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LightWave 3D v9 Feature Highlights |
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Layout:
Rendering
Major Core Changes to the LightWave
Rendering Engine
Animation/ Character Animation
User Interface/ Workflow Improvement
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Modeler:
New Modeler Tools
New LScripts
SDK Improvements
Documentation Improvements
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Animation Tools: |
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General Controls: |
- Support fractional frames at make key for IK Booster
- Update Bake-able Match Goal Orientation for IK Booster
- Tool for moving an object on or by an offset distance across the
surface of a target mesh.
- A new rotation controller offers quaternion rotations to
minimize gimbal lock.
- Tool which modifies a channel based on closest distance between
an object and a mesh or other items.
- LightWave's Align to Path command now offers a robust new
align-to-path algorithm, unaffected by very slow or no motion. The
original Align to Path is still available, and is now renamed to
more accurately describe its function, "Align to Velocity."
- Squash and stretch tool
- Motify: Replacement Delete key option. It includes more advanced
features, including clearing motions, deleting ranges of keys and
deleting keys within a threshold
- Hybrid Inverse/Forward Kinematics engine improving on the
industry's most flexible IK system available today
- Free-form and locked IK goals
- Separate animated channels
- *Animatable UV coordinates
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Relativity 2: |
- Point-and-click set-up using "professors"
- Multiple levels of expressions: one object can reference another
object with an expression on it, and so on.
- Expressions to react to IK-based motions
- Objects can follow points on other objects and morph between
points on multiple objects, allowing higher-level "crowd control"
with a series of morph targets.
- Textures can be used for displacement, deformation, color
envelopes, etc.
- Functions to measure speed, acceleration, velocity,
interpolation, etc
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Motion Mixer: |
- Non-linear animation system for blending any curve track inside
of LightWave 3D®; Perfect for blending motions, endomorphs or any
animatable parameter in LightWave®
- Load and save Hierarchical Motion (HMOT) data containing all
relevant components, motions and channels for a character group
- Position and scale motions and groups of channels in track view
- Quickly blend multiple motion tracks together with user
definable curve
- Set Pre and Post behaviors for HMOT behaviors
- Channel editor allows the user enable/disable independent items
or channels from each HMOT behavior
- Absolute and Relative Offset motions settings
- Animation baking for full scene or defined range
- Select by Descendants, Hierarchy, Actor or Motion
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Spreadsheet Editor / Dope Sheet: |
- Allows mass scene changes to be made quickly. Perfect for
complex scene management as well as providing a track view time line
for dope sheet style timing adjustments
- Edit sections include:
- Bone Properties: Influence and Effect
- Light Properties: Basic, Flags, Type Specific, and Shadows
- Object Properties: Geometry, Morphing, Displacement, Render
Options, Render Flags, Edges
- Motions Options: IK, Controllers and Limits HPB
- Item Flags
- Item Names and Statistics
- Tags
- Channel Values
- Customizable workspace for selection of editable values and
viewable fields
- Multiple list sorting options
- Multiple workspace configurations
- Dope sheet control over time line for multiple track editing
- Define range of frames for Dope sheet editing
- Item List filtering
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Graph Editor (Function Curve Editor): |
- Completely new Channel Editing System
- OpenGL interface allows editing hundreds of curves and thousands
of key frames in real time.
- New features for handling data rich curves such as Match
Footprint Time Slice, Key Reduction, Cu
 rve
Filtering and Key Bins
- Multiple curve types (Linear, Bezier, Stepped, Hermite Spline,
TCB) allows for multi-select and editing of heterogeneous curve
types - includes key roll option, interactive key copy, and much
more
- Track Layout's selection option, automatically updates current
selection of editable curves to match selected item
- Curve View allows collapsible curve list and options sections to
provide optimized space for curve editing
- New Lock Motion Keys in Time provides quick method for locking
channels for '5.6 style' curve editing
- Customizable key editing behaviors and interface
- Production designed behaviors and options
- Interactive spline tangent (t,c,b) adjustment
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Motion & Displacement Controllers: |
- Modified bones deformation algorithm reduces cross talk between
bones and provides a more natural deformation of skin surfaces
without any point assignment required
- Spline-based motion and deformation
- New bones system with support for direct vertex assignment and
soft influence as defined by user-created weight maps
- Facial animation tool with Endomorphs and Motion Mixer. Users
can embed morph positions into the model file and blend between them
in a non-linear fashion
- Follower channel modifier to link any items channel to another
- Oscillator channel modifier allows sinusoidal motions to be
automatically generated with control of phase, time offset and
damping
- Texture motion provides a method for adding a texture to a
motion path
- Displacement of geometry along normals, in 3D space or along a
specific axis - multiple layers allow combinations
- Integrated Sub-division Bump Displacement creates an accurate
displacement of vertices on the surface at the time of subdivision
creating very natural, high definition geometric bumping
- P.A.V.L.O.V. (Parameterized Animated Values Linking Objects and
Variables)
- Integrated expressions engine and channel repository allowing
all animated items in a scene to be referenced, link, or drive one
another; also allows surfaces to be modified based on various input
parameters or even linked to motions or any other envelope in the
scene
- *New Bone Editing Tools will make
character rigging a snap. The Bone Edit tools consist of Joint Move,
Tip Move, Bone Twist, Unparent Bone, Bone Split, Bone Connect, Bone
Fuse, Scale Hierarchy, Copy Hierarchy, Mirror Hierarchy, Rename
Hierarchy, Delete Hierarchy, Delete Bone, Align Pitch, Record Pivot
Rotation, Remove RPR, Remove RPP and Bone Edit Mode.
