The 3ds Max Interactive runtime engine and editing tools are designed to be extensible through a plug-in architecture, offering the ability to integrate external tools and technology into the engine and editing environments.

3ds Max Interactive includes standard plug-ins for several middleware game technologies, both from Autodesk and from other companies:

• Autodesk Gameware Navigation

  Autodesk Gameware Navigation is a middleware for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 3D video games and simulations: it helps your computer-controlled characters (NPCs) find and follow paths from place to place in the 3D world, avoiding collisions with each other and with other dynamic obstacles; and it provides spatial analysis tools for getting information about the 3D world around them. For help on using this technology in your interactive app, refer to the section AI and pathfinding.

  The latest documentation for Autodesk Gameware Navigation middleware is available here.

• Autodesk HumanIK

  HumanIK animation middleware is a full-body inverse kinematics (IK) solver and retargeter that lets you create believable character animations. See HumanIK for information on setting up characters with HumanIK in 3ds Max Interactive.

  The complete HumanIK middleware documentation is available here.

• Autodesk Scaleform Studio

  Scaleform Studio is an editor and a runtime that enables you to create rich, interactive 2.5D user interfaces and graphics for use with 3ds Max Interactive. Scaleform Studio supports bitmaps, text and vector graphics, letting you use animated menu screens, in-game HUDs, and other 2D graphics in your interactive app.

  For more information about Scaleform Studio, see the latest documentation here. This online help system is also available from the Help menu in the Scaleform Studio.

• WWise

  Audiokinetic WWise is an industry-leading sound engine for 3D games, with a complete pipeline that includes editing tools for setting up projects, monitoring and debugging playback, and live modification of sound properties.

  The Wwise runtime engine is integrated into the 3ds Max Interactive engine, and all new projects are automatically set up with a linked Wwise sound project. Refer to the section Working with audio for more information on how you can use Wwise editing tools and integrated Lua functions to control sound sources, trigger sound events, and modify parameter values.

  For complete information on Wwise, visit the Audiokinetic Wwise site: https://www.audiokinetic.com/products/wwise/.

The linked topics in this guide describe how these various technologies are integrated into the 3ds Max Interactive engine and editing tools, and how you can use them in your own games.

Note however that the topics presented here provide a guide for using these technologies within 3ds Max Interactive; they do not represent a full and complete documentation for the external products. To gain a deeper understanding of the concepts, workflows and possibilities offered by these products, you may need to visit links to their original product documentation.

You can also write your own plug-ins in order to integrate other in-house or third-party technologies. For details, read through the pages under The Interactive Plug-in SDK.