Shader FX is a full-featured real-time shader editor for 3ds Max. It allows
artists with no previous programming experience to build complex HLSL FX
shaders for use in Max's viewport and in external game engines. Built right
into 3ds Max, it offers a gradual learning curve to .fx shaders for artists
who are used to the 3ds Max material editor.

ShaderFX's powerful schematic interface lets you quickly assemble shaders
that support complex effects such as parallax mapping, fresnel fall-off,
and cube map reflection, all by simply connecting nodes together. Your
shader progress is displayed and updated in 3ds Max's viewport as you build
the shader so you can always see your results in real-time.

Once you're happy with your results, you can use your shader in the 3ds Max
viewport, or you can also export your shader in the popular HLSL FX format
for use in other applications and game engines.

With Shader FX, artists no longer depend on external applications or
programmers to get the effects they want. Finally artists have a tool that
enables them to create stunning real-time shaders quickly and easily, and
gives full control over the appearance of their real-time models.

Whats new:

* Subsurface Scattering - For skin and other translucent materials
* Perlin Noise - To create procedurally generated texture effects
* Glow Material - For creating bright glowing objects
* Bump Mapping - For adding surface detail with a gray-scale height map
* Object Space Normal Mapping - Extended normal map format support
* DXT5 Normal Maps - For high quality four to one compression of normal maps
* Relief Mapping - Simulates complex surface detail while maintaining a low
poly count
* Refraction - Light bending for transparent objects
* Multi-Subobject Materials - Allows for multiple shaders on a single model
* Projected Texturing - Can project a texture onto a model in world or
object space
* DXSAS Support - Export shaders using Microsoft's standard for annotation
and syntax
* Custom Code Node - Programmers can insert custom HLSL code into the node
tree
* Instruction Count Report - Shows shader's performance and allows for
optimization