- *Import/Export RIG functions give
you the ability to reuse and share rigs from object to object, via
the new .rig file format.
- *Bone Edit Mode allows you to edit
your character rigs quickly and easily
within the scene you are creating.
- *Bones On/Off activates/deactivates
all bones in all loaded objects.
- *IK Booster allows for one-click IK
setup and has intuitive tools to help with setup of constraints
- *New Morph Mixer offers faster
performance and an incredible range of control for object morphing,
including character animation, in an intuitive interface. The user
now has the ability to organize morphs into groups and display morph
information and controls in a variety of ways.
- *JointMorph Plus is a displacement
handler for Layout. It uses the angle of a control bone to drive
morphs, without using expressions.
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Particle FX & Dynamics Systems: |
- Faster Loading of Dynamics Scene Files
- Better Workflow with Access to Dynamics in the Scene Editor
- Improved Solving Precision
- More accurate representation of wind vector fields in Layout
- Animation Paths for Winds
- FXDynamic-Linker links objects to particles with smart routines
that reduce memory requirements
- Particles have a new operation control -- random rotation and
scale. This is also passed on to HyperVoxels, as noted above.
- Added a "Save All Selected Motions" option
- Soft body dynamics for cloth, hair and other simulations
- Preset cloth settings for quick application of various
"materials" such as rubber, silk, cotton, etc
- Integrated particle system for explosions, fire and smoke, using
wind, gravity and collision effectors
- Simple fluid dynamics and crowd simulation with new
interparticle collision calculations
- Particle spawning from parent emitters allows a single particle
to become a complex emitter
- Collision spawning allows collision events to create new
particles with independent attributes
- Effects grouping allows users to isolate particular wind,
gravity, collisions and emitters to affect or disregard each other
- Change Group mode for collisions will force particles into a new
Effects Group after collision
- Nozzle types (cone, surface, line)
- Texturing of wind power, particle velocity and wind direction
- Particles are generated with such properties as size, weight,
resistance, lifetime, vibration and adherence to the motion of the
parent item
- Wind types include: direction, explosion, rotation,
cylinder-explosion, doughnut, turbulence, vortex, path, sticky,
random, hemisphere and drag
- Collision detection with primitives or polygonal and subdivision
surface LightWave® objects
- Object and scene linking to particles - attach items or complete
hierarchies to particles. Perfect for flocking and swarming actions
- Textured and enveloped birth rate for particles, with emission
from pre-defined shapes, object vertices, normals and textures
- *Rigid Body Dynamics
- *Improved Soft Body Dynamics
- *Improved Cloth Dynamics
- *Bone Dynamics work similar to the other dynamic tools in
LightWave 3D v9, but are applied to bones instead of geometry.
- *Improved Particle System Tools
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Rendering: |
- Implementation of BSP/KD Tree Algorithm to achieve improved
speeds as scene complexity rises
- Complete replacement of the original ray tracing core
- Any function that uses ray tracing calls will be significantly
faster in most cases
- Improved multi-threading with dynamic segmentation to insure
maximum use of available CPUs
- Typical speed improvements at 2.5x over LightWave version 8.5
for today's increasingly ambitious high-polygon count production
scenes
- Added Adaptive Sub-division methods - Per Object, Per Polygon
and Per Pixel
- Highly optimized mesh, tied to render resolution when using Per
Pixel
- Visibly similar to micro-poly displacement
- Improvements to Sub-division surfaces
- Support for both LightWave Subdivision Surfaces and Catmull-Clark
Subdivision Surfaces
- Subdivision level can be controlled via numerical values,
envelopes, expressions, motion modifiers, textures, procedurals,
gradients and more
- Material Shader Node Editor
- New Shading Models
- Normal Maps from Z Brush 2 Supported
- Branches can be imported and exported
- Math Animation Nodes
- Animated Gradient Node
- Work how you want to work: Layers in Nodes; Nodes in Layers;
Layers Only; Nodes Only
- Full support of native controls and envelopes
- Available in Layout and Modeler, and maintains context when
switching between the two
- Full SDK Support for third parties to create nodes (including
shading models) and for third party renderers to interface with /
query nodal shaders.
