Arnold renderer:

• The MAXtoA plugin includes Arnold version 5
• Volumetric effects with OpenVDB support
• Atmospheric effects
• Procedural (proxy) objects allow scene interchange with other Arnold plugins
• Extensive array of built-in Arnold professional shaders and materials
• Supports 3rd party shaders compiled for Windows and Arnold 5
• Easy Image-Based-Lighting workflow with separate Environment and Background capabilities
• Arnold Properties modifier controls rendertime effects and options per-object
• Arbitrary Output Variable (AOV) support for compositing and post-processing
• Depth-of-Field, Motion Blur and camera Shutter effects
• New VR camera
• New easier-to-use layered Standard Surface with Disney compatibility, replacing Arnold Standard Shader
• New melanin-driven Standard Hair Shader with simpler parameters and artistic controls for more natural results
• Supports Photometric lights for easy Revit interop. Full support of 3ds Max Physical material and legacy maps.
• All-in-one Arnold light supports textured area lights, mesh lights, Skydome and Distant light sources.
• New Portal mode for Quad and Skydome lights to improve sampling interior scenes.
• New Roundness and Soft Edge options for Quad and Spot lights.
• Scene Converterpresets and scripts to upgrade legacy scenes.

User interface improvements:

• QT5 framework with enhanced docking
• Timeline tear-off
• Ongoing Hi-DPI icon conversion (370 icons converted)
• Tear-off menus
• Faster switching between workspaces
• Modular main toolbar.

MCG:

• Easy Map adds the ability to map over an operator by connecting an array of values for graph simplicity
• Live Type displays computes types in the editor as you work
• MCG type resolver improved so you no longer need to add extra nodes to provide hints about the type system in MCG
• Compiler significantly improved to better optimize graph expressions, particularly with functions
• No longer need to unpack MCG graph and MCG now uses compounds from the package
• Consumes graphs in package form (.mcg) by simply dragging in the viewport
• Automatic tool input generation
• More artist friendly operator/compound naming and categorization
• New Node Properties window with better operator/compound descriptions
• 78 new operators
• See MCG Help for more inform