SIGGRAPH: Autodesk Announces 3ds Max 8

Northern California-based Autodesk has announced the latest release of its popular graphics creation software, 3ds Max version 8. “There are four specific areas of focus we are invested in for 3ds Max 8 that will address the present and future demands of increasingly complex 3D production environments,” said Martin Vann, VP of worldwide sales, marketing and support at Autodesk. “Those areas are Character Development, Advanced Modeling & Texturing, More Comprehensive Development Framework and Complex Data and Asset Management (dealing with scalability, collaboration and scene complexity).” Modeling & Texturing advancements include new UV pelt mapping to decrease the time and effort required to accurately texture 3D models, as well as DirectX and .fx support to create realtime shaders inside the 3ds Max viewport. The Comprehensive Development Framework improves SDK tools and documentation, delivers XML support for efficient scene and animation data exchange, an interactive MAXScript debugger, and support for the Autodesk DWF Viewer (a free 3D data review and approval collaboration program). Features which were once exclusive to Autodesk Subscription clients over the past year, such as mental ray 3.4 and Autodesk VIZ 2006, are included with the new software. The Autodesk Subscription service will continue to release advanced features to subscribers before other 3ds Max users have access to them. More information is available at the official 3ds Max 8 website and at Autodesk's SIGGRAPH presence this week.