Autodesk and NVIDIA continue their effort to create the universal physics simulation system for 3ds Max package – it is known as MassFX.

What has changed in new MassFX version, that comes with 3ds Max 2013, in comparison to the first release? We have tried to answer this question in our review.

One of the main new features of MassFX 2013 is the addition of mCloth – cloth simulation module, which was co-developed with Autodesk. Despite the rumors, mCloth uses PhysX 2.8.4 cloth solver for underlying physical calculations.

In comparison to APEX Clothing tools in PhysX plug-ins, mCloth is clearly oriented on VFX area: “one click” set up (no need to skin the mesh and apply movement constraints, as for APEX), full collisions with MassFX rigid bodies with two-way interaction, vertex group operations (like pin or attach to object), support for dynamic and kinematic cloth, ability to bake the simulation in keyframes.

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Remaining presentations from GDC 2012 are now available at GDC Vault.

Particularly interesting detail was revealed during “Mastering DX11 with Unity” (PDF) talk – NVIDIA APEX framework will be added to popular Unity game engine, which is currently using modified PhysX SDK 2.8.3 as physics engine.

A short demo (bus smashing through propane shop) of basic APEX Destruction module usage was presented, followed by promises to expand integration on other APEX modules in the future.

Next presentation, “Enhancing Games with Clothing and Destruction” is absolutely indentical to Game Technology Theather talk of the same name, we have reviewed it earlier.

Finally, it is worth to check a “Solving Rigid Body Contacts” tutorial from Richard Tonge, however, it is a bit technical.

Autodesk has officially presented 3ds Max 2013 and 3ds Max Design 2013 – popular 3D modelling, rendering and animation packages.

Among other changes and improvements, MassFX, PhysX SDK based physics simulation solution, was upgraded with a number of new features.

Artists can now enjoy a more integrated and accurate dynamic toolset, thanks to a wide range of enhancements and additions to the MassFX unified system of simulation solvers.

Highlights are a new mCloth module that features tearable fabric and support for dynamic ragdoll hierarchies. In addition, improved constraints, better handling of pivot points, and enhanced UI readability help improve overall workflow.

Following presentations were held as part of NVIDIA Game Technology Theather event on March 7.

First one is called “3ds Max with MassFX” and was presented by Chris Murray from Autodesk.

Update: recording is now available on YouTube

This talk was mostly focused on features under development, that are expected to be added in future versions of MassFX, like mCloth – new clothing simulation solution.

mCloth is supposed to provide stable two-way interaction with rigid bodies, probably utilize GPU acceleration, support user-controlled tearing (through vertex selection) and include some interesting pressure simulation for balloon-like behaviour (for example, if you have holes in your mesh, balloon will deflate).

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MirVadim has uploaded new impressive promo video of RayFire – fracturing and destruction tool for Autodesk 3ds Max, which is using PhysX plug-in/MassFX for underlying physics simulation.

If you are interested in RayFire history and PhysX SDK role in its development, you can read our previous article – PhysX From Inside Out: RayFire Tool

Autodesk has presented another video, showcasing some of the new features of MassFX – PhysX SDK based physics simulation system, that is replacing Reactor engine since 3ds Max 2012.

You can observe the process of mCloth object creation (and also it’s settings and interaction with rigid bodies), better support for concave meshes and updated interface.

It was also mentioned previously, that MassFX 2013 will also support standart forces, like PBomb and Vortex.

Basefount has announced release of Miarmy 1.2 – plug-in for Autodesk Maya that is capable of behavioral animation, crowd simulation, physics calculation and rendering.

Amond other features, physics engine in Miarmy 1.2 is now based on PhysX SDK 3.1 (in previous releases – 2.8.4), which provides faster and more accurate rigid body physics simulation even with high number of complex jointed objects.

In addition, usage of new PxCloth solver allows “100 times faster” simulation of cloth and clothing assets.

With new PhysX 3.1 Engine, The limit on the number of dynaimc agents is gone. On an average home PC, one can easily create a scene with more than 5,000 agents enable dynamics which contains more than 85,000 RBD objects and 80,000 dynamical joints. The cloth simulation will became almost real-time.

NVIDIA has revealed presentations schedule for Game Developers Conference 2012 (GDC 2012), taking place on March 5-9 in San Francisco.

As usually, certain talks will be demonstrating latest advances in PhysX and APEX technologies. Let’s take a look:

March 7th, Booth #1424

3dsMax with MassFX

11:00am - 12:00pm. Chris Murray, Autodesk

Autodesk’s implementation of MassFX within 3dsMax will show you just how easy the workflow is for rigid body dynamics and how versatile to the tool can be. Additionally, Autodesk will be giving a technology preview of some aspects of MassFX currently being experimented with in 3dsMax.

IKinema IK for Combining Physics and Animation in Maya

2:00pm - 3:00pm. Alexandre Pechev, IKinema

IKinema is a production-proven solution for animating with inverse kinematics (IK) in Maya. Come see how we combine IKinema IK with NVIDIA’s PhysX Plugin for Maya to produce animations that can capture a character’s intent and physical simulation at with an improved speed and accuracy over handmade animations. Dressing the character with APEX Clothing can add even more dramatic physical effects and secondary motion to your film or game.

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As always at the beginning of the year, Ken Pimentel (Director of Visual Communication Solutions within Autodesk) has revealed some details about new features and capabilities of upcoming versions of 3ds Max.

Few words were said about MassFX - PhysX SDK based physics simulation solution, introduced in 3ds Max 2012.

We introduced MassFX and mRigids (based on PhysX and our partnership with Nvidia) in 3ds Max 2012. It was a start on our march to a more unified dynamics experience. We’ve continued that effort with Nvidia and we think you’ll be pretty pleased with the results in general. We’re not done, but definite progress in the right direction, we hope you’re pleased with it.

“Results” will include, at least, the addition of mCloth module for cloth simulation (as revealed at SIGGRAPH 11) and forcefields functionality through standart Force objects (as you can notice from a “teaser” video below).

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NVIDIA has published several Game Technology Theater feature talks, which took place at NVIDIA GDC Booth yesterday, March 2.

This particular one, called “3ds Max 2012 including nRigids with Nvidia PhysX” and presented by Shawn Hendriks from Autodesk, mostly contains general overview of 3ds Max 2012 features (despite of the title), but also provides some information on new mRigids rigid body dynamics system (starting 39:53).

You can view recorded “3ds Max 2012 including nRigids with Nvidia PhysX” presentation here