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The History of 3D Studio (Max)

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Max Underground posted a nice series of interviews with some of the initial engineers of 3d studio (DOS, and first windows ports). A

The Interview is split into 3 sections:

1. Tom Hudson (one of the main developers of 3D Studio)
http://www.maxunderground.com/the_history_of_3d_studio

2. Gary Yost (captain of the initial 3d studio Max [windows] team)
http://www.maxunderground.com/the_history_of_3d_studio_pt2

3. Jos

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  • Kevin Albers
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    Kevin Albers polycounter lvl 18
    I started with 3d studio DOS version 2 (which totally sucked), doing cinematics for industrial training videos. That was some painfull stuff. I was quite happy when they re-wrote the thing and released 3ds Max v1.

    At this point I'm not very thrilled with the aging Max software. I'd like to see them consolidate Max and Maya and make a new uber program from the ground up. Doing a total re-write every decade or so seems reasonable to me.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    Started with version 4. Stopped at 8, went to Maya from there and never looked back.
  • MR_Verkerk
    I started a long time ago on 3dsmax 6, I just learned myself how to make models in milkshape (by creating 3 vertices's and connecting them to get a face:D, Ignorance is bliss) and someone came up with this most awesome program that would make my life in 3d space much easier
  • renderhjs
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    renderhjs sublime tool
    Lamont wrote: »
    Started with version 4. Stopped at 8, went to Maya from there and never looked back.
    ha ha it was the other way around for me, looked into version 4,6 and 8 and quickly got back to max and so far not looking back again :)
  • Millenia
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    Millenia polycount sponsor
    3ds Max 7 in 2004, used Milkshape 3D before that and 3ds max exclusively afterwards.
  • Eric Chadwick
    Heheh, looks like I started about the same time as Kevin.

    I remember that slow red rendering bar!
    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y-ymK2b-yI[/ame]
  • glynnsmith
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    glynnsmith polycounter lvl 17
    First 3D app I ever used was Truespace (v1 I think) which was on a magazine cover CD :P

    Then I got hold of Max, V 2.5, when I think it was still Kinetix?

    Had NO idea what to do with it, so left it alone for a few years whilst I was still in college, learning Photoshop and Illustrator :P Jumped back on with Discreet's V5 at some point after that.

    Aw.
  • CrazyButcher
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    CrazyButcher polycounter lvl 18
    3d studio dos r2 for me as well, although when I got it from a friend as student version, r4 was out already. Did some very simple modelling, mostly animated stuff for fun sake (logo animations and such). No internet no manuals, it surely was a fun time figuring out that software ;) What stuck is that I still use the cyan selection color from it in todays max. Later a friend with internet gave me plenty star wars models to animate. Before that I had some weird modelling tools for pov-ray, but I didn't do much with it, 3ds was really the first one I could figure out well hehe.

    The next jump was to 3dsmax 2 "extended demo" ;) but most work I did with 3dsmax 3.1 which id software had given me for the work on the first version of urbanterror (id and discreet gave out 8 licenses or so at quakecon2000 to community artists). 3.1 character studio 2.2 and NT4 were rock solid. 3dsmax 5.1 and win2k was the third and last max version I used mostly as artist, with a brief time of max4 which imo was very unstable. Nowadays almost purely doing coding work I use a range from 9-2011, I find 8 and 2008 being the fastest to work with and the latest ones (2010/2011) the worst.
  • Mark Dygert
    renderhjs wrote: »
    Lamont wrote: »
    Started with version 4. Stopped at 8, went to Maya from there and never looked back.
    ha ha it was the other way around for me, looked into version 4,6 and 8 and quickly got back to max and so far not looking back again :)
    Similar story for me. I started learning 4 with a R3 book. I remember switching computers and loosing 4. I was working as a digital paste up artist for the company that printed Game Developer. We used nothing but macs, quark express and photoshop. That's what I really thought I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Then, I really started getting into PC games and found out I could change the content... everything changed.

    I searched around for free apps and found out you could make HL models using MilkShape3D so I started using it. Then 5 came out and I switched to that. Then Gmax and MayaPLE came out and I started using those. MayaPLE didn't really export to much of anything but Gmax worked with a handful of games so out of necessity I ended up in Gmax more times than anything even though I had grown attached to Maya.

    Newer versions of Max came out and I tried to stay current in Maya but really had to pick one. I ended up getting a job in a studio that used max and kept with it. About 2 years ago I picked Maya back up and I've more or less stayed current with it mostly using it for animation practice. The raw modeling tools drive me nuts now and I prefer max for modeling.
  • mayaterror
    Great thread idea, RenderHJS - wow, that screenshot takes me back.

    Like you I learned on 3DS Max 2.5 in 1999, I was in college. Was working with Character Studio when it was still a seperate product! Worked with 3DS until 3.0, then started learning Maya 2.5. Fell in love with Maya, and thought I'd never use 3DS Max again. Used Maya till 4.0 and then took a break from 3D to focus on 2D and web stuff, picked both 3D apps back up in 2006 with 3DS Max 8 and Maya 6 and using them both since.

    I now have to use both programs at work, but mainly 3DS Max. I'm often asked what the big difference is between 3DS and Maya and I'm at a loss to explain. I gotta say, these days I'm definitely preferring Max, I think it's much easier for games, and I vastly prefer Max's Edit Poly, Smoothing Groups, Material IDs, and Unwrap UVW to the way Maya handles the equivalent operations.
  • rasmus
    Great thread :)

    I started at around the same time as you, render. Max 2, filling the screen with primitives, exploding (pArray) teapots and wondering how the hell they did all of Bladerunner (the point & click game) in the same program... Looking around the nets these days makes me realise kids these days have it a hell of lot easier!! NO EXCUSES, KIDS! As for Max, it's barely changed since v2 ofcourse ;)
  • cholden
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    cholden polycounter lvl 18
    Ah the memories. My first experience was 3DS Max r2 making static meshes for Gore. I should get some screenshots of that. lol
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    renderhjs wrote: »
    ha ha it was the other way around for me, looked into version 4,6 and 8 and quickly got back to max and so far not looking back again :)
    I'd go back... if Autodesk reduced the price of the v6 to 2011 upgrade to something within my price range :DAND, I got a job that required it.
  • PolyHertz
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    PolyHertz polycount lvl 666
    I started with version 7 back at the beginning of 2005. I've spent time with Maya, Modo, and XSI (before it was rebranded) sense then, but always come back to max in the end.
  • Eric Chadwick
    rasmus wrote: »
    wondering how the hell they did all of Bladerunner (the point & click game) in the same program.
    Actually, half of the Bladerunner scenes were made in 3ds4 DOS, the rest in Max 1. :poly142:
  • gsokol
    Hahaa awesome. I guess I'm new school...

    I started out with Max 5 when I was taking 3d modeling classes in high school
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