Following the release of 2.7 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max, NVIDIA has also uploaded new 2.70.1028.1400 plug-in for Maya (2009 – 2012).

Update [22.11.2011]: Maya PhysX plug-in was updated to version 2.70.1109.2230, that includes various bugfixes and minor updates.

UPDATE: 2.71 PhysX plug-in for Maya is released

2.7 PhysX plug-in for Maya – Release Notes:

• General: New unified exporter
• General: Improved PhysX shelf GUI
• General: Support for PhysX 3.1
• General: Support for APEX Clothing 1.1
• General: Compatibility with other plug-ins that use PhysX directly (e.g. Thinking Particles)
• General: Scene validation

• Rigid Bodies: Copy/paste multiple physical meshes
• Rigid Body: Kinematic to Dynamic Switching
• Rigid Bodies: Ragdoll improved mass distribution

• APEX Clothing: Support for latch to nearest regions
• APEX Clothing: Support for Graphical LoD and Contact Layers
• APEX Clothing: improved custom physical mesh handling

2.7 PhysX plug-in for Maya is available at Developer Support Center. You can find it under following path:

[Online Support] -> [Downloads] -> [APEX DCC Clothing Plugins] -> [Maya 2.7.X (beta)]

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

Next major release of DCC PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max has arrived.

New 2.70.1028.1400 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max (2009 – 2012, 32- and 64-bit) just have landed on download page at Developer Support Center.

Update: 2.7 PhysX plug-in for Maya is also available

UPDATE: 2.71 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max is released

Additionally, updated 2.61.1028.0930 PhysX plug-in was released for 3ds Max - it includes minor bug-fixes for 2.61 version.

2.7 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max – New Features Overview:

• General: Additional PhysX SDK 3.1 solver

Plug-in now features two different simulation engines – PhysX SDK 2.8.4 and new PhysX SDK 3.1, with an option to switch between them seemlesly, without necessity to restart 3ds Max.

Providing same simulation quality as SDK 2.8.4, SDK 3.1 solver is noticeably faster, especially in specific scenes which contain composite meshes with complex concave geometry.

As a test, we’ve measured a time that is needed to simulate 200 frames of “Chainmail” scene (430+ composite rigid bodies), in a viewport. As you can see, in this case SDK 3.1 solver is ~40% faster.

Notes: #1 APEX Clothing is not yet supported by SDK 3.1 engine.

#2 Current SDK 3.1 implementation has limited contact buffer, so it is not recommended to use it with large number of objects.

• General: Support for APEX Clothing 1.1
• General: Unified exporter

One universal “PhysX Export” window for exporting of PhysX scene content and APEX Clothing assets, depending on selected PhysX engine.

• General: Compatibility with other plug-ins that use PhysX directly (e.g. Thinking Particles)

• Rigid Bodies: Make shapes optionally wrap elements instead of entire mesh
• Rigid Bodies: Mirror rag dolls saves the prefix and suffix which was last typed in
• Rigid Bodies: Transform/copy/paste multiple physical meshes
• Rigid Bodies: Mirror physical meshes on same rigid body
• Rigid Bodies: double sided static rigid bodies/shapes
• Rigid Bodies: Automatic calculation for center of mass
• Rigid Bodies: Rag doll improved mass distribution

• APEX Clothing: Support for latch to nearest regions
• APEX Clothing: Support for bones attached to the skeleton that are not part of the skin
• APEX Clothing: Updated PhysX Visualizer with APEX Clothing visualization

• Fixes: Capsules in wrong location on character after previewing in external previewer
• Fixes: Mirror ragdoll shapes got orientation mirroring way off
• Fixes: LoD budget option is not working properly in Max but works in external previewer
• Fixes: Unable to execute export/import clothing template
• Fixes: Collision volumes are sometimes missing in external previewer
• Fixes: Collision capsules sometimes don’t export to apx

We remind you that 2.7 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max can be downloaded through Developer Support Center. Just follow the path:

[Online Support] -> [Downloads] -> [APEX DCC Clothing Plugins] -> [Max 2.7.X (beta)]

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

Current developer (and probably future public) builds of DCC PhysX plug-ins have interesting feature – you can switch your simulation engine and feature set between two different PhysX SDK versions – SDK 2.8 (as in all previous plug-ins) and new SDK 3.0

However, in latest 2.61 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max you can already enable PhysX SDK 3.0 mode, as suggested by opethism and further explained by Blake:

All you need is to add npx.UsePhysXPlugin(2) line to px_globals.ms file,

located at “\3ds Max 2012\stdplugs\stdscripts\(PhysX)“.

Final code should look like this:

fn PxInitializePlugin =
(
try ( nvpx.InitializePhysX listener )
catch ( format nvpxText.TXT_GLOBALS_WARN_NO_DLM; )
– create toolbar
nvpx.UsePhysXPlugin(2)
nvpx.CreateToolbar()
)

In this mode, one particular feature will be very usefull for PhysX developers – ability to export your scene in RepX format, currently only one serialization format supported in PhysX SDK 3.

