Articles

    Max 8 is here


    On behalf of our co-workers at Cycling ’74, we’re pleased to announce the release of Max 8, our first major upgrade to the software in four years. We started the Max 8 project with a focus on improving performance. We hope you find the application launches and loads files noticeably faster and has a more responsive user interface. Building on this foundation, we worked in small teams on several major feature areas including a new Vizzie based on Jitter OpenGL objects, a new Max console, an integrated search feature, UI color themes, compatibility improvements including HiDPI and multitouch support on Windows, Node.js integration, an optional new mode for patching called "Operate While Unlocked" you should try at least once, and an easy-to-use MIDI mapping system inspired by Ableton Live. Behind the scenes, we undertook a major project to streamline the technology that manages Max authorizations.
    Max 8 also includes something unexpected: a way to patch with multiple channels of audio we call MC. This was not something we had originally planned for this release, but we stumbled on a way to make this work about a year ago. We found the experience of playing with MC so compelling that we made the decision to postpone the release for a few months in order to make room for it.
    While we forced you to wait a bit longer for Max 8 to come out of the oven, we also had the opportunity to address a few long-standing issues (a list of Max 8 bug fixes and new features is here). We even fixed a bug in the expr object present in Max since the original version from the late 1980s!
    All of your friends at Cycling ’74 continue to be inspired by the amazing work created by the Max community. Max turned 30 this year, and Cycling ’74 turned 20. With every new version of the software, we seek to respect this long and unique trajectory while exploring new ways to amplify your imagination through patching. We hope you find Max 8 worthy of your attention.
    Finally, we want to recognize the great work on Max 8 by our C74 colleagues in engineering (Emmanuel, Joshua, Jeremy, Ben, Stefan, Florian, Rob R., Rob S., Cassie, and Sam), content, support, and project management (Tom, Ashley, Andrew B., Darwin, Cory, Andrew P., Tim, and Gregory), server and web development (August, Lilli, and Ginger), and sales and finance (Maddie, Laurin, Jill, and Andrea). We’re also particularly grateful to our dedicated group of beta testers who’ve been looking at Max 8 for the past year.

    by David Zicarelli on
    Sep 25, 2018 4:24 PM

    • 2K
      Sep 25 2018 | 4:54 pm
      This is a great big update! Thank you for letting me be part of this process for so long! Cheers!
      Share
    • Roman Thilenius's icon
      Roman Thilenius's icon
      Roman Thilenius
      Sep 25 2018 | 5:03 pm
      the day when 110.mcore became obsolete.
    • Drew Lough's icon
      Drew Lough's icon
      Drew Lough
      Sep 25 2018 | 6:29 pm
      Amazing!! Can't wait to explore! Thank you for all the hard work!!
    • sequencersampler's icon
      sequencersampler's icon
      sequencersampler
      Sep 25 2018 | 6:32 pm
      Thank you all for your immense dedication and constant inspiration.
    • stringtapper's icon
      stringtapper's icon
      stringtapper
      Sep 25 2018 | 7:21 pm
      MC is a revelation.
    • enrico wiltsch's icon
      enrico wiltsch's icon
      enrico wiltsch
      Sep 25 2018 | 7:53 pm
      Thanks!!!!!
    • zipb's icon
      zipb's icon
      zipb
      Sep 25 2018 | 8:05 pm
      Congratulations, C74 team!
    • T Kelly's icon
      T Kelly's icon
      T Kelly
      Sep 25 2018 | 8:51 pm
      Thanks everyone! Looking forward to the new release.
    • Anthony Palomba's icon
      Anthony Palomba's icon
      Anthony Palomba
      Sep 25 2018 | 9:11 pm
      BRAVI!
    • MAX.XAM's icon
      MAX.XAM's icon
      MAX.XAM
      Sep 25 2018 | 9:30 pm
      Thanks C74!
    • zangpa's icon
      zangpa's icon
      zangpa
      Sep 25 2018 | 9:59 pm
      Thanks
    • Thomas Montagliano's icon
      Thomas Montagliano's icon
      Thomas Montagliano
      Sep 25 2018 | 10:32 pm
      Loving the addition of MC!! Great work!
    • Gregory Taylor's icon
      Gregory Taylor's icon
      Gregory Taylor
      Sep 26 2018 | 12:08 am
      Your flow could use some work, too. :-)
    • 0 0's icon
      0 0's icon
      0 0
      Sep 26 2018 | 1:44 am
      Finally! Great work :)
    • Joshua Dumas's icon
      Joshua Dumas's icon
      Joshua Dumas
      Sep 26 2018 | 2:23 am
      Thanks C74! Very excited!
    • Randall Packer's icon
      Randall Packer's icon
      Randall Packer
      Sep 26 2018 | 3:15 am
      Thanks David for another great release! Cheers to another 30 years!!
    • AudioMatt's icon
      AudioMatt's icon
      AudioMatt
      Sep 26 2018 | 3:16 am
      @Gregory Taylor @RAJA Mr Taylor don't be so anal forgive raja's foul pun I admit you just mc.rect'em But it takes a dict to know one call Louis Armstrong for his laxatives We gotta fix the bug in Raja's flonum
      shrug.
    • Gregory Taylor's icon
      Gregory Taylor's icon
      Gregory Taylor
      Sep 26 2018 | 4:30 am
      Work in a little enjambment and you'll be going full Lamar in no time, Matt. Remember, English is stress-timed, so you can mix your duples and triples. Isochrony forever!
    • Lars Graugaard's icon
      Lars Graugaard's icon
      Lars Graugaard
      Sep 26 2018 | 5:59 am
      a-ma-zing work, c74!!!
    • Graham Wakefield's icon
      Graham Wakefield's icon
      Graham Wakefield
      Sep 26 2018 | 2:37 pm
      Holy crap how did I not get mc.wrapper before? Ha!
    • Jean-Francois Charles's icon
      Jean-Francois Charles's icon
      Jean-Francois Charles
      Sep 26 2018 | 3:32 pm
      Beyond all the great additions, I love that the raw performance of Max 8 has been significantly improved over previous versions. Congrats to the whole c74 team!
    • Daniel Maruniak's icon
      Daniel Maruniak's icon
      Daniel Maruniak
      Sep 28 2018 | 5:54 pm
      Thank you all so much and congratulations on this stunning new software.
    • virgil moorefield's icon
      virgil moorefield's icon
      virgil moorefield
      Feb 13 2019 | 10:16 am
      hmmm...@gregory taylor, were you an english major in college, by any chance? (takes one to know one 🧐). “isochrony” has my vote for next max object, with perhaps an audio example from, say....lamar kendricks’ “king kunta”?
      @c74, serious congrats on v. 8. to be candid, twenty years in, i still find max to be a bipolar experience...the agony and the ecstasy!....although i guess that may say as much about about the user as the program. maybe i’ll major in cs next time?
      and yes, i’m late to the party.