Extensions
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. | |
MaxwellSea.mxx | Creates a simulation of the ocean surface based on the Tessendorf model. | |
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™. | |
RWMeshes.mxx | Allows Maxwell to render RealWave water simulation meshes already created in RealFlow™. | |
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. | |
MaxwellGrass.mxx | The grass generator. Generates and distributes random grass guides over the object surface following certain user parameters. | |
MaxwellScatter.mxx | Scatters instances of a given object across the surface of another object. | |
SubdivisionModifier.mxx | Subdivides the object using Pixar™ subdivision algorithms: Loop and Catmull-Clark. |
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. | |
MaxwellParticles.mxx | Renders particles from RealFlow™ or other particle systems as spheres. | |
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. | |
WireframeTexture.mxx | Renders triangle edges with a different color. |
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. |
Camera Lens Extensions
Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
CameraLensExtensions.mxx | These extensions implement Lat-Long Stereo Lens and Fish-Eye Stereo Lens |
BRDF Extensions
Extension name | What it does | More info... |
|---|---|---|
TableBRDF.mxx | Implements reading of MERL™ BRDF Database materials. | |
XriteBRDF.mxx | Implements reading of X-Rite™'s AxF™, Appearance Exchange Format materials. |
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