Autodesk has released 3ds Max 2020, the next update of its software for 3D modeling and animation. The update extends 3ds Max support for OSL shading by adding new non-photorealistic shaders and green screen keying tools. Also the Chamfer modifier has been updated while Alembic and point cloud export have also been improved.

Due to this, the playback performance of the animation in the viewport was increased twice, and the rendering of the animation is now 3 times faster.

1. Faster animation playback in the preview window and preview of the animation rendering.

According to Autodesk, 3ds Max 2020 balances new features with under-the-hood changes. One of the main tasks was to play the animation: 3ds Max no longer evaluates the curves and geometry that did not change between frames, which improves the playback speed in the viewport.

Autodesk demonstrates a double increase in the frame rate when processing a rather complex mesh rig. The frame rate in the viewport is now displayed more accurately: in addition to the less frequent updates, the display of frame rate indicators, which was acknowledged in Autodesk and in previous versions of 3ds Max, could be incorrect, was also corrected.

Preview animations have also been improved; they are now displayed "1.5-3 times faster" on local drives. Users can also select a number of standard codecs when rendering AVI files, including MJPEG and Microsoft, Intel and TechSmith codecs, and can capture animations in larger sizes than the viewing area itself.

2. New OSL maps, including basic green screen keyer and color corrector

OSL shading, first introduced in 3ds Max 2019, has been extended to support hardware rendering of 3ds Max Quicksilver. The update also adds 14 new OSL cards, presenting a rather interesting set of new features.

A new Tri-tone color correction map was also added, which can correct the input color using highlights, midtones or shadows. A separate color space map converts material between different color spaces, including RGB, HSL and YIQ.

3. New halftone and shadow effects

Illustrators will get new non-photorealistic shading options, including Toon Width and Halftone. The latter generates some nice bitmaps and shaded effects, although the hatching pattern flashes very noticeably when used in animations.

General purpose maps include Simple Tiles and Weave, which generate procedural materials.

When creating new maps from scratch, the OSL source editor now includes "improved parenthesis highlighting, syntax highlighting, and improved docking."

4. Upgrading toolkits for modeling and editing UVs

The Chamfer modifier has been updated in the modeling toolkit, and it is now possible to fix the chamfer width or adjust it for each edge using the fold weights. This modifier can now also create straight bevels or inverted curves, and the End Bias parameter controls the flow of geometry between the edges with and without the modifier.

In the UV-editing toolkit, Flatten Mapping is now "an order of magnitude faster when working with many UV-islands", and now you can save and reload pixel snapping settings.

5. Improved import of Revit files and Alembic data and point clouds export

Pipeline enhancements include support for Revit Camera, Sun and Sky when importing Revit files and new Combine By options for importing Revit materials more selectively.

Also, you can now import files from Revit 2017, 2018 and 2019 without updating when using additional components of Revit Interoperability.

In addition, Alembic export has been updated with support for user attributes for non-geometry, such as locators and dummy objects. Improved triangulation of meshes with concave n-gons is also available.

Another innovation is the export of point cloud data in .ply and .e57 formats.

6. Updated MAXtoA

MAXtoA, the 3ds Max integration plugin for the Autodesk Arnold renderer, has also been updated. Although, Autodesk reported that the recent update Arnold 5.3, which includes the long-awaited rendering engine of the Arnold GPU, was released too late for the release of 3ds Max 2020, so the software comes without it. But these two releases are compatible.

Price and availability

3ds Max 2020 is available for Windows 7+. The software is available on a rental-only basis. Subscriptions’ prices increased slightly, up to $195/month or $1,545 /year.

As with 3ds Max 2019, Autodesk worked with third-party developers to ensure that key plugins update support for 3ds Max 2020 during the first week after release.