Pattern Engine 1.4 plugin released for 3ds Max

Pivot Studio has released version 1.4 of Pattern Engine, its procedural pattern generation software. The update introduces new features for working with custom shapes, compound patterns, and layout precision, while maintaining the tool’s original focus on flexibility and control in pattern design.

Pattern Engine now allows users to define any closed, flat custom shape as a pattern item. This update extends the design possibilities beyond the software’s built-in library of over 40 primitive shapes. Characters from text objects can also be extracted and embedded as individual pattern elements, enabling typographic pattern design with control over each character. Another addition is the ability to embed previously created patterns into new ones, supporting the creation of compound and layered designs.

New layout tools include the Rows Y Offset feature, which enables offsetting rows in the negative Y direction for patterns like hexagonal grids or staggered tiles. A Lock X or Y Dimensions control has been introduced to constrain scaling along specific axes, allowing for the creation of patterns with uniform dimensions.

Pattern Engine continues to support a range of core features including Grid, Radial, and Random array modes, distribution by Weight, Random, or Expression, and detailed per-item adjustments such as scale, angle, depth, and visibility. Effects can be applied using gradient, random, expression, or shape mappings, with blending modes available for combining effects. Patterns can be framed using array border controls and aligned locally with different scaling behaviors. Material IDs can be managed across four assignment modes, and over 200 built-in presets provide starting points for design.

For more information, visit the Pivot Studio website.