Autodesk Introduces 2014 Versions of its Suite

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By Jon K. Carroll
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At GDC 2013 in San Francisco, Autodesk debuted the 2014 version of their Entertainment Creation Suite, featuring updates to 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, and Sketchbook Designer.

The first portion of the update that would be most notable is the viewports in Max and Maya are now using DirectX 11. This represents an incremental update for 3ds Max, but a major change for Maya which had previously been using OpenGL. This allows users to use DX11 shaders directly in the viewports which should help with game development by giving artists a better idea of what their work will look like in a DX11-based game engine.

Autodesk Maya 2014

Besides the switch to DirectX 11 viewports, Maya 2014 has many new features and enhancements. New modeling tools based off of the NEX toolset from Digital Raster, and promise to greatly accelerate modeling workflows in Maya. The new Scene Assembly, File Path Editor and URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) tools are meant to allow quicker and easier handling of large and complex scenes.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2014

Max 2014 not only benefits from the updated DX 11 viewports, but also features an enhanced and more efficient Particle Flow toolset, the new Populate feature to allow artists to populate 3d scenes with moving background crowds, Perspective Match tools to match 3d rendered images to still frames, and Vector Map to allow the use of vector drawings as resolution-independent texture maps.

Autodesk Softimage 2014

Softimage 2014 features a new Camera Sequencer tool to allow cutting between cameras in a single rendered scene without altering the original scene data, improvements to ICE and CrowdFX to allow control of passes and scene partitioning, and an improved High-Quality Viewport for better visual feedback. Also featured is improved animation data interchange through the use of the FBX 2014 format.

Autodesk MotionBuilder 2014

Autodesk's tool for manipulation motion capture and other character motion data is updated with new motion capture workflow options, the ability to use custom viewport renderers, and an API for file referencing. MotionBuilder 2014 also adds Linux compatibility.

Autodesk Mudbox 2014

Mudbox 2014 adds single-click automatic methods for export in addition to the more detailed manual export settings, simplifying export for artsts. New retopology tools have been added to help artists restructure their meshes for optimal density, detail, and the ability to animate the meshes. The new revision also adds stencil and multitouch support, and support for new touch-enabled input devices.

Autodesk Sketchbook Designer 2014

Sketchbook Designer 2014 features a hybrid vector/paint workflow that allows design sketching using painting, image compositing and mixed media workflows for quick sketching of designs on the computer using techniques originating in traditional media like drafting markers and pens.

The Autodesk 2014 suites are expected to be available in April. Pricing varies on the Suite selected.

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Jon K. Carroll
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • g-unit1111
    Looks awesome! We use Studio, Revit, Maya, and CAD where I work, I'm sure we will be upgrading or have already purchased the upgrades.
    Reply
  • notsleep
    maya, 3ds max, and softimage all do the same thing. why hasn't autodesk combined them into one product? just provide changeable interfaces that mimicks maya, 3ds max, and softimage.
    Reply
  • falchard
    I know the standard for 3D modeling is Autodesk's products, but I just can't justify them in games. They are gearing too much towards movies. They treat work for games as: If they can make it for a movie then it should have the functionalities needed to make models for games. They were even touting their better "cinematic" offerings at GDC. The annoying part about Autodesk is the junk that might come along for the ride when transferring something to a game engine or another modeling program. That and its difficult to get the Maya renderer to sufficiently decrease its calculations so the model would appear as it does in a game. With Max, you can use a DirectX shader directly.
    Personally, I prefer Blender because its free. It uses Python as a scripting extension. Its texture mapping is based on powers of 2. It has a built in game engine. Its units are actually whole units and not 0.999999999999 of something. It also works with models cleanly, and forces the user to work faster with hotkeys.
    Reply
  • demonhorde665
    falchardI know the standard for 3D modeling is Autodesk's products, but I just can't justify them in games. They are gearing too much towards movies. They treat work for games as: If they can make it for a movie then it should have the functionalities needed to make models for games. They were even touting their better "cinematic" offerings at GDC. The annoying part about Autodesk is the junk that might come along for the ride when transferring something to a game engine or another modeling program. That and its difficult to get the Maya renderer to sufficiently decrease its calculations so the model would appear as it does in a game. With Max, you can use a DirectX shader directly.Personally, I prefer Blender because its free. It uses Python as a scripting extension. Its texture mapping is based on powers of 2. It has a built in game engine. Its units are actually whole units and not 0.999999999999 of something. It also works with models cleanly, and forces the user to work faster with hotkeys.

    can't justify them in game s ? all your points only tell me that you haven't used 3ds max in along long time. granted i'm no fan of maya , but 3ds max itself is far more user friendly and speedy to work with on game models than blender. what's more si that autodesk is still regularly updated while blender is not. there is better tech support in 3ds max as well , keep in mind these programs ARE designed for game developer companies , not ameture modders.

    if you are just a modder looking for good software on the cheap by all means go with blender it'll get you there , but if you expect to work professionally in the industry knowing 3ds max or maya is a must as nearly all of the game industry uses one of these two products to create models.

    Now on another note , since I'm still a student and will still be a student in april I'll likely get to grab these for free as autodesk has had a deal with our school to give their suites free under a student license for the past 3 years running. so can't wait to dive into the new features.
    Reply
  • sa1nt
    notsleepmaya, 3ds max, and softimage all do the same thing. why hasn't autodesk combined them into one product? just provide changeable interfaces that mimicks maya, 3ds max, and softimage.Well those 3d packages have hundreds of thousands programing hours putted in to them .Also individual artists have put years in to mastering them and although they accomplish the same things they have different ways of doing it.Generally speaking it would be very very very costly,time consuming,inefficient and stupid oh and almost impossible.As creating one programing language,mixing linux and windows...
    Reply
  • mortsmi7
    demonhorde665can't justify them in game s ? all your points only tell me that you haven't used 3ds max in along long time. granted i'm no fan of maya , but 3ds max itself is far more user friendly and speedy to work with on game models than blender. what's more si that autodesk is still regularly updated while blender is not.New features and updates are cranked out quite regularly for blender. It has a 2 or 3 month release cycle.
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    notsleepmaya, 3ds max, and softimage all do the same thing. why hasn't autodesk combined them into one product? just provide changeable interfaces that mimicks maya, 3ds max, and softimage.That sounds like an absolute clusterfuck. Maya's already buggy enough as it is.
    Reply
  • alidan
    demonhorde665can't justify them in game s ? all your points only tell me that you haven't used 3ds max in along long time. granted i'm no fan of maya , but 3ds max itself is far more user friendly and speedy to work with on game models than blender. what's more si that autodesk is still regularly updated while blender is not. there is better tech support in 3ds max as well , keep in mind these programs ARE designed for game developer companies , not ameture modders. if you are just a modder looking for good software on the cheap by all means go with blender it'll get you there , but if you expect to work professionally in the industry knowing 3ds max or maya is a must as nearly all of the game industry uses one of these two products to create models. Now on another note , since I'm still a student and will still be a student in april I'll likely get to grab these for free as autodesk has had a deal with our school to give their suites free under a student license for the past 3 years running. so can't wait to dive into the new features.
    meh, knowing how to use them is less important than having talent in modeling 3d.
    to my understanding, it takes about 2 weeks for someone to learn a program and how to do what they want with it once they have the basic knowledge on how to do what they want... god that's harder to explain that i thought.
    Reply
  • Draven35
    It takes a LOT longer than 2 weeks to learn a new 3d app, especially to a working level of depth.
    Reply