Monday, October 3rd, 2016 Posted by Jim Thacker

Thinkbox Software releases Frost MX 2.0

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Thinkbox Software has released Frost MX 2.0, the latest version of its tool for meshing large 3ds Max particle systems, improving V-Ray compatibility, and “nearly doubling performance” over previous releases.

A heavyweight VFX tool for meshing particle or point cloud data
First released in 2011, Frost is a compound geometry object for 3ds Max that can be used to generate a single mesh from particles, vertex clouds, object positions, or point data files – or a mix of the four.

The software has been used on a range of ads and movie projects by firms including Blur Studio, Prime Focus and Unit Image.

Faster, and better integrated with V-Ray
Version 2.0 doesn’t greatly extend the functionality of its predecessor: there’s a new Region of Interest option, which limits viewport meshing to a custom bounding box, but that’s pretty much it.

However, it does improve both workflow and pipeline integration significantly.

First up is the improvement in performance: Frost MX 2.0 offers “up to twice the speed in particle meshing modes”, according to Thinkbox.

Then there is improved integration with Chaos Group’s V-Ray renderer, which enables “customisable particle scattering for distributing and rendering millions of mesh instances in Custom Geometry meshing mode”.

Frost’s new V-Ray Instancing mode uses dynamic memory allocation to minimise memory overheads when working with high numbers of instances, and supports all existing custom geometry features.

Other changes include a new dedicated Frost menu bar within 3ds Max’s main menu, making it quicker to access Frost’s key features. You can read a full list of changes via the link below.

Pricing and availability
Frost MX 2.0 is available for 64-bit editions of 3ds Max 2012 and above. New workstation licences cost $495, including unlimited rendering licences. The V-Ray functionality requires V-Ray 3.1+.

Thinkbox Software is also working on a new Maya version of Frost, which is now in closed beta.


Read a full list of new features in Frost MX 2.0 on Thinkbox Software’s blog

Visit the Frost product webpage