and costs $24.99. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.54.20 are:
- Adds the ability to search files by name and description
- Adds the ability to add a description to Max files
- Adds display of embedded thumbnails in Max files
- Include AutoCad file format as default in the 'Models' category
- Adds display of embedded thumbnails in AutoCad files
- Adds the ability to turn on/off extensions for display in the 'Models' category
- Adds the ability to include/exclude models by extension for batch rendering
- Adds the ability to add files to favorites from the status bar
- Adds some methods and properties for PMStructureInfo
- Extreme speed up when opening directories with a large number of subfolders
- Updates the help
- Fixes some issues with thumbnail rendering
- Fixes a bug with the correct display of Asset files

Project Manager is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $75. A demo version is available here.

TopoRelax is a scripted modifier which relaxes meshes while preserving their volume unlike the normal relax modifier which shrinks the mesh.

TopoRelax is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €25.

Changes for v2.0 include:
- Foam and splashes particle shader
- Simulation of foam and splashes
- GPU Preview improvements
- Render particles as smoke
- Particle export

Phoenix FD is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €700. Upgrades from Phoenix FD 1.x costs €250. Anyone who purchased Phoenix FD between September 1st 2011 and November 21st 2011 is entitled to a free upgrade. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v0.5 are:
- Fixes various issues

Changes for v1.9 are:
- Adds new 'Randomize Shapes Color' tool
- Adds new 'Convert Shapes to Spline' tool
- Adds new 'Convert Shapes to NURBS Curve' tool
- Adds new 'Fuse Endpoints of Shapes' tool

Polygon Creator is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $55. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v6.3.1 are:
- A number of bug-fixes and improvements, the full list can be found here

Qube! is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs $250 (Worker license) / $500 (Supervisor license). A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.3 are:
- You can now use splines as magnets
- You can now apply multiple magnet controllers in one array
- Improved support for compound objects

Parametric Array is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $79.90. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.05 are:
- You can now change the viewport type to match the Work Plane position

Work Plane is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v3.4.105 are:
- Fixes a crash issue with the Slate material editor

Furniture is a commercial collection of MAXScripts that makes it easy to create and modify furniture elements such as cabinets with doors, cabinets with drawers, combined cabinets and shelves (vertical or horizontal).

Furniture is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $24.99.

Changes for v1.9.0.26347 are:
- Fixes an error in Max 2012 with the SubScription Advantage Pack
- In Max 2012 SAP, Zookeeper now loads without State Sets

Zookeeper is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds support for 64-bit Max 2011

Changes for v1.04 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Work Plane is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v2.5.0.9 are:
- Adds 36 new Parquet materials (Chevron and Woodweave)

V-Ray Material Presets Pro is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €75 for a 3 month subscription.

Changes for v3.7.1 beta are:
- The Area panel has been completely rewritten
- The Forest object is no longer automatically linked to the Area spline
- Scattering performance has been greatly improved for large areas and complex splines
- Adds the parameter 'Areas->Scale Falloff->Affect Height only'
- Decreasing falloff curves are now allowed
- Adds support for points-cloud in V-Ray proxies
- You can now scale falloff by distance to the camera
- Adds falloff values from the camera's environment range
- The MAXScript functions to get items' properties now work in Generate mode
- Adds MAXScript function 'getFullTransform(n)'
- The number of maximum items in the viewport is now more precise
- Forest is now properly updated after rendering when using manual update
- Fixes minor issues on billboard importing
- Vertex color now renders in V-Ray
- Scale Min/Max values have been swapped in the Transform rollout
- Improved Distribution Map file search on network paths
- Camera clipping is now disabled when editing in Custom Edit mode
- Fixes an instability issue with Maxwell proxies
- Fixes a potential memory leak with V-Ray
- Mental Ray no longer triggers an error on certain hidden layer configurations

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €180. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.02 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Improved OBJ support
- Minor bug-fixes

SuperMesher is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $125. A demo version is available here.

Seigi Sato has posted some more information on his plugin Mesh Slide, including a video demo of the GPU support he has added since the last video was released.

This object uses SH (shell) functions to create spherical harmonics objects.

Changes for v3.3.10b are:
- Fixes incorrect driving input when 'time delay' was small
- The 'Follow object' algorithm has been improved
- Fixes an issue with 'jittering' on flat surfaces while following an object

MadCar is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €200.

