MAX Plugins.de News Archive

Archived Plugin News  –  September 2016
 

Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.60 are:
- Adds support for all kinds of assets
- Adds more edit options in the Auto Relink dialog

Bitmap Tracking/Resizing is available for Max 2009 to 2017 and costs $9. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.23 are:
- Moves pivot to front (bottom of flat elevation)
- Fixes a bug when making splines flat to Z=0


New Plugin: MCG

With this MCG you can create a junction for a user-definable number of pipes, eg. a T-connector or a 5-way connector.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v0.61 are:
- Fixes an error on the first start

Library Track and Relink is available for Max 2010 to 2017 and costs $9. A demo version is available here.


Site News: Spam mails from MAXPlugins.de and Anidesign.de

It seems that for a few weeks now, a load of people have been getting spam mails apparently sent by me. None of the mails are from me, they are all being sent over a mail server in Brazil. Unfortunately someone has obviously got hold of my contacts, so this will probably keep on for a while.

So if you get a suspicious mail with my name on it, just delete it, and whatever you do, don't click on the link in the mail. I apologize for what's happening, but there isn't a lot I can do about it. I'm even getting the mails myself!


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v8.0.9.1 are:
- The '-installmongodb' flag must now be provided a value when performing a silent install
- Fixes a Monitor bug with running House Cleaning, Repository Repair, or a Job Repository Scan
- Fixes some odd re-sizing issues with the Limit Dialog
- Fixes the Running Time displayed in the Job Details panel for un-started Jobs
- Adds an option to User Group Permissions to control access to the Secondary Pool option
- Fixes the Report log occasionally blanking out when switching from and to the Job list
- Fixes an error that could occur in the Limit dialog when setting the 'License Application'
- Fixes up the tab-ordering and tooltips in a few configuration windows
- Fixes a bug that would only let you rename Filters once
- Fixes a bug where the Proxy Server would crash when fetching deleted jobs
- Fixes a bug where Limits didn't show up in the Job Properties when connected to a Proxy Server
- Fixes a bug where Power Management would not wake up machines if the Job Limit was set to 0
- Changes timeout values to alleviate errors when using metered licensing for 3rd-party products
- Fixes a bug where the Slaves weren't recognizing unlimited limits under certain circumstances
- Changes the Slaves to set full permissions on the folder they create for Job Reports
- Fixes a bug with running multiple Slaves on one machine with metered licensing
- Fixes a Slave crash that could occur when losing connection to the Database
- Fixes a bug that forcibly changed slashes in an output directory path to match the OS
- Adds support for Cinema4D R18
- Fixes a bug where the C4D Batch plugin wasn't properly moving the files when rendering locally
- Improves support for finding the output of ROP Output Driver nodes in the Houdini submitter
- Adds the lower-cased version of VRay 'Layer' and 'Camera' tokens to the Maya submitter
- Adds the 'Layer' token for Maya software rendering
- Path Mapping is now applied to input paths in the Media Encoder
- Fixes a bug that prevented Modo jobs from submitting when output overrides were enabled
- Adds a popup handler for Qt dialogs in Nuke
- Adds some exception handling in the Nuke submitter for nodes without a render order
- The Sketchup integrated submitter now uses the name of the selected page instead of the label
- The Sketchup plugin now properly fails the Task if there are no input or output files specified
- Updates VRED to properly escape slashes for the output filename

Deadline is available for Max 2010 to 2017 and costs $185 per node. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v0.60 are:
- Adds a re-save option to change file gamma
- You can now rescale the file objects to sytem units scale
- You can now reset renderer settings
- You can now choose the Max version to save (3 versions down available)

Library Track and Relink is available for Max 2010 to 2017 and costs $9. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling / Animation

Changes for v2.0.10 are:
- Adds support for Max 2017
- Removes support for Max 2010, 2011, and all 32-bit versions of Max
- This release requires a new license version
- Improves performance of Union of Spheres, Metaballs, Zhu/Bridson, and Anisotropic meshing
- Adds support for V-Ray geometry instancing (requires V-Ray 3.1 or later)
- Adds Region of Interest controls which allow you to limit meshing to a bounding box
- Adds load support for additional particle file formats: E57, LAZ, PLY, PTG, and Thinkbox SPRT
- Double-clicking items in the 'Particle Objects' list now selects the object in the scene
- Double-clicking items in the 'Custom Geometry' list now selects the object in the scene
- Adds right-click support to the list controls in the Frost UI
- Adds a Frost menu to the main menu bar
- Fixes an error when using a float16 Radius channel with Anisotropic meshing
- Fixes the SubAnim name of 'geometryOrientationDivergenceAxisY' (was 'X' instead of 'Y')

