3ds Max 2024 – A first look at what’s new

By Dennis Collin

3ds Max has also had a new update to complement the other 2024 products. The latest releases focus on colour and material management, enhanced modelling tools and real time workflows.

OpenColorIO is an industry-standard, open-source colour management solution integrated in many content creation, editing, and finishing applications. It uses configuration files to define the colour spaces used for input, rendering, display, and output, as well as to automate the transformations between these spaces. 3ds Max's default configuration is based on ACES, the Academy Colour Encoding System, alternatively a custom configuration can be used.

The legacy gamma correction workflow is still the default method when working on new scenes, unless changed via system settings, and existing scenes continue to work as before.

This can be set and reviewed via the Preference Settings dialogue box, colour management.

With 3ds Max 2024 there are some new modifiers to make common modelling tasks much easier. The Boolean Modifier combines objects into a single mesh by performing a boolean operation.

Unlike the ProBoolean and Boolean compound objects, the Boolean modifier is in the Modifier stack, allowing you to model procedurally. This flexibility and ease of use makes the Boolean modifier the preferred method for performing boolean operations in 3ds Max.

The Add Operands rollout lets you use different operations to combine operands to make shapes that would otherwise be difficult to model using other techniques:

• Union: Unifies the volume of both objects.
• Intersect: Intersects the overlapping volume common to both original objects.
• Subtract: Removes the intersecting volume from the base (originally selected) object.
• Split: Inserts new edges on the base object along the intersection of the operand(s).
• Merge: Intersects and combines two meshes without removing any of the original polygons.
• Attach: Combines multiple objects into one without affecting their topology.
• Insert: Subtracts the bounding shape of Operand B (the newly added operand) from Operand A (the current result), leaving the shape of Operand B unaffected by the operation.

The OpenVDB method is an alternative way to calculate an operation within the Boolean modifier. It produces topologically independent results from watertight geometry. The OpenVDB option can be selected in the Boolean modifier Options Rollout.

When OpenVDB is selected, your operands are converted into volumes, where the Boolean operation is calculated. The Boolean result is then converted back to meshed quadrilateral polygons.

This new method computes Boolean operations reliably and accurately and can be used when mesh issues are present, like operands which contain polygonal errors.

This method often succeeds when working with problematic or complex geometry that cause the traditional Boolean Mesh method to fail.

The Array modifier has been improved with some new distribution methods. One of these the Phyllotaxis Distribution method creates clones in a spiral pattern, mimicking what is found in nature. This method creates clones in a spiral pattern, distributing clones from the centre out. The resulting spiral mimics organic distribution patterns that are found in nature, like leaves on a plant or seeds in the head of a sunflower.

The Array modifier's Radial, Spline, and Phyllotaxis distribution methods now include a new Progressive method in the Transform rollout. Select Progressive in the Local Rotation or Scale drop-down list to alter transform data progressively. For example, a Scale X value of 200% results in no increase in scale for the first clone, but the last clone is scaled 200%. Every clone in between is scaled incrementally between 0-200%.

The Slate Material Editor has also been improved for 2024, enabling improved optimization and customization capabilities to improve your material editing workflows.

You can now dock the Slate Material editor into the main 3ds Max interface. Simply drag and drop the SME over the desired position.

Now it is easier to customize the layout and organization of the material trees by placing wires behind nodes. Select the new Draw Nodes Behind Wires option to place all connection wires behind the nodes in the graph. This option can be found in the Preferences menu of the Slate Material Editor.

The Slate Material Editor has a new colour scheme that better integrates with the overall colour scheme of 3ds Max. It is possible to customize the colours of nodes and graphs in the Slate Material Editor Graph Editor.

There are also many other improvements including the symmetry modifier axis now defaults to ‘X’ axis to better align to typical workflows. There is also a new Modifier List which has been updated to be searchable.

STL Import Improvements

Improvements when working with STL files, not only is the import process up to 10,000 times faster, a more intuitive interface for weld options. The STL check modifier has also been improved performance wise when checking dense meshes.

From Max 2024 onwards, Autodesk Revit Interoperability and Autodesk Inventor Interoperability components are no longer installed with the 3ds Max installer. The interoperability components are now installed on-demand when users import a Revit or Inventor model into 3ds Max for the first time.

NB: Users can continue working in 3ds Max while the Autodesk Interoperability Engine installation is in progress. Once installation is completed, you can import your Revit or Inventor model without restarting 3ds Max.

There are many other tweaks to the Max interface and functions. I will cover these on future posts.