Discreet has announced that it is now shipping Character Studio 4. This latest version contains:
Quaternion-based function curves
Support for 3ds max native bones
Forearm segmentation for more realistic twisting
Integrates with 3ds max controllers
The Visual Clipboard enables more intuitive pose & track editing
Motion property analysis & visualization
A Non-linear Animation Mixer
Lock any animation down with the Animation Mixdown
Prop Retargeting (up to 3 systemic prop objects)
Sounds impressive to me ;) :). The blurb says you can do "flying swarms of bees. Humanoid figures in combat. Complex crowds in hyper-realistic environments", which is interesting. There's also a 30 day free trial software CD which you can register for on Discreet's website.. Details here.