If I open IPR or the regular render window, Maya crashes. This is after I switch to Octane Render in the render settings dialog.

Ditto: Click on the checkbox to load the plugin in the plugin manager, Maya crashes immediately.

I get everyone's frustration, but seriously. Have you ever developed software?

I have, and the cardinal rule is "Don't tell someone you'll do something that you can't".

I have to admit I'm a bit confused.

To extend JimStar's example of using a door:
If I have my units (system and display) set to centimeters and model a door that is 200cm tall, will the octane plugin convert this to a model that is 200 meters tall, and thus generate unintended results? Or will it ...

Lots of great improvements in Max 2013, if you're into that kind of thing:
http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/ken/3ds_max_2013_announced

However, there's also this sweet tidbit:

Plug-in Compatibility

Unfortunately, you can’t use 2012 plug-ins with 3ds Max 2013. The SDK is different from prior ...

In general: if you're going to render with Octane, don't get too hung up on getting an expensive CPU. Octane doesn't use it. Spend that money on a more powerful video card. It will help your viewport performance in maya, and your rendering speed in Octane.

That's certainly not to say that a ...

Well I am a pretty happy camper at (for? ;) ) the moment.
The two features I was most interested that relate strictly to the plugin have been realized: material preview and the IES texture (yes I want to see instancing too, but that's not really a plugin feature...).

I've done some minimal tests of ...

Yeah +1 for this. Given that the ability to work solely with CUDA enabled video cards was a fundamental design decision, I'd feel more confident in the product if we received some indication as to how Octane will develop in step with the progression of that necessary hardware.

Appreciate the response.

The manual definitely states that you should use a "floattexture", but no such thing exists in the 3ds Max plugin. I suppose you'd just use a gray scale color. Either way, its definitely not the way to use IES files.

I had in fact been attempting to use the floatimage ...

Hi everyone,

I've been using Octane for 3ds Max for about a month now, but only recently have I tried using IES lights. I'm aware that you can create an IES light using the command panel and can load an IES file into it, and that's fine.

However, I'd like to use an IES file with a mesh of my own ...