Normals aren't correct for SC datastreams with 16 byte structures.

[Markemp]

The normal part of the VertsUV struct seem to have been changed to Color, and the Normal is a calculated value from the Tangents datastream. Need to calculate the correct normals from the Tangents datastream by taking the cross product of the tangent and bitangent.

[pixelpath]

To fix normals not displaying correctly in 3DS Max: Select the model and add an Edit Normal modifier to the stack. Now press CTRL + A to highlight all normals and click the Reset button in the Edit Normal modifier panel. Now the models explicit normals should be working.

[Markemp]

Thank you for the workaround!

[pixelpath]

No problem! I think by default, 3DS Max has them rotated in a different default direction and doing the reset forces it to rotate the normals relative to surface / tangent space but I am still trying to figure out the different normal modes. FWIW the 3DS Max SDK docs list some info on them that may shed more light on the situation: http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/16/ENU/3ds-Max-SDK-Programmer-Guide/files/GUID-88FB1FC7-F557-4B78-9659-0DE6045AD45B.htm and http://docs.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/16/ENU/3ds-Max-SDK-Programmer-Guide/files/GUID-9B83270D-1D20-4613-AB35-5EE9832C162E.htm

[Baconator650]

The newer "weighted normals" produces a more accurate result.

[Markemp]

This has (finally) been resolved. I think. Closing the issue, but will reopen if necessary.