Other than that, most simulation features are seems to be working (except for Viewer tool), but stability is not quaranteed.

After multiple delays and postponements, NVIDIA has finally released updated version of PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max – 2.61.0906.0900

Update [20.09.2011]: updated PhysX plug-in 2.61.0916.1330 for 3ds Max is available (supports 3ds Max 2009-2012). This version includes bug fixes for several problems one may encounter, like crashes while using APEX Clothing functionality in 3ds Max 2012.

Update #2: 2.7 PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max released

New major 2.7 version of the PhysX plug-in is still in development, so this minor 2.6+ release is supposed to resolve compability issues with RayFire, and also add support for 3ds Max 2012. In this case, plug-in installs above default MassFX simulation tool, replacing it and providing additional features, like support for APEX Clothing (and if you’ll uninstall PhysX plug-in, MassFX will be restored).

No information yet on other fixes (since Release Notes are missing), but we were promised to recieve soon.

PhysX plug-in 2.61 for 3ds Max (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 – 32-and 64-bit versions) and 3ds Max Design (2010, 2011, 2012 – 32-and 64-bit versions) is available for download at Developer Support Center.

You can find it in following section: [Online Support] -> [Downloads] -> [APEX] -> [APEX DCC Clothing Plugins].

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

Update [20.09.2011]: In addition, new PhysX plug-in 2.61.0916.1700 for Maya was also released.

You can download 2.61 PhysX plug-in for Maya (Maya 2009 – 2012, 32-and 64-bit versions) at Developer Support Center.

NVIDIA PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max was updated to version 2.60.0413.1900

Update: PhysX plug-in 2.61 released

Release Notes:

Issues Fixed (Present in Previous Releases)

• [#5771] Corrupted Paint Channel when loading some older assets
• [#5770] Compression settings are reset to default
• [#5769] Ragdoll on CAT rig doesn’t save/load properly
• [#5667] Previewer crashes on some CAT files
• [#5761] Cannot save paint channel for some assets

Updated PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max is available for download at Developer Support Center. You can find it in following section: [Online Support] -> [Downloads] -> [APEX] -> [APEX DCC Clothing Plugins]

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

NVIDIA has updated DCC PhysX plug-in for Maya to version 2.60.0412.2200

Release Notes:

New Features

• APEX Clothing: External Preview window with APEX debug capabilities

Issue Fixed (Present in Previous Releases)

• [#5779] Crash when loading/applying clothing to some asset files

Updated PhysX plug-in for Maya is available for download at Developer Support Center. You can find it in following section: [Online Support] -> [Downloads] -> [APEX] -> [APEX DCC Clothing Plugins]

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

In addition, separate installers for Maya 2012 (x32 and x64-bit) are now also provided.

Ongoing (and prolonged) release of NVIDIA APEX framework has not only brought us PhysXLab (authoring tool for APEX Destruction and APEX Particles), but also new versions of PhysX plug-ins for Autodesk 3ds Max, 3ds Max Design and Maya (plug-ins were uploaded just several hours ago).

UPDATE: NVIDIA APEX 1.0 Beta released

Since many developers and VFX artists are waiting for this plug-ins, we decided to provide detailed overview of new features and changes in this versions. New PhysX plug-ins v. 2.60 for 3ds Max and Maya are available for download via Developer Support Center.

If you are experiencing trouble with registration of PhysX Developer account, please refer to our registration guide.

PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max v. 2.60.0314.1641

[supports 3ds Max (2009, 2010, 2011) and 3ds Max Design (2010, 2011), 32-bit and 64-bit versions]

Update: PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max updated

2.60 version of PhysX plug-ins seems to be used as basis for new MassFX unified dynamics system, included in upcoming 3ds Max 2012, as it resembles same interface and basic feature list. However, 2.60 PhysX plug-in supports APEX Clothing, while MassFX does not.

Lets take a view on new features, in comparison to previous 2.40 version of PhysX plug-in:

• APEX Clothing

This long-anticipated feature enhances PhysX plug-in with cloth and clothing simulation capabilitites, and also provides authoring pipeline for APEX Clothing module.

APEX may look different from previous NxCloth implementation in 3ds Max – it is using so-called constrained cloth simulation (cloth modifier can be applied only to skinned mesh), does not support several features like tearing or pressure, and is mostly oriented on real-time simulation for games (but can be backed as vertex animation).

We won’t talk about APEX Clothing much, as all its features were revealed long before the public release. Several in-depth tutorials will help you to start with it (you can also find Clothing tutorial packages in plug-ins download folder at Dev. Support Center).

• Substeps Control

Users can now specify number of physics calculations per frame. Increasing this parameter makes simulation more stable, but decreases performance accordingly.

