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Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026.1 with a new Attribute Transfer modifier
Autodesk has released the 3ds Max 2026.1 update, introducing new and improved modifiers amongst the changes.
One of the most notable new features is the Attribute Transfer modifier. This tool gives artists the ability to copy attributes such as normals, UVs, vertex colors, and even vertex positions from one object to another. It’s designed to speed up workflows that previously required scripting and is particularly relevant for game development and VFX pipelines. The modifier supports transferring vertex positions to match the shape of a reference mesh, adjusting normals for more uniform shading, copying UVs even between dissimilar topologies, and applying vertex color information across multiple assets.
The Push modifier has also been upgraded with controls that make deformations easier to direct and refine. A new Relax Iterations setting smooths geometry to avoid self-intersection. Artists can now define collision objects that stop mesh expansion when contact occurs, allowing for more complex and believable forms. Additionally, transformations can be restricted to selected axes using the new Axis Multiplier.
The XForm modifier has also been update and now includes a clearer interface and additional coordinate systems. These include Gizmo, Local, World, and Reference Object modes, each offering a different approach to transforming mesh data. The new Preserve Normals option helps maintain shading consistency when modifying geometry.
Support for USD continues to grow. The update introduces a “Promote to 3ds Max Object” feature that makes it easier to convert imported USD geometry into editable Max objects. OpenPBR material support has been added, along with improved exporting and more responsive tools within the USD Layer Editor.
Arnold for 3ds Max 5.8.2.0 also brings performance improvements, particularly in scene loading and memory usage. Multithreaded instancer handling and better resource management make rendering more efficient, especially for complex USD-based scenes.
You can review the full 3ds Max 2026.1 release notes on Autodesk’s official documentation page.
Attribute Transfer is going to be really useful for sure. Revamping Push and Xform is awesome. That’s cool. But still a barebones and very minor update overall, come on! The entirety of 2025 brought nothing major, 2026 is disappointing so far. Have you not been paying attention to what the teams behind Houdini or Unreal have been delivering of late? We have a real time engine outclassing an editor like Max, you don’t even have to open a DCC anymore. It even features muscle simulation now.
This is a great point release! – The new modifier is super useful and goes well in hand with the existing tools. Also the updated modifiers are a huge improvement and will be usefull in a large variety of cases.
The progress of the USD implentation is also very promising and as of now one of the most feature rich implementations compared to other DCCs.
So ADSK, get on with it! Keep the momentum high. Looking forward to further updates!
The Push modifier has a bug. Good work. Transfer normals, good to have. Like a good dcc in the 2010th should have
Usefull Update but when compere with other 3D softwares in the market, these are like minor updates in other competitors.
Autodesk has no competitors.
Houdini is not going to replace Max nor Maya and Blender is at least two generations away in public space and four to even make a serious dent in workflow space in the industry.
Autodesk dominates the architectural landscape and Autocad is the photoshop X10 of that industry no matter how much you cry Affinity.
No my dear Abangan, No one’s coming to save Rohan, not the dwarves nor the elves.
Let’s be real here for a moment, Blender has made a huge dent in Max marketshare in the gaming space. Same for Unreal, you don’t need Biped anymore with all the tools UE has on offer, Biped hasn’t gotten any new features in decades anyways and it shows.
Blender has made a huge dent on Youtube and hobyist/ some indie, all the places that matters such as large companies that spend hundreds of millions per project still have Maya and Max and houdini as their backbones and happily pay their subscription and will do so for a good while to come.
Biped nor CAT nor traditional rigging tools will be replaced by Unreal, two entirely different things. And if you are in a production using both you’ll know what i mean.
My point is, I don’t think autodek is looking at blender and unreal and worrying.
Not true – our studio swapped from Auto to Blender when 2.8 came out – really enjoy using B’ in place of 3ds Max. Haven’t opened Max for years now and find Blender much more flexible….example – I can put some nodes together to make a Push modifier that doesn’t penetrate other objects in 2 minutes. Autodesk dropped the ball when they dropped MCG in Max. Bifrost has been promised for years.
I remember years ago many of FX artist were in Max but today many of them migrated to Max like Many modelers going to Blender and also Unreal absorbed many render and environment artist. All of them are competitors.
Blender has not made a dent in Max’s market share. Blender is free, so it is an excellent entry point to learn 3D. It brings more people into 3D because it is free. People who are paying thousands of dollars for Autodesk software don’t care about what’s out there that is free.
Imagine you represent a multi-million dollar film company and you need to hire a 3D studio. One studio is using Blender and other is using Autodesk, which do you choose? (In other words, one studio is investing tens of thousands of dollars in the tools they use and other is using free tools- which do you choose?)
I choose which one has best merit over what tools they use, either way they will cost the same, software cost makes little difference in the big picture. Its salaries that cost the most and thats not free either way.
