In this section, we'll discuss some of the plug-ins available for MAX that can help create realistic wind, gravity, cloth simulations, fluid dynamics and more.
Plug-in Power
Many MAX artists find that plug-ins can be time savers, as they often reduce drudgery and speed tasks in MAX. However, there are some plug-ins that perform feats that the program simply isn't able to accomplish without them. Be careful with plug-ins, though. If you need to reload a MAX animation that uses plugins a few years from now, after you've upgraded to a future version of the program (MAX4, code-named "Magma" is due in 2001), you'll have to update all the plug-ins. And, if you've used a plug-in such as Da Vinci 1.5 or the now-defunct ClothReyes that won't be upgraded at all, well, you're just out of luck.
The Price is Right
One of the best cloth simulation plug-ins we've seen is SimCloth, from www.chaosgroup.com. It compares favorably to the US$700 Stitch by Digimation (some people even like it better!) and it can handle both soft objects and rigid ones. There's a terrific collection of tutorials for SimCloth at the MaxWizards website.
Fluid Dynamics
We've tested a few different fluid dynamics modeling plug-ins but have yet to find one that we'd highly recommend. Perhaps the best-known is Splash.
Wind Effects
Move the mouse over the image at the upper right of this page to see an example of Wind effects in action. When combined with a Cloud/smoke simulator such as Afterburn, the results can be striking.
Crowd Simulations
The ability to intelligently control large groups of characters and creatures, such as schools of fish, flocks of birds, or groups of otherworldly creatures is just one of several notable additions to Character Studio V3. With it, you can animate crowds and program behaviors, yet retain total control over every individual. The price is nothing short of outrageous, though. This plugin will add about $800 to the already high price of MAX. Even the upgrade price is steep: version 2.x users will pay around $500 for the 3.x upgrade. For those dutifully upgrading since 1.0, this is getting ridiculous.
Other plug-ins worth checking out:
For a collection of free plugins, visit the following sites:
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