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In the November issue of VIDEOGRAPHY, we ran the first part of Ed Heede's two-part review of Discreet's new ads max 5 where he focussed heavily on the User Interface. Here, Ed looks at the improved Selection Tools, Editing Tools, 3D Paint, and more.
This Discreet ads max review was performed on a BOXX Technologies 3D Box dual Processor AMD Athlon MP 2 Model 2100+ fitted with an NVIDIA Quadro4 750 XGL Graphics card equipped with]28MB of on board ram.
When I asked the 3ds max design team to explain the edge their product brings to the graphics industry, 3ds max Product Marketing Manager Dave Campbell said, "The 3D business is a tough one. In order to remain competitive, you need a highly productive and flexible studio. But, when you're building a studio and paying employees, you need to work fast and be competitive. This is what 3ds max does best."
A word of advice: using anything less than professional-level hardware with a tool the caliber of ads max may be something of an exercise in frustration. Although older and slower machines may be of help for training, they can't be depended on to satisfy tight production deadlines. A 3D BOXX Technologies dual Athlon machine (or its equivalent) with a fast and RAM heavy graphics card for interactive production work is ideally what's called for. Added CPU processors per machine will offer boosted speed gains for final renders. And really massive animation render jobs will benefit most from network rendering (render farms).
Modeling
3ds max has traditionally had a well-rounded modeler and an accurate one in that it originally began as a CAD accurate architectural creation tool. Over the years, a host of features have been added including Subdivision Surface Modeling and others. This max 5 version adds 17 major new features with scores of others all designed to improve and enhance speed workflows in the more challenging arena of organic character modeling. A sample of these would be GROW AND SHRINK SELECTORS, an IMPROVED CUT TOOL, and a new QUICKSLICE tool. I want to stress here that ads max has as fine a modeler as can be found on the desktop. max's modeler rivals virtually any on the...