3dsMax USD 0.3 has been released. Here is the highlights.
USD Stage Object
- SD Stage Node is now supported in 3ds Max. Reference a USD stage directly into 3ds Max to create a scene with USD assets from an existing file. Using this workflow, you can view and render USD data directly in 3ds Max.
- File > Reference > USD Stage….
Create Panel > Geometry > USD > USD Stage - Stage Masking support
- Full access to working with in-memory stage data. You can build Python, C++ and MAXScript tools to interact with the data inside a USD Stage Object. The stage has a read-only property called CacheId that can be used to access the stage from a global USD cache. Using this you can directly manipulate and interact with USD data (moving prims, changing visibility, etc.)
USD Stage Rendering
- USD Stage fallback rendering mode allows rendering USD Stage even when renderers do not support accessing a USD stage directly.
- UsdPreviewSurface material support using texture transforms (UsdTransform2d) and texture wrap modes.
- Assign USD Materials button to build a Multi/Sub material for fallback rendering mode. Users can override any parameters of the material tree.
USD Export & SDK
- USD Stage Objects can now be exported as USD references.
- SDK includes all you need to build your own PrimWriter, ShaderWriter and Chasers to hook into our USD Exporter using C++ or Python
- 3ds Max USD SDK comes with a set of working (simple) samples covering ShaderWriter, PrimWriter and Chaser, written in both C++ and Python to get everyone going rapidly with the new SDK