What's New
in 3ds Max
?
See how 3ds Max has evolved since 2016
3ds Max has provided you many updates over the years, and we will continue to deliver to you top quality updates, for better performance and improved workflows.
Image courtesy of Lukáš Ďurica
Timeline
Roadmap
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2021
2021
NEW UPDATE
25 Mar. 2020
2021 Update
Bake to Texture
Installer
Scripting with Python 3
Arnold as the Default Renderer
Physically Based Rendering (PBR)
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
SEE UPDATES
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2020
2020
26 Nov. 2019
2020.3 Update
SketchUp ATF Importer Update
Chamfer Mitering Types available in EditablePoly
Arnold and Active Shade Viewport Enhancements
PySide2 updated
Arnold MAXtoA clip_geo Update
New Forge Design Automation API for 3ds Max
SEE UPDATES
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28 Aug. 2019
2020.2 Update
SketchUp importer update
Chamfer modifier improvement
Viewport enhancements
Python 3 Alert Mode
Arnold MAXtoA update
Arnold 5.4 improvements
Arnold beta GPU improvements
Public Roadmap
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NEXT
12 June 2019
2020.1 Update
Detachable viewports
New Hotkey editor tool
Chamfer modifier improvements
New Double-click selection
Command Panel improvements
Autocomplete for MAXScript
Arnold 5.3.0.2 out of the box
Public Roadmap
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27 March 2019
2020
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
Public Roadmap
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2019
2019
12 Dec. 2018
2019.3 Update
Revit import Version Compatibility
Revit import UI and light improvements
Interactive Active Shade viewport
OSL 1:1 natively in viewport
Improved Alembic compatibility with Maya
Blog post
PREV
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19 Sep. 2018
2019.2 Update
Fluids loader
Alembic instancing support
Arnold MAXtoA texture baking support
Security Tools for ALC-CRP script protection
Autodesk Drive support for 3ds Max files - Subscriber only benefit
Blog post
PREV
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14 June 2018
2019.1 Update
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
Blog post
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20 March 2018
2019
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
Civil View updates to use Physical Material and Sun/Sky Positioner
Shared Views - Subscription only benefit
Blog post
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2018
2018
7 Dec. 2017
2018.4 Update
Fluids presets
3ds Max Interactive - A new Physical Light that supports IES profiles
3ds Max Interactive - Updated Live Link improves 3ds Max interoperability when using V-Ray
3ds Max Batch updates to a fully command line tool
Scene Converter updates
Faster load time when opening files with references in network locations
Blog Post
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28 Sep. 2017
2018.3 Update
3ds Max Fluids
Motion Field combines many space warps into one tool
MAXtoA updates (mainly for Fluids support)
Blog Post
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30 Aug. 2017
2018.2 Update
8 New Spline Tools (Freehand, Spline Morph, Spline Overlap, Spline Mirror, Spline Relax, and Optimize Spline)
3 New Spline Modifiers (Spline Morph, Spline Overlap, Spline Mirror)
3ds Max Batch
Cloud Rights Subscription Benefit
Blog Post
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27 June 2017
2018.1 Update
3ds Max to VR with 3ds Max Interactive
Model Assist Viewport style
34 New MCG Operators
Blog Post
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12 April 2017
2018
Customizeable workspaces
MAXtoA 1.0 integration
Motion Paths
Smart Asset Packaging
Blog Post
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2017
2017
16 June 2017
2017.2 Update
Improved multiple simultaneous instances of Max
Software security fixes related to Single Sign-On
Autocomplete for MAXScript
Blog Post
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15 Nov. 2016
2017.1 Update
Blended Box Mapping
Data Channel Modifier
MAXtoA 0.80 Preview release
Civil View support newer version VISSIM Traffic Simulation
Level Sync with Stingray
Blog Post
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18 April 2016
2017
New UI Look & High DPI Display Support
UV Mapping Updates (including UDIM support)
ART (Autodesk Ray Tracer) integration
New Color Map
New Physical Material
New Sun Positioner
Scene Converter
New Bevel Profile modifier
New Booleans tools and explorer
Scanline multi-core support up to 128 cores
Blog post
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2016
2016
1 Dec. 2015
2016 Ext 2
MCG Shapes and Splines
CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) import via MCG
“Send-To” Print Studio
Text Map
Shape Map
Texture Object Mask
Blog post
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11 Aug. 2015
2016 Ext 1
Text Plus! Updated text tool
Animation Presets and Offsets
Geodesic Voxel and Heatmap Skinning
Game Exporter
Live Link with Stingray
MCG Animation Controllers
Blog post
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12 April 2015
2016
Max Creation Graph
OpenSubdiv Support
New Design Workspace
New Template System
Camera Sequencer
Dual Quaternion Skinning
Autodesk A360 Rendering Support
New Physical Camera
Alembic Support
Multi-Touch Monitor Support
Support for Autodesk Translation Framework and Inventor Animation
Blog post
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