Directory Opus 9 is the shit! You will become addicted to it's awesomeness. It has so many actual USEFUL features it's not like 3dsmax 9 or Photoshop 11million at all.
Made an IPackThat applink for 3DSMax: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4210886/IPT-Max_Applink.zip I can't fully test it since I don't own the app yet, but it should work.
3dsmax is very customizable tho, even though not as flexible as zbrush. Max is indeed changing a lot, with small increments so it makes the transition smoother for it's regular users I think.
Ah, here you go... http://download.autodesk.com/us/3dsmax/2012help/index.html?url=files/GUID-7D42A8A7-6E39-4C94-87A5-5B32F665C6C-2524.htm,topicNumber=d28e490512
Does having a hyperthreading CPU, like the OP's Intel i7, make any difference in 3d game art related programs such as Photoshop, 3dsmax, UDK, Zbrush? Or will a i5 suffice?
Thank u really much for your time!! I apreciate this! Do you know if there is any way to do the gradient map with the software I have (blender, 3dsmax, xnormal)?
I used Maya/3dsmax before I switched to Blender and it's way better if you want to work fast. All you have to do is learn those shortcuts, but it's worth it.
python, 3dsmax has the mentioned Py3dsMax, and maya supports it native, and it is a good starter language, and can even be used for web development since most servers also have python.
Got the mesh in there. Now all I have left is the text. I'm considering just painting it in on the normal map, since 3Dsmax is being a little chuggy with all the geometry. Suggestions?
You can also try Rescale Clusters in the Edit UVW window. http://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2016/ENU/?guid=GUID-2AEF6A44-859D-434E-8E08-00D2A480A0CD