- Camera plane deformations
- Arbitrary projections
- UV map generation
- True orthographic rendering
- Space warp simulations
- Lens distortion duplicating physically accurate real world
lenses or non-existent “imaginary” lenses
- 360 degree panorama rendering (one camera)
- Timewarp shader for
- Bullet-time
- Freeze-time
- Slow-motion effects
- Fast-motion effects
- A shader that paints a view of the scene on a surface
- A shader which stretches and squashes HyperVoxel particles based
on particle properties and distance between particle and mesh.
- Filter for enabling a render to be post processed with a
sketch-like treatment.
- Buffer Output to RGB can now handle Z Buffer values correctly.
It also supports invert for screen mode now.
- Computation of Z-Buffers for classic anti-aliasing modes has
been improved
- New fog mode generates realistic fog that supports transparent,
refractive and reflective objects inside the fog.
- “Unaffected by Object" Alpha Channel mode is now implemented for
ray-traced transparency and the new camera modes.
- A new tool which modulates bump amplitude based on degree of
dynamic local mesh deformation to create wrinkles on bending joints
or alter the color of a surface based upon polygon distortion.
- Sasquatch Lite: Hair and fur rendering using Sasquatch rendering
engine, also excellent for grass and foliage. The Sasquatch engine
is the fastest, highest quality hair renderer in the industry
- SkyTracer 2.0: Includes completely new, streamlined user
interface. Incorporates VIPER and Preset shelf. Utilizes "SunSpot"
control allowing users to enter specific time, date and global
position to get universally accurate sun positions
- Digital Confusion: New Depth of Field filter that quickly and
accurately adds depth of field effects to rendered imagery. Special
features include, rendering of hidden geometry for accurate
background blurring and optional iris shapes for matching various
camera styles
- GL previews of sprites provide users a real time preview of
complex sprite based HyperVoxels. Choose between procedural textures
or image maps. Useful for smoke, fire or creation of forests and
other instance style scenarios
- HyperVoxel texture effects modes for "Dissolve and Expand" and
"Velocity Translate" simplifies creation of realistic smoke and fire
- Sprite mode for volumetric lights reduces render times up to
500%
- Soft reflection
- Soft refraction
- BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) shader for cartoon style rendering.
(As seen on Nickelodeon's Invader Zim!)
- Gmill ray accumulation shader approximates radiosity effects on
a selected surface
- Voxel Baking for Volume type HyperVoxels. Users can now bake
volumetric clouds for incredibly fast rendering and real time OpenGL
previews
- Baking of color, illumination, shaders, radiosity, caustics and
diffusion into UV-defined image maps or point maps
- Over 320 bit IEEE floating point rendering pipeline- the
expandable pipeline accommodates a growing list of optional buffers,
such as reflection, x and y motion, geometry, shading and depth
- Radiosity - calculation of bounced lighting for global
illumination with production speed.
- Backdrop only method for fast global illumination style
renders
- Caustics - fast and accurate light reflection and refraction
- High Dynamic Range Imagery for producing accurate lighting
models using images as light sources
- The industry's first Flexible Precision Image format
- Improved anti-aliasing
- Integrated volumetrics with HyperVoxels technology
- Subdivision surface rendering
- LightWave® Virtual Darkroom technology to simulate film and
print exposures
- Shading noise reduction improves shadow quality with lower
render times
- Rendering up to 16,000 x 16,000 pixels
- 3 motion blur types: time stepped, vector based and hybrid
- 22 image / animation formats, including QuickTime
- QuickTime VR and VRML output
- True volumetric pixels for creation of fire, smoke, water and
other organic effects
- Direct integration of HyperVoxels with particle system
- New render options panel
- Distant, area, linear, spot and point lights
- Comprehensive lens flare system
- 3D textured, animated volumetric lights
- Option to ray trace non-refractive transparency
- Infinite layers of images, sequences, procedurals, gradients,
and video
- Infinite layers of UV maps
- Layers can feed into each other for texture blending and
manipulation
- Animatable surface attributes
- Translucency
- Glossiness mapping
- Multiple specular highlights with user definable colors with
BRDF
- Surface/object based light exclusion
- Gradient textures allow texture values to be based on distance
to objects, slope, bump height, camera/light incidence, and more
- Anisotropic specular reflections
- Unlimited network rendering licenses (per platform)
- *LWSN log file for debugging renders
- *Expanded command list in LWSN for third party render
controllers
- *Render speed enhancements
- *Render Arbitrary allows you to enter the specific frames you
want to render, in any combination of individual frame numbers and
ranges, delimited by commas. For example: 1,10,19-40,60-100,120
would be a valid entry.
