Welcome to the Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max 2013.

This
software augments the power and flexibility of the Particle Flow system,
enabling artists to create more sophisticated, realistic, and customized
physical simulations in less time. The MassFX mParticles and Advanced
Data Manipulation feature sets are exclusively available to customers on
active Autodesk Subscription for the Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment
Creation Suite Premium 2013 or Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment
Creation Suite Standard 2013, or the Autodesk Entertainment Creation
Suite Ultimate 2013; the Cache Disk and Cache Selective feature sets
are available to all 3ds Max customers on active Subscription.

MassFX mParticles
Create particle simulations that replicate real-world effects with the new
mParticles module for the MassFX system of simulation solvers.
Extending the existing Particle Flow system, mParticles provides artists
with operators and tests that enable them to simulate natural and
manmade forces, create and break bonds between particles, and collide
particles with each other and with other objects. With Birth operators
optimized for MassFX simulations, a preset flow for easier initial setup,
and two easy-to-use modifiers that enable particles to affect standard
mesh objects, mParticles helps artists create stunning simulations with
less effort. And, by taking advantage of the multi-threaded PhysX
simulation engine from NVIDIA, mParticles helps increase artist
productivity.

For details, see Particle Flow Simulation.

Advanced Data Manipulation

Create customized Particle Flow tools with the new Advanced Data
Manipulation toolset. Motion graphics artists and visual effects
specialists can now create their own event-driven data operators and
save results as presets, or as standard actions in the Particle View
depot. With the new versatile, easy-to-use Particle Flow advanced visual
editor, artists can combine up to 27 different suboperators to create a
huge variety of Particle Flow toolsets purpose-built to meet the
specialized requirements of individual productions.
Cache Disk and Cache Selective
Work more efficiently with two new Cache operators for the versatile
Particle Flow toolset. The new Cache Disk operator offers the ability to
precalculate and store Particle Flow simulations on the hard disk,
separate from the 3ds Max scene file, helping artists to iterate faster.
The Cache Selective operator enables artists to cache only certain types
of data; with it, they can select the most calculation-intensive properties
of a particle system (usually the motion), precalculate these once, and
then work with other particle system properties via post-cache operators
(shape, size, orientation, mapping, color).
NoteThe Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 is available only to
customers on active subscription for the Autodesk 3ds Max
Entertainment Creation Suite Premium or Standard, or the Autodesk
Entertainment Creation Suite Ultimate; the Cache Disk and Cache
Selective feature sets are also available to all 3ds Max customers on active
subscription. This software is not available to anyone else nor is it part
of the base install of 3ds Max 2013. Subscription users can download
this component from the Autodesk Subscription Center.

This updated version of the 3ds Max 2013 help replaces the original
online help. The only change is the addition of the new content, which
covers the new features in the Extension. If you're not a subscriber, feel
free to peruse that material, or you can skip to the original start page or
to any other page via the Contents panel on the left side.
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What's New in Autodesk 3ds Max 2013

Continuing to push limits with its Rendering Revolution and Smart Data
initiatives, Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 software offers a powerful
interactive rendering experience that simplifies iterative look
development with ActiveShade support in the NVIDIAiray renderer;
offers a new render pass system, State Sets, with integrated node-
based compositing; and provides industry-leading interoperability with
Adobe After Effects and Photoshop software.
In addition, new motion graphics, animation, and simulation tools
empower artists to focus more of their energy on creative, rather than
technical challenges, while flexible new customization options enable
them to easily configure and switch between interfaces that are
optimized for the way they work.

Finally, enhanced interoperability with Autodesk Maya 2013 software,

Autodesk MotionBuilder 2013 software, and
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013 software helps make sure that 3ds
Max 2013 integrates efficiently into modern pipelines.

Auto Club Revolution

Image courtesy of Eutechnyx Limited

NoteThis topic lists all significant new features, but does not include
every change in 3ds Max. As you proceed through the documentation,

keep an eye out for the icon, which indicates a new feature.
You can also use the index in this help to find topics that contain
information about new features. For topics that describe new program
features, check the index entry "new feature." For changes in existing
features, check the index entry "changed feature."

Limited language support in Windows XP: The XP operating system

runs 3ds Max / 3ds Max Design in English only. To use 3ds Max / 3ds
Max Design in another language, you must also use Windows 7.

Modeling
Modeless Array Dialog

The Array dialog is now modeless, which means that you can navigate
viewports while the dialog is open. For example, if the array exceeds the
viewport boundaries, you can pan and zoom the viewport so the entire
array is within view.
Egg Spline

The Egg spline lets you create splines that are shaped like a chicken
egg.

