I'm heading off to the End User Event in Utrecht in a couple of hours, so I won't be able to update the site for a few days. If you are also going to be there, make sure you say 'Hi', and if you're not going, think about trying to get to the next one, because there is nothing like it in Europe.

Dave

Parametric Array II is still in Beta, but is being made available now. Registered users of Parametric Array v1.0 can upgrade for free, but be warned that the upgrade isn't reversible, so you'll need to make a backup of your original license.

This new version has been completely rewritten, and has been designed to be as efficient as possible. Memory usage is lower, even though the plugin now has 23 controllers as opposed to only 5 in the original. Furthermore, the plugin is now much more user-friendly, with a drag and drop interface.

Parametric Array is available for Max 2009 to 2012 (I think) and costs normally costs $79.90. For a limited time you can purchase a license for $40.

Changes for v1.1.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds an option to display render quality particles in the viewport
- Adds a file converter from .PTS and .XYZ to .PRT
- Adds 'Nearest Frame Velocity Offset' motion blur mode
- RealFlow Particle Loader particles are no longer deleted based on their lifespan
- Enhanced thinkingParticles support
- Broader CSV file support
- PRT file performance improvements
- Fixes errors when reading a PRT file with a float16 Position channel
- Adds a new dialog for choosing Particle Flow Events and Thinking Particles Groups
- Particle Flow Events are now listed only under connected sources
- Adds tooltips for wide list items
- Lists are now updated when object names change
- PFlow Events are now removed when their parent is removed from the particle objects list
- Several preset fixes
- The installer has been improved
- Fixes Metaballs incorrectly getting zero channel values
- Fixes Frost selected objects disappearing from V-Ray renders
- Fixes a crash when saving Frost mesh as an .OBJ file using the ObjExporter
- Fixes crash issues when using mesh vertices as particles
- The render mesh is now enabled using the 'Enable in Render' checkbox
- Union of Spheres channels are now taken from the particle whose shell is closest to the surface
- Fixes Zhu/Bridson vertex refinement for low resolutions
- Fixes drop-down menu size in Max 2009
- Fixes phantom particles from the Slice modifier

Frost is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $495. A demo version is available here.

Poly Flow is a set of commercial MAXScripts designed to help the modeler with the everyday boring task of rearranging edges. It makes predictable changes to the topology giving you what you want.

Benefits include:
- No more guess work when it comes to getting the edge flow you want
- Make changes fast and easily to the topology
- You have more control over the topology
- Great for organic models, but can also be applied to hard-surface models

Poly Flow is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €20. Marius has also changed the price for all of his other commercial scripts to €20.

Changes for v1.6 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

If you are one of the many people who have been eagerly waiting for the 2012 version of Greeble, please think about clicking on Toms Donate button at the link above.

Changes for v0.2 Beta RC3 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

For a limited time, enRichPro are offering their very useful RichDirt plugin for €29 instead of €59. They are also running a survey to find out which renderers / applications they should target other than mental ray / 3ds Max, so help them out and add your votes.

RichDirt is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €29. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2012 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

OCTAdesign is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and proces range from €810 to €3800. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.50.24 are:
- Adds the ability to undo the 'Object Replace' operation
- Adds options for merging Max scenes as xRef scene or xRef objects
- Adds the ability to set up the number of faces for Proxies before converting
- Makes some changes to the Preferences dialog
- Adds a new improved system of searching for asset files
- You can now replace group member objects without replacing the whole group
- Improved display of images with alpha channel
- Fixes some minor issues with navigation
- Fixes some minor issues with batch rendering

Project Manager is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $60. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.6.02 are:
- Adds some changes to the Preferences dialog
- Adds a new improved system of searching for asset files
- Fixes some minor issues with batch rendering

FilePathFinder Pro is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $25. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.31 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds 64-bit support for Max 2011

Changes for v4.04 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

ShaderFX is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs $249. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.10 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

SkinFX is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs $179. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Max2Thea is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €39.50. A demo version is available here.

