C# and 3d Max 9?

what is the easiest way to import a 3d model (.3DS) into c#?
i dont have any code or a game engine so just a starting point would help.

Thanks
~RockStarEnergy

When you say 'import' I guess you want to render the model some way, therefore you would need some kind of graphics library to work with such as DirectX or OpenGL, either that or you could use a graphics/game engine which acts as a layer on top of DirectX or OpenGL simplfiying the process.

As a starting point I would look on www.devmaster.net for a free graphics/game engine allows you to write code in C# (I would recommend Irrlicht.net) and download a simple 'hello world' tutorial that shows a model being loaded (The Irrlicht engine supports 3DS models).

I can't really judge your programming abilities by your post so I don't know if I am being patronizing or confusing.

Hope this helps

thank you so much. it was very helpful.
i acually stumbled across devmaster before you recomended it. im tryin to work through c-lite but the examples dont help at all. ill check out Irrlicht soon.

It has been a while since I have looked at it, but if I remember correctly, there is a tool or plugin included in microsoft's directX developers kit that allows you to convert from 3ds to .x files for use with directx

http://www.toymaker.info/Games/html/3d_models.html

You need to export the file as .x preferable or .fbx to use with DirectX or XNA. For 3DS i believe there is a plugin available to export as .fbx but the .x is no longer supported which is why i now suggest you use Blender! ;)