- *DirectShow filter allowing .flx images and animations to be
displayed in
Windows Media Player.
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Layout Workflow & UI Enhancements: |
- Many modeling plug-ins now operate in Layout
- Use Vertex Paint in Layout to modify vertex maps
- Create Text in Layout
- Much faster UI performance
- Preview Lighting scenarios within the UI
- Less need for preview renders
- Hardware shading of materials and textures
- Hardware shading of procedural textures
- the ability to change colors of almost any element; the ability
to create special tabs with user defined commands
- the ability to change the colors of animation channels
- the ability to customize display and selection colors of points,
edges and polygons
- the ability to control the display of polygon normals beyond
what was previously available
- Create a Standalone Image viewer
- Create an Embedded Image viewer
- View texture images, renders, preview renders
- View as many images as you have memory for
- A new configuration preset called "Studio Production Style" is
now available. This is based on menu configurations developed over
the years by VFX artist Richard Morton, and used at Station X,
Digital Domain and other studios and artists worldwide.
- Initial Configs are now created when the application is first
run, instead of by the installer, including automatically scanning
plugins.
- Added user option settings for scanning plugins automatically,
and for setting the number of rendering threads upon first launch of
Layout or Modeler if the config file doesn't exist.
- Customization changes now affect the config file without
requiring a shutdown of the Hub.
- Improved logical grouping of elements
- New default options available for new and previously existing
features.
- Path default options now available
- Reduced footprint with tabbed sections
- New Render Status Panel
- Render Globals Panel, consolidating features into one
- Layout Scene loading logic redesigned to improve loading time
for scene
- Scene Editor loading logic redesigned to improve loading time
for scenes using the Scene Editor
- VIPER (Versatile Interactive Preview Renderer) - users can
utilize this new preview system to make rapid changes to textures,
lights, backdrops, volumetrics and HyperVoxels without performing a
complete re-render of the scene; changes to these various parameters
will automatically update the preview
- Visual preset manager for storing and retrieving volumetric
lights, surfaces and HyperVoxel settings
- Schematic view - node-based viewing and editing of hierarchies
and dependencies
- Schematic view tools to allow automatic organization of items
and multiple view options.
- Favorite sets for camera settings
- Item Active flag in Scene Editor allows items to be quickly
deactivated from rendering and other calculations
- Select hierarchy (Layout)
- Turn on/off XYZ, HPB (Layout)
- Non-modal windows
- Visual presets manager for storing and retrieving volumetric
lights, surfaces and HyperVoxels settings graphically
- Multiple coordinate systems - World, Parent and Local axis
editing, which resolves Gimbal lock and allows for item-relative
editing
- OpenGL transparency, lens flares, reflectivity, safe areas,
field charts and camera masking
- Targeting indicators in Layout views
- Representation for DOF in Layout views
- Weight shade mode (bone influence in GL?)
- Option to disable deformations. Improves interactive operation
speed
- Item on/off mode in scene editor
- Center selected item as a button on viewport pane(s)
- Scene/ Preview frame ranges easily accessible
- Edit frame range easily accessible
- New render progress display
- More detailed memory use stats
- Recently opened files command
- Special top group for menu layouts
- General OpenGL optimizations
- Copy/paste in server panes
- *New Scene Editor with integrated Spreadsheet and Dope Sheet
allows for quick and easy viewing and editing of the item and
surface properties in your scene, including fast and easy operations
on multiple selections.
- *Dope Track is primarily a tool for easy moving of keyframes for
the new IK Booster, but with handy access to other keyframeable
parameters as well. Baking keys, and Soft Applying are also
possible.
- *Node-based Expression Editor
- *Envelope Contextual Menus allow faster access to edit
operations.
- *Move TCB allows direct manipulation of Tension, Continuity and
Bias in the main Layout viewports.
- *MultiMirror performs a Mirror operation on the selected items
in the scene.
- *Multi-selection of Texture Editor Layers
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Modeling Tools: |
- Phantom subpatch point selector allows users to click directly
on the subpatch curve intersection for editing
- Airbrush between morphs
- Productivity Modeling tools: "Aligner", "Sizer", and "Dangle".
