If it's in .3ds format it should be ok. Usually there needs to be some minor adjustment to .3ds files I've used. Sometimes transparency or bump values are inverted. It's all fixable but it does take some hands-on work. There is also one other thing to keep in mind: sometimes when MAX authors export to other formats, they don't "re-set" value X from their transformation options. While that doesn't make a difference to many programs, when imported into Carrara, Vue and some others, the object will "explode" with parts spread out and inverted. This is very fixable, just contact the author and tell them your requirements. No computer programs are fail safe when exporting to other formats. In fact some of the big name programs can't re-import objects without errors that they've created themselves, but saved as something else. Ain't technology grand!! :)