3ds Max 2009 has now started shipping to subscription customers and it is available as an upgrade to all 3ds Max 9 and 2008 customers. New features in this release includes:

• Reveal rendering technology
• ProMaterials library
• Biped quadraped support
• UV spline mapping, improved Relax and Pelt
• Greater OBJ translation fidelity
• Improved FBX memory management and options
• Better interoperability with MudBox and MotionBuilder
• Lighting enhancements
• .NET support in the SDK

More information: 3ds Max 2009 Features

3ds Max 2009 - 30-day trial download