model export to previous Max versions

[DavidR]

model export to previous Max versions

Allow export of base model from Max to earlier version of Max. I don't understand why I can't export a collapsed poly object from Max9 to Max7, then reapply Meshsmooth , UVW, etc. This could even be a utility, like stl check, that verifies if your model is exportable to a previous version.

 

Why this is important to me

Many things are OK exported as .3ds or .obj, but some require extensive cleanup after import, so retension of .max for some models is very important.

[DennisHolland]

There are a few 'back from' tools in the field. Don't know where to get 'm but they're there. Maybe scriptspot.com?

 

Dennis

[Matt Clementson]

It's a good wish but I'm not sure if it's even technically possible because of the way the .max format works. Unlike .3ds for example the .max file is not a series of vertex/face arrays but a snapshot of the current state of all the plugins used in the scene. Plugin recompiles are designed to read older data but obviously there's no way you can programme an earlier version to read future data unless you happen to know what that future plugin is going to be like (in which case - go play the lottery!).

[DavidR]

It's a good wish but I'm not sure if it's even technically possible because of the way the .max format works. Unlike .3ds for example the .max file is not a series of vertex/face arrays but a snapshot of the current state of all the plugins used in the scene. Plugin recompiles are designed to read older data but obviously there's no way you can programme an earlier version to read future data unless you happen to know what that future plugin is going to be like (in which case - go play the lottery!).

 

MS Word, Exel, etc, can do it, and I'm only asking to save an editable poly/mesh without modifiers going backward, not fwd.