PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max
From PhysX Wiki
| PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max | |
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| Latest version(s): | 2.72 / 2.85 |
| Type: | DCC plug-in |
| Official page | |
PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max - is a plug-in that adds certain PhysX SDK functionality, like rigid body simulation, to Autodesk 3ds Max and allows physics calculations to be performed directly in viewports. Currently maintained by NVIDIA.
In addition, PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max is default authoring tool for APEX Clothing module.
Contents |
Features
(valid for latest version of PhysX plug-in)
- Simulation engine - PhysX SDK 2.8.4 | PhysX SDK 3.2
- Static, kinematic and dynamic rigid bodies (supports box, capsule, sphere, convex, custom and composite concave physical meshes).
- Constraints (rigid, slide, hinge, twist, universal, ball & socket).
- Dynamic and kinematic ragdolls.
- Toolbar and menu for creating and controlling the simulation.
- Modifier-based workflow.
- Physical material system for sharing and adjusting physics properties.
- Ability to bake simulation results to keyframes for offline rendering.
- APEX Clothing authoring pipeline.
- Unified exporter.
- Debug visualization.
- Advanced simulation parameters (substeps, sleep and CCD thresholds, etc).
- Performance Viewer and Cloth Preview tools.
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Important note. Current PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max does not support hardware acceleration for rigid body simulation. NVIDIA GPU is not required to work with the plug-in as well. |
Version history
Several versions of PhysX plug-in were available for public:
| Version | Release date | Description |
| 2.85 [New] | May 16, 2012 | New major release. Supports PhysX SDK 3.2 and APEX 1.2, provides functionality similar to MassFX 2013. Is available for download through PhysX Registered Developer Program. Supports 3ds Max (2009 - 2013), both 32- and 64-bit versions. |
| 2.72 [New] | May 16, 2012 | Minor bug-fixes and improvements over 2.71 plug-in. Is available for download through PhysX Registered Developer Program. Supports 3ds Max (2009 - 2012), both 32- and 64-bit versions. |
| 2.71 | Feb 15, 2012 | Updated 2.7 plug-in with several bugfixes. |
| 2.7 | Nov 1, 2011 | New version of PhysX plug-in with SDK 3.1 and APEX Clothing 1.1 support. |
| 2.61 | Sept 9, 2011 | Upgraded 2.6 plug-in with support for 3ds Max 2012. |
| 2.60 | Mar 17, 2011 | New revision of the plug-in, that includes APEX Clothing pipeline and several new features like convex decomposition and simulation substeps control. |
| 2.40 | Sept 30, 2010 | Supplied with Autodesk Subscription Pack for 3ds Max 2011. Mostly includes bugfixes over 2.01 version. |
| 2.01 | Dec 24, 2009 | This plug-in was fully rewritten by NVIDIA to improve worfklow (for example, plug-in uses modifiers instead of helper objects to define meshes as physical objects). In comparison to previous plug-ins, however, it contains only basic rigid-body and constraints functionality. |
| 1.05 | Sept 16, 2008 | Previous generation of PhysX plug-in, tailor-made development by Feeling Software, for Ageia. Currently not supported anymore, source code is available. |
Downloading PhysX plug-in
PhysX plug-in is available for download for free through APEX/PhysX Registered Developer Program.
Note: Installation of PhysX System Software is not required.
Gallery
 Authoring APEX Clothing asset |
 Joints and rigid bodies simulation |
Other notes
- RayFire - popular tool for fracturing and destruction simulation is using PhysX plug-in to provide PhysX SDK rigid body solver support.
- 3ds Max 2012/2013 includes unified physics system called MassFX (instead of Reactor engine), based on NVIDIA PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max.
See also
External links
- PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max. Presentation from GDC 2010.
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