I really hate this format even thoug the program is great I hear, The problem with max files is mny programs do not support it, youy cant load it in truespace,poser for or rhino, I really don't think Im ging to buy Max since it is not widly supported. My problem this 3dsmax, where can I find a translation utility that supports this file format? I have somemodels I would like to convert so I can use them. I used 3d explorer to translate a mesh from 3d cafe in max format and it came out all exploded and crappy, Is there another program available as freeware that can open the dran thing and then resave it as 3ds or obj or even dxf? cross roads wont do it either.

I really hate this format even though the program is great I hear, The problem with max files is many programs do not support it, you cant load it in trueSpace, poser 4 or rhino, I really don't think Im going to buy Max since it is not widely supported. My problem is this 3dsmax, where can I find a translation utility that supports this file format? I have some models I would like to convert so I can use them. I used 3d explorer to translate a mesh from 3d cafe in max format and it came out all exploded and crappie, Is there another program available as freeware that can open the darn thing and then resave it as 3ds or obj or even dxf? cross roads wont do it either.

The only other program I can think of that does this is PolyTrans, and it costs close to $400. If you're hesitating to purchase 3ds max because its native format isn't well supported, don't be concerned. Max has built-in support for .3ds, .dxf, and other formats. You can also find plenty of plugins that extend its export capabilities.

so why do people save in max when it is not well supported when they can save in 3ds using max?

God only knows. 3ds max is only for pros and the very rich.

both .3ds and .max[3ds+max???:)]are native max file types. .3ds is a model file,a .max file is not just a model but the entire scene,including animation,lights and camera's,material settings,render settings etc etc..in poser terms it's like the difference between an .obj file and a .pz3 file...how many progs besides poser support .pz3 files? why do people save in max?because it saves everything they've just worked on,it's also just the default,when you hit "save" in 3dsmax you save a .max file,just like in poser if you want to save just a mesh then you have to export it as a .3ds[or whatever else you need]and you lose everything else in the scene. there is a very large online max community,all these files you can download are uploaded for other max users,not poser users....the fact that all these other programs support .3ds files should tell you something about how well 3dsmax is supported in the 3d world....

As a devoted max user, I can say that once you use it, You'll never go back. It is pricey, but some would argue that it's well worth the price. I'm not so sure I agree, but then I don't think any software should be that high. :) AS for file translation, Poser can import .3ds files and then you can always export them again as an .obj. The .max files you are going to have a problem with because as said above, it's not just the objects, but all the info of the scene. One more thing to check out is on the free stuff pages. I think there is a utility to make integration between max and poser easier. Perhaps you can then unlock those .max files. I'm not sure though, I've never tried it or looked into it much. DRagontales

One other thing....if you have a max scene that you really want translated to another format, try posting a request in the max forum. I'm sure someone in there would be willing to do it and then send you the translated file. Provided it's a free file in the first place. Good luck. Dragontales

Oh Brother....

No offense, but what the hell does "Oh Brother" mean?