3ds Max enhancements over the years

3ds Max has brought top-quality updates over the years to help you work faster and more efficiently. We continue to focus on bringing you powerful solutions across disciplines to enhance the artist experience.

3ds Max over the past 6 years

18

Project updates


174

Total enhancements


55

Customer Ideas


3ds Max enhancement timeline

Image courtesy of Sergey Varejnikov

2024 featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Boolean Modifier
  • Array Modifier
  • Robust Modeling Tools
  • Color Management
  • Material Switcher
  • Interactive Rendering Tools
  • Enhanced Animation Capabilities
  • Artist-friendly Updates
  • Enhancements to the Copy and Paste Animation Data Commands
  • Array Modifier Improvements
  • Spline Improvements
  • VertexPaint Enhancements
  • FFD Performance Improvements
  • MaxtoA 5.6.2.0

2023 | 2023.1 | 2023.2 | 2023.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • gITF support
  • Retopology Tools 1.2
  • Place Working Pivot
  • Create Point from Working Pivot
  • Create Grid from Working Pivot
  • Align Working Pivot
  • Selection Pivot
  • New Properties added to Physical Material
  • Autobackup toolbar
  • Autobackup improvements
  • Faster Rendering Experience with Arnold
  • Occlude Selection Improvements
  • Smart Extrude
  • Unwrap UVW Keyboard Shortcuts

2022 | 2022.1 | 2022.2 | 2022.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Security
  • Smart Extrude
  • Slice Modifier
  • Extrude Modifier
  • Symmetry Modifier
  • AutoSmooth
  • Relax Modifier
  • Rendering
  • Bake to Texture
  • Deformation Modifier
  • Enhanced Smooth Modifier
  • Vertex Colors in FBX Imports
  • Multi-Threading of Noise Maps
  • Startup Failure Recovery

2021 | 2021.1 | 2021.2 | 2021.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Bake to Texture
  • Installer
  • Scripting with Python 3
  • Arnold as the Default Renderer
  • Improved Viewport Quality & Settings
  • OSL Shaders
  • File I/O
  • Chamfer improvements
  • Weighted Normals Modifier
  • SketchUp Import
  • Substance Update
  • ProSound Improved audio support
  • FBX Improvements
  • 3rd Party Developer Tools

2020 | 2020.1 | 2020.2 | 2020.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Create Animation Preview improvements
  • Chamfer modifier presets and save default settings
  • 14 new OSL shaders
  • Revit import new “Combine By” types
  • MAXtoA PFlow instance node
  • Copy+Pasted modifiers maintain their custom names
  • Validity intervals (animation is only calculated if there’s a change in object location)
  • Autobackup is more responsive to ESC request
  • Civil View textures update to render with Arnold
  • Change color of MAXScript listener window
  • 270+ 3rd party plugins launching around 3ds Max 2020
  • Detachable viewports

2019 | 2019.1 | 2019.2 | 2019.3 featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • OSL (Open Shading Language) support with 100 OSL shaders included
  • Advanced Wood shader
  • Shape Booleans
  • VR scene editing with 3ds Max Interactive
  • 3ds Max Project tool updates
  • Shared Views
  • Civil View updates to use
  • Physical Material and Sun/Sky Positioner
  • Alembic Inspector
  • OSL performance improvements
  • Arnold MAXtoA Toon shading, noise removal improvements
  • Switch quickly between projects with the new Project Toolbar
  • Archiving and scene compression now supports large datasets greater than 2GB
  • Vault users can check large files in/out and auto-login
  • Export only animation with FBX

Customer ideas for 3ds Max

What is the most effective way to request a new feature or product enhancement for Autodesk 3ds Max? Submit your idea to the 3ds Max forum and vote up the ones you’d like to see implemented. 

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