Ok, I don't know where to find compare and contrast info, but I do know that you can go to autodesk's website and find out all the new goodies that are supposed to ship with 3d studio 8. I know for a fact that there are now tools for hair simulation and now the cloth simulator is built in, instead of having to be a registered member and getting it through autodesk. I know also that the workflow is supposed to be more... um.. flowing with enhanced tools for big projects. There are better directX9 features, including .fx shader in viewport(yes, I know that it was already in, but just watch the tech demo, and you'll see what I mean.). Also there is now integrated support for ILM's OpenEXR images. The UVW mapping tool has been upgraded and is now more functional. The things that I'm psyked about are the cloth and hair sim tools, they look utterly amazing. But like I said, just go to discreet's website... well wait... go here ~~>
3D Studio Max 8 Feature Videos Helpful???