GMAX is no longer available. Where does this leave us?

**MD83** · 10-20-2005, 02:27 AM

As of October 6, 2005, Autodesk will no longer offer Gmax® software as a stand-alone product. If you are interested in other 3D animation, modeling, and rendering applications from Autodesk please check out Autodesk® 3ds Max® software. You can download a free 30-day trial, view product demonstrations, read customer success stories, and get more information about this powerful, versatile product.

Autodesk® 3ds Max® 8 is the latest version of our award-winning 3D software. Designed to provide the most comprehensive and advanced 3D design tools and pipeline workflow, 3ds Max is one of the industry’s most popular solutions for game development, design visualization, and film and video production. More.

Support

Product support for Autodesk Gmax and Gmax game pack users can be found at the official Gmax support web site.

(from: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...&siteID=123112)
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I have searched for an alternative thread in these forums, and I can't find one :). I've started to design an aircraft in FSDSV2, so it doesn't affect me. The Flight Simulator design team use it, and they are trying to sort this situation out!

***FelixFFDS*** · 10-20-2005, 06:58 AM

There's a lot of gnashing of teeth, rending of clothes, wails of despair .....

gmax remains a good modelling program for flight simulator. While no new registrations will be available after Nov.1, there's a well known (and accepted) registration workaraound.

For the Microsoft Flight Simulator team it's not such a big deal - they also support other programs, which is why you have makemdl.exe - so that ANY program that can export/provide a direct x file can be used.

gmax was a convenient, powerful and most importantly, FREE tool. There are other free modelling programs out there that can either export to a direct x file or be converted to it. Are they as feature rich as gmax? MAybe not, maybe yes.

For too long Microsoft did not actively support 3rd party developers, and the available programs were the product of dedicated sleuths. Microsoft, since FS2002, has officially recognized the impact of the 3rd party developer providing content, and can concentrate not on developing content, but enhancing and creating new features to the Microsoft engine.

As far as modelling programs go, I'm not giving up on FSDS, but I'm not adverse to dipping into other programs - gmax, TrueSpace4 (btw TrueSpace3 is now free from Caligari).

In the grand scheme of things, it's a hiccup, but not a show stopper - the toy still works.

Felix/[link:www.aerodynamika.com/forum.html|FFDS]
Pegasus Aviation Design

**mgh** · 10-22-2005, 01:40 PM

"As of October 6, 2005, Autodesk will no longer offer Gmax® software as a STAND-ALONE product" This could well mean that it will still be offered bundled with FS. I bet anyone who bought FS after 6 October still found GMax on the disks.

On a wider point, all the developers will already have as many copies of GMax as they need so where's the difficulty?

**Ridge_Runner_5** · 10-23-2005, 01:33 AM

>I bet anyone who bought FS after 6 October still found GMax on the disks.

That is a given. I mean, Microsoft isnt going to recall all their games because Autodesk crapped out on us...

**PDFAircraftInc** · 10-23-2005, 06:42 PM

I didn't know gmax was made by Autodesk. Doesn't the startup screen say discreet or something?
Is 3ds max v.8 any better than 5? I almost put my foot through my computer moniter from the frustration of using that junk x(
What a bummer...
Howard

***FelixFFDS*** · 10-23-2005, 07:46 PM

>I didn't know gmax was made by Autodesk. Doesn't the startup
>screen say discreet or something?
>Is 3ds max v.8 any better than 5? I almost put my foot through
>my computer moniter from the frustration of using that junk x(
>
>What a bummer...
>Howard

Autodesk bought discreet about a year or so ago, way after gmax 1.2 came out. Discreet was carried as a separate "brand" until recently.

3DSMax 8 is way better than 5 - and just as "difficult" to learn.

Felix/[link:www.aerodynamika.com/forum.html|FFDS]
Pegasus Aviation Design

**3DFanatic** · 10-24-2005, 12:51 PM

>While no new registrations will be available after Nov.1,
>there's a well known (and accepted) registration workaraound.

Hi, Felix:

I would be interested to know this workaround. I have gmax installed on two PC's, so I should be fine for anything short of a major disaster. It would be nice to know, however, just in case.

Thanks,

***n4gix*** · 10-24-2005, 02:28 PM

>"As of October 6, 2005, Autodesk will no longer offer Gmax®
>software as a STAND-ALONE product" This could well mean that
>it will still be offered bundled with FS. I bet anyone who
>bought FS after 6 October still found GMax on the disks.
>
>On a wider point, all the developers will already have as many
>copies of GMax as they need so where's the difficulty?

I should think the "difficulty" would be obvious! GMax doesn't natively export the .x files from which MakeMDL.exe compiles a .mdl file!

If Microsoft is no longer allowed to update the export.dll, then GMax is effectively DEAD as far as content creation...:D Either that, or .mdl compiling would remain "frozen in time" and MSFS couldn't add new features.

**mgh** · 10-26-2005, 05:56 AM

The difficulty isn't obvious.

The recent announcement has no effect on those of us who have the FS2004 Gamepack. We can continue to create aircraft and scenery models just as we did before.

The comments about the future are speculation. They seem to assume that:

1 - There would be an improved version of GMax with additional features that would be suitable for flight simulation and which MS would incorporate into FS.

2 - That MS can't incorporate into FS any features in GMax 1.2 that it hasn't already incorporated.

BTW what is "export.dll"? I can create aircraft and scenery models using the FS2004 Gamepack. The only "export.dll" on my PC is one that came with a business-card package and is copyright to the developer of that package.

***FelixFFDS*** · 10-26-2005, 06:20 AM

>The difficulty isn't obvious.
>
>The recent announcement has no effect on those of us who have
>the FS2004 Gamepack. We can continue to create aircraft and
>scenery models just as we did before.
>
>The comments about the future are speculation. They seem to
>assume that:
>
>1 - There would be an improved version of GMax with additional
>features that would be suitable for flight simulation and
>which MS would incorporate into FS
>
>2 - That MS can't incorporate into FS any features in GMax 1.2
>that it hasn't already incorporated.
>
>BTW what is "export.dll"? I can create aircraft and scenery
>models using the FS2004 Gamepack. The only "export.dll" on my
>PC is one that came with a business-card package and is
>copyright to the developer of that package.

The "export.dll is really "FSModelExp.dle" which is found in the gamepack plugins folder, and is actually what converts the gmax scene into the direct.x file which is the "real" file that makemdl.exe uses to compile the final mdl file.

So: Since gmax is "dead code" (note that it remains a powerful modelling tool/program) Microsoft no longer have the "permission" to develop the converter plugin that would take more advantage of gmax's fueatures/capabilities. Your point #2 therefore is correct.
(presumption: Autodesk also froze the development rights/licenses to the gamepacks, so that Microsoft really doesn't have the legal rights to develop the FSModelExp.dle further)

Felix/[link:www.aerodynamika.com/forum.html|FFDS]
Pegasus Aviation Design