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What's new

Autodesk® Mudbox™ version 2009 includes a number of new features and improvements that will enhance your production pipeline and productivity. Items indicated by an (*) were introduced for Mudbox 2009 - Service Pack 1.

Mudbox 2009 on Macintosh OS X*

Mudbox 2009 is available for use on qualified Intel®-based Macintosh® computers. For more information on qualified operating systems and hardware, see http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-system-requirements and http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-hardware.

Improved hardware support for Ambient occlusion viewport filter

The Ambient Occlusion viewport filter feature has been improved to work on a wider range of graphics cards for Mudbox 2009 - Service Pack 1. In addition, Mudbox now displays a message when it detects a situation that may not provide optimal graphics performance when using the Ambient Occlusion viewport filter and other real-time effects. For more information on supported graphics cards, see http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-hardware.

NoteTurning off the new Use Texture Filtering preference can also improve performance for the Ambient Occlusion viewport filter on older graphics cards. For more information, see Preferences window.

Extract ambient occlusion maps*

In addition to the screen-based Ambient Occlusion filter, Mudbox now provides a feature for creating and previewing ambient occlusion texture maps on a model. Maps can be used in other 3D software applications. For more information, see Extract an ambient occlusion map

Change the order of paint layers*

The order of paint layers can be changed by dragging and dropping them within the Layers window. You can change the order of layers in a channel (diffuse, specular, gloss, bump) or drag paint layers between paint channels.

For example, you can change the order in which a diffuse layer appears in relation to another (over top of or below another) or you can drag a diffuse paint layer into an existing bump channel. For more information, see Change the order of paint layers.

Merge paint layers*

Paint layers can now be merged (flattened) into one layer. Merging lets you combine any visible layers for a specific paint channel into one image. This reduces the number of texture files on a model and can reduce graphics memory usage when painting high resolution maps. For more information, see Merge paint layers.

Preview normal maps on a model*

You can now view normal maps on models by importing them as layers into a bump channel in the Layers window and turning on the Display Bump as Normal Map property on the material. Previewing an extracted normal map saves you time by letting you see how it appears when assigned to the target model before exporting it to another 3D application. For more information, see View normal maps on a model.

Extracted texture maps now have anti-aliasing*

Extracted texture maps are now anti-aliased by default. The anti-aliasing automatically smooths and improves the quality of the image map for sharp sculpted features that otherwise could have a stair-stepping appearance when applied to a model. Maps extracted using Mudbox 2009 - Service Pack 1 will differ slightly from those extracted using Mudbox 2009 and earlier versions.

Enhanced UV tile management*

Mudbox now automatically optimizes the display of textures when using models with multiple UV tiles in order to save graphics memory.

When a model that contains multiple UV tiles (with at least one paint layer) is open in Mudbox, only one texture tile on the model is set to display in the 3D View. The remaining texture tiles are not displayed and automatically get substituted with a random color to indicate their unloaded state. You can selectively load or unload single textures or all textures as required.

This aids managing the UV texture tiles and assists in optimizing graphics memory when working with multiple high resolution texture maps. For more information, see Hide and show UV tiles on a model.

Display textures without filtering*

Mudbox now includes a preference for displaying texture maps on your models without filtering. This lets you more easily evaluate the pixel boundary and color of each pixel in an image more distinctly than when filtering is turned on. Turning off this preference can also improve performance for the Ambient Occlusion viewport filter on older graphics cards. For more information, see Preferences window.

Mudbox 2009 on Windows 64 bit

Mudbox 2009 is now available on Windows XP x64, Windows Vista XP x64 which allows users to address far more memory and work with much larger meshes than ever before.

Paint on your models

Mudbox 2009 includes a new and powerful 3D texture painting toolset that lets you paint images as diffuse, bump, specular, reflection, and other textures across multiple high-resolution maps onto your 3D models. For more information, see Painting overview.

In paint mode, the brush position relative to the model is calculated in true world space; paint is projected tangent to the model, allowing for precise detail application where required, regardless of UV distortion.

In addition, stencils and stamps can be used with the painting feature to create interesting textures on your 3D models. For more information see Paint using brush stamps and Paint using stencil projection.