Refractive Sofware Ltd has announced the upcoming release of their render plugin 'OctaneRender for Autodesk 3ds Max'.

Features include:
- Full integration of OctaneRender in Max
- The renderer works directly in the Max process and memory space
- Full integration of all octane nodes as materials, lights, textures and media
- Automatic scene material translation from existing Max materials
- All OctaneRender nodes, parameters and features are configurable from Max
- Identical functionality and render performance to the standalone engine
- Batch render fully animated scenes using Max's render engine workflow

The plugin will be available from the 1st of December 2011, and will support Max 2010, 2011 and 2012. For full pricing information and more details and videos, take a look at this post on the Octane forum.

Changes for v0.4 are:
- Adds a new shader GUI
- Fixes various PhysX problems
- Adds a note to the PhysX modifier about the importance of pivots
- Adds basic spotlight support with shadows
- Improved error handling
- Adds a new sample scene
- Diffuse texture now works (make sure you use mapping channel 1)

Changes for v10.0 are:
- Adds new spline and road tools
- Adds a library of dynamic rock templates
- Adds absorption and scattering to physical transparency and water shaders
- Improved terrain editing
- Adds a new Strata3D noise node
- Adds new cyclic noises and fractals
- Up to 30% faster rendering speed
- New render display dialog lets you stack and compare previous renders
- Adds EcoSystem phase control
- Adds EcoSystem lean-out control
- Adds edge-based anti-aliasing
- You can now have multiple camera aspect ratios
- Improved render area functionality
- Improved depth of field and motion blur
- Texture projection mapping improvements
- And much more... a full list of changes can be found here

The demo link below is for the previous version, the PLE for the new version will be available soon.

Vue xStream is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $1495. Upgrades from Vue 9 xStream cost $395. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.10 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v2.0.44 pre-release are:
- Adds Mesh3DUtils.merge utility
- Adds 'frc' function in FLSL
- Adds includeMaterials parameter in Pivot3DUtils.appendAnimation
- Adds SkinModifier.updatePolys method
- Adds Scene3D.mouseEnabled property to enable/disable all scene mouse events
- Adds Scene3D.updateMouseEvents method to force mouse event updates for all 3D objects
- Adds Input3D.eventPhase property to return the last eventPhase value
- Adds flare.primitives.SkyBox class
- Fixes Pivot3DUtils.appendAnimation issues when appending to different clones
- Minor fixes in Viewer3D class with camera translations and mouse drag
- Fixes a bug when objects were disposed in mouseDown events
- Fixes a bug when using the parent parameter of Scene3D.addChildFromFile
- Fixes an issue with sampled lights that produced a non-lit area near the light
- Fixes issues with mouse events outside the scene viewport
- Fixes a rotated axis in some Collada files
- Renamed Library3D load(item) method to push(item) and start() for load()
- Shader3D technique is now a transform FLSLFilter for future additions
- Changed the ColladaLoader constructor
- Scene MouseEvent3D's now check for eventPhase property for better interactivity

Flare3D is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $496. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v6.1.0.294 are:
- ProgressBar performance improvement
- Shadow processing limitation corrected to full vertex count
- VR-Mode corrections to flipping horizontal and vertical states
- Adds an 'Enabled on Startup' checkbox
- Adds seamless 'maxReality Virtual Camera' updates for Skype and other virtual camera applications
- Adds additional error reporting fields in the .LOG file
- Fixes lighting in AR mode when no lights are assigned to the scene
- Fixes submaterial and material processing for old vs new VWD formats
- Forces update to the scaling matrix when no patterns are detected in the scene
- Enhanced shutdown performance by shutting down audio resources prior to rendering resources
- Adds a prompt on F1 help screen to indicate <I> key command
- Changes FriendlyName for Star and 1200 systems to generic '910' identifier only

maxReality plugin is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs $499.99. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.04 are:
- Fixes a few bugs

Work Plane is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v0.3 are:
- The first version of the main GUI has been implemented
- Adds the Maratis physics modifier
- Adds support for omni lights
- Adds support for free cameras
- Exports mproj (maratis project files)
- Exports .level files
- Copies texture maps to maps folder

Changes for v1.2.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit only)
- Adds a new 'Display Important Warnings' checkbox to warn about export process problems
- Fixes a problem when exporting objects with vertex alpha
- Fixes some menus not deleting correctly
- Drops support for Max 2008 and 2009

NmoTion is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €219. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Zoom extents after import
- Isolated vertices are automatically deleted

The Fibix exporter is used to export DZM models from Max for use with the Fibix editor, part of a realtime visualization framework which is free for non-commercial use.

