Chaos Group Offers Phoenix FD 3.0 Plug-in for 3ds Max

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Spe 28, 2016 - Chaos Group announces a major new release of its versatile, all-in-one fluid dynamics plug-in, Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max. Frequently used to simulate realistic water, fire, and other fluid effects for multiple television series such as Game of Thrones and The Flash, Phoenix FD has been significantly upgraded for fast-paced productions. With its new FLIP liquid solver and improved smoke and fire solver, Phoenix FD is now more powerful and able to bring more realism to visual effects projects.

Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max has been given a full makeover, with new intuitive controls, presets and GPU-accelerated previews, making it a fast and easy way to tackle tight deadlines. The new Phoenix FD integrates seamlessly into Autodesk 3ds Max and renders with V-Ray, Chaos Group’s industry-standard lighting and rendering solution.

“Phoenix FD is like a Swiss Army knife for effects. It can handle everything from flaming arrows and drops of water to erupting volcanoes or an armada of ships,” said Svetlin Nikolov, Phoenix FD Team Lead at Chaos Group. “It’s a handy tool that is fast and easy to use without being overly technical.”

"Phoenix FD is our go-to tool for fluid simulations," said Joern Grosshans, VFX Supervisor at Mackevision. "When working on the new season of 'Game of Thrones', we needed the wakes coming off the CG ships to look as realistic as possible. Phoenix FD proved to be reliable, fast, and seamlessly integrated into 3ds Max. It was exactly what we needed."

Highlights of Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max include:

1) Ocean simulations

• Infinite ocean – Create infinite ocean waves that never repeat.
• Ocean & beach waves – Seamlessly transition from procedural ocean waves to simulated beach waves.

2) Advanced simulations and controls

• FLIP solver – Enables faster, more realistic liquid simulations for splashes, sprays, foam, mist and waves.
• Improved fire and smoke solver – Realistic smoke and fire with natural rolling motion and fine details can be created without increasing resolution.
• Cascade simulations – Create a series of simulations that trigger and interact with each other.
• Refine existing simulations – Add detail and increase resolution without changing simulation shape or behavior.
• Simulation retiming – Speed up or slow down simulation playback, perfect for slow motion effects.
• Custom emission sources – Use a wide range of emission sources including animated meshes, texture maps, particles and more.
• New forces – Influence simulations with forces like wind, spline follow, and mesh attraction.

3) Pipeline and compatibility

• Compatibility – Compatible with top industry tools such as Alembic, Krakatoa, Stoke MX and OpenVDB.

Pricing & Availability

Phoenix FD 3.0 is available now for Autodesk 3ds Max and is a free upgrade for all Phoenix FD 2.x customers. A Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max Workstation license is $830 and includes one floating user license and one floating simulation license. Additional simulation licenses are available for $210. Contact sales@chaosgroup.com for volume discounts.

For more information about Phoenix FD, visit click here.

About Chaos Group

Chaos Group is a worldwide leader in computer graphics technology, helping artists and designers create photoreal imagery and animation for design, television, and feature films. Chaos Group specializes in physically-based rendering and simulation software used daily by top design studios, architectural firms, advertising agencies, and visual effects companies around the globe. Today, the company's research and development in cloud rendering, material scanning, and virtual reality is shaping the future of creative storytelling and digital design. Founded in 1997, Chaos Group is privately owned with offices in Sofia, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Seoul, and Tokyo. For more information, visit https://www.chaosgroup.com.

Chaos Group Releases V-Ray 3.4 for 3ds Max, Maya

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Jun 19, 2016 - Chaos Group releases V-Ray 3.4 for 3ds Max and Maya. Free updates are now available for V-Ray 3.x for 3ds Max and V-Ray 3.x for Maya customers. 

V-Ray 3.4 introduces CPU and GPU-accelerated de-noising. Now you can automatically remove noise and cut render times by up to 50%.

V-Ray 3.4 for 3ds Max

• Now compatible with Autodesk 3ds max 2017
• See the full list of new features and updates

V-Ray 3.4 for Maya

• Now compatible with Autodesk Maya 2016 Ext. 2
• See the full list of new features and updates

Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 SP3 Available

Mar 23, 2016 - Autodesk has released Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Service Pack 3.0, which fixes and addresses a variety of issues. 

For further information and to download, click here.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 SP1 Available

Aug 26, 2015 - Autodesk has released Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Service Pack 1.0, which fixes and addresses a variety of issues.

For further information and to download, click here.

Chaos Group Releases V-Ray 3.2 for 3ds Max

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Jun 14, 2015 - Chaos Group announces V-Ray 3.2 for 3ds Max, a free update to V-Ray 3.0. Now compatible with 3ds Max 2016, V-Ray 3.2 adds VR rendering capabilities and multiple V-Ray RT GPU enhancements. This free update also includes improved volume rendering, distributed rendering, and global illumination.

“VR is one of the most exciting things to happen to CG in the last decade,” said Vladimir Koylazov, Chaos Group Co-founder and Lead Developer of V-Ray. “Now V-Ray artists can easily view their designs in VR.”

