[Gethin Hooper]

 

I thought you said this was backwards compatible?

Plugin version: 4.00.21
3ds Max version: 2026

[Oleksandr Kramer]

Hi,

This error is not related to backwards compatibility — it’s a MySQL assembly loading issue specific to your machine configuration.

Could you please check: did you have Project Manager 3 running in the same 3ds Max session before running to v4?
If PM3 was loaded first in the same 3ds Max session, it may have already loaded an older version of a shared library that conflicts with PM4’s MySQL connector.

Also, do you have any other plugins that use MySQL installed?

[Gethin Hooper]

Hi,

I’ve unistalled v3. restarted the pc. There are no other plugins that use MySQL. Does a Nuget package need updating? A binding Redirect? I’m not an expert on this. I’ve paid for an upgrade to V4 and can’t use it.

[Oleksandr Kramer]

Hi,
This is an unusual error — we haven’t seen this particular assembly loading conflict before. No NuGet packages or binding redirects required on your side.
We have an update going out tomorrow that should theoretically resolve this, and it also adds logging for exactly this kind of assembly loading issue — so if the error still occurs, the log will show us what’s triggering it and we can pinpoint the cause.
Kind regards

[Gethin Hooper]

Tried version 4.0045 and the problem persists. Where can I find the log?

[Gethin Hooper]

2026-06-16 17:46:01.6282|Error| System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly ‘System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource, Version=8.0.0.1, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=cc7b13ffcd2ddd51’. Could not find or load a specific file. (0x80131621)
File name: ‘System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource, Version=8.0.0.1, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=cc7b13ffcd2ddd51’
—> System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly ‘System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource, Version=9.0.0.3, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=cc7b13ffcd2ddd51’.
at System.Runtime.Loader.AssemblyLoadContext.<LoadFromPath>g____PInvoke|5_0(IntPtr __ptrNativeAssemblyBinder_native, UInt16* __ilPath_native, UInt16* __niPath_native, ObjectHandleOnStack __retAssembly_native)
at System.Runtime.Loader.AssemblyLoadContext.LoadFromAssemblyPath(String assemblyPath)
at System.Reflection.Assembly.LoadFrom(String assemblyFile)
at System.Reflection.Assembly.LoadFromResolveHandler(Object sender, ResolveEventArgs args)
at System.Runtime.Loader.AssemblyLoadContext.InvokeResolveEvent(ResolveEventHandler eventHandler, RuntimeAssembly assembly, String name)
at MySqlConnector.MySqlConnection.OpenAsync(Nullable`1 ioBehavior, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.AsyncMethodBuilderCore.Start[TStateMachine](TStateMachine& stateMachine)
at MySqlConnector.MySqlConnection.OpenAsync(Nullable`1 ioBehavior, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
at MySqlConnector.MySqlConnection.Open() in /_/src/MySqlConnector/MySqlConnection.cs:line 517
at KstudioDb.Core.Connectors.MySqlConnector..ctor(String host, String port, String user, String password, String database, Boolean silent)

[Gethin Hooper]

The core problem is a version mismatch of the System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource assembly being loaded at runtime. Your MySQL connector (MySqlConnector) expects one version, but your application or another dependency is forcing a different one.

[Gethin Hooper]

Project manager is trying to load

DiagnosticSource 8.0.0.1 but the loader instead finds:
DiagnosticSource 9.0.0.3 …and fails.

This is a classic assembly binding conflict but I don’t know how to resolve.

[Gethin Hooper]

It looks like it could be a .net issue..MySqlConnector internally depends on a specific version range of DiagnosticSource. If your application is running on .NET 9 or has packages referencing DiagnosticSource 9.x, the runtime tries to load the newer version and breaks MySqlConnector.

[Gethin Hooper]

How to upgrade MYSQL connector?

[Gethin Hooper]

AI:

Got it — now everything makes sense. Kstudio Project Manager inside 3ds Max is a .NET application, and that application is the one failing to load the correct DiagnosticSource assembly. You don’t have access to its .csproj because you didn’t build it — Kstudio did.

So the key point:

⭐ This is not your project.
⭐ This is a bug or version mismatch inside Kstudio Project Manager itself.
You cannot fix this by editing a .csproj because you don’t have the source code.

Let’s break down what’s happening and what you can do.

[Gethin Hooper]

Kstudio Project Manager uses the MySqlConnector NuGet package internally. Your error shows:

It expects DiagnosticSource 8.0.0.1
But your system (or 3ds Max environment) loads DiagnosticSource 9.0.0.3
The versions are incompatible → MySqlConnector crashes → database connection fails
This happens when:

Kstudio Project Manager was built for .NET 8
But it’s running inside an environment that includes .NET 9 assemblies
3ds Max 2025+ ships with newer .NET runtimes
Or another plugin installed a newer DiagnosticSource DLL into Max’s plugin folders
This is a dependency collision inside 3ds Max’s plugin environment.

 

[Gethin Hooper]

🧨 Why you can’t fix it by yourself
Because:

You cannot update MySqlConnector inside Kstudio Project Manager
You cannot change its DiagnosticSource dependency
You cannot rebuild the plugin
You cannot modify 3ds Max’s internal .NET runtime
This is 100% on Kstudio to fix.

[Gethin Hooper]

So I guess I’m uninstalling it until I get a fix.

[Gethin Hooper]

Also the uninstaller doesn’t remove the AI generator/crawler..hmm

[Oleksandr Kramer]

This bug is fixed in version 4.00.47
You can download the latest version from the dashboard.
Auto-updater will be triggered in a few days if there’s no critical issue found.
Thanks for your feedback.

[Resolved]