Performance improvements

Mudbox 2009 has been redesigned to let you work much more interactively and subdivide polygonal meshes in the range of tens of millions of polygons while using sculpting tools that are now faster and more fluid than in previous versions. For tips on further optimizing memory usage and interactive performance, see Memory and performance best practices.

On target display environment

Many real-time rendering effects have been added to Mudbox 2009 that leverage the power of your computer’s graphics card to let you view your models and textures in a 3D working environment that closely mimics your final target platform - be it a games console, film, television, or real-world product.

For example, you can apply filters on the 3D View to simulate a camera’s depth of field, or add ambient occlusion to simulate a more realistic shading in cracks and crevices on a model, or adjust the overall tone mapping in the view when High Dynamic Range (HDRI) images are used. For more information, see Apply visual effects.

You can save your favorite material, viewport filter, or display settings on the Material Presets tray.

CgFX materials support

Mudbox now supports the CgFX material specification on qualified graphics cards. CgFX is a material specification that enables the creation of custom materials that use the power of your computer’s graphics card to produce many interesting materials and rendering effects in real time.

The main advantage of developing and using CgFX materials is that they are portable across many hardware and software applications (for example, between Maya and Mudbox) as well as other hardware platforms that support the CgFx specification. (for example, games consoles). For more information, see Using CgFX-based materials.

Additional light types and light presets

Mudbox now includes point and image-based lights. In addition, lighting presets can be stored to the a new Lighting Presets tray. A sample of HDR images for use with image-based lights is included with this version. For more information, see Create and edit lights.

Sculpt tool presets

The Sculpt Tools tray now includes additional sculpt tool presets (Fill, Scrape, and Knife are but a few examples) which have been organized in a fashion to make your sculpting work easier. For more information, see Sculpt tool presets.

Layers interface expanded

The Layers window has been enhanced to support multiple paint layers in addition to the 3D sculpting layers. This lets users select and blend between several images for each texture channel, as well as combine or organize source imagery before projecting it onto their model. For more information, see Sculpt using layers and Paint using layers.

Texture extraction interface improved

The options window for texture extraction (now called Extract Texture Maps), has been completely overhauled to be much easier to use. A new texture extraction troubleshooting topic has been added to the Mudbox Help to aid in achieving optimal results when exporting normal or displacement maps. For more information, see Extract a texture map.

Sculpt using a displacement map

The Mesh Displacement feature has been renamed to Sculpt Model Using Displacement Map and its user interface has been simplified to be much easier than in version 1.0.7. For more information, see Sculpt using a displacement map.

UV View

A UV View has been added to let you view the layout of UV texture coordinates for an active model. The UV View also displays the active paint layer image in relation to the UVs so is useful when performing texture painting. For more information, see View painted images with UVs.

Steady stroke

A new Steady Stroke feature has been added to the Stroke properties for the sculpting tools. Steady Stroke works by letting you preview a vector of your stroke’s direction/path before it’s drawn and lets you create much smoother strokes as a result. For more information, see Sculpt Tool properties.

Tool trays reorganized

Many of the tool trays have been reorganized and renamed to better accommodate the new 3D paint tools and render features. The Value Paint tool tray no longer exists and its contents (Freeze, Mask, and Erase) are now located in the Sculpt Tools tray. The selection tools are now located on the Select/Move Tools tray. For more information, see Trays.

New stamps and stencils

A wide variety of new stencil and stamp presets have been added to the tool trays to help you create an infinite variety of effects when you sculpt or paint within Mudbox. Stamp and stencil images are 16-bit depth. For instructions on creating your own stencils and stamps using Adobe Photoshop, see Create images for stencils and stamps.

New Heads-up display

A new heads-up display feature has been added to the 3D View to momentarily display helpful tool tips and status information at key stages while you work. It’s goal is to assist both new and experienced users alike. For more information, see Heads-up Display.

Wireframe display improved

The wireframe display feature has been improved for this release to let you display the shaded polygonal model and the wireframe simultaneously. For more information, see Change the model display.

Local Subdivision feature obsolete

The Mesh > Subdivide Selection feature that performed local subdivision of models and existed in Mudbox 1.0.7 (and earlier versions) is obsolete and no longer available as of Mudbox 2009.