8

xiv Introduction
Object Prop erties (page 1–111)
Creating Geometry (page 1–149)
Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects (page
1–401)
Creating Copies and Arrays (page 1–455)
Using Modifiers (page 1–479)
Surface Modeling (page 1–945)
Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–1)
Space Warps and Particle Systems (page 2–51)
Creating Animation (page 2–271)
Lights and Cameras (page 2–1125)
Advanced Lighting Panel (page 3–43)
Material Editor, Materials, and Mapping (page
2–1239)
Rendering (page 3–1)
Effects and Environments (page 3–213)
User Interface (page 3–717)
Customizing the User Interface (page 3–829)
Default Keyboard Shortcuts (p age 3–911)
What ’s New in 3ds Max 8
Thenewfeaturesin3dsMaxaremeanttoimprove
thewayyouuseit,andtoimprovethequalityof
work it helps you create.
You c an also find a wealth of information about
new features in the printed New Features Guide
provided with your copy of 3ds Max. An electronic
version of this guide is available by choosing Help
menu > New Features Guide.
Note: This topic don’t comprehensively list all the
changesthathavebeenmadeto3dsMax.Asyou
proceed through the do cu mentation, keep an
eye out for the
icon, which designates a new
feature. You can also identify topics containing
information on new features in the program using
the index in this reference. For topics describing
new program features, check the index entry "new
featureinv8". Forchangesinexistingfeatures,
check the index entry "changed feature in v8".
Followingisalistofmajornewfeatureswithbrief
descriptions and links to the relevant reference
topic:
The 3 ds M ax Us er R eference
• Most of the documentation relating to network
rendering is now available in the Backburner
Reference, available from the Help menu > User
Reference > Contents panel.
• The mental ray documentation from mental
images, with specifics on shaders and related
topics, has been combined into a single
reference file, available from the 3ds Max Help
menu.
Character Animation
•The Skin modifier (page 1–781) provides
enhanced default settings; for example, vertices
are now assigned to a bone by default to prevent
unwanted st retching and m inimize the need
to edit envelopes. Also, the new
Wei g ht Tool
dialog (page 1–796)
makes it easier to assign
and blend weights.
•TrueEulerrotationandpositioncurvesarenow
available for biped animation. See
Work ing
with Euler Curves on Biped Animation (page
2–861)
.
• The biped pelvis can now be rotated on all three
axes, like a ba ll joint. See
Pelvis as Ball Joint
(page 2–750)
.
• Additional available neck, spine, ponytail, and
tail bones for the biped. See
Structure Rollout
(page 2–837)
.