1. Back Burner 2 - менеджер для рендеринга в сети:
As of 3ds max 5, network rendering is performed by software named backburner. Functionality is primarily the same as in previous versions of 3ds max, with a few minor differences. These include the following:
backburner installs in its own directory, where you can find all of the network rendering applications and services, as well as the settings files.
The Queue Manager program has been renamed Queue Monitor.
Setting up Server groups is now done only in the Queue Monitor. Also, you can have local groups, available only on the local computer, and global groups, available on all computers on the network.
Timeout settings have been moved from the Manager and Server applications to the Network Job Assignment dialog. This lets you set these on a per-job basis, rather than globally for all jobs.
Email notification is now available. Consequently, the ability to notify users via a separate Notify application has been removed.
Кстати, всё можно найти в хелпе MAX'a...
2. >>И где тот невероятно реалистичный рендер...
- Rendering menu > Advanced Lighting