VR Cameras – V-Ray 3.2 for 3ds Max adds two new VR camera types to render stereo cube maps and spherical stereo images for VR headsets such as Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.

"Our clients are constantly expecting more sophisticated and immersive experiences to differentiate their projects," said Erik Altman, Managing Director at Steelblue. "The next evolution is and will continue to be VR experiences, so it's incredibly exciting that Chaos Group is supporting this progression at such a high level."

V-Ray RT GPU Improvement - 

• Displacement
• Anisotropic highlights 
• Composite map 
• Output curves
• Texture baking
• UDIM support (MARI)
• QMC sampling on NVIDIA CUDA

“Customers are going to love V-Ray RT with QMC, the first commercial licensee of our Quasi-Monte Carlo sampling technology,” said Phillip Miller, Senior Director of Advanced Rendering Products at NVIDIA. “We worked closely with Chaos Group to help bring our mutual customers a new level of rendering speed and interactive quality when running on NVIDIA GPUs.”

Other New Features in V-Ray 3.2:

Volume rendering

• New V-Ray Volume Grid adds support for OpenVDB, Field3D, and Phoenix FD volume grid formats. This allows users to import and render data from popular effects applications like Houdini and FumeFX.

Distributed rendering

• Add or remove distributed rendering nodes on the fly

Global Illumination

• Updated Light Cache algorithm removes light leaks and improves animation

Geometry

• New preview types for proxy objects – includes mesh simplification for optimized proxy display
• Faster rendering of hair and fur
• Intel Embree support for 3ds Max Hair & Fur and V-Ray Fur

3ds Max 2016

• Full support for new Physical Camera – co-developed with 3ds Max team
• Support for new Physical Camera Exposure Control
• V-Ray Lens Analysis Utility adds support for the 3ds Max Physical Camera

Availability:

V-Ray 3.2 for 3ds Max is a free update for all V-Ray 3.0 customers. For users that downloaded V-Ray 3.20.01 last week, a new build coincides with this release – V-Ray 3.20.02. Login at chaosgroup.com to download.

Autodesk Releases Backburner 2015 Windows Version for 3ds Max/Design

Dec 23, 2014 - Autodesk releases a Windows standalone install version of the Backburner 2015 software for 3ds Max / 3ds Max Design 2015.

For more information and to download, click here.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2015 SP3 Available

Dec 23, 2014 - Autodesk has released Autodesk 3ds Max 2015 Service Pack 3.0, which fixes or addresses a variety of issues.

For further information and to download, click here.

Hagerman Launches Buy One Get One Free Autodesk Seat Promotion

Dec 28 - Hagerman & Company, Inc., launches "Buy One Get One Free New Seat Promotion" of select Autodesk products. Customers with two valid R14-2007 licenses of select Autodesk products can purchase a new Autodesk product and receive the second license of the same product for FREE!

For detailed information about this offer, click here.

Note: *Offer expires on January 24, 2014.

About Hagerman & Company, Inc.

Hagerman & Company, Inc. is a Value Added Reseller/System Integrator (VAR/SI) and Consultant. The Company is a large software supplier to manufacturing companies, industrial design firms, AEC and civil design firms, and the government. In addition Hagerman & Company provides expert training, support and consulting services.

Hagerman & Company's products and services encompass three broad lines of business; namely, CAD/CAM, Consulting Services, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In addition the company both sells and supports the hardware, operating system, network, and Internet technologies and platforms that underlie these systems. For more information, visit http://www.hagerman.com.

V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max Beta Build Available

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Dec 21 - Chaos Group announces the availability of a new V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max beta build. The new beta build comes with the much anticipated intuitive skin shader that makes it easier for artists to create complex, layered skin. The Intel Embree ray caster has also been updated to version 2.0 in the new beta build.

To know more about new features and improvements, click here. (pdf)

To download V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max beta build, visit download page.

For more information, visit http://www.chaosgroup.com.

Autoweight 1.0 for 3ds Max Available

Autoweight is a 3ds Max plug-in which helps speeding up the rigging-process. Its simple and intuitive user interface lets the user immediately jump into the skinning process.

To know more about the new features included in this release and for detailed information, click here.

Autodesk 3D Design Apps Available in AWS Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Nov 7 - Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) customers will now be able to access Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max design tools via a web browser. For the first time ever, customers can access full-fledged 3D design, engineering and entertainment work in a browser without sacrificing performance, power or functionality.

This announcement furthers the company's ongoing strategy to provide access to its most popular tools from almost anywhere, anytime, regardless of device and without compromising performance. Continuing to build on Autodesk's collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), OTOY and NVIDIA this new capability debuts as a tech preview and is an important expansion of the remote access capabilities provided through Autodesk Remote software. With this new capability, developers can access 90-day trials of Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max software.