These modeling tools are great for modeling to scale as well as
relational modeling between multiple objects. These are particularly
useful for industrial design application
- Rail Modeling tools allowing interactive scale, rotate and
stretch based on new curve tool
- Simultaneous selection of up to four weight maps in the Vertex
map window; represented in weight shade view style
- Real time subdivision surface modeling
- Convert between polygons and subdivision surfaces at any time
during the modeling and animation process
- Intelligentities with Endomorphs, Skelegons and MultiMeshes
- Endomorphs allow morph data to be stored in the object file so
changes can be made to the base model without disturbing targets
- Skelegons - radical new skeletal creation tools, allowing
creation and editing of bones within geometry
- MultiMeshes provide a layered object format with unlimited
layers
- Atlas mapping - automatically generated UV maps that virtually
eliminate texture stretching
- Animatable Metaballs, Metafaces and Metaedges
- Direct control over polys, vertices and patches
- Color data can be painted, assigned or baked into each point of
the model file (Vertex Shading)
- Symmetry tool for rapid creation of characters
- Export of wireframes to EPS format
- Export 3DS, DXF, OBJ, VRML
- Import EPS, 3DS, OBJ, DXF, FACT
- Face Collapse command
- Rounded edge box tool
- Snap rotations to 15 degrees from rotate mini-widget
- Color wireframes
- Orthogonal and perspective view modeling ports
- UV mapping controls with infinite layering
- VMAP symmetry editing
- Move/Rotate tool (Rove)
- Flatten layers
- Save layers as object(s)
- *Star Sphere creates a cloud of one point polygons, with a
variety of control options.
- *Translate Plus allows you to use a point's normal, a segment,
or a segment's normal to define how to move, rotate, scale a
selection. You can even just use global X, Y, or Z. Each of these
operations can also be done with a falloff.
- *Move Plus adds translation along local normal or averaged
normal using the right mouse button.
- *Segment Scale allows users to move points along an edge.
- *Point Normal Move allows you to select the points you want to
move on their normals, then click and drag on the screen to move
them in and out.
- *Cut is a general-purpose, interactive cutting tool which cuts
from edge to edge. A variety of special purpose variations with
preset parameters have been made available to the user as well:
Quick Cut 1,2, and 3, Quick Saw, Quick Saw Double, Quick Saw Term,
Quick Saw Double Term.
- *Divide will divide edges into two segments based on point
selection. Also has polygon mode for splitting polygons.
- *Make Pole triangulates all selected polygons with a pole at the
center. Can be used with the Fix Pole tool to open up geometry for
manipulation.
- *Extender Plus allows you to select an unordered group of
points, automatically reordering the polys it extends to face the
proper normals and detects when it should loop and when it shouldn't
(point mode). Performs a quick grouped polygon extrusion without
providing an interactive interface (polyogn mode).
- *SuperShift is an interactive tool to smooth shift and bevel
polygons. Can work with averaged normals when shifting or scaling.
- *Bridge Tool easily joins selected sets of polygons to reshape a
mesh with bridges or tunnels, or join meshes.
- *Edge Tools are used to split and modify polygon edges. When the
tools are activated, handles appear on polygon edges that can be
drawn between and moved to create a set of polygon splits. Will also
remove and reduce edges, healing the polygon splits. All tools have
real-time feedback and numeric controls.
- *Fix Poles will take a group of connected triangles which share
a point, and create a bevel which will help smoothing.
- *Fix 3-5 will turn each pentagon next to a triangle into two
quads.
- *Rotate Skelegons allows you to quickly adjust the bank handles
of skelegons as well as preview rotational deformations (this
includes the deformation of sub-patches).
- *Create JointMorph works a lot like Rotate Skelegons but is
helpful when creating endomorphs for joints.
- *Improved Aligner, Sizer and Dangle tools.
- *Vertex Map panel now has buttons for Color Map and Selection
Sets, and a variety of other new controls. The ability to
right-click and create a new Vmap has been added.
- *Enhanced "Make Polygon" tool that works in Symmetry mode and
will also close holes in geometry.
- *Particle2Partigon turns selected particles into partigons.
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Modeler Workflow & UI Enhancements: |
- User customizable interface
- Contextual pop-ups
- Beginner, Intermediate and Expert modes for warnings and system
messages
- Edge support
- Edge weighting for sharp corners without adding additional
geometry
- N-sided polygons, or polygons with more than 4-sides
- Center Pivot tool
- Toggling of subpatch modes while maintaining selection
- New improvements to Multishift
- Non-modal windows
- Switch view modes only, using keys
- Revert Object command
- Alpha value for airbrush
- Intelligent Backdrop Image determination based on surface and
textures
- Recently opened files commands
- Better 2D snap
- A new "-p" command line option has been added to allow
selecting a different plug-in database file. The path string can be
either a directory or a complete filename
- Improved info window
- Point indices in info dialog
- Share rotations in focus
- Apply RGB maps to surface when creating
- *Select Loop works like point belt selector or other point loop
detecting plug-ins or like Bandsaw's selection when used in polygon
mode.