Frost MX is available for Max 2012 to 2017 and costs $495. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Animation

Changes for v2.1.1 are:
- Updates Qt to version 5.7.0
- Adds a Direct3D9 viewport renderer to Anima
- Adds an auto-center tool for large geometry in Anima
- The command-line deployment tool for render nodes is now included as an installer option
- The render node licensing panel now checks for online updates just like the main application
- General fixes to Max plugin for all versions
- Fixes an Anima issue with 'Save as' when being used on the default Demos directory
- Fixes an Anima issue with 'Save as' when being used on the same scene more than once
- Fixes an Anima issue with the step detection algorithm that prevented actor generation on slopes
- The graphics options panel no longer shows up in the incorrect position on the desktop
- The About panel no longer displays the Anima installation as licensed when it's not
- Fixes an Anima issue where deleting while pasting nodes would cause an invalid selection
- Alters Anima key shortcut behavior
- Fixes various Anima UI labels
- Fixes variations being detected incorrectly for an actor using multiple materials
- Fixes an Anima crash when generic models were used in the scene
- Fixes a normals issue in Max when using System Units smaller than Meters
- Fixes a Max issue where the models' lighting would change upon playback in V-Ray
- Fixes an issue in Max where the playback speed of Anima objects would change to 10% on its own
- Fixes a Max issue where generating velocity channels reduced Anima object performance a lot
- Fixes a Max issue where a 'No Error' message would appear upon canceling various operations
- Fixes an installer issue where the Demos directory would be created twice

Anima is available for Max 2011 to 2017 and costs €249. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.8.7 are:
- The installer has been split for plugin and material library
- Fixes the tone mapping options UI breaking every now and then
- Updates UI Links to new locations
- Fixes maps having incorrect UV Tiling when loading into bump map
- Upgraded to Radeon ProRender core 1.230
- Fixes tone mapping UI misalignment
- Fixes alignment in the General Setting UI
- Some improvements to volumetrics


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v3.8 are:
- Fixes a bug in the Attach&Link script

miauu's Script Pack Volume 2 is available for Max 2009 to 2017 and costs €17.


Plugin Update: Modelling / Texturing

Changes for v5.1.3 beta are:
- Adds General->Log Level: set to Normal/Debug to generate extra information while rendering
- Adds log information when rendering with Mental Ray
- Fixes a rare crash in V-Ray with Fake Shadows

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 2010 to 2017 and costs €200. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.22 are:
- Adds a function to always make group names unique
- Fixes a bug with 'Close after save'
- Fixes a problem with the activation window

Copy Paste DWG is available for Max 2009 to 2017 and costs $4. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v2.14.0 are:
- The additional render settings list now uses proper edit controls for each parameter type
- Defaults for new net jobs can now be stored individually for each renderer
- Additional render settings are now also stored in defaults
- Adds options for which default settings to load when switching the renderer of a net job
- The submitter will now take parameter dependencies into account
- Path maps now support wildcards in input paths
- Adds an option to prevent urgent jobs from forcefully displacing non-urgent ones
- Adds an option to let clients drop their jobs if they go off schedule
- Adds an option to not let the server terminate running jobs on close
- Adds an option to include the output file/directory and project directory in net job defaults
- The frame checker now handles jobs with multiple frame ranges better
- The manual frame checker now supports multiple frame ranges
- The frame checking settings now automatically update when relevant settings have been changed
- The last used version of each renderer is now remembered
- If a group was specified via command-line, the submitter now remembers the last renderer used
- Console RC: Double-quotes can now be passed to the CmdRC
- Console RC: When passing switch renderer parameters, a true/false value now has to be provided
- Console RC: Command-line switches are no longer case-sensitive
- The path map dialog no longer accepts invalid characters in paths
- When changing the server heartbeat address, a heartbeat will now be immediately sent
- Improves the renderer updates dialog
- Updated to SQLite 3.13.0
- Numerous other smaller improvements
- Fixes message boxes not being clickable under certain circumstances
- Fixes some NetBIOS/IP mixup issues when new clients are added via heartbeat
- The submitter can now always be found by submitter scripts under MacOSX
- Switch parameters are now always handled correctly
- Fixes a few smaller bugs in the frame checker
- Fixes some small issues in the submitter script for Maya
- The usual amount of smaller fixes here and there
- Adds submitter scripts for LightWave 3D and Fusion
- Updates/adds submitter scripts for VRED 2015-, 2016 and 2017+
- Fixes an issue with launching the submitter in Cinema 4D R16 and higher
- Thea: Adds Thea Studio
- Redshift: Adds Redshift Standalone
- Modo: Adds support for render passes
- V-Ray Standalone: Adds support for image slicing and various new parameters
- VRED: Completely reworked, adds Sequencer renderer
- Cinema4D: Adds new renderer version for R16+
- Vue: Adds support for image slicing and updated to latest version
- Rhinoceros: Adds Rhinoceros
- Maya Scene Renderer: Removes mental ray settings
- Fusion: Minor update

