-- More on 3D Studio MAX R4
From Mathew Kaustinen, here comes a bit more information on 3D Studio MAX R4:
"Hi Everyone,
Just thought I'd send a few notes from Siggraph relating to what has been demonstrated/discussed regarding the next release of MAX.
Features Displayed
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1) Much improved Bones methods and UI. The bones actually appear as 3D Wedges with Fins that aid in determining the orientation and position of the bone. Both IK and FK can be combined simultaneously.
2) Custom Animation controllers - you can place sliders in the viewport and have them link to variables in your scene (ie. a slider can controller the rotation of an object for example). You can also add custom rollups to any existing set of rollups.
3) Unrestricted viewport sizing. The viewports can be sized any way you want, you simply take the edge and drag.
4) A MAX script wizard that lets you drag and drop your MAX script UI and the code is automatically generated.
5) Real time lighting of a rendered viewport. You can render a viewport and then see the changes to the rendered image as you can/change lighting within the scene - in real time.
That's all that I can remember right now. Also, they are quick to point out that they this is a "tech brief" and that more features are on the way.
Cheers,
Mathew Kaustinen
...offers the following new capabilities: an expanded Bezier patch suite; real-time texture mapping...