The native .MAX file format of 3ds Max is one of the main components of its interoperability. All of the data required for the scene to be saved and loaded, including data unique to Autodesk 3ds Max, is contained in the .MAX format. The .MAX file format comes in especially handy for intricate projects with lots of files and external references. Team members don’t need to manually maintain file links when sharing scene files with others when they use the .MAX format.
Furthermore, one of the file formats that Autodesk 3ds Max supports is 3DS. When it comes to sharing models across various 3D modeling programs or keeping models for 3D resource catalogs, the 3DS format has established itself as the de facto standard. The MAX format contains additional information unique to Autodesk 3ds Max and enables the saving and loading of an entire scene, whereas the 3DS format seeks to provide an import/export format that retains only necessary geometric, texture, and lighting information.
The 3DS File Format
Now let’s examine the file format that 3ds Max uses.
The 3D modeling, animation, and rendering program Autodesk 3ds Max supports a number of file formats, including 3DS. The format is chunk-based, with each data section embedded in a block that has the data itself, the length of the data, and a chunk identifier. Like an XML DOM tree, the chunks form a hierarchical structure. The most popular IDs for chunks are listed below, with their dependencies shown in a hierarchical format. It has been noted that the format might not be the best option for exchanging 3D data, even with its widespread use. Triangles have to make up every mesh. Only the 8.3 DOS format is supported for texture filenames.
Texture Formats in 3ds Max
However, what format are 3ds Max textures in?
Similar to geometry, textures can also require a significant amount of RAM on a computer. Their size and resolution can also affect rendering time. Raster textures are now the most widely used textures in 3D graphics. They are made using Photoshop or Gimp or by starting with a photograph. They are kept as files in many different formats, including JPG, PNG, TIFF, and many more, on a hard drive. RGB (8, 16, 32 bit per channel), greyscale (8 and 16 bit), bitmap (Monochrome 1 bit – only black and white color – in PNG and TIFF format), and index-based color (8 bit) textures are all supported by 3ds Max. There are two methods for compressing images that preserve information while lowering data volume.