RenderPal is available for Max 9 to 2017 and costs €49 per node. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Utilities

SiNi Forensic is a scene checker and repair tool. Working with a bad scene file can cause multiple workflow problems. Empty objects can crash or prolong simulation times. Cad block and linked composites clog up your scene file. 3rd party mismatches such as V-Ray planes not rendering with Final Render and Corona lights. Find the last user to work on the scene file. It can all be fixed with this utility


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.1.9 beta are:
- Adds support for Max 2017
- Fixes a bug in the update checker
- Fixes a problem in the Max 2015 build
- Improves naming consistency
- Updates the plugin loader
- Updates and improves the packaging scripts


Plugin Update: Atmospherics

Changes for Build 7019570 are:
- Adds support for Max 2017
- Adds support for Maya 2017
- Adds support for Cinema4D R18

Ozone is available for Max 2009 to 2017 and costs $295. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Animation

Changes for v3.00.01 include:
- Implements simulation and render presets
- Implements Phoenix FD Toolbar with simulation Start/Stop controls and quick creation of nodes
- Adds various Quick Setup presets to the Phoenix FD Toolbar
- Adds support for Max 2017
- Splits the PHXSimulator into separate LiquidSim and FireSmokeSim objects
- New Simulation licenses can be run without GUI in Backburner/Deadline/3dsmaxcmd mode
- Adds a FLIP Liquid solver
- New vorticity confinement algorithm that adds high detail and improves the rolling of smoke/fire
- Adds PCG conservation that improves the behavior of smoke and fire
- Adds a Follow Path force
- Adds Body Attraction and Morphing forces
- Adds Wave Force that transfers the effect of the PhoenixFDOceanTex onto the simulation
- Adds a Direct Initial fill up option for objects
- Adds re-timing by Time Bend resimulation for fire/smoke
- Adds direct re-timing and re-meshing of FLIP liquids
- Adds dedicated Mist particles
- Adds Discharge Modifiers for advanced control of sources
- Adds controls for burning fuel depletion and smoke production
- Allows per object wetting
- Adds simulation interaction with particle shapes
- Adds scene scale multiplier per simulator
- Implements a Foam Shader particle count multiplier
- Adds a render option to control the strength of volumetric shadows
- Adds shadow strength and point size options to the point shader
- Adds a separate control for the step of shadow rays
- Adds the ability to pop out and enlarge curves and color gradients
- Adds support for matte objects
- Adds a displacement mode suitable for rendertime advection
- Adds a gamma correction control for Phoenix simulators only
- Implements a Procedural Foam Texture for the ocean surface
- Adds support for the PRTReader in V-Ray RT
- Enables pure Volumetric rendering for V-Ray RT
- Adds a particle age render element
- Adds a GPU preview directly in the viewport
- Adds support for more than one light in the GPU preview
- You can export particles and meshes with Exocortex Crate from the simulators and the PRTReader
- Adds support for Max's built-in Alembic export
- Allows passing custom names for the OpenVDB/Field3D channels
- Implements 32bit export of the RGB channel to aur caches
- And these are just the new features! Modified features and bug-fixes can be found here

Phoenix FD is available for Max 9 to 2017 and costs €600. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Utilities

Vexus is a standalone node based editor for constructing, managing, and manipulating 3D computer generated scenes. The unique design of Vexus allows users to work with massive scenes for any kind of project, both small and large. Vexus removes repeating scene setup work with it's dynamic tokening system and flexible framework. Artists can save, reuse, and share setups.

Vexus is available for Max 2015 to 2017 and costs $250. A demo version is available here.


New Plugin: Animation

DeltaMush to Skin is a modifier which smooths deformations while preserving details with a 'converting' to Skin feature. The plugin solves Skin weights matched as closely as possible to the DeltaMush result. It enables the user to export such rigs to game engines such as Unity, Unreal etc. The whole process is incredibly fast thanks to multithreaded optimization.

