What is 3DS MAX Physical Material?

Solutions for Compatibility Issues with Physical Materials

Starting from the 2023 version, the Physical Material in 3DS MAX is set to the default. We will explore what it is, what benefit it has, and guide you on how to address compatibility issues.

1. What is Physical Material?
2. Issues with Physical Material: Compatibility
3. How to Address Compatibility Issues
4. Conclusion

1. What is Physical Material?

Physical Material is a material that applies real-time physical simulations to the material, enabling realistic texture rendering in real-time. When applied, it produces realistic effects similar to V-ray, and materials are better represented according to the lighting effects.

(Example of rendering with Physical Material enabled in 3DS MAX (Source :3DSMAX))

2. Issues with Physical Material: Compatibility

However, when applying it to the model and exporting it, there is an issue where the materials are not correctly displayed when used on other websites or engines. To test the compatibility, we created boxes with different options applied, starting from the left box:

• (1) Unfolded UV
• (2) Only sonside flipped
• (3) UV completed
• (4) Applied distorted effect 

(Object made for compatibility testing)

We then imported this object into representative platforms and engines such as Sketchfab, Marmoset, and Unity. However, as shown in the images below, there are issues with compatible materials not importing correctly in various engines and websites.

(Compatibility issues when importing in Sketchfab, Marmoset, and Unity)

3. How to Address Compatibility Issues

(1) Switching to Standard Legacy Material

To proactively prevent compatibility issues, it is ideal to change the settings to the previous default value, which is the Standard Legacy Material.

• How to change the settings: Click ‘Customize’ → Click ‘Custom defaults switcher…’ → Select ‘Default setting: Max. Legacy, User interface scheme: DefaultUI’ → Click ‘Set’ → Close 3DS MAX and restart.

(2) Re-uploading Material Files

Another solution is to reload the material files corresponding to the object. This can be relatively easy if the object only has Base Color applied. However, if multiple materials are applied to the object, or if there are multiple objects with materials to be imported, it may require additional steps and time for re-uploading the material files.

4. Conclusion

Physical Material is a powerful tools that applies real-time physics simulations to achieve realistic effects. However, compatibility issues may arise, so you can resolve them by changing the setting to the Standard Legacy Material, re-uploading material files, or using plugins. Currently, if you need to work with other websites or engines outside of 3DS MAX, we recommend changing the settings to Standard Legacy Material.

In addition, at Hummit, we are building a marketplace and portfolio website where you can upload your 3D objects. When uploading objects created in 3DS MAX, make sure to upload objects with Standard Legacy Material settings, so that the objects with materials can be viewed online. ☺️

Enjoy 3D modeling with Hum3D today!