3ds Max 2024

SOFTWARE REVIEW - PRICE £250/$235 monthly COMPANY Autodesk WEBSITE autodesk.co.uk/products/3ds-max/features

- Paul Hatton

Each year, around Easter, Autodesk delivers updates to a range of its applications, and 3ds Max is no exception. The combination of a regular release schedule and the fact 3ds Max is over a quarter of a century old often results in a collection of fairly unexciting improvements. Not this time though.

Autodesk has managed to introduce a range of significant features and improvements that genuinely take 3ds Max to the next level. These include new and improved Boolean and Array modifiers, a reworked and much better Slate Material Editor, and OCIO colour management.

NEW BOOLEAN MODIFIER

3ds Max's Boolean modifier, in my opinion, has something of a chequered history. For a long time it has contained much of the required functionality for artists, but would regularly crash the software or provide unpredictable results. It was therefore difficult for artists to rely on it in a production environment, especially for more complex meshes.

But Autodesk has finally taken the steps to address these major shortfalls and delivered a new, completely revolutionary Boolean modifier. You can now say goodbye to your previous ProBoolean and Boolean modifiers.