DeltaMush to Skin is available for Max 2013 to 2017 and costs €59. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v0.2.6a are:
- RT now auto-closes in case of Max exit or new scene or production render
- Fixes an unspecified launch failure launching the kernel
- Fixes incorrect mulitexture inside other textures
- Frozen geometry no longer renders with hide frozen object checked
- Fixes a motion blur crash with world space modifiers


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v1.1.9.5 are:
- Beta expiration has been extended to end of September
- Some performance optimizations related to database access
- Fixes imported presets being marked as online presets
- Material Manager no longer freezes when selecting/deselecting an attribute
- Fixes a Max crash when opening Material Manager in some cases
- Fixes an installer bug when installing for current user only
- Cancelling folder selection for custom library path during installation now works properly


Plugin Update: Utilities

Changes for v8.6.4 are:
- Drops support for Mac OS X running on PPC processors
- Except for critical bugs this is the final Muster 8 release, development will switch to Muster 9 only
- Web server API Json encoding now works again

Muster is available for Max 9 to 2017 and costs $85 per node. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for v1.3.3978 Beta are:
- Adds support for render elements
- Fixes output passes (direct/indirect diffuse and specular, reflections, transparency, SSS)
- Fixes light intensity in shadow pass
- Some other fixes

FurryBall RT is available for Max 2013 to 2017 and costs €359. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Texturing

Changes for v4.1.5 are:
- VMPPmax now remembers window positions and size
- Fixes comment issues in material names with whitespace characters
- Adds the ability to render material preview images
- Adds the ability to render VRayHDRI spherical previews
- Adds the ability to migrate custom settings from previous versions

V-Ray Material Presets Pro is available for Max 2013 to 2017 and costs €195.


Plugin Update: Modelling / Texturing

Changes for v5.1.2 beta are:
- Custom Edit now uses the local axis of each item instead of the Forest object axis
- Fixes an updating issue with Forest Edge
- Fixes an error with the Library Materials of beta 5.1.1b

Forest Pack Pro is available for Max 2010 to 2017 and costs €200. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Particles / Rendering

Changes for v2.6.1 are:
- Adds adaptive motion blur
- Adds additional controls to the Krakatoa Camera modifier for Bokeh shape and color
- Adds an optional Anamorphic Squeeze parameter to the Krakatoa Camera modifier
- Adds a World Space Modifier version of the Krakatoa Delete modifier
- Adds a World Space Modifier version of the Krakatoa PRT Cloner modifier
- Adds a number of pseudo-random number generators to the Function category of the Magma editor
- All Random operators expose a Seed input which controls the random value output
- Depth Of Field performance is now up to two times faster
- You can now combine several levels of PRT Cloner modifiers into complex setups
- Adds a Source Channel toggle to the Magma modifier
- PRT Cloner Modifier color channel multiplication is now an option
- Adds a 'Use Existing Channels' toggle to the Magma modifier
- The Magma noise operators now have a phase option
- New PRT Loader partition channels
- The Magma Editor now scales correctly on high-resolution monitors
- The Krakatoa menu has been enhanced with support for sub-menus
- All Krakatoa MacroScripts now have icons and valid tooltips
- PRT creation MacroScripts have been updated for faster editing
- Adds Particle Data Viewer access without going through the Krakatoa menu
- Fixes bugs with the performance of Matte Object rendering and Depth Of Field calculations
- Fixes a bug with the Motion Blur toggle in the Krakatoa Renderer
- Fixes the InputField Magma node to correctly support FumeFX 4.0.4

Krakatoa MX is available for Max 2012 to 2017 and pricing starts at $1000. A demo version is available here.


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v2.01 are:
- Now works in both Max 2016 and Max 2017
- You can now rotate your path freely

MCG Stitches is available for Max 2016 to 2017 and costs $5.


New Plugin: MCG

An MCG that puts your text on a path with absolutely no warping or distortion whatsoever, unlike the PathDeform modifier. It works for multiple curves, it can use any font including Right to Left languages,and it can reverse your text with a mouseclick.


Plugin Update: Renderers

Changes for Alpha 3.04 are:
- Adds a new fresnel blending mode for the Mix slate material
- Texture baking is now fully multithreaded
- The node editor now supports selecting and moving multiple nodes at once


Plugin Update: Modelling

Changes for v1.01 are:
- Pressing the 'Delete Gizmo' button no longer causes an error
- The gizmos list in the UI now refreshes after Undo operations

SuperHelix is available for Max 2012 to 2017 and costs $15. A demo version is available here.