Currently the plugin is only available for 32-bit Max versions.

Changes for v1.57.01 are:
- Adds support for the new PhysX plugin 2.7

RayFire Tool is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $325. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.6 are:
- Adds a new procedural primitive for rendering hair
- Adds a new procedural primitive for particles
- Adds support for vector displacement
- Much faster (transform) motion blur
- You can now load MXS file references to your main scene file which are only added at render time
- Adds support for referenced materials
- Maxwell Render SDK now includes a standalone python editor and scripting examples
- A second displacement algorithm has been added which is much faster than the previous one
- Big improvements in image processing, filtering and aliasing
- Advanced integration with RealFlow
- New 'Normal Vectors' and 'Position' render channels
- Adds support for new IES multiplicator parameter
- A new checkbox in render options sets whether the MXI and image are saved to disk
- Adds a new color space: HDTV (Rec.709)
- The Multilight controls for sun and sky have been separated
- Multilight now works with real units for sky
- Adds an option to import Multilight settings from an mxs file back into the scene
- Displacement + Instances is now possible
- Displacement + Motion blur is now possible
- Improved error handling when opening invalid MXS files
- Fixes sun + emitter caustics failing
- Fixes a limitation of instances of objects with emitter material applied
- Improvements in multithreading routines
- Adds support for instances with motion blur
- Fixes a bug in bump when tiling was not 1
- Fixes a crash when opening MXI's generated from images
- Fixes a memory leak with some texture formats
- Fixes a problem with padding channels output paths
- The overridematerial:off command line option is now properly parsed
- The 'Recent MXI files' menu now shows the latest MXIs generated in render properly
- 32-bit outputs (TIFF32, HDR, EXR) now match MXI
- Multi-emitter material names now display properly in Multilight
- Pure black pixels are now stored as 0,0,0 in all image formats
- Fixes TGA files sometimes crashing with compression
- Metadata is now properly saved in multilayered EXR's and TIFF's
- Adds a new command line option to get a small proxy of the image output
- The macro %scene% has been deprecated for the sake of clarity
- The new command line option '-removemxs' removes the mxs file after the render finishes
- And much more... a full list of fixes can be found here (PDF)

Maxwell Render is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €895. A demo version is available here.

Changes for SP6 are:
- Shadows from rectangular light have been improved
- Adaptive QMC GI Engine now performs better with DR
- Adaptive QMC GI Engine no longer creates defective solution files when rendering with DR
- HarmonicsGI now properly supports distributed network rendering (DR)
- Fixes artifacts in HarmonicsGI when rendering with DR
- Adds a new 'Include Atmospherics' option to render elements
- Exclude/include lists within render elements is now supported by DR
- Adds a reflect/refract material ID option to the fR Advanced material
- Adds a reflect/refract material ID option to the fR Architectural material
- finalToon now works properly with fR proxy objects
- Fixes problems with camera clipping planes in finalToon

These fixes also apply to the standard version of finalRender and finalToon.

finalRender is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €995 (Standard) / €1295 (Studio Edition) / €495 (finalToon). A demo version is available here.

The A&G Tool Co., makers of the Studio Light Rig plugin, have posted a sneak peek at the UI of their upcoming plugin 'The Scene Journal'.

Judging from the screenshot, it is a tool that lets you easily add annotations and notes to a Max scene, making it useful in a team of artists. Features include:
- Date-stamped entries
- Pop-up notifications on scene open
- Easy removal of journal notes
- Save on entry option
- Resizeable UI

There is no mention of a release date or pricing, but it looks like it will be available soon.

Changes for v1.3.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds 64-bit support for Max 2009 to 2011

Changes for v1.03 are:
- Adds 'Pick Points' to Work Plane Local Ofset
- Adds 'Pick Center Point' to Edit Work Plane

Work Plane is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v2.3.19 are:
- Adds a scene and object setting for ensuring exporting bounding boxes are cubes
- The timelines' start time is now always used as the node reference time
- Modified the camera exporter to use render settings when calculating vertical FOV
- Fixes a bug with manual LOD distances not being scaled correctly

OgreMax is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.