- *Select Poly will convert your point selection to polygons by
retrieving all the polygons enclosed by the selected points.
- *Select Points will convert your polygon selection to points by
retrieving all the points making up the selected polygons.
- *Select Outline gets rid of all the inner points in your
selection and selects an outline bordering those inner points (point
mode). Selects an outline of all the polygons you have selected, not
selecting the inner points (polygon mode).
- *Select Ring will select a pair of loops along two selected edge
points.
- *Invert Connected will only invert the geometry that is
connected to the selected geometry.
- *Clone2 Layer has the ability to place clones in multiple
layers.
- *Insert Layer inserts a layer in between two layers, shifting
the layers down the layer list.
- *Delete Layer deletes the selected layer and shifts the layers
after it up the layer list.
- *Object Collapser takes all selected layers and condenses it
down into one.
- *Min/Max widget for each view port.
- *Expanded view modes drop down menu.
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SDK: |
- Node Graph SDK, including the functions needed to add more
shading models
- Access to information about new camera types
- Access to additional information from volumetrics
- The AnimUV, Camera and Nodes plug-in classes have been added to
the support list of the LScript Object's server() method.
- Config files now allow loading and saving of double-precision
integers (formerly only allowed floating-point)
- Modeler SDK updated with extensive list of new functions and
improvements, including support for edge information for plug-ins,
and elimination of redundant scanning for successive edit operations
- Many more improvements
- LScript - Powerful integrated scripting system
- Custom object class
- LScript command window
- Method for installing scripts as toolbar buttons
- More complete command set and globals
- Load and save commands for servers
- Context menus in panels
- *Public Hub API so that third party applications can communicate
directly with Layout and Modeler
- *New SDK commands and options
- *New LScript Commands and options
- *Expanded command list in LWSN for third party render
controllers
- *New communication facilities for sharing data and parameters
between Layout/Modeler and plugins, and between plugins.
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General Workflow & UI Enhancements: |
- *Inline Help System links to the local Help Files that install
with LightWave v9 – the complete reference manual in an easy to
navigate HTML structure – or to NewTek's web site, offering tips,
downloads, and tutorials, which are updated and extended regularly.
- *Enhanced OpenGL with new modes and options and optimized speed.
- *Speed and Workflow Optimizations including faster rendering,
faster IK, faster dynamics calculations, faster OpenGL performance,
new workflow oriented menu layout, and inproved viewport
manipulation.
- *Incremental Saving and Autosaving for Modeler and Layout.
Auto-saving of scene files via the Hub
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Television Series: |
- The 4400 (USA)
- Alias (ABC)
- Access Hollywood
(NBC)
- Ally McBeal
(Fox)
- Babylon 5
(Syndicated/TNT)
(1993 Visual FX Emmy Award)
- Battlestar Galactica -
The Series
- Baywatch
(Syndicated)
- The Bill
(GB: 2001)
- Birds of Prey
(WB)
- Bloody Britain
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer
- Butt-Ugly Martians
(Nickelodeon)
- Captain Scarlet
- Century City
(CBS)
- Charmed
(WB)
- Commander in Chief (ABC)
- Crusade
(TNT)
- CSI (CBS)
- CSI Miami
(CBS)
- CSI: New York (CBS)
- Dan Dare, Pilot of the
Future (UK)
- Dark Angel
(Fox)
- Dark Skies
(NBC)
- Dawson's Creek
(WB)
- Dead Like Me
- Dexter's Lab
(Cartoon
Network)
- Dogfight
(History)
(UPN)
- Entertainment Tonight
- E-Ring
(NBC)
- Family Guy
(Fox)
- Firefly
(Fox - Emmy Winner)
- Gary and Mike
(UPN)
- Haunted
- Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys
(Syndicated)
- Hypernauts
(ABC)
- Inside Formula 1
(DE: 1999
onwards)
- Invader Zim
(Nickelodeon)
