News - Maxwell Render News
17/08/2010 - Modo plug-in updates :: Release notes v.2.2000
Modo

Version 2.2000 Release Notes

NEW features

  • Export modo procedural textures (Limitation: export with SOLID projection is not supported).
      Note: Procedural texture export can be slow. To make things faster, plug-in creates a log file about the exported procedural textures, so it exports the procedural textures only if they have been changed since the last export.
      If procedural texture item(s) is selected, the new "Procedural Textures +" button appears in the Maxwell Render plug-in panel.
      In the "Procedural Textures +" pop-up user can control the exported image format (For displacement export 16 bit format is recommended!).

  • Export modo Environment with Gradient Sky (2 Color Gradient, 4 Color Gradient, CIE Overcast Sky). Exporter creates an EXR image file from the modo gradient environment and loads it for Maxwell Render as IBL background.

  • Scene export with Motion Blur (for cameras, meshes and deformed meshes).
    Plug-in uses the previous frame as reference to construct the Motion Blur data. (It is possible to disable motion blur on mesh item level with the "Disable Motion Blur" switch.).

  • Drag and Drop Maxwell Render Sky Preset files (+ Maxwell Render sky thumbnails in modo Preset Browser).

Other changes

  • New "Preferences..." pop-up window with main plug-in workflow settings (Preferences... button has been added to the main Maxwell Render window).

  • New control has been added: "Add Local Properties" - in "at view" mode plug-in adds local parameters to the selected items when user opens the Properties + pop-up window of the selected item.

  • New control has been added: "Material Rename" - user can control whether plug-in has to rename materials with mxm replacement automatically or not.

  • Maxwell Render Environment preview image size control has been moved to here from the render item properties.
  • Lots of improvements on integration with modo Preset Browser and drag and drop functionality.
  • Drag and drop is more stable now.
  • Plug-in refreshes MXM material thumbnails if the material has been changed in Maxwell Render Material Editor.
  • Sky presets in modo Preset Browser.

  • Automatic Material export adds emitter texture to the Maxwell Render Material if the modo Material has Image map with "Luminous Color" effect.

  • Automatic Material export sets the weight of the diffuse BSDF according to the modo Diffuse Amount (so user can turn off the diffuse layer with 0% Diffuse Amount).
  • Environment preview image intensity reflects better the final environment in the Maxwell Render. (It was way too bright compared to the Maxwell Render Environment....).
  • New Maxwell Render Environment preview button has been added to the "Environment Material +" UIs.  It is easier to test the changes on Maxwell Render Physical Sky settings.
  • Maxwell Render Environment preview exports in exr format (improved quality).
  • Animation export: "Frame Step" control has been added and the Maxwell Render frame range parameters are independent now from the modo frame range settings.
  • Scattering, designating etc. values/controls have been corrected according to the new Maxwell Render settings.
  • Resume render check box has been removed - it was obsolete.
  • Exporter writes the output image and output mxi paths into the mxs file.
  • New check box: Collect images to export folder (it collects the exported images to the export folder -> easier to manage the scene image files).
  • Some icons have been replaced with new icons.
  • Environment Test render has been renamed to Maxwell Render Environment preview inside modo, and it reflects better the current Maxwell Render Environment.
  • "open material directory" button has been renamed to "open export directory".
  • Maxwell Render Environment test image renamed from _maxwellEnvironmentTest to [TEST_MAXWELL_ENV].
  • Material export directory changed from maxwellMaterial to [MAXWELL_EXP].

  • If the parent object of the Camera item was scaled, exporter scaled the focus distance parameter of the camera too. modo does not scale focus distance together with the parent scale, and now plug-in follows the same behavior.

  • In automatic mode the Environment Material + pop-up window shows the actual sky type, so it is easier to follow the actual settings. (For example if modo environment is set to environment type Constant, pop-up window will start up with the Sky Dome settings...).
  • If Modo render is in region render mode, plug-in exports modo Render Region setting as Region Selection for Maxwell Render.

Bug fixes

  • Fixed: Parented item - in case the item does not have transform channel (position, rotation, scale) - is exported with wrong zero transform (it is incorrect if the parent has its own transform)
  • Fixed: Exporter handles material items inside invisible Group Masks as visible items
  • Fixed: Under OSX plug-in is not able to construct correct path from replacement mxm relative path value if relative path was created under Windows (and the opposite: saved under OSX read from windows)
  • Fixed: (MAC OSX) mxm relative path construction returns with invalid error in some scenarios
  • Fixed: (MAC OSX) Material rename with no mxm file causes modo crash
  • Improved again - It works 99%: Maxwell Render Material preset drag and drop can cause modo crash.
  • Fixed: Environment image export produce inverse IBL background if Locator scale value is negative on X, Y or Z axis
  • Fixed: Environment image export produce invalid error message if scale value is not 1m
  • Fixed (but not tested properly): (MAX OSX) Installer: problem with Japanese code page
  • Fixed: Animation export - Maxwell Render does not start render
  • Fixed: (MAC OSX) In case the path to the export log file contains space character(s), the exporter is not able to open the log file from the export result dialog
  • Fixed: Output image depth has no effect