(Updated) Two video previews of the Max 2014 extension have been posted: Point Clouds and Stereo Camera Feature Set.
Autodesk has announced the upcoming release of an extension for Max users on subscription, which will bring Python scripting, point cloud support and a stereo camera feature set. The extension is expected to be available on or after September 30th. More on Autodesk’s site.
3DS Max 2014 Extension to bring Python scripting, point cloud capabilities
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Is this only for Super-Users (Suites etc) or also for the poor people (Max-license subscription user) too? 🙂
So the decision has been made. We won’t buy a new subscription but we will buy clarisse http://www.isotropix.com/index.php?to=products&productid=1&view=home 😉
Python and Stereo Cameras… about fricking time. But here comes the stereo fail from the Autodesk blurb: “In addition to a Passive Stereo viewing mode, if you have *a recent AMD FirePro™ graphics card* and a supported HD3D Active Stereo monitor or equivalent, you can take advantage of Active Stereo viewing.”
Someone please call nVidia and ask them to get their version out asap. We don’t have a single AMD card anywhere in our company.
@Adam, yeah I found that to be odd as well, especially as how Nvidia-centric Max is.
I’m looking forward to seeing what can be done with Python in Max. I wonder if it’s built on Blur’s work with Python in Max.
it’s says active subscription…doesn’t say SUITE only.
Introducing new animation capabilities– only available to customers with active Autodesk® Subscription
cut from the main page
I doubt it was build from 0.. not autodesk strategy… I bet is IronPython (.NET from ephere) or Py3dsMax by Blur.
@I’m looking forward to seeing what can be done with Python in Max. I wonder if it’s built on Blur’s work with Python in Max.
—
No, it is not based on that implementation of Python. It is based on CPython.
“in addition, you can access a subset of the 3ds Max API (application programming interface) from Python scripts, including the ability to evaluate MAXScript code.”
@Kelly, thanks for chiming in on this thread. Are you free to comment on how much of a subset we’re talking about, and is all communication routed via MAXScript or are there modules that link directly to the C++ code?
@Kelly, thanks for the reply. Time to start learning Python I guess!
Although Python as been a long time coming, there’s not a lot in here I find directly useful. I will not be renewing my subscription next time around.
Nice! Extreme cool that it has 2 additions that have a base in the Netherlands. Python and (I think pointcloud addition is based on Alice Labs Studio Clouds) have Dutch parents 😀
What I don’t understand is why we get these seemingly random additions to Max that are of limited use to most people, yet we don’t get Quad Chamfers, which has been the highest requested item in the uservoice area for the last three years
I wonder how they decide which things to add to Max. It does seem odd to largely ignore what the users are asking for and add these random items.
@Nik Clark: Yes, that is very odd, somehow they are very clearly holding back from improving Max’s modeling( poly modeling to be more precise) capabilities(which by the way is something Max used to be very well known for), and on a very ‘separate’ note, they are improving the ‘other’ app’s(that’s right I refuse to call it by it’s name, it’s become a symbol of discrimination and unfairness for me) modeling capabilities in the last few releases, very hard to notice what they are up to here, that’s right Autodesk,I, a user, can not understand what you are doing here.
@Kelly Michels: can Autodesk please also post a quick preview of python being used inside max and how the usage differs from using maxscript?
@Nik Clark: well at least the python thing isn’t exactly random if you look at the votes for it on user feedback site 😉
When comparing to Maya’s extensions, Max’ seems like a joke. Dont know when I will be using point clouds or Python in my projects, none of them has been something I have been wanting.
After all the comments that has been raging since Siggraph I was kinda hoping that the extension would be a little light in the darkness, but no.
Last flicker of light now, would be to hear good news from AD (that apparently are “READING” all the comments. Hopefully they will ACT upon them also….)
@Nik Clark
On Youtube you can find that point clouds was added to CAD products in 2013 releases. This can be the same technology – just recreated in Max.
Stereoscopic – why is pointed AMD FirePro if 3ds max is more known as Nvidia slave. Maybe AMD have some interest?