This update is really cool in that it feels like the team sat down together, looked at the shortcomings in current workflows and asked themselves “how can we make this all better”? I’d say they delivered, all the stuff I’m seeing in the Push modifier alone opens up new avenues. Good job. Now that we have Xform covered I’d like to have Linked Xform looked at next, please.
My complaint is the usual one – we need “more and faster, the competition doesn’t sleep”. Progress is there, but it’s slow and the needs are great. There’s an entire UI to rewrite to Qt for example, Maya did that years ago. Old crap like Schematic View remembering Windows 3.1 days, simply unusable, should be integrated better into the entire user experience. State Sets which are great on paper, but suck in execution. The entire animation branch, outdated. Give us Bifrost, Particle Flow is no longer sufficient. And so on, and so on.
Yeah right! Linked Xform is a good choise to be next.
The animation tools stink. CAT needs a muscle system and secondary motion like was in InstaRig. Skinning is no problem with BonesPro.
Don´t forget the UV editor. Straighten UVs are not working right in max, since i can remember. Why are the shortcuts different to the modeling shortcuts. One good thing about blender are the shortcuts, which are easy to learn. Why the user unfriendly UV channels in max.
Max has hotkey groups, each module is independent, and the same shortcut keys can be set for both the main UI and Uv groups. If you want to learn more, I think Max shortcut keys are stronger than Blender. The reason is simple: Blender hotkeys have no redundancy and are difficult to customize. I have tried before but failed
I’ve been using Max since 1999. One thing I appreciate about Blender is that the same shortcut for selecting a poly loop in modeling also works in UV mode—it’s consistent. In Max, that’s not the case. Autodesk changed the selection method in the modeling tools, but the Unwrap modifier still uses the old system, which makes the workflow feel inconsistent.
The reason is obvious. UV editing and modeling both have their own important tools, and uniformity may not achieve the best results and scientificity. However, it does bring memory burden. If we unify shortcut keys like Blender, it will save the memory process, but this is not scientific. What is important for UV in modeling may not be important, so we cannot let them compromise with each other!
But this problem can be solved by redefining the tools that you consider important. I spent a day customizing all the modules, which is scientifically fast and easy to remember. You need to do this first. Blender is difficult to customize, it’s a nightmare, redundancy without definition
Can you explain the idea behind polyloop selection in Max? In a poly object, you select a polyloop by clicking the next polygon while holding Ctrl. But in the Unwrap UV modifier, it’s Shift instead. I honestly don’t see the logic behind that inconsistency.
And that’s just one example—there are more cases like this. It makes the learning curve steeper and interrupts the workflow, especially when switching between modeling and UV editing.
Usually Ctrl is for plus selection, Shift is for ring selection, which is also understood in Polygon modeling and UV editing. However, people usually do not use it this way, they usually use hotkeys and have the same ring tool
Sorry, I meant Ctrl + double-click. Maybe you don’t use it that way, but I do. When I’m navigating, my fingers are already on the Ctrl key—so it’s super quick to just Ctrl + double-click. No need for a separate hotkey.
Also, Shift isn’t used for ring selection anymore—they changed that. But in the Unwrap modifier, it still works the old way. Maybe you’re using an older version of Max?
Yes, I think this is exactly the opposite of your expectations, so it can be seen as a flaw. I think you are quite used to this usage logic because BL uses Ctrl and Shift frequency is relatively high. However, when a Max user experiences Blender, they are often confused by Blender’s Ctrl and Shift, which is often a habit formation. Using only Shift operation will be relatively simple, and complex or more advanced operations such as ring (+_) also rely on hotkeys. If these hotkeys are centralized and customized, and placed in the most prominent position, it will increase the upper limit of comprehensive operations, but increase the learning and adaptation habit cycle to a certain extent. This is worth it
I think you might be missing my actual point. I’m not comparing Blender and Max in general—I’m talking about inconsistency within Max itself.
In Editable Poly mode, polyloop selection is double- Ctrl + click. In the Unwrap modifier, it’s Shift + click. That has nothing to do with Blender habits—it’s just inconsistent UI design within the same software.
And just to be clear: I’m a long-time Max user myself. But I don’t believe in defending bad UX just because I’m used to it. Good design should be consistent and predictable—especially in professional tools.
long time ago a user posted this idea 2017:
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-ideas/consistent-tools-workflow-and-experience/idi-p/6840252
You’re right, many of Max’s modules can cause inconvenience to users. I have accepted it and it can be foreseen that if we don’t rewrite the UV editor, it will never change. Forget it, brother. Let’s shake hands
Fair enough, brother!
Let’s hope one day they finally give the UV editor the love it deserves.
Man, Autodesk is working those summer students hard! /s