There is a fairly large difference between the amount of things you can do between versions 2011 and 2012 of 3ds Max. The main issue that comes between them is that you cannot import files created in 3ds Max 2012 into 3ds Max 2011. As I created the majority of my models using 3ds Max 2012 on my home computer before realising that I can't use them on the computers in the university, I was stuck in a bit of a situation where I had to choose between continuing my work in 2012 or redesigning everything that I have done in 2011. As this is a fairly lengthy and time consuming module, I opted for the decision of continuing my work in 2012 as that meant I could keep working on my project without having to waste time recreating models I had already done once already.
Another large difference between the two versions is the physics engine that they use. 2011 uses reactor - an engine that is essentially a mod that was created by Havok for use in 3ds Max. This was replaced in 2012 for their own inbuilt engine called MassFX. What they are each able to do are similar, except the processes required for each are very different. As I have have already simulated animation for my crossbow in 3ds Max 2011 using reactor, I may have to recreate this using MassFX after importing it into my scene.Whether or not this will be a daunting task is yet to be discovered - hopefully the time taken to animate the crossbow in reactor will pay off and the knowledge will partially transfer over into MassFX.
Reference:
http://physxinfo.com/news/5519/3ds-max-2012-released-new-massfx-system-overview/
Author: Zogrim (2011)
Accessed: 24/04/12
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