Substeps control = stable stacking

Previosly, only framerate trick was able to prevent bodies from jiggling and interpenetrating each other, and now simulation results are much more convenient. Recommended setting for real-time preview is 3-5 substeps.

• Composite rigid bodies

New composite physical mesh type allows complex concave rigid bodies (not supported in PhysX SDK) to be represented and simulated as set of convex shapes, using automatic convex decomposition algorithm.

Left object - convex mesh, right object - composite mesh

Composite objects usage decreases simulation performance, but not dramatically.

• Changing PhysX properties for many objects at once

New “Edit” Tab of PhysX Tools panel allows users to change rigid body, physical materials and physical mesh properties for many selected objects simultaneously.

• Performance viewer and MassFX visualizer

Viewer tool allows users to preview simulation performance, not bottlenecked by 3ds Max internal rendering pipeline (thus, it will be mostly useful if you’re setting up PhysX scene meant to be exported into game engine).

Rigid bodies & joints performance: 11 fps in viewport, 72 fps in Viewer Tool

In addition, new “MassFX Visualizer” section was added to “Display” tab of PhysX Tools panel – it contains several debugging options (visualize contact points, collision meshes, etc) for physics simulation in viewports.

• Many minor bug-fixes and features (like ability to specify sleep and CCD options for whole scene).

As interesting note: whoever was responsible for packaging of 3ds Max plug-in has forgot to delete PhysX SDK 3.0 .dlls in plug-in folder

Yes, internal builds are already capable of using SDK 3.0 for simulations.

PhysX plug-in for Maya v. 2.60.0314.1641

(supports Maya 2009, 2010 and 2011, 32-bit and 64-bit versions).

Update: PhysX plug-in for Maya updated

This is first public release of 2.x generation of PhysX plug-ins for Autodesk Maya. Previosly, only old Nima plug-in was available.

Generally, it supports most of the 3ds Max plug-in features (including APEX Clothing) mentioned above.

We already mentioned plans of Autodesk to replace Reactor (using Havok) physics engine in next versions of 3ds Max with a new and probably better one, based on PhysX SDK.

Update: New MassFX sneak-peek video

Recently released “sneak peek” video gives us a short glimpse on this simulation system, and reveals its name – MassFX.

As you may notice, MassFX resembles general design of standart PhysX plug-in from NVIDIA, but also includes some long-anticipated features, like substeps control, for example.

However, certain details are raising more questions – fracture tool, build into MassFX creates concave fragments, while PhysX simulation uses convex approximation (that’s why cylinder literally explodes after simulation start). Where is convex decomposition feature, or does fracture tool supports PhysX friendly Voronoi fragmentation is currently unknown.

We hope that upcoming GDC 2011 event will reveal some more information on this topic.

One of the main features of NVIDIA APEX framework is not only complexity or quality of simulation, but artist-focused authoring pipeline, that allows easy creation of physical content without significant programmer involvement.

Update: PhysX plug-ins for Max and Maya with APEX Clothing features are available.

Update #5: New complete set of official APEX Clothing tutorials.

Authoring process in promising APEX Clothing module (you can remember its debut in Mafia II title) goes through DCC plug-ins for 3ds Max and Maya.

Following tutorials (available previously for plug-in beta users) are giving perfect overview of clothing authoring process, basic capabilities and features, using 3ds Max plug-in as an example.

Tutorial I – Waving flag

Tutorial II – Physically simulated Cape

Tutorial III -  Physically simulated Trench coat

Update #2: APEX Clothing tutorials for Maya added.

APEX Clothing with Maya – Trench Coat Medium

Update #3: APEX Clothing tutorial: from Maya to UDK

Now, when Subscription Advantage Pack for 3ds Max 2011 and 3ds Max Design 2011 was released, we can verify that it includes updated version of PhysX plug-in, designated as 2.40.0808.2140, avaialble in 32- and 64-bit variants and based on PhysX SDK 2.8.3.17.

Update: How to achieve quality simulation with PhysX plug-in for 3ds Max

Update #2: New PhysX plug-n v. 2.60 released

Unfortunately, APEX Clothing tools are in not included in this version of the plug-in.

Note: To use this plug-in with RayFire Tool, you need to update RayFire to version 1.51.02

For those of you, who still can’t decide if new PhysX plug-in is worth the update, here are full Release Notes we took from documentation:

v2.40.0625, 2010-June-25

———

v2.40.0605, 2010-June-5

———

v2.40.0515, 2010-May-15
(Unreleased)

———

v2.50.0427, 2010-Apr-26
(Unreleased)

———

v2.40.0403.0000, 2010-Apr-2
(Unreleased)

———

v2.40.0221.0339, 2010-Feb-20
(Unreleased)

———

v2.4, 2010-Feb-5
Non-public release with APEX 0.9 beta.

———

v2.01.19, 2010-Jan-11
(Unreleased)