What They Do and Don't
Autodesk reps have had their hands full for months explaining how Max and Maya are very different programs, but the truth is that the two overlap and have been competing head to head for much of the same market for some time.
In fact Autodesk, which owns a vast array of superb video, film, and 3D-aware post-production products, identifies both Max and Maya as solutions for identical production workflows for elements such as modeling, character animation, dynamics simulations, and so forth in their own literature. They've made a public commitment to support both products independently for three years, which should be good for another rev. That may or may not allay the concerns of the highly dedicated users of both programs.
Both programs perform all the standard 3D functions like modeling, texturing, and key animation, all the way up to more exotic capabilities like Hair, Cloth, and Dynamics. Both provide the outstanding mental ray 3.5 rendering engine. But there are important differences as well.
Maya features the terrific Paint Effects module you can use to paint complex 3D data such as fur or plants directly onto objects or landscapes, and a Fluid simulator that creates stunning clouds, explosions, and oceans. For its part, Max has Character Studio, a great integrated character rigging and animation system that can generate crowds.
Autodesk would be happy, of course, if everybody simply purchased both programs, but that's not entirely practical for many workflows. On the other hand, one advantage of the two products being under the same roof is that the interoperability between them will certainly be enhanced.
In the past it was difficult to import even simple data objects from one program to the other. When Alias acquired the advanced character animation system MotionBuilder from Kaydara, they took steps to make it work fluidly with Maya. Now Autodesk owns all three programs and is working to integrate them with their other offerings.
The key is Autodesk's FBX file format that imports and exports file data, such as geometry and UV mapping coordinates, between Maya, MotionBuilder, and Max. The FBX format is under continual development, so each new release adds more core functionality to the format.
Another plus of having Maya in Autodesk's stable is integration with programs such as Toxik, a very capable collaborative asset management and 3D compositing engine that knows how to handle Maya's render layers. Likewise, 3D Studio Max can link directly to Autodesk's Combustion painting and layer compositing app.
It's unfortunate that the interfaces to all these programs are radically different. 3D programs in particular come from very different histories, so unlike word processors or photo editors, Maya, Max, XSI, and LightWave all look and behave very differently from each other, even though they all deliver similar functionality.
Regardless of whether Autodesk's growing stable of programs retain their individual looks and feels, or eventually share a unified interface, or are merged into a single application down the line, taken together the net effect in terms of capability is a "metaprogram" that can render images of virtually anything you can imagine.
Here are some of the highlights of the new releases.