Changes for SP3 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds a 'Random Seed' property to the Volume Break Operator
- You can now turn alignment on/off in the Path Follow Operator
- The Volume Break Operator now activates correctly by Helper Group
- VolumePos now responds properly to world space warps
- MatterWaves operator trigger: birthrate now resets after an operator off
- PositionBorn operator trigger: birthrate now resets after an operator off
- Born operator trigger: birthrate now resets after an operator off
- TP multi-material shading with sub multi-materials now works correctly
- StdShape Facing now aligns properly with Groups as Objects
- Vertex color no longer kills Particle Time mapping coordinates
- TP multi-material, multi-threading with particle time is now stable
- Facing now works correctly with Groups as Objects

ThinkingParticles is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €1595. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.24 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

3D Aliens have released versions of glu3D and PWrapper for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit). From what I have heard the new version is also more stable than the last one.

glu3D and PWrapper are available for Max 8 to 2012 and cost €495 (glu3D) / €295 (PWrapper). A demo version is available here.

Vladislav Gavrilov has recompiled a number of his commercial plugins for Max 2012:

- InsertShape v1.2.0 (Max 2012 support)
- Edge Chamfer/Extrude v6.0 (Max 2012 support, adds new Quad chamfer)
- PolygonMap v5.5.4 (Max 2012 support)
- Advanced Outline v2.5.0 (Max 2012 support, no longer freeware)

All of the plugins are available for Max 2008 to 2012, and prices range between $40 and $50. Demo versions can be downloaded on the product pages linked above.

Changes for v12.048 are:
- Overall stability improvements, especially in OpenGL and rendering
- Adds Maya 2011, Max 2011 and Softimage 2011 Exchange for BodyPaint 3D
- Combine Scene Tool now uses material names

BodyPaint 3D is available for Max 6 to 2011 and costs $746.25. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.8.50.0 are:
- Support is now in place for Max, Maya, and XSI 2012

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

Changes for v0.5.3 beta are:
- Adds an option to limit the AO distance
- Adds support for Maya's batch rendering and animation
- The CPU C++ renderer now is a 20-33% faster
- Recompiled with the new compilers (VS2010, llvm 2.0/xc4) and libraries
- Adds some Maya missing examples to the Mac version
- Fixes some problems with Catalyst 11.6
- Moved some files outside the Mac's app bundle

Changes for v3.6 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

MAX2AE is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.5.0.6 are:
- Adds 36 new leather materials
- Adds 34 new cloth materials

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

Changes for v1.514 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Point Oven is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs $99. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v5.0.5 are:
- Objects imported from BIN and SD no longer have smoothing applied
- Object movement is now imported from SD files
- Fixes a problem where the SD exporter sometimes produced corrupted files

The RealFlow 3ds Max plugins come with RealFlow, which is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €2995. A demo version is available here.

Quad Cap is a commercial MAXScript designed to produce fast quad caps for even-sided polygons. Benefits include perfect quad topology for your cylinders and spheres, perfect subdivision, improved hard-surface modeling.

Quad Cap is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v1.6.1.44739 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (2-bit and 64-bit)
- Various minor bug-fixes

Krakatoa is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $995 + support. A demo version is available here.

Autodesk have released Service Pack 1 for Max 2012 and Max Design 2012.
Some of the things that have been fixed include:
- The core code of CAT has been rewritten, and many defects fixed
- The environment map on/off setting now works correctly
- Normals now display correctly when objects are mirrored
- A lot of fixes and improvements for the Nitrous viewports
- A number of fixes to the Quicksilver hardware renderer
- The 'Error Parsing XAML' error on start-up has been fixed
- A number of fixes to UnwrapUVW

A full list of fixes can be found here (PDF).

SnowPrint is a plugin that enables you to print on objects using other objects, eg. making footprints in snow, sand or mud. It allows you to easily create wet maps and collision maps.

Originally part of the SnowFlow plugin, SnowPrint has been rewritten for the new version, and includes the following changes:
- Now a standalone plugin (no SnowFlow needed)
- Newly programmed from the ground up
- Completely new user interface
- Quality and speed enhancements

SnowPrint is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs €22.

Changes for v3.5.3 beta are:
- Fixes a bug loading scenes that use XRef as Custom Objects in Max 2012
- The cleaning render stage of Mental Ray no longer crashes with multiple Forest objects
- Fixes Random Tint by Element creating different results when resetting Max
- Improved the randomness of Tint by Element
- Fixes a potential assert error when cloning objects after rendering with Mental Ray
- Custom Edit creation now works

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

Changes for v1.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 9 to 2009 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Quad Chamfer is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v2.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Subdivision Reversion is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs $10.