"Designers and engineers face deadline pressures and efficiency targets that demand work be more mobile than ever," said Jeff Kowalski, chief technology officer at Autodesk. "It's no longer a requirement to run sophisticated 3D design applications such as Inventor, Revit, 3ds Max or Maya on a powerful workstation. Now all you need is a simple browser and an Internet connection. We are excited to be first in the design industry to provide this capability."
 

In August, Autodesk Remote was made available to Subscription and rental plan customers worldwide. Remote allows users to drive Autodesk software installed on their primary computer from a remote PC or iPad, utilizing its full power in their 3D design and modeling work regardless of the device. The collaboration with AWS and OTOY expands on this capability to include access to Autodesk applications hosted in the cloud.

Supporting Partner Quotes

"OTOY and Autodesk worked together to provide customers with a turn-key solution for accessing 3D design applications through their HTML5 browser," said Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY. "For the first time ever, design and engineering professionals can access all the features of Autodesk 3DS Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Inventor software to perform major design work, without ever having to download a piece of software to their local PC. OTOY's OctaneRender further enhances this experience by adding real-time, path-traced GPU rendering inside Autodesk applications. All of these pieces will be cohesively hosted on the cloud, leveraging the unprecedented scale and efficiency of AWS’ on-demand Amazon EC2 GPU instances. We believe this solution will not only translate to major cost savings for consumers, but greatly impact the mobility and efficiency of their workflow."

"With the launch of G2 instances for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) today, we are enabling the delivery of high-quality, client-agnostic 3D experiences to customers around the world," said Matt Wood, General Manager, Data Science, AWS. "We are working closely with leading organizations such as Autodesk to leverage these powerful capabilities to meet the needs of designers and engineers around the world."

"Design professionals need fast, fluid interactivity with their digital creations to fully realize their vision and express their ideas," said Jeff Brown, general manager of Professional Visualization and Design at NVIDIA. "With the availability of NVIDIA GRID GPUs and Autodesk applications in the cloud from AWS, high-performance graphics are now available to power the most demanding and advanced applications on essentially any device."

About Autodesk

 

Autodesk helps people imagine, design and create a better world. Everyone - from design professionals, engineers and architects to digital artists, students and hobbyists - uses Autodesk software to unlock their creativity and solve important challenges. For more information, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 Service Pack 3.0 Available

Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 Service Pack 3.0 includes fixes for issues with stability and performance based on customer feedback.

For further information and to download this service pack, click here.

Autodesk Announces "Pay as You Go" Software Rental License Plans

Autodesk software rental license plans allow you to use Autodesk software for a specified period of time monthly, quarterly, or annually - with the option to renew.*

Image source: Autodesk Inc.

Rental plans are offered in addition to Autodesk's traditional perpetual software licenses, providing benefits similar to a perpetual license with Autodesk Subscription, including basic support and, for most products, access to select Autodesk 360 cloud services.

Benefits of Autodesk rental plans

• Pay-as-you-go access - A rental license gives you the flexibility to manage costs without an up-front license investment or long-term commitment. In some cases, you may be able to bill the cost of a software rental plan back to your clients, making it easier to treat software costs as an operating expense rather than a capital expense.
• Scalable licensing - Rental plans help enable easier license addition and removal. You can scale up and down to manage project and staffing needs, such as the addition of consultants, interns, and part-time employees.
• Access to the latest tools - With an active rental plan, you always have access to the latest software releases and product enhancements.

For U.S. rental plan pricing, click here. For further information visit www.autodesk.com

The following products are available for rental licensing*

• AutoCAD Design Suite
• AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite
• AutoCAD Revit LT Suite
• Building Design Suite
• Entertainment Creation Suite
• Factory Design Suite
• Infrastructure Design Suite
• Plant Design Suite
• Product Design Suite
• 3ds Max
• Infraworks 360 Pro
• Maya
• Maya LT
• Roadway Design for InfraWorks 360 Pro

Note: *Rental plans are available for select products directly from Autodesk or through Autodesk authorized resellers, but may not be available through all resellers or in all countries.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 Service Pack 2.0 Available

For further information and to download 3ds Max 2014 Service Pack 2.0, click here.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Product Update 2 Available

Autodesk offers 3ds Max 2013 Product Update 2.0 that includes fixes for issues with stability and performance based on customer feedback.

For more information, click here.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Product Update 1 Available

Autodesk offers 3ds Max 2013/ 3ds Max Design 2013 Product Update 1, both 32-bit and 64-bit version.

For multi-language release notes (pdf) and to download the Product Update, click here.

Autodesk Releases 3ds Max 2010 Service Pack 1

Autodesk Inc., announces the release of 1st update to its 3ds Max 2010 software.

To know more about the Readme file and to download the update, visit Autodesk.

.

3DATS 3ds Max 2009 Architectural Visualization Book Available

3DATS, LLC a Sarasota, FL, USA based firm providing 3D architectural training solutions is now shipping its 2nd 3ds Max book named, 2009 Architectural Visualization - Intermediate to Advanced.

For more information, visit 3DATS product page at www.3dats.com/products.asp.