3ds Max^® Design is made for architects and designers who require higher quality still and animated visualizations, and effects not possible or practical to achieve with Revit® or Autodesk® Inventor™ software products. Due to its tight interoperability with Revit Architecture 2009, 3ds Max Design 2009 is the perfect companion for conceptual exploration, design validation and visual communication. 3ds Max has become an industry standard for design visualization specialists. With the addition of Exposure™ technology for simulating and analyzing lighting, 3ds Max Design will become an even more valuable tool for the specialist working in an architecture or design firm’s visualization department, or in a 3D visualization boutique that services the design industry.

Architects, designers and visualization specialists in the Architecture, Manufacturing and Civil Engineering industries use Autodesk 3ds Max software to visually inform every phase of the design process. Powerful polygonal modeling and scripting tools enable architects and designers to rapidly prototype multiple concepts and explore alternatives during the schematic and design development phases. From over the shoulder design reviews, to the most elaborate customer presentations and marketing materials, Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009 empowers architects, designers and visualization specialist to create stunning still and animated visualizations that communicate and persuade.

These sophisticated results are achieved through the software’s intuitive user interface and workflow tools; its efficient, nondestructive, visual and parametric workflow; and its highly integrated mental ray® software rendering capabilities. Moreover, exceptional compatibility with the AutoCAD® and Revit software families of products enables them to quickly make 3ds Max Design a part of their visualization workflow.

What is 3ds Max Design 2009?
3ds Max Design 2009 software is essentially a customized installation of Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2009 software, the result of which is an optimized user experience for architects, designers, engineers and visualization specialists.

3ds Max Design has the same functionality as 3ds Max, with the addition of the new Exposure™ lighting analysis technology. The Software Development Kit (SDK) is not provided. Other differences between the two products include user interface and application defaults, tutorials, sample files, and product websites. 

More generally, Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009 software is a comprehensive 3D modeling, animation, and rendering solution designed to support the way designers and visualization specialists work: creatively, iteratively, and across multiple software applications. As compared with 3ds Max 2008, 3ds Max Design 2009 introduces a number of key new and enhanced features, including the powerful Exposure technology for lighting analysis to assist with LEED 8.1 certification. New rendering functionality includes the Reveal™ rendering toolset, which streamlines iterative workflows and gives designers dramatically faster, finished renderings, and the ProMaterials™, a library of manufacturer-related materials. 3ds Max Design 2009 also delivers updated user interface and workflow features, which, together with improved data compatibility, enhance digital continuity between 3ds Max Design and products from the Revit® and AutoCAD® software families. This includes Recognize™ scene loading technology that significantly improves inter-application workflows with Revit Architecture 2009, through the accurate import of lights, materials and cameras.

TOP NEW FEATURES IN AUTODESK 3ds Max Design 2009
3ds Max Design 2009 will introduce a number of key new features, including the powerful, new Exposure™ technology for simulating and analyzing sun, sky, and artificial lighting. New rendering functionality includes the Reveal™ rendering toolset – which streamlines iterative workflows and gives designers dramatically faster, finished renderings – and the ProMaterials™, library of accurate manufacturer-related materials. Finally, 3ds Max Design 2009 will deliver new UI and workflow features, which along with improved data compatibility, enhance digital continuity between 3ds Max Design and products from the Revit® and AutoCAD® software families. This includes the Recognize™ scene loading technology that significantly improves inter-application workflows with Revit 2009 through the accurate import of lights, materials and cameras.

Exposure
New Exposure technology, exclusive to 3ds Max Design 2009, is used for simulating and analyzing sun, sky, and artificial lighting in a 3D scene. Well suited for sustainable architectural projects, this powerful feature set helps architects accurately evaluate real-world light intensity within their 3D designs. This capability can facilitate the evaluation of indoor environmental quality—required, for example, for LEED 8.1 certification. In addition to light-metering functionality with graphical output, Exposure also features the popular 3ds Max sun and sky models, a new quick-settings dashboard interface, and an intelligent UI for accessing the various aspects of the software used in a light simulation, such as render settings, light settings, and material settings.

Reveal Rendering
The Reveal rendering system in 3ds Max Design 2009 gives artists the precise control needed to quickly refine renders. Choose to render an entire scene minus a specific object; render a single object or even a specific region of the framebuffer. The rendered image framebuffer now contains a simplified set of tools to quickly validate changes in a render by optionally filtering out objects, regions, or processes to balance quality, speed, and completeness.

Recognize
Recognize™ scene-loading technology, delivers new levels of interoperability between 3ds Max Design and Revit® Architecture software. The Autodesk® FBX® software-based Recognize toolset helps quickly and accurately import geometry, lights, materials, and cameras from Revit Architecture 2009 scenes into 3ds Max Design 2009, significantly streamlining visual communication of BIM data.

ProMaterials
The ProMaterials library provides easy-to-use, physically based materials for mental ray, built from manufacturer-related data. Quickly create commonly used building and design surfaces, such as solid glass, concrete, or professional wall paint—with glossy or matte finish.

Photometric Lighting in Review
Review now offers full support for photometric lights (including IES files), giving you instant feedback on how real luminaries will affect the environment. Plus, an
expanded photometric light toolset now includes new types of area lights (circular, cylindrical), photometric web previews in the Browse dialog box and Light UI, and improved near-field photometry quality and spot distribution.

Award-winning Autodesk® 3ds Max® software is a powerful, integrated 3D modeling, animation, and rendering solution. Its accessible tools allow artists to quickly ramp up for production. Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2009 software extends these capabilities and enables architects, designers and visualization specialists to fully explore, validate and communicate their creative ideas – from initial concept models to final, cinema-quality presentations.

Check out impressive design visualizations in Autodesk's 3ds Max showcase.