Contents  Introduction  Modifiers  Utilities  Using MFC  Conclusion  Get the project  Printable version

Programmers spend a lot of time developing tools for their artists to use, but the question of how best to develop the tool they need is not always an easy one to answer. The first time I had to develop a plug-in for 3D Studio Max, I was faced with a choice: "What kind of plug-in should I develop - a utility or a modifier?" I then spent a considerable amount of time performing tests to determine which would be the best way to go. Now, lucky for you, rather than going through that same process yourself, you can just read this article, which will hopefully help shorten that testing time.

The main topic of this article, then, will be the difference between developing a modifier and a utility plug-in. We'll discuss the advantages and drawbacks of each of these plug-in types, as well as the use of the Microsoft Foundations Class (MFC) inside a utility. Although this article could potentially be of interest to anybody working with 3D Studio Max, I'd recommend that the reader have a basic knowledge of developing 3D Studio Max plug-ins in order to get the most out of this. A good resource to check out for a little more background is the 1998 Gamasutra article "From 3D Studio Max to Direct3D" by Loic Baumann.

Comparing Modifier and Utility Plug-Ins

First, the basics. A modifier is a plug-in that modifies objects (also called nodes) in some way. A utility is a plug-in that is useful for implementing modal procedures such as 3D paint, dynamics, and so forth. The major difference is that utilities are not designed to modify objects, so you won't find a utility that, say, modifies the texture vertices of a mesh as the UVW Unwrap modifier does (although it can theoretically be done, as we will see later).

Let's first take a look at the advantages of using modifiers.

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