3ds Max
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Varitronics E-Newsletter: Issue 1 (Media & Entertainment)

Welcome to the first issue of our Media and Entertainment e-newsletter. See our other newsletters on a variety of topics at www.varisys.com Look in this newsletter for:

  • 3ds Max 9 to ship in October -- see what it will do for you below
  • Specials leading up to the 3ds Max 9 release (look left)
  • Free DVDs with showreels from GDC and NAB-- amazing examples to inspire you
  • Quick Technical Tips
    • The big news is 3ds Max 9 will be shipping in October and we wanted to give you an overview of all it has to offer. There are also some good specials leading up to the release that are really worth considering. At the end we have some free offers you might want to check out as well.
    If you are an existing subscription customer you'll get immediate access to the Autodesk® 3ds Max® 9 software release, updated learning tools, and product extensions. Look out for your copy of Autodesk 3ds Max 9 coming to you soon.

    Autodesk 3ds Max - Release 9 Highlights

    Achieve stunning results in less time with Autodesk® 3ds Max® 9 software. Accelerate your creative workflow and increase your pipeline efficiency with enhanced animation and rendering tools. 3ds Max takes advantage of the latest technology advancements, such as 64-bit workstations, to help you work with ever-increasing amounts of data and more-complex scenes.
    Autodesk 3ds Max 9 provides dramatic improvements in display performance and complexity management required by next-generation production pipelines. It also includes significant rendering enhancements for architectural professionals. From the greatly expanded boundaries of the first-ever 64-bit release of 3ds Max to the newly integrated hair-styling interface, 3ds Max artists have more options, better performance, and greater flexibility than ever before. For full product details, refer to the detailed features.

    64-Bit Release for Windows

    Autodesk 3ds Max 9 marks the first full release of 3ds Max with both 32-bit (Microsoft® Windows® operating system) and 64-bit (Windows) executables. The ability to address considerably more memory than in the past means you can handle larger and more-complex scenes.

    mental ray 3.5 Core

    mental ray 3.5 adds a simplified user interface for working with Final Gather. It also has a unified indirect lighting model that provides consistent results when switching between different 3ds Max radiosity modes.

    Performance Optimizations

    Core performance enhancements to 3ds Max 9 help maximize your productivity and accelerate your creative workflow. For example, enjoy greater viewport interactivity when working with dense meshes and switch between high-res and low-res bitmap proxies for better interaction.

    Other Key Enhancements

  • Layered animation
  • Character animation workflow improvements
  • ProBooleans
  • Hair and cloth improvements
  • Xref object enhancements
  • Enhanced FBX support
  • Display support for DirectX and CG shaders

    • To learn more you can check out some online video tutorials showing off some of the new functionality.

    Free 3ds Max DVDs from Varitronics and Autodesk - Showreels and Combustion

    Media and Entertainment Client Show reels 2005 and 2006 GDC and NAB

    These DVDs contains Autodesk Media & Entertainment’s Client Showreels and Customer Testimonials from GDC & NAB. For a free copy of one or both give Lynne a call (732-356-7773 x100) or email her and she will snail mail you a copy right away.

    Autodesk Combustion Unplugged DVD

    Learn more about the all-in-one professional desktop compositing application! This CD includes Combustion 4 product demos, show reels showcasing work created using Combustion software, product information including technical specifications, and compelling customer success stories. For a free copy of of this informative DVD give Lynne a call (732-356-7773 x100) or email her and she will snail mail you a copy.

    Quick Tips

    Rather than an onslaught of traditional tips, we like to start with the problem. That way you can quickly target solutions that are relevant to your problems.

    Need to improve your overall speed with Max>? (Who doesn't?)
    Make the most of all hotkeys. A few key ones:
    Q – Select: Enables the Select tool
    W – Select and Move: Enables the Select and Move tool
    E – Select and Rotate: Enables the Select and Rotate tool
    R – Select and Scale: Enables the Select and Scale tool
    CTRL-A – Select all
    CTRL-D – Deselect all

    Also make the most of your mouse's "middle button":
      Hold it down to drag/move through viewport. This saves time because you don’t have to switch your current tool to the Pan View tool at the right bottom of the interface and switch it back to the tool you were using
      Since the middle button is usually a scroll wheel, use it to zoom in and out on the viewport. If you hold the ALT key, you can zoom in more gradually.