Changes for v2011-05-30 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Unigine Exporter is part of the Unigine 3D Engine which costs $9,980. The exporter is available for Max 8 to 2012. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.50 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Improved stability on several MAXScripts
- Fixes a problem with orthographic rendering

Studio Clouds is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €1,899. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.1.08b are:
- Fixes a bug in the viewport when MultiScatter is off

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

Changes for v1.5 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit) to Pyrocluster v3.5
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit) to finalDOF v1.5
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit) to finalFlares v1.5

finalF/X Bundle is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €856.

Changes for v1.0.0 are:
- Adds a new export dialog
- Adds a new option for exporting all standard material map channels
- Adds a new option for exporting material description strings
- Adds a new option for converting the units of the exported model
- Bradley Baker Searles: LOD helper nodes are now inserted in the scene hierarchy
- Laurens Voerman: Texture tile/mirror options are now properly exported
- Jean-Sebastien: Adds CMake support
- Normal maps are now exported
- Improved support for mix maps
- The wire mode setting in standard materials is now exported
- Material name is now applied to the corresponding osg::StateSet name
- Embedding image data now works with the osgb format
- Disabling lighting with self-illuminated baked shell materials now works
- Texture coordinate array is now reused for duplicate mapping channels

Changes for v3.51 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Puppetshop is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $99. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.7.0 beta are:
- Adds a new direction modifier 'Wind animation'
- Adds a new 'Wind' helper object for easy setting of wind animation
- Adds a new direction modifier 'Hard bend'
- Adds support for the Nitrous viewport in Max 2012
- Fixes some minor bugs

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

Changes for v1.4 are:
- Adds parallel and flat chamfering types
- Adds an icon
- Made the UI more compact

Quad Chamfer is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v2.3.12 are:
- Fixes newer versions of Max displaying 'None' for the render texture even when set

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

Changes for v2.4 are:
- Fixes an issue with exporting cameras from Max 2012

3ds Max to 3D PDF is available for Max 2009 to 2012 and costs $95. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.02 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v1.1 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Anima is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $339. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.3 are:
- All mesh creation routines have been rewritten resulting in more speed and more economical meshes

SplineTrace is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $15.

Changes for v1.34 are:
- Fixes a major crash in 1.32
- Adds a realtime preview
- Fixes some other bugs

Quad Chamfer is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v8.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Improvements in import for STEP, SAT, IGES, Rhino, Catia and Pro/E
- Adds support for Catia v6
- Improvements in filleting and corner blending
- Bugfixes

Thanks go to Shawn Olson for letting me know some of the changes for the new version

Power NURBS / Solids / Translators are available for Max 2010 to 2012, information on pricing can be found here. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v11.1.5 are:
- Fixes the focus problem in Windows
- Fixes start problems in Cinema 4D on OSX

Craft Director Studio is available for Max 6 to 2012 and prices range from $99 to $1199. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.3.11 are:
- Adds environment variable expansion capability to a number of settings
- Fixes a bug with the 'Before' and 'After' events feature going into an infinite loop
- Fixes a bug with incorrectly defined manual LOD settings causing a crash
- Fixes a bug preventing materials from being exported when exporting to a .mesh file
- Fixes a crash bug caused by GPU programs being used with the OpenGL render system
- Fixes a bug with the translation interpolation mode

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

Changes for v3.4.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Gradient Edge is available for Max 8 to 2012 and costs $40. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Fixes a bug when rendering XRef scenes with MultiScatter using DR

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

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Fixes a load of bugs

Quad Chamfer is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v1.2 are:
- Fixes preview option not working when only Find Interior Borders was checked
- Fixes the 'Unknown System Exception' generated when 'Create 3D Objects' was used

SplineTrace is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $15.

FuturArch is a Max port of the LWCAD tools project for LightWave. FuturArch Primitives, which has just entered public beta testing phase, is the first part of the FuturArch project, which is being developed together with the upcoming LWCAD 4 for LightWave.

The current FuturArch Primitives beta contains a complete pack of primitive tools with real-time booleans and UV mapping, suited for rapid polygonal modeling.

The next phases will bring Polygon Fix tools, Mass Edit tools for polygons and curves, a set of curve primitives with real-time booleans, high level archviz tools for creating walls, windows, doors, fences, roofs, shingles and other details, and much much more.

FuturArch is available for Max 2010 to 2012 and costs $149 during the beta phase. The release version will cost $375, and beta licenses can be upgraded for free.

Quad Chamfer is a commercial MAXScript that produces all-quad chamfers, unlike the normal Max chamfer which produces a lot of triangles.

