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Thread: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

  1. #1
    AUGI Addict Andre Baros's Avatar
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    Red face Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Bummer, I just got this from Next Limit

    Dear Maxwell friends,



    We have just uploaded an updated plugin that supports ArchiCAD version 9 and 10. You can download it from:

    http://www.maxwellrender.com/qetuomb...ownloadmx.html

    No username or password is required to access.

    Please see list of improvements:
    - Maxwell rendering: ArchiCAD add-on is fully integrated with ArchiCAD as an optional Photo Rendering engine. All Maxwell related parameters are integrated into the Photo Rendering Settings dialog of ArchiCAD and they are available as soon as Maxwell is selected as ArchiCAD's preferred rendering engine.
    - In addition to automatic conversion of ArchiCAD materials there is support for Maxwell MXM (file based) materials integrated into ArchiCAD. MXM material can be associated with ArchiCAD material (interface is part of Material settings dialog) allowing the full power of Maxwell materials directly in ArchiCAD. ArchiCAD's Material settings dialog also allows easy direct access to Maxwell's native material editor (MXED) - thus Maxwell materials can be created right from there.
    - Maxwell add-on provides full access to all Maxwell rendering parameters from Photo Rendering Settings dialog:
    § Engine parameters: project directory, scene name, image type, render time, multilight support
    § Camera parameters: shutter speed, F stop, ISO, film width and height, pixel aspect ratio, diaphragm, number of blades, angle
    § Environment attributes: sky dome (intensity, colour is taken from ArchiCAD's background), physical sky (project location, date/time, turbidity, ozone, water)
    § Layers/Channels: channels - render, alpha, zbuffer, objectID, materialID, layers - direct, indirect, direct reflection, direct refraction, indirect reflection, indirect refraction
    § HDRI parameters: background, illumination, reflection, refraction
    - ArchiCAD 9 and ArchiCAD 10 are supported.

    For any further technical information about this plugin, please contact http://www.nextlimit.com/tech_support.htm

    Thank you,
    Next Limit Technologies team
    www.maxwellrender.com

  2. #2
    AUGI Addict truevis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Jealous

    New workflow: Revit > IFC > ArchiCAD > Maxwell render?

    Still like AccuRender, though.

  3. #3
    I could stop if I wanted to mmodernc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Has anyone compared it to Accurender 4?

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    AUGI Addict Andre Baros's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Maxwell SMOKES Accurender 4. I am very sympathetic to the easier workflow with Accurender, but for image quality Maxwell has no equal. Maxwell also beats most other renderers for ease of use and only looses some points to Accurender because of the automatic material assignments coming from Revit's own Accurender. That said, I'm only comparing photo-realistic styles... if you're looking for something more stylized there are better choices than either one.

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    Digital Delivery Director Brian Myers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Maxwell is talked about often in another Forum (SketchUp related) I visit... it really is a good product. Yes, it's not 3DStudio, but its not as expensive or difficult to use either and the images look GREAT for what they are used for. It's worth a look.

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    All AUGI, all the time dpasa's Avatar
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    Exclamation Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Quote Originally Posted by Dilbert
    Maxwell is talked about often in another Forum (SketchUp related) I visit... it really is a good product. Yes, it's not 3DStudio, but its not as expensive or difficult to use either and the images look GREAT for what they are used for. It's worth a look.
    Maxwell is not a 3d app, of course it's not 3dStudio. Maybe you missanderstood the name Maxwell Studio, this is just a GUI for manipulating MXS (Maxwell scene file) from some modeling apps that don't have Maxwell plugin. Geometry creation is not possible in Maxwell studio.

    I own Maxwell from beta stage and I can say that it is getting better every day although we had some problems in the past. It would be great to have a Revit plugin but as I have said many times it will be quite difficult to make all those nice images we see from MAX because Revit lacks modeling capabilities. Compare for example the ugly furniture 3d library of Revit with Evermotion archmodels. I guess the first step is to send the revit model in MXS format and then through Maxwell Studio add OBJ files for 3d content.

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    AUGI Addict Scott Hopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Yes it is a bummer. Archicad seems to be much more open to communication with non-autodesk products. Wonder why that is.

  8. #8
    I could stop if I wanted to dellis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    Well....i don't want to start a huge argument here but i would say that Maxwell is not fast enough to use in any real production sense. This is all based on conversations that i've had with people who are pretty well versed in more then one renderer. I don't question the quality....i think that the renders that i have seen come out of it are great....a little bit noisy but really good. The point for me is that there has to be some coordination between speed and quality.

    Having said all that, ultimately, i think it depends on what kind of output, photorealistic or other, you want and how fast you need it.

    In my opinion, for now, Vray is the only option. Mental Ray has made some real progress in MAX 9 and is really worth checking out now the the learning curve has been flattened out. Again, even mental ray gets extremely slow in some instances. For me, and this is just my opinion, VRay first and mental ray second....i wouldn't use anything else....for now!!!

    Dwayne D. Ellis

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    I could stop if I wanted to rmejia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    I have not used maxwell but have seen many renderings which seem really grainy and have read that they take a very long time to render. With Vray using QMC renderings like that can be achieved (takes a long time also), but Irradience Map & Light Cache (with show calculations on) is the best solution out there right now IMHO, it's fast and produces some very nice results. The new mental ray looks very promising, but I find Vray easier to setup and use.
    Last edited by rmejia; 2006-12-12 at 09:40 PM.

  10. #10
    AUGI Addict Andre Baros's Avatar
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    Default Re: Maxwell is out for ArchiCAD

    The speed issue is very legitimate but I still chose Maxwell for the quality to time ratio... using my time, not my computers time. I hit the render button at the end of the day leave so I don't care if it takes 10 minutes or 10 hours as long as I can predict the results, Maxwell is the only renderer I have ever used that lets me use the same settings from scene to scene and get consistent results.

    Vray is very fast if you want a CG looking setup and you use the program every day and can take the time to learn all the setting you need to turn on or off to get the speed. I don't have that kind of time, but I have a very fast machine that I can leave rendering. I can set up a Maxwell scene in minutes (assuming that I don't have to create materials from scratch, but that is the same for any renderer, even Accurender) and then hit render and not worry about it again. With Multilight I can make any adjustments I need at the back end and I'm done (Though honestly I only use Mulitlight on interiors, for exteriors I have my favorite sun settings.)

    Also, I've gotten good renderings out of Maxwell in 7 minutes for exteriors and have heard of Mental Ray and Vray renderings taking over 8 hours with caustics etc turned on. It's all relative.

    I've played with Mental Ray and Vray and just haven't had the time to learn all those settings. With Maxwell all I take the time to do is perfect materials... which then work over and over.

    I'm not connected with Maxwell in any way, but I've been rendering for years (Even taken classes for Viz, Max, and Mental Ray) and have never gotten such good results for so little effort with anything else.

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