- Invasion (ABC)
- Jag (CBS)
- Justice League
(Cartoon
Network)
- Jimmy Neutron
(Nickelodeon)
- Karen Sisco
- Kingdom Hospital
- LivingStone
(FR: 2002)
- Lost (ABC)
(2005 VFX
Emmy Award)
- Lost in Space
(WB - Pilot)
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- Mad About You
(NBC)
- Max Steel
(WB)
- Mystic Knights of Tir Na
Nog (Fox)
- NASCAR Racers
(Fox)
- Navy NCIS
(CBS)
- NightMan
(Syndicated)
- Paris Utopies
- Pensacola: Wings of Gold
(Syndicated)
- The Insider
- The PJs
(Fox/WB)
- Power Puff Girls
(Cartoon
Network)
- Power Rangers: Lost
Galaxy (Fox)
- Powers
(GB: 2003)
- Prison Break (Fox)
- Robocop: The Series
(Syndicated)
- Rome (HBO)
- Roughnecks: Starship
Troopers
(SciFi/Syndicated)
- SeaQuest DSV
(NBC)
- Seven Days
(UPN)
- Silver Surfer: Animated
Series (Fox)
- Sliders
(Fox/SciFi)
- Smallville
(WB)
- Space: Above and Beyond
(Fox)
- Stargate Atlantis
- Stargate SG-1
(Showtime/SciFi - Emmy
Nominee)
- Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine (UPN)
- Star Trek: Enterprise
(UPN - Emmy
Nominee)
- Star Trek: Voyager
(UPN)
(1999, 2001
Visual FX Emmy Winner)
- Surface (NBC)
- Timecop
(ABC)
- The Tonight Show
(NBC)
- Threat Matrix
(ABC)
- Threshold (CBS)
- Transformers: Galaxy
Force (Japant)/
Transformers: Cybertron
(USA)
- Unsolved Mysteries
(CBS)
- Over There (FX)
- Viper
(NBC)
- The Adventures of Jimmy
Neutron,
Boy Genius (Nickelodeon)
- The Visitor
(SciFi)
- Weird Science
(USA)
- The X-Files
(Fox - 2000
Visual FX Emmy Winner)
- Xena: Warrior Princess
(Syndicated)
- Xyber 9: New Dawn
(Fox)
- You Wish!
(ABC)
|
|
Television Movies,
Specials, or Miniseries: |
- Into the West
- 12 Days of Terror
- 20,000 Leagues Under the
Sea
- Aftershock: Earthquake
in New York
(CBS - 2000
Visual FX Emmy Nominee)
- American Music Awards
(ABC)
- Ball and Chain
(Fox)
- Battlestar Galactica
(SciFi)
- BBC: BAFTA Awards
(BBC)
- Blood: The Last Vampire
- A Bright Shining Lie
- Bugs
(SciFi)
- Category 6: Day of
Destruction
- Children of Dune
(SciFi - 2003
Visual FX Emmy Winner)
- Dinotopia
(2002)
- DNA
- Dune
(SciFi - 2001
Visual FX Emmy Winner)
- The Elian Gonzales Story
(Fox)
- From the Earth to the
Moon (HBO)
- Golden Globe Awards
(HBO)
- G-Saviour
(Japan)
- Happy Birthday
(HBO)
- Horizon "T-Rex: Warrior
or Wimp?"
- The Hunley
(TNT)
- I Saw Mommy Kissing
Santa Claus
- Invasion America
(WB)
- It Came From Outer Space
II
- James Bond: A BAFTA
Tribute
|
- Les Génies de la mer
- Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt
- Mammoth
(SciFi)
- Max Q
(Jerry
Bruckheimer/ABC - Emmy
Nominee)
- Mutiny
(NBC)
- NASA: Mars Spirit Lander
- National Lampoon's Men
in White
(Fox Family)
- Olive, the Other
Reindeer
(Fox)
- The President's Man:
A Line in the Sand
(CBS)
- Quicksilver Highway
- Santa vs. the Snowman
(ABC)
- Secrets of a Homicide:
The JFK Assassination
- Sœur Emmanuelle:
une femme d'exception
(FR: 2003)
- Snow White
(Hallmark)
- Superfire
(ABC/Lion's Gate)
- steve.oedekerk.com
(NBC)
- The Sin Eater
- Taken
(SciFi)
- Titanic
(CBS)
- Tom Clancy's Netforce
(ABC)
- Voyage of the Unicorn
(Hallmark)
- Wilder Days
- A Wrinkle in Time
(ABC)
|
|
Television Commercials: |
- Mc Donalds - Shark Bait
- 3DO
- 7Up - Fido Dido
(2004)
- AAA
- Adidas
- American Express
- AOL
(Latin
American 3 national
commercials)
- AOL - Six Million Dollar
Man (2003)
- AT&T
- AutoTrader.com
- Bayer
- BBC - World Cup
(GB: 2002)
- British Telecom -
Network
(2004)
- British Telecom -
Singing dragon
(GB: 2002)
- BMW
- BMW - Mini
(GB: 2002)
- Budweiser
- Busch Gardens
- Call of Duty 2
(2006)
- Carnival Cruise Lines
- Carphone Warehouse -
Animated mobile phones
(GB: 2001)
- Chevrolet
("Roads,"
1998 Clio Winner)
- Clarus
- Coca Cola
("Skydiver,"
1999 Clio Winner)
- Diacor - People
(FI: 2002)
- Dodge
- Duracell
- Doritos
- Elidel
- Eurosport - Euro 2004
(FR: 2003)
- Electronic Arts - FIFA
(2003)
- Electronic Arts - Medal
of Honor(2003)
- Electronic Arts -
NightRiders
(2003)
- Eurosport - Euro 2004
(2003)
- Eurosport - Road to Euro
2004 (2002)
- FR3 - Floating fish
interstitials
(FR: 2003)
- Française des Jeux -
Morpions
(FR: 2002)
- Gatorade
- Gillette
- Got Milk?