The Egg spline is provided in part to support the Autodesk Civil View
Pipe Network feature. Civil View is available only with 3ds Max Design.

Egg modeled using an egg spline

Hair And Fur

In Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Hair And Fur has been improved in a number
of ways. Improvements include better viewport display, better efficiency
with tile memory usage, new material options, and new Flyaway,
Clumping, and Multi-Strand features.
Autodesk Civil View for 3ds Max Design

Autodesk Civil View is provided with 3ds Max Design only. For 3ds Max
Design 2013, Civil View is installed along with 3ds Max Design. You
don't need to install it separately; however, to run it you must initialize
it and then restart 3ds Max Design.

Traffic model created with Civil View

The Civil View help has been incorporated into this help document, and
the Civil View feature includes a variety of improvements.

Animation
MassFX Enhancements

Artists can now enjoy a more integrated and accurate dynamics toolset,
thanks to a wide range of enhancements and additions to
the MassFX unified system of simulation solvers. Highlights are the new
mCloth module with tearable fabric, plus support for dynamic ragdoll
hierarchies. In addition, improved constraints, better handling of pivot
points, and enhanced UI readability help improve overall workflow.
gPoly Format

Speed your character-animation workflow by leaps and bounds with the

new gPoly geometry format. gPoly produces objects in the hardware
mesh format used internally by 3ds Max, eliminating the need for
conversion from editable format to the internal hardware format. The
result is faster animation playback when deforming high-resolution
meshes (for example, using the Skin modifier).

gPoly delivers accelerated playback in cases where mesh deformation

does not change topology.
Retime Tool

Animators can now retime portions of animations to increase or

decrease their speed. There is no requirement to have keyframes
present in the portion to be retimed, and no extra keyframes are
created in the resulting high-quality curve.
Track View Makeover

To make the 3ds Max Track View animation editor conform more closely
to suitemates such as Autodesk Maya, the menu layout has been
redesigned, producing a more-compact interface. See Track View Menu
Bar.
Animation Store

Included with Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 is Animation Store, where you
can preview hundreds of motion clips on your Biped or CAT characters
with automatic retargeting prior to purchasing the motion data. To use
Animation Store, click the Autodesk Animation Store command on the
Animation menu.
QuickTime Support for 64bit

We have added support for Apple's QuickTime in the 64bit versions of

3ds Max and 3ds Max Design.

Skin Modifier Improvement

For more efficient management of bones attached to a Skin modifier,
you can now sort the list of bones in ascending or descending
alphanumeric order. Searching the list also saves time by showing only
matching entries, rather than simply highlighting matching entries in the
list. See Parameters Rollout (Skin Modifier).

Scene Management
Workspaces

A single 3ds Max session can now host multiple workspaces: different
user-interface arrangements. Switching between workspaces is as
simple as choosing a name from a drop-down list, and creating new
workspaces is just as easy. See Workspaces.
State Sets

Thanks to the entirely new State Sets render pass system, you can now
create render elements more efficiently for AutodeskSmoke 2013
software, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop software, and other
image-compositing applications. The state recorder enables artists to
capture, edit, and save the current state, while a visual interface shows
how compositing and render elements are wired together to create the
final result. Artists can more quickly set up and execute multiple render
passes from a single file; individual passes can be modified without the
need to re-render the whole scene, enhancing productivity.

Also part of State Sets is the new Media Sync functionality, which
provides two-way transfer of cameras, lights, null objects, plane
objects/solids, footage (including footage layering), blend modes,
opacity, and effects. With it, artists can iterate more effectively and
reduce rework to complete projects in less time.

Additional features include:

Custom render element pathing.

Custom file type pathing including EXR. This tracks parameters for
output file formats, as well as formats, and, in the case of EXR,
includes render elements, gbuffers, bit depth, color channels, and
more.

iray and Quicksilver render parameter tracking.

Better UI interaction through render-dialog refreshing.

Tracking of viewport layouts.

MAXScript exposure.
 Object and solid scale tracking to After Effects.

Ability to copy state sets.

Tracking of V-Ray object properties.

Tracking of V-Ray cache.

Viewport Layouts

The new Viewport Layouts feature enables storing multiple viewport

setups, including extended viewports (showing Track View, and so on),
in a single scene, and switching between them with a click of the mouse.

