No luck, but you did lead me to the answer I needed. Under the autocad help menu for 3DSOUT.... it says the command is now OBSOLETE (in 2008) and that it recommends exporting a DWG for taking models into MAX.
I was trying to run strat's route from sketchup into max (i know this is a cinema thread).... but the same concept applies.
In the end i found that exporting a FBX out of sketchup brought the complex model into max (and hopefully it can for cinema?) flawlessly. The model is one object, but it has one organized sub-object material and the whole model is properly organized by material ID.
I think AUTODESK is really trying to phase out 3DS.... speacially if you read about their creation of the FBX file type. Maxon is listed as supporting this FBX as well so I'm assuming it can work for C4D.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...&siteID=123112