What’s New in 3ds Max 2022? – New and Improved Object Modifiers

By Dennis Collin

3ds Max is so full of features it is easy to miss new or updated ones. 3ds Max has many modifiers to aid in modelling and adjusting textures etc. The most notable examples are described below.

The Extrude Modifier has been in Max since its first release, however with the 2022 version the modifier has been improved so it works better with more complex profiles, and it is a lot more responsive with spinner interface adjustments.

The Symmetry Modifier has also been improved, users can specify multiple axis, planar or radial, so that geometry can be quickly duplicated and repeated making modelling repetitive layouts faster.

The Relax Modifer now has an additional option for Preserve Volume. Having this option enabled will smooth out noise for complex objects when modified. Reducing noisy data with the Relax modifier can help improve the processing time of Max's Retopology Tools.

Chamfer Edges modifying within Edit Poly and Mesh has been improved - Uniform, radial and path chamfers edit along with edge depth, end bias and radial bias are easier to apply. UV mapping is preserved and works with the newly created results from chamfer modifications. Support is provided for smoothing so that the newly created geometry from chamfering blends with the existing geometry and mesh data.

The Weighted Normals Modifier was introduced in Max 2021 and has been improved with the 2022 release. The purpose of this Modifier is to preserve the sharper edges of models and geometric shapes while they are being shaded, or having materials applied. This Modifier's controls affect the normal (the direction) of each vertex based on the size and corner angle of each adjacent face.

The sharper edges and shading of objects are preserved because the undesired shading of larger areas and polygons is passed on to the smaller ones.