Benefits include:
- Better results in conjunction with Turbosmooth
- No more unwanted pinching
- Great topology
- Many other advantages over the normal chamfer

Quad Chamfer is available for Max 2011 to 2012 and costs €10.

Changes for v1.2.0 are:
- Adds geometric shaders for V-Ray and Mental Ray
- Objects are converted on the fly to native render instances
- Geometry is generated dynamically inside the camera frustrum (V-Ray only)
- Adds support for V-Ray Proxies and mr Proxies
- Adds a new Display rollout:
  · Configurable 'Boxes' mode for Viewport and Render
  · Adaptative mode uses 'Boxes' mode if the number of faces specified is exceeded
  · 'Boxes' display mode is more accurate with respect to the full geometry
  · Render mode automatically uses native instances for VRay or Mental Ray
  · Build button and Max.Faces and Max.Segments parameters have been moved here
- Adds CPU Multi-core support, improving global performance
- Adds a new randomness for mapping coordinates to avoid texture tiling
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Fixes geometric issues when applying both random rotation and scale
- Bevel now works properly on splines with collinear vertices
- Geometry->Copy From/To now works properly on RailClone objects with modifiers
- Fixes minor Library Browser issues

RailClone Pro is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs €180. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v5.0.12 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

natFX is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $990. A demo version is available here.

Changes for Tree Storm 2012 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Tree Storm is available for Max 6 to 2012 and costs $495.

Changes for v1.1.08 are:
- Fixes a problem with Nitrous in Max 2012

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

It looks like all of the database changes I made last week completely screwed up my Twitter feed, which hadn't posted any news since May 25th... I've now fixed that so everything should be back to normal.

Changes for v1.0 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Changes for v1.0.3 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Autograss is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $275. A demo version is available here.

Morten Goder has released a new demo version of his upcoming skinning plugin MeshSkin.

Changes in v1.1 are:
- The plugin workflow has been improved with a new 'Matrix3ForMeshSkin' modifier
- The creation of unnecessary point-helpers has been removed
- A few minor bugs have been fixed
- The performance of MeshSkin has been enhanced
- The demo version only works on meshes with less than 300 vertices

There is no information on a release date or pricing at the moment.

Changes for v1.25b are:
- The car tracing algorithm has been improved

CityTraffic is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €360. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v2.5.10c are:
- Fixes problems with the VRayScatter texture

VRayScatter is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs €150. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v3.01 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)

For some reason the site seems to be really slow at the moment, and it looks like it's got something to do with my hosts SQL server. Hopefully it will pick up all by itself, because at the moment even I can't access the website properly...

Changes for v1.80 are:
- Adds support for Max 2012 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Adds support for the new Nitrous viewport system
- Mental ray shader has been improved to handle larger scenes better
- Bug fixes and improved stability especially when using mental ray

GroundWiz is available for Max 2008 to 2012 and costs $245. A demo version is available here.

I'm posting this again, because last months news item has rolled off the page. It's my plug for the End User Event 2011, which is taking place again this year in Utrecht (Holland). On June 30th and July 1st you get the chance to meet up with people from all over the world who are doing incredible things with Max and other M & E products.

The two days consist of a large number of talks on subjects ranging from film work to architectural visualization, rendering theory to visual effects breakdowns, and much more. Bobo is coming in from Canada to talk about MAXScript, Krakatoa and Frost. Zap Andersson will be talking about physically based rendering. Rune Spaans will be talking about his work on 'The Troll Hunter'. Max Product Manager Shane Griffith is flying in to talk about the future of Max, and Neil Hazzard (one of the programmers behind the new Nitrous viewport system) will be giving an inside view of the Nitrous technology.

This is just a small selection of what will be going on over the two days, but the best part of it all is that everyone is available for a chat between sessions in the bar (did I mention that the event is held in a pub?). If you can make it there, I can fairly safely guarantee that you won't regret it. And if you see me there, make sure you say 'Hello' :o)

Changes for v5.0.4 are:
- Fixes a Max 2012 crash after installing the plugin
- Fixes objects imported from SD being skewed
- SD animations which don't start at frame 0 are now imported correctly
- Fixes the error message 'Call needs function or class...' being printed during rendering

The RealFlow 3ds Max plugins come with RealFlow, which is available for Max 7 to 2012 and costs €2995. A demo version is available here.

Changes for v1.1 are:
- Previews are now shown as Black on White (instead of White on Black)
- Spline Optimisation routines have been tweaked to keep edges straighter

SplineTrace is available for Max 9 to 2012 and costs $15.