Di-O-Matic announced on their website immediately availability a new series of Di-O-Matic plugins compatible with the latest 3ds max release from Autodesk: 3ds max 2013. Cluster-O-Matic v1.8, Facial Studio v2.4 (3ds max Edition) and Morph ToolKit v1.8 are now available for all registered users with an active support package. Registered users with an expired support package can simply renew their support package to get access to the latest version.

Cluster-O-Matic is a powerful selection modifier for 3ds max which allows you to create advanced soft-selections and then animate them with ease. Whether you are looking for a more versatile selection system or seeking to create complex selections to be used with the Hercules deformation modifier, you cannot go wrong with production proven Cluster-O-Matic.

The RayFire 1.58 plugin for 3ds Max has been released.  RayFire 1.58 includes a beta of the new Entropy Bullet plugin, and also updates support for the alternative Nvidia PhysX plugin to version 2.85. NVidia PhysX Force Influence Allows You to affect on objects in simulation by forces, space warps and mouse cursor. Animatable Time Scale property allows You to create Bullet Time effect in a seconds. Glue allows you to glue objects together and break connections between objects during simulation.

CoreCG has updated its MentalCore production rendering toolkit for Maya. MentalCore is a plugin that provides an alternative to the standard rendering workflow for Maya and Mental Ray. Designed and proven in production, MentalCore completes the shading, lighting and rendering pipeline, and is suitable for small to large productions.

This update is a big feature update, including support for Maya 2013 and more. MentalCore 1.3 features a range of new shaders, including a colour bleed SSS shader, and support for SprayTrace, Holomatix’s real-time interactive preview renderer for Maya.

Luxion has released an all new KeyShot plugin for Autodesk 3ds Max. This plugin is free of charge for all 3ds Max users. As a member of the Autodesk Developer Network, Luxion has developed a plugin for 3ds Max that automatically loads the model into KeyShot with all parts, groups and layers intact. From the file menu, the export is a one-click process that instantly opens the model in KeyShot. 3ds Max users now have the fastest way to bring their models into KeyShot, creating a cleaner workflow through the entire design process. With the speed of creating material and lighting variations in KeyShot, 3D artists have an increasingly efficient pipeline for rendering and animation.