Python was around areablogs some years ago.
The answer can be – to minimize costs(IMO for sure).
Forget about quadchamfer – nobody want to hurt Marius Silaghi.
@Nik Clark
in fact i asked Ken Pimentel (former PM of 3ds max) the exact same question in 2012 when Max 2013 was announced.
The Thread is still online BTW:
http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/ken/is_it_that_time_of_year_again_3ds_max_future_notes
——————————-
ME:
Hey Ken,
first thanks for the video, it’s really nice to see that the Customer feedback programm pays for it self. But there is one thing that peeves me a little you may answere it.
Why are the four most voted features of the Autodesk Uservoice (General Feature Requests) are not even under review. I do not ask because of those features itself but because of the fact that some of them like Quad chamfers and nested Layers do not seem like a big deal. For now it looks like the votes wouldn’t count that much, it rather looks like AD would pick the ideas to implement randomly anyway, there are whishes with less then 20 Votes that are under review and other with more than 400 are not.
KEN PIMENTEL:
There are many reasons that guide what we do. Uservoice is just one input that we look at. We have strategy, prior feature state, adsk requirements, M&E requirements, etc. Sure, it might seem random to you, but we definitely use the ranking in Uservoice to guide us. It will never be 1:1 with what we do. That is unrealistic and not what we said when we launched it.
——————————-
Nothing to add. 🙂
@MarkusS, thanks for posting that. I’d forgotten about those comments.
Back in the old days, the customer was always right. I guess times have changed.
The lack of new (and often requested) features and improvements resulted in my 2014 releases of Max & Mudbox still laying untouched on Autodesk’s servers. The value, the amount how these releases would improve my workflow are that minor that it doesn’t even justifies the (little) effort of installing them.
Regarding this minimalistic subscription-extension I have only 2 explanations: bad one first, they really let Max dieing slowly.
Second one with a tiny seed of hope: Autodesk is listening, at least they recognized the somewhat negative mood of the community. Maybe with this mini-extension they’re just doing a marketing trick – holding back features and improvements from the extension, just to give us a ‘huge’ Max 2015 next year…to cure the negative community^^.
@wool
I really can’t understand anyone still running Max 2013 without even bothering installing 2014. The performance increase in 2014 is so evident and all places post/report about it ….
@spacefrog
I’m very much aware and appreciate the speed improvements. To my knowledge from what I’ve seen, they apply more to heavy scenes with hundreds/thousands of objects. In this case, updating to 2014 might make sense.
On my side, I’m usually working on single models, the whole way from modeling/texturing/skinning/animating – and even with variations from the model and LODs I’ve basically never more than 100 objects per scene so that ‘lag’ and delays aren’t really a problem for me :-).
Second point, updating means balancing of what you get (from 2014) and what you give up (2013). As said, the speed improvements might be not noticeable at all on my ‘low-object-count-scenes’ at all. But something else I’ve in mind: isn’t in 2014 a bug in the skin-mirror-function ? (Have only read it, no idea if it’s already fixed) This would be a showstopper for me. And isn’t there another issue with the Skin-mod where the scripted access to the bones array works different than in 2013 ? Another hurdle, because I work a lot with Skin and would have to rewrite/update my personal skin-scripts as well.
Summary: there are reasons why upgrading can make sense (large scene performance)…but there are also situations (as described above) where an upgrade does not improve the workflow (where it even might damage it)
probably due to 3dsmax 2014 doesn’t install to vista machines or XP only win 7 and win 8…there’s alot of vista machines and xp machines still out there in studios
@does’nt install on Vista:
Max 2014 runs fine on Vista, it even runs fine on XP64. Only SP1 broke XP64 compatbility, but that was recently fixed again with the SP2. Not supported officially doesn’t mean: does not run
@Performance gains only for huge Scenes:
Don’t now where that comes from, but it’s not true. Max 2014 has recieved optimizations in a lot of areas. Especially noticable is increased speed of various geometry deforming modifiers, and skin for example benefits directly from this (faster stack evaluation). Nitrous itself has recieved some multithreading related optimizations too. Additionally, the whole interface feels snappier in 2014, compared to all other releases since the introduction of the appframe (jewel icon etc…)
I definitely would give it a testdrive, you can keep you old version in stalled, just in case you run into other issues
@doesn’t install on Vista:
Just for completeness: as i just recognized cresshead’s subtile wording:-) . Yes, this might be correct, that it doesn’t install on Vista or older. In that case, i think it works by launching the max installer MSI directly.
