Don't install 3dsmax 7.5 for those on subscription!

[Hao La]

I installed it and it has worked fine for me (dont install the VIZ tools and MR satelite if u dont need them)

[abicalho]

From the 3dsmax webboard (http://support.discreet.com):

 

Beau Perschall

New Subject: MAX 7.5 Faceting Issue - Possible Solution

 

Dear 3ds Max user,

 

Turbo Squid, Autodesk MED and the DCP developers have been watching the threads regarding the unexpected faceting within users' versions of the new 7.5, and we have been actively testing to try and determine if any of the DCP plug-ins were part of the cause. Our initial tests did not reveal anything, however, after some digging, we believe we have hit upon the possible source of the trouble.

 

All of the cebas plug-ins (both DCPs and non-DCPs) ship with a "universal plug-in" called cebas.dlu. This file has undergone several revisions over the years, and when MAX 7 was released last year, the shipping version of this file for finalRender Stage-1, finalToon and ThinkingParticles 2 was v2.1.4.1. So when those products were released for R7, they contained this file and performed as expected. However, with the recent release of cebas' new plug-ins finalFlares, finalDOF, GhostPainter 2 and psd manager, I discovered that the cebas.dlu version had been revved again to v2.1.4.9.

 

Using this new version of the cebas.dlu (which was installed on all of our internal machines as we carry and support the non-DCPs in additon to the DCPs) under MAX 7.5, we could not reproduce the faceting error that had been reported. Out of a pretty thin theory, I rolled back the cebas.dlu to the slightly older one on my machine and discovered that I could quickly get the faceting to occur regardless of which cebas plug-in was installed. So it turns out that the most plausible theory surrounding the faceting under 7.5 is a slightly out of date cebas.dlu file. I sent the updated dll to several clients who'd reported the issue, and they all came back with news that the faceting stopped once the new dll was in place.

 

We have spoken to MED about this as cebas has no idea what would cause this older dll to affect the renderer this way unless there was an undocumented core change to the material handling inside the application. MED has assured us they will get us an answer soon so that we can get this critical information to all of the developers so they avoid a similar fate.

 

In the meantime, there is now a quick update installer available from the Turbo Squid site that you can all download and use to update your copies of the cebas.dlu file. The links are provided below. Please read through the text file associated with this update before running it.

 

http://files.turbosquid.com/Products/L788518/VZ5YVYFCHB/max7.5_fix.zip

 

We hope that this helps you regain productivity with all of your plug-ins.

 

If you continue to have problems, please feel free to send us a support ticket via our online form (http://www.turbosquid.com/Support).

 

Sincerely,

 

-=Beau

[Brian Cassil]

Very interesting. That probably explains why I haven't had any problems, since I use FR stage-1 and it's latest patch which would have included the latest cebas.dlu. I'll do the fix anyway though, just to be safe.

[Jonny English]

Does anyone have any updates on the Max 7.5 update?

 

I have been holding off installing it to see what problems people experience.

 

I run Max 7 with no plugins.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

we have had no problems with the update to 7.5. we needed to update our rendering farm, and that created a few issues, but the software itself has worked fine.

[mmowry]

although without autodesk viz extension opening file in max 7.5 is smooth,

without autodesk viz extension, sweep modifier, adaptive sampling... don't work.

 

after reinstalling autodesk viz extension for max 7.5. I got the problem of opening files again.

 

After playing a while, it seems that max 7.5 doesn't like max 7 files with Xref. I can open files without Xref perfectly fine but always crashing if I open files with Xref

 

Looking forward to hearing from you guys

 

AUVN

 

AUVN - EXACT same problems here. are you running any cebas software? i tried installing the 'patch' that includes the updated cebas.dlu from the link and a lot of good that did. not. it still crashes out bringing in max7 xref's. i have a friend that does contract work w/ autodesk and he has told me there are a lot of disgruntled employees at discreet after the shakeup from the acquisition. apparently no one is saying boo about fixing this crap or acknowledging there is in fact a problem.

 

in my humble opinion, Lightwave, Maya, and whatever, are looking better and better. I have no idea how to use those proggies, but i'm sure other companies have to treat their customers better than this. we're not paying to beta test their damn software afterall.

 

anyhow, a crippled workaround i did find is to merge the old files into fresh 'FILE>RESET' max7.5 scenes. only problem is it blows away links and xref's so nesting files into xrefs becomes a huge hindrance to fixing the issue.

 

there is a thread on autodesk's support forums under the viz2006 section that has very similar complaints from those users, and no one there had made the connection to max7.5 (which, oddly enough, includes the viz2006 functionality). autodesk has yet to say diddly nothin' about this. shame on those fools. they did it to us with Autocad R13 years back - one would think they'd learned that costly lesson well enough to not do it again.

 

-michael

[abicalho]

Hi Michael,

 

The Testing team at Autodesk cannot reproduce the problem you are mentioning: Crash when opening a MAX 7 file that contains Xrefs in MAX 7.5.

 

Is there a way you could provide us with a sample file that shows this problem?

 

Thanks,

[mmowry]

Hi Michael,

 

The Testing team at Autodesk cannot reproduce the problem you are mentioning: Crash when opening a MAX 7 file that contains Xrefs in MAX 7.5.

 

Is there a way you could provide us with a sample file that shows this problem?

 

Thanks,

 

 

Alex - Thanks. I'll see what I can do. I've noticed another trend, and that is that MAX7.5 crashes when opening a file originally made in MAX7 that has XREFs attached. It doesn't matter if the MAX7 file has been opened and re-saved with 7.5. It will still bring down the system. If the folder pathing is disrupted (renamed) so MAX can't find the xrefs, the file opens fine. at which point the folder can be renamed and the xrefs loaded.

 

The best solution i've found so far is to start a fresh drawing in MAX7.5, xref in the offending file (the one that won't open on it's own) and then merge it into the new file. this way, everything comes through, and can be resaved over the original file.

 

I hope this helps in the meantime.

 

-michael