Shortcut menu for viewport layouts

Skylights
For Skylight objects you can assign Sky Color maps, including high
dynamic range (HDR) maps, that provide illumination for all renderers.
They also provide lighting levels and shadows for Nitrous viewports.
Unlike releases prior to Autodesk 3ds Max 2013, Sky Color maps do not
require the Light Tracer.
Skylight color and levels from an HDR image

Viewports
Gradient Background

Viewports can now have a vertical gradient as a background. This is the

default for Perspective viewports. You can set custom colors for the
gradient by using the Customize User Interface Colors panel. In
addition, viewport background controls have been consolidated in a new
Viewport Configuration dialog Background panel, with corresponding
options on the Views menuand the Shading Viewport Label menu.
Nitrous Viewports

The Nitrous accelerated graphics core has received a number of

enhancements. Artists will enjoy the increased drawing performance on
large scenes, together with new support for image-based lighting
(see Skylight), depth of field, accelerated particle flow display, and new
Facets and Clay shaders. In addition, the ability to change the bokeh
shape via MAXScript, support for shadows in large scenes, and improved
workflows for interior scenes extend the Nitrous functionality.

Slate Material Editor Improvements

The Slate Material Editor interface has been updated in a number of
ways to improve usability. New features include enhanced right-click-
menu functionality, the option to get a node view of materials applied to
selected object, new material library options, and special highlighting of
the node whose parameters are visible.

Rendering
Render Setup Dialog

A new drop-down menu on the Render Setup dialog lets you choose
among production, iterative, and ActiveShade rendering. This menu also
lets you launch Network Rendering, which is now an action rather than a
toggle.

This menu is also extensible, allowing third-party developers to add new

rendering modes.
iray Renderer

The version of iray provided with Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 has been
upgraded to iray v2.1.

You can use the iray renderer as the ActiveShade renderer. A

new Hardware Resources rollout lets you manage the processor
resources assigned to rendering, whether ActiveShade or Production.

The iray renderer now offers support for motion blur, helping artists
create more realistic images of moving elements. Also, the Production
iray renderer now performs Area to Render more quickly. In addition, a
large number of improvements have been added: support for "no diffuse
bump," the round corner effect, and more procedural maps; improved
sky portals, glossy refractions, translucency, and IOR (index of
refraction); faster exterior scene convergence; and the ability to handle
larger output resolutions.
iray rendering of a freeway, with motion blur

mental ray Renderer

The "mental images" library has been renamed the NVIDIA library, and
the path to these files is now the \NVIDIA folder in the 3ds Max root
folder. The set of shaders is the same as for previous releases, and
scene-description files retain the MI file name extension.

The version of mental ray provided with Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 has
been upgraded to mental ray 3.10. You can access the mental ray help
from the main menu Help Additional Help.

Interoperability
Enhanced FBX File Link

The File Link Manager can now directly import Revit Architecture (RVT)
files. File Link options now appear in the Application menu Import
group for greater ease of access.
Enhanced Geometry File Support

New support for the Autodesk DirectConnect family of translators

enables Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 users to exchange industrial design
data with engineers using CAD (computer aided design) products:
AutoCAD software, Autodesk Inventor software,
Autodesk Alias software, Dassault Systmes SolidWorks and
Catia system, PTC Pro/ENGINEER, Siemens PLM Software NX, JT,
and others. A wide range of file formats is supported (see Geometry File
Formats); for certain of these a license is required. The data is imported
as native solids Body Objects that can be interactively retesselated as
needed.

DirectConnect is now used for IGES import, so IGES geometry imports

as Body Objects rather than as NURBS.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 can now directly export meshes to WIRE
format, as well.
Send To Options

The Send To sub-menu now provides one-click support for Autodesk

Maya and Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler.

Sending to or from Autodesk Maya or Autodesk MotionBuilder can

convert a Bipedal CAT rig into a HumanIK skeleton, or vice versa.
Maya Interaction Mode

Artists familiar with using Autodesk Maya software will appreciate the
new Maya interaction mode that enables them to navigate viewports
using the same mouse and key combinations in 3ds Max as they would
in Maya. The ability to use a unified style when working with both
packages helps save time and reduce user frustration. In addition, the
interaction modes are customizable according to personal preference.
Discontinued Export Format

Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 no longer exports JSR-184 (M3G) files.

Internal Improvements
.NET Exposure of the 3ds Max SDK

The Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 SDK (software development kit) offers
improved exposure to .NET, making it accessible from .NET-aware
languages. Garbage collection and reflection are provided by the .NET
framework and help accelerate software development. The built-in .NET
libraries also help facilitate common tasks: building user interfaces;
connecting to databases; parsing XML and text; numerical computation;
and communicating over networks. See http://www.autodesk.com/me-
sdk-docs.
Multi-Language Deployment

Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 now uses the Unicode standard, facilitating
shipment in multiple languages within a single executable. This enables
facilities to offer their artists the ability to run the software in a choice of
languages without the requirement to reinstall.

2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.