/ghosttrails

The GhostTrails plugin for 3D Studio Max

Primary LanguageC++MIT LicenseMIT

ghosttrails

This repository contains the source code for the venerable GhostTrails 3dsmax plugin that can be found on https://www.ghosttrails.net.

The GhostTrails plugin was a closed-source, paid piece of software from ~2000 up until Feb 2024, at which point it became free and Open Source.

Building The Plugin

  • You will need to have, and be at least a little familar with the 3dsmax SDK and Microsoft Visual C++.
  • In particular, you will need to install the correct version of Microsoft Visual C++ for the version of 3dsmax you're targeting (eg 3dsmax 2024 required VC++ 19).
  • Open the "GhostTrails_max2013" project in MSVC++.
  • Update the header and library paths to the 3dsmax SDK.
  • Build the release configuration.
  • If it builds, great! You'll get a .dlm file that you can copy to 3dsmax's plugin directory.
  • If there are build errors it means that Autodesk have made non-backwards-compatible changes to their SDK. The "What's new" section of the SDK docs usually explains what needs to change.