- Hasbro
- Hershey's Kisses
(Mexico)
- Hewlett Packard - Change
(2004)
- Honda - MegaBloks
Element
(2004)
- Honda - Purpose
(2004)
- Hot Wheels
- Husqvarna - Twister
(2003)
- Iomega
("Pool," 2001
Clio Winner)
- Jenny Craig
|
- Jergens
- Kawasaki
- Mazda
- Mercedes Benz - Beast
(2003)
- Mervyn's
- Mini Cooper - Mini Robot
(2004)
- M&M's
- M&M's - Strip Poker
(2003)
- MTV3 - Christmas
(FI: 2002)
- NEC
- Nesquick
- Nerf
- Nike - Evolution
(2004)
- Nike - Virtual Andre
(1997 Clio
Winner)
- Nike - Streetcrabs
(2003)
- Nike - Robotic Legs
(2003)
- Nintendo
- Norfolk Southern
- Olbas - Noses
(GB: 2003)
- Onstar - Batman
(2002)
- Oreos
- Panasonic
- Phillips
- Pillsbury
- Pocari Sweat - World Cup
Playoffs
(2004)
- Pontiac
- Pringles
- Radio Shack
- Raid
- Range Rover - Print ads
(GB: 2000)
- Samsung
- Shasta
- Solpadeine - Head
splitting
(GB: 1999)
- Sony
- Tabasco - Chameleon
(DE: 2002)
- Taco Bell
- Tesco - Trolleys
(GB: 2003)
- TF1 - "Pub"
interstitials
(FR: 1999)
- Tour de France
Visualization
(ARD, Channel
1 in Germany)
- Toyota - Fun CarGo
(2003)
- Toyota - Animals
(JP: 2003)
- UK Government tax
credits agency
- Money (GB:
2003)
- Unilever - Persil
growing tree
(GB: 2003)
- Viacom - Ident
(2003)
- Wendy's
- Wisk
- Wrigleys
- X-Box - Flies (PL: 2002)
|
|
Anime: |
- Animatrix
- Appleseed
- Blood: The Last Vampire
- Blue Submarine Number
Six
- End of Evangelion
- Fragile Machine
- Gankutsuou (Count of
Monte Cristo)
- Ghost in the Shell 2:
Innocence
(2004)
|
- Ghost in the Shell:
- KakuRenBo
Standalone Project
(2002/2004)
- Gun Twenty
(2001)
- Metropolis
- Panzer Dragoon
- Sakura Taisen
- Steamboy
|
|
Feature-Length Videos: |
- Addam's Family Reunion
- Alien Hunter
(2003)
- Batman and Mr. Freeze:
Subzero
- Casper: A Spirited
Beginning
- Casper Meets Wendy
- Crocodile
- Digital Man
- Final Voyage
|
- Intrepid
- The Pandora Project
- Spiders
- Space Marines
- Star Trek The Motion
Picture:
Director's Edition
- The Crow: Salvation
(aka Crow
III)
- Tremors 3: Back to
Perfection
|
|
Short Films: |
- Spoonman
- Specidemons
- Batman: New Times
- Star Wars:Revelations
- The Duke Movie
- 405 The Movie
(2001 - Pixie
Award Winner)
- The Annoying Thing
(2003)
- Corridors of Time
(2000 - Addy
Winner)
- Das Floss/The Raft
(Winner Best
Animation La Shorts Fest)
- Dear Sweet Emma
(2003 - BAFTA
2004 Nominee)
- Dust Factory
(2005)
- f8
(2001 -
SIGGRAPH Jury Honours
Winner)
- The Freak
(2003 -
Sundance Honorable Mention)
- Geri's Game
(1997 - Animated Short Oscar
Winner)
- Gravités
(2003)
- Kaze Ghost Warrior
(2004)
- Kicker
(2003)
|
- The Little Thief
- A Malaysian Friday
(2001 -
SIGGRAPH Asia Chapter Gold
Medal for Students, