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3DS is a 3D mesh format that dates back to Autodesk 3D Studio for DOS — released in 1990, before 3ds Max existed, before Windows was the default OS, before "polygon" was a word normal people used. It's one of the oldest 3D formats still in circulation, and its longevity says more about inertia than technical merit.
The format stores triangle meshes, material definitions, texture mapping coordinates, lights, cameras, and basic keyframe animation. It uses a chunked binary structure where each chunk has a type ID and length. The mesh data is limited to 65,536 vertices and faces per object — a hard ceiling from 16-bit DOS days. No quads, no NURBS, no bones, no morph targets.
Despite its limitations, 3DS remains a common lowest-common-denominator exchange format. Game asset libraries, CAD-to-visualisation pipelines, and 3D model marketplaces still offer 3DS downloads because every 3D application on earth can import it. It's the JPEG of 3D — limited, lossy, and universal.