USD for 3ds Max 0.6 Release Notes
USD for Autodesk 3ds Max version 0.6 is the latest release available. For important legal information about this version, please refer to the following: About USD for 3ds Max.
Download USD for Autodesk 3ds Max from your Autodesk account. USD for Autodesk 3ds Max is supported on systems capable of running 3ds Max 2022 and higher. See also: Install USD for 3ds Max.
3ds Max USD 0.6 and MaxtoA 5.6.5.2 both use a version of USD that provides important security enhancements. It is recommended that you upgrade to these versions of 3ds Max USD and MaxtoA or higher. 3ds Max USD 0.6 is available for download from your Autodesk account and MaxtoA is available for download from the Arnold downloads page.
What's New
Latest Features
USD for 3ds Max version 0.6 is built with USD version 22.11 for 3ds Max 2024. The following features are available with this release:
Updated USD Importer:
- The complete animation range of an animated USD file imports into 3ds Max
- Added support to import USD Skel Animations into 3ds Max as skinned meshes
Updated USD Exporter:
- Create a material variant with the Material Switcher in Slate and then set the exporter to use the variant switcher to exporter material settings
- Note: Material Switcher is only available in 3ds Max 2024 and above
- Set your material scope in the exporter to create a separate USD file that is layered into your main export file
- Create a material variant with the Material Switcher in Slate and then set the exporter to use the variant switcher to exporter material settings
Visualize USD data in the USD Explorer:
- Toggle visibility states of prims in your USD reference
- Copy prim path, unload/load, make visible/invisible, deactivate, mark as instanceable and add new prims with the right-click contextual menu
Updates to the Max USD SDK that allows 3rd-party developers to extend the USD Importer and USD Exporter. SDK available in a separate download from the Autodesk developer network.
What's Fixed
| Fixed Issues |
|---|
| Error on Import relating to material scope |
| Regression - MultiMtl materials assigned to prims are not imported back |
| Animation - Y-up export has an unexpected impact on Morpher |
| USD - Animation - Root Bounding Box does not respect content |
| Error when assembling USD stage with USD explorer open |
| USD - MaterialX - Opening some MaterialX files breaks MtlXMaterial.ms |
| USD Stage copy not working |
Known Issues and Current Limitations
| USD Exporter and USD Importer Limitations |
|---|
| Texture graphs are not supported, only direct bitmap inputs are supported in the USD Exporter. |
| Blendshapes and animated attributes are unsupported in animation import. |
| Motion Blur data is unsupported. |
| When skins are exported, modifiers that modify the topoly are unsupported. |
| Multimaterial inputs are unsupported to export as variant sets from the Material Switcher in the USD Exporter. |
| Normals may not match the source normals when re-importing USD Skel animations. |
| When importing a USD file containing Normal Map data into 3ds Max 2024, the object's surface may look facetted/ the UV seams become apparent. Workaround: Ensure that gamma correction is enabled. Open the bitmaptexture node in slate, click the file browse button and explicitly set the gamma to 1.0. |
| USD Blend Shapes Limitations |
|---|
| Morph targets export with USD blendshapes, but skinning information may not properly display in USDView. If you use 3ds Max 2023 or below, this issue presents in USDView. Workaround: Set the Windows Environment variable to: USDSKELIMAGING_FORCE_CPU_COMPUTE=1. |
| USD cannot resolve the modifier stack when modifiers that change mesh topology are applied. Any modifier like morpher or turbo smooth is expected to be below the Skin modifier when they both are present in a 3ds Max node. A warning presents when this hierarchy is incorrect. |
| USD Stage Object Limitations |
|---|
| The USD Stage Object will not display lights, cameras or shapes in the viewport. |
| Most modifiers will have no effect on a USD Stage Object. |
| Rendering support for the stage is dependent on each renderer. See the rendering section for more information. |
| Display of baked bitmaps can cause blurriness of scenes even in high quality mode in the Viewport. Baked bitmaps (ie. with Uberbitmap) are unsupported even in high quality mode in the viewport. |
| A 2024 OpenGL Import error is reported relating to the Numpy module. This warning is expected but won't affect the usage of USDView with 3ds Max 2024. |
| USD Skel does not support faceVarying Normals. This extends to Morpher, as well. This is a USD limitation, and not specific to USD for 3ds Max tools. |
| MaterialX Limitations |
|---|
| 3ds Max 2022: MaterialX materials on a USD Stage reference cannot be displayed in Nitrous (Viewport) nor using Arnold as a renderer. |
| For USDView bundled with 3ds Max 2022 and 2023: when exporting or viewing an existing .usd file with MaterialX data present, the viewport in USDView will be black and unusable. |
| Loss of parameters when exporting MaterialX material. In maps, for example: subsurface_scale value is lost. |
| USDZ format cannot export MaterialX data as part of the USDZ framework. See USDZ specifications. |