News: Thinkbox Software Releases Stoke MX Particle Reflow Tool for Autodesk 3ds Max

(Los Angeles, California--May 1, 2013) Thinkbox Software today announced Stoke MX, a particle simulator plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max designed to simplify and accelerate the creation of high-volume particle clouds driven by velocity fields.


Images courtesy of Thinkbox Software

A video of Stoke MX in action may be found at





Fast and easy to use, Stoke MX supports a large number of emitter and velocity sources, and introduces new workflows. Previously unavailable capabilities include multi-threaded particle advection, rapid memory-buffered playback, and asynchronous multi-threaded particle file saving, which enables significantly higher performance compared to existing workflows.

Key features of Stoke MX include:

• Quick particle generation from other particle systems, geometry surfaces, volumes, vertices and edges including selection and soft-selection support, as well as from Sitni Sati's FumeFX simulations.
• Optional emitter channel acquisition with minimal overhead
• Particle advection using velocities from other particle systems or files, 3ds Max force space warps, FumeFX simulations, Thinkbox's Ember simulations, and other Stoke simulations
• Velocity field mixing, scaling and optional divergence removal from particle-based velocity fields to produce uncompressible fluid motion
• Flexible memory caching for fast simulation iterations and interactive viewport playback
• PRT file saving using one or more background threads, decoupling the simulation from the particle saving process for even faster iterations
• Integration with local and Thinkbox's Deadline partitioning
• Extensive MAXScript exposure enabling the creation of custom Stoke-based tools
• Compatible with the Thinkbox's Krakatoa MX high-volume particle renderer and its various components including PRT Loader and other PRT objects, Magma and delete modifiers, particle data viewer, etc
• Compatible with Thinkbox Software's Frost particle mesher (version 1.3.5 and higher)

"The flexibility of Stoke is phenomenal so we are super excited to see what artists can do with it," said Chris Bond, founder, Thinkbox Software. "Stoke enables a completely new way of working. Instead of being stuck in a rigid linear simulation workflow, artists can essentially layer their particles and work backwards to mix, enhance or alter simulation data quickly and easily without having to re-simulate. It opens up a lot of possibilities."

"Stoke MX gives us the opportunity to build layers of detail upon fluid simulations with the exciting speed, control and freedom of imagination that have become a trademark of tools by Thinkbox Software," noted Hristo Velev, a visual effects artist with early access to the software. "A simple, well directed base simulation can be quickly developed into a complex modern effect. Artists get plenty of room to create with negligible learning curve, due to the use of very successful Thinkbox technology like Magmaflow and PRT caching. And with these, it fits tightly in existing pipelines hosting the rest of the Thinkbox portfolio, especially Krakatoa and Frost. Stoke is a force multiplier for simulation work."

Visual effects artist Jason Crosby added, "For the wormhole shot in After Earth, Stoke allowed me to come up with a look in just a couple days. Creating iterations was a very quick process and the support from Thinkbox was amazing!"

The Stoke MX base package includes one workstation and two network simulation licenses. Additional network simulation licenses can be purchased individually. To request a 15-day evaluation license, or for more information about Stoke MX, including pricing, visit http://www.thinkboxsoftware.com/sales

About Thinkbox Software
Thinkbox Software provides creative solutions for visual artists in entertainment, engineering and design. Developer of high-volume particle renderer Krakatoa and render farm management software Deadline, the team of Thinkbox Software solves difficult production problems with intuitive, well-designed solutions and remarkable support. As an artist-driven company, we create tools that help artists manage their jobs and empower them to create worlds and imagine new realities. Thinkbox was founded in 2010 by Chris Bond, founder of Frantic Films. http://www.thinkboxsoftware.com/

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