Plugins: 3DS Max

SECTION: PLUGINS - 3DS MAX

> What do I need to do to get motion blur to work with the 3ds Max plug-in?

Under Renderer / General Settings you will find Global Motion Blur. Turn it on and go. However, if you have objects with Maxwell Displacement, turning on the motion blur option would disable the displacement effect. In this case, we suggest to not turn the motion blur option on globally but enabling object motion blur per moving object. This way, the camera will exclude objects with displacement. To activate motion blur for a single object, go to Object Properties and change motion blur from "none" to "object".

> How can I save a msx file in 3DS Max and run it directly from Maxwell?

There are 2 ways to save as MXS.

1. File->Export and choose "Maxwell Scene File" as a "Save as Type".
2. F10->Renderer tab->check MXS output and provide a path and hit render.

> Do instances work with 3ds Max scatter?

No. They do not work together, mainly because the scatter modifier creates a compound object which isn't instanced geometry. But you can still do this: under "Helpers", you will find "Crowd", which has a Scatter tool that works nicely.

> Does Maxwell Render support 3DStudio VIZ?

Yes. For VIZ 2008 simply copy maxwell.dlr from the 3ds Max9 \plugins directory to VIZ \plugins directory. In addition, copy maxwell_mtlprop.ms and maxwell_camprop.ms from \scripts directory to your VIZ \scripts directory. For earlier versions of VIZ (2007 or earlier), you will have to use Max8/Max7 as the source.
Alternatively, you could let the installer do the job. When installing, put your VIZ 2008 path in the "Location for Max 9" edit field, and it will automatically do the job. If you have another VIZ version, try changing the other Locations.

> The 3ds Max plug-in with 3ds Max Revit/VIZ/Archicad/Instancing

When using instancing explicit or implicit (scenes imported from other programs and automatically translated by 3ds Max), you may notice that sometimes your geometry renders in a funny way. This is because your scene contains instanced objects coupled with some modifiers that can't be translated correctly to Maxwell Render.

If you encounter this problem, you can use the "Use instancing" render global checkbox (F10->General settings tab) to control the way the plug-in should export the geometry.
- when checked, the plug-in will export instanced geometry as instanced geometry.
- when unchecked, the plug-in will export instanced geometry as normal geometry.

> How do you know were the true north is in 3ds Max?

The true north in 3ds Max is located in the upper direction of the Top Viewport. If you go to the System Panel and choose "daylight" or "sunlight" you will see a windrose.

> How should I export my objects to import them into Maxwell Render?

You can export them like OBJ files with the triangles option checked or like MXS if the scene contains Maxwell Render materials and cameras.

> Material Converter Script

This is a simple material converter. It is intended for use with vray 1.49.xx or higher and Maxwell Render 1.7 for 3ds Max9 or 2008.