Extensions
Courtesy of Listratov Konstantin
Maxwell 4 includes extensions, specific external pieces of code which extend the capabilities of Maxwell.
The extensions are .mxx files (stands for Maxwell Extensions) and are located in the Maxwell 4>extensions folder.
There are several types of extensions in Maxwell 4:
- Geometry Loaders: the extension code generates a new object in the scene with particular characteristics (like Maxwell Sea, Volumetric or the Alembic importer)
- Object Modifiers: the extension modifies an existing geometric object (like the Grass, Scatter or Subdivision modifiers).
- Procedural Geometry: the extension renders geometry based on a mathematical description.
- Procedural Textures: provide textures based on mathematical description, not on bitmaps.
- Material Modifiers: these extensions provide a simplified user interface for some material types.
- Camera Lens Extensions: with these extensions the user can program customized lens types, such as stereo, fish-lens...
- BRDF Extensions: these extensions implement BRDF's, which can be analytical, data driven or in-between.
The current available extensions and the features they provide are:
Geometry Loaders
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| AssetReference.mxx | Loads geometry from a variety of file formats. | Asset Reference |
| MaxwellSea.mxx | Creates a simulation of the ocean surface based on the Tessendorf model. | Maxwell Sea |
| MaxwellMesher.mxx | Renders particles from RealFlow™, meshing the particles at render time. Meant for rendering fluids and provides sophisticated controls over the resulting fluid mesh. | |
| RFMeshes.mxx | Render fluid meshes from RealFlow™ that have already been meshed in RealFlow™. | RF Meshes |
| RWMeshes.mxx | Allows Maxwell to render RealWave water simulation meshes already created in RealFlow™. | RW Meshes |
| MWObjectAlembic.mxx | Imports objects in Alembic format. |
Object Modifiers
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| MaxwellCloner.mxx | Allows Maxwell to distribute instances of an object using a particle cloud file. | Maxwell Cloner |
| MaxwellGrass.mxx | The grass generator. Generates and distributes random grass guides over the object surface following certain user parameters. | Maxwell Grass |
| MaxwellScatter.mxx | Scatters instances of a given object across the surface of another object. | Maxwell Scatter |
| SubdivisionModifier.mxx | Subdivides the object using Pixar™ subdivision algorithms: Loop and Catmull-Clark. | Pixar™ OpenSubdiv |
Procedural Geometry
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| MaxwellVolumetric.mxx | Creates a volumetric media either as a constant density object, using particle files to create smoke, fog, atmospheric haze etc or loading a OpenVDB file. | Maxwell Volumetric |
| MaxwellParticles.mxx | Renders particles from RealFlow™ or other particle systems as spheres. | Maxwell Particles |
MaxwellHair.mxx MGrassH.mxx MGrassP.mxx | These three extensions have no visible user interface. They implement the rendering primitives used by hair and fur packages in 3D platforms or MaxwellGrass |
Procedural Textures
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| MaxwellProcedurals.mxx | A bunch of the typical procedural textures found on several 3D platforms: checker, circle, grid, gradient, noise, marble, voronoi, etc... |
|
| TiledTexture.mxx | This extension allows the use of tiled textures following the UDIM file naming convention. | Texture Mapping: UV and UDIM |
| WireframeTexture.mxx | Renders triangle edges with a different color. | Wireframe |
Material Modifiers
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| MaterialModifiers.mxx | These extensions provide a simplified user interface for some material types. Current types are: Lambert, AGS, Opaque, Transparent, Metal, Translucent, Car Paint, Hair. | Material Assistants |
Camera Lens Extensions
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| CameraLensExtensions.mxx | These extensions implement Lat-Long Stereo Lens and Fish-Eye Stereo Lens | Camera Lenses |
BRDF Extensions
| Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
| TableBRDF.mxx | Implements reading of MERL™ BRDF Database materials. | MERL Material (TableBRDF) |
| XriteBRDF.mxx | Implements reading of X-Rite™'s AxF™, Appearance Exchange Format materials. |
|