I for one am pretty happy to see native python in max, that development alone gives me hope for the future.
Don’t say python isn’t for you, because everyone benefits from easier more open development capabilities for max
Agreed with Laszlo. You have to look at the big picture of Python. This sort of feature will be great for incorporating max into existing pipelines More max seats, more jobs, more tools, more awareness. Think of it as a trickle down effect. Everyone will benefit.
I think this news has been revealed due to the anger which been shown in the thread of siggraph news
just a test to see how far this anger could be satisfaied
how much they should pay to make us more drunk
and as soon they feal its okay and there’s no more clouds in the sky the will not show more features ((( for test dont act any reaction for ten days and get around three cool features but not development ))
this is the main trip AD polishing max not developing
for example paython is cool but ….. where it been since 4 virsions why always tooooooo leate ????
Not sure if this is possible, but could Python be implemented the same way that MR has been…meaning missing substantial pieces? Or is Python Python no matter what?
@Rotem and @Jim Todd – Python is python generally, what matters in this context is what all it can access in a host application. Maxscript has a very deep integration and can access almost everything. Maxscript is also over ten years old and has had time to mature. As to the extent of support in the extension, it is not as broad as Maxscript but it is still in an early stage. Having customer feedback (yes, we do listen) will help drive that. The beta testers have been very helpful in this.
@shrif azmy – Adding a full programming language is not something you can just do suddenly, it is a lot of work. Python has been planned for awhile for the Extension, it began with the SciViz plugin released last year on Autodesk Labs.
@Henning – I will see if I am “ok” to post something on this on our YouTube channel, if so I will work up an introduction video.
Appreciate the reply Kelly. Thanks for that.
Why, oh WHY haven’t you put SkinFX inside 3ds Max? Now that you they have hired Kees and Lumonix is shut down – I would expect SkinFX to be property of Autodesk? It would be a great tool for VFX and character artists, and I wonder why it hasn’t been announced as an extension?
thanks for your reply Kelly
but am not saying python integrated suddenly, I meant it was there why not revealed for while why ?? i don’t know , sometimes it seams that AD has a freak thinking way , taking a long time to show some stuff they already have or to give us a tool it could be created
for example as SuperRune said where is skin FX ??
when we will get full node system inside max ??
could we see a full dynamic system inside max ( RBD, Soft bodies, Fluids and liquids …. etc ) ??
why skinning tools not updated yet (( maya got a very smarter and advanced one since longtime )) ??
always what it comes is polishing stuff and nothing new or complete ?
Can you create PyQT or PySide windows and widgets within 3dsMax?
@SuperRune
I don’t think SkinFX is the property of Autodesk.
I think it was Kees decision to stop develop plugins to avoid conflict of interest.
It would be great if Autodesk buys SkinFX and put in max.
Skin FX in Max would be great. And even with Maya’s updated skinning system, skinning in Maya is not better or faster than using Bones Pro for Max. Skin FX has muscle Features that many would enjoy.
Plugins and scripts have managed to keep Max competitive and in some way superior to the tools in Maya. Maya’s greatest advantage is that AD seems to push Max to the back burner.
The Stereo Cam looks good in Max. Maya been had one. Maya also offered a Camera Sequencer in 2011 (good for previz) and added to it in 2012. Max has several scripts that allow camera switching but it would be nice if AD made one “official” in Max.
Max users are going to want Xgen and Bifrost. What is AD thinking?
@Changsoo
I didn’t know that – I guess it was a contractual thing then? I hope SkinFX resurfaces in some way though, it was a fantastic tool.