With the recent additions of Maya and MotionBuilder to its lineup, Autodesk joins the pantheon of software giants leading the VFX and animation industry. However, with such a lofty perch come some high expectations from both large and small studios. If the recent release of 3ds Max 9 (and Maya 8) is indicative of the quality, innovation and performance Autodesk users can expect, then the future seems bright.

3ds Max 9 is now ready for the latest 64-bit technology, which means users can benefit from greater memory access. In ideal situations, this also means greatly accelerated performance. The advantages of 64-bit technology become most obvious when working with very large datasets or complex animation. In other words, those working with tens of millions of polygons are most likely to notice a difference.

Autodesk has addressed viewport display issues with significant optimizations to DirectX which, unlike the 64-bit update, are immediately apparent. The company has not only considerably improved vertex and edge display, bounding box and spline display and new hidden-line display debuts, but also promises faster interaction. If you prefer OpenGL, though, you’re out of luck- the speedy benefits work only with DirectX. Bitmap Proxy is another notable step up- it swaps high-res images for low-res proxies, increasing display speed and improving overall performance.

3ds Max has matured as a favorite animation solution, and version 9 reinforces that trend with layered animation and better character tools. Similar in concept to display layers, animation layers organize animation data so users can have quick access to different types of animation. You can create additional layers by allowing the organization of custom animation types. This is a real time-saver and, by far, one of the best new tools in this release.

Autodesk has tweaked Character Studio, which began shipping as part of 3ds Max in version 7, so it will deliver better biped control. New separate tracks for fingers and toes give animators additional controls that aid in the production of more natural animation. Biped’s new key flexibility allows keys to move past each other and create negative frames. Biped also features improved rig controls and an indispensable new history feature.

When it comes to modeling, 3ds Max is admittedly one of the best modelers available, though not necessarily one of the most intuitive. Thankfully, I noticed marked improvements with faster Soft Selection. Also, I noticed quicker sub-object editing when working with heavy models. Booleans are a hit and miss proposition at best, but ProBooleans improve the odds by predictably producing quality meshes. ProCutter is a cool addition for breaking up models- particularly in explosions, or, conversely, for animating pieces coming back together. The possibilities are endless.

The Hair module, which debuted in version 8, is now part of the 3ds Max interface, thus hair can be "styled" with standard selection tools. Fortunately, Autodesk has improved the overall quality of the hair display and rendering time. Rounding out the modeling enhancements is improved cloth tailoring, which lets users edit without resorting to modeling, and paint deformation, which is now actually worthwhile.

Though Autodesk has generously improved 3ds Max’s modeling toolset, it still lacks some sophisticated tools, such as advanced edge modeling found in other applications. Criticism aside, with 3ds Max it is possible to model anything you can imagine.

Rendering in 3ds Max 9 is also better, thanks to an update to mental ray 3.5. Now, you can choose from a slew of new shaders. Some of these include a new car paint shader and a set labeled "Architectural and Design Shaders" aimed at architectural visualization (they can actually be used for any purpose). The mental ray shaders feature some great time savers, such as Ambient Occlusion, which simulates GI, and simulated rounded or beveled corners.

In addition to new shaders, the mental ray interface has been significantly simplified. Specifically, you can now monitor the Final Gather dialog box during rendering so you can more quickly respond to problems. I was really impressed with the new mental ray support for 3ds Max’s Sun and Sky system- it produced fantastic results with less effort. Also, the normally time-consuming GI options have been consolidated into one indirect lighting model, permitting faster production.

Overall, the focal improvements in 3ds Max 9 are performance enhancements and 64-bit compatibility. And these alone are worth the upgrade price. But if you also throw in better animation and modeling, an update to Mental Ray 3.5 and improvements to the pipeline, asset management and file compatibility, you can’t go wrong with 3ds Max 9.

Software: 32-bit operating system requirements: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2 or higher recommended) or Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4)
64-bit operating system requirements: Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64
Web browser requirements: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher
Supplemental software requirements: DirectX 9.0c (required), OpenGL (optional)

Hardware: 32-bit version minimum requirements: Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP or higher processor, 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended), 500 MB swap space (2 GB recommended), hardware-accelerated OpenGL and Direct3D support, Microsoft Windows-compliant pointing device (optimized for Microsoft IntelliMouse), DVD-ROM drive

64-bit version minimum requirements: Intel EM64T, AMD Athlon 64 or higher, AMD Opteron processor; 1 GB RAM (4 GB recommended); 500 MB swap space (2 GB recommended); hardware-accelerated OpenGL and Direct3D support; Microsoft Windows-compliant pointing device (optimized for Microsoft IntelliMouse); DVD-ROM drive