3ds Max 2009 Features:
With each new release, Autodesk software solutions become more intuitive and user friendly, while gaining functionality and a broader tool set. The following videos introduce the new features and functionality of Autodesk® 3ds Max® software.

Modeling and Animation
With the introduction of the ForeFeet option, Biped now fully supports four-legged characters, In this video, animators see that the center of mass can be animated using external pivots, like the working pivot, making it easier to create realistic body movements like falling forward. Animators also see how the Walkthrough Assistant simplifies the process of creating walk-throughs and how soft selections can be interactively adjusted with a few mouse-clicks.

Iterative Rendering
This video introduces the new Reveal™ rendering technology that streamlines the process of tweaking, finalizing, and experimenting with animator’s renders. The framebuffer adds a subset of render settings, enabling animators to switch from high to low-quality settings and to include or exclude features, while continuing to make test renderings and scene changes.

Materials and Maps
This video introduces ProMaterials™ technology, a set of powerful and flexible materials new to Autodesk 3ds Max. These mental ray® software materials can create extremely realistic surfaces and have a full set of customizable features. The new composite map adds numerous features and a simple workflow for the creation of complex maps, with layers, masks, opacity, and more. The viewports now support the display of multiple maps so results can be seen without test renderings.

Mapping
The new Spline Mapping tool can map otherwise difficult geometry by using splines to drive the UV generation. In this video, animators see how they can map twisted roads, arches, and characters’ limbs in minutes. In addition, improved Relax and Pelt workflows streamline UVW unwrapping, enabling animators to achieve desired results in fewer steps.

Lighting
Powerful photometric lights make realistic light creation a snap. Templates, distribution, and shapes are all available in a single light object. This video demonstrates how the viewport can display IES lights and their web distribution. It also highlights the daylight system sky, which now supports new sky models. Learn about how support for weather data files can accurately re-create weather and lighting conditions on specific dates or over a period of time.

mental ray
Support for mental ray proxies allows animators to create scenes with a huge number of object instances, while allowing fast rendering and keeping memory usage low. This video introduces new options that let animators control how individual objects interact with Final Gather. It highlights the new mental ray-specific render elements that offer many options for post-processing and compositing. Learn about the glare shader, which provides realistic glare around bright areas of the rendered image.

Production Shaders
This video introduces the mental ray production shaders that further improve the rendering capabilities of 3ds Max 2009. With two images and a few shaders, artists can match lighting and reflection of an existing background image. The new easy-to-use HDR Image Motion Blur shader creates fast and realistic motion blur effects.

Navigation Tools
This video introduces two easy-to-use viewport navigation tools in Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2009 software: ViewCube™ and the SteeringWheels™ technology. These tools, which can also be found in other Autodesk 3D products, provide users with a familiar way to navigate scenes. The ViewCube control makes it easy to orbit or look at an object from different angles. The SteeringWheels control makes exploring an architectural interior or a game level a whole new experience.

User Interface
The 3ds Max user interface has been improved and made more consistent by renaming and reorganizing some of the tools. The new Infocenter tool, which is used in other Autodesk products, is the front end for a new way to access help files and get to the information artists are looking for. Scene Explorer now has permanent filters to further improve the way scenes can be managed.