3ds Max enhancements over the years

3ds Max has brought top-quality updates over the years to help you work faster and more efficiently. We continue to focus on bringing you powerful solutions across disciplines to enhance the artist experience.

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3ds Max over the past 7 years

20

Product updates

310

Total enhancements

71

Customer Ideas

3ds Max enhancement timeline

2025​ featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Retopology Enhancements
  • Color Management (OpenColorIO)
  • Global Search​
  • Menu Editor​
  • CAT and Biped Improvements
  • OpenUSD Integration Updates
  • GPU Rendering Improvements​

Image courtesy of Marie Henry​

2024 | 2024.1 | 2024.2
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • New Conform Modifier​
  • Retopology Improvements
  • Boolean Modifier Improvements
  • Array Modifier Improvements
  • Spline Improvements
  • Material Switcher
  • Enhancements to the Copy and Paste Animation Data Commands
  • Vertex Paint Enhancements
  • Color Management Improvements
  • FFD Performance Improvements
  • USD enhancements
  • Enhanced Animation Capabilities
  • Interactive Rendering Tools
  • Robust Modeling Tools
  • MaxtoA 5.6.6.0​

2023 | 2023.1 | 2023.2 | 2023.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • gITF support
  • Retopology Tools 1.2
  • Place Working Pivot
  • Create Point from Working Pivot
  • Create Grid from Working Pivot
  • Align Working Pivot
  • Selection Pivot
  • New Properties added to Physical Material
  • Autobackup toolbar
  • Autobackup improvements
  • Faster Rendering Experience with Arnold
  • Occlude Selection Improvements
  • Smart Extrude
  • Unwrap UVW Keyboard Shortcuts

2022 | 2022.1 | 2022.2 | 2022.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Security
  • Smart Extrude
  • Slice Modifier
  • Extrude Modifier
  • Symmetry Modifier
  • AutoSmooth
  • Relax Modifier
  • Rendering
  • Bake to Texture
  • Deformation Modifier
  • Enhanced Smooth Modifier
  • Vertex Colors in FBX Imports
  • Multi-Threading of Noise Maps
  • Startup Failure Recovery

2021 | 2021.1 | 2021.2 | 2021.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Bake to Texture
  • Installer
  • Scripting with Python 3
  • Arnold as the Default Renderer
  • Improved Viewport Quality & Settings
  • OSL Shaders
  • File I/O
  • Chamfer improvements
  • Weighted Normals Modifier
  • SketchUp Import
  • Substance Update
  • ProSound Improved audio support
  • FBX Improvements
  • 3rd Party Developer Tools

2020 | 2020.1 | 2020.2 | 2020.3
featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • Create Animation Preview improvements
  • Chamfer modifier presets and save default settings
  • 14 new OSL shaders
  • Revit import new “Combine By” types
  • MAXtoA PFlow instance node
  • Copy+Pasted modifiers maintain their custom names
  • Validity intervals (animation is only calculated if there’s a change in object location)
  • Autobackup is more responsive to ESC request
  • Civil View textures update to render with Arnold
  • Change color of MAXScript listener window
  • 270+ 3rd party plugins launching around 3ds Max 2020
  • Detachable viewports

2019 | 2019.1 | 2019.2 | 2019.3 featured enhancements for 3ds Max

  • OSL (Open Shading Language) support with 100 OSL shaders included
  • Advanced Wood shader
  • Shape Booleans
  • VR scene editing with 3ds Max Interactive
  • 3ds Max Project tool updates
  • Shared Views
  • Civil View updates to use
  • Physical Material and Sun/Sky Positioner
  • Alembic Inspector
  • OSL performance improvements
  • Arnold MAXtoA Toon shading, noise removal improvements
  • Switch quickly between projects with the new Project Toolbar
  • Archiving and scene compression now supports large datasets greater than 2GB
  • Vault users can check large files in/out and auto-login
  • Export only animation with FBX

Customer ideas for 3ds Max

What is the most effective way to request a new feature or product enhancement for Autodesk 3ds Max? Submit your idea to the 3ds Max forum and vote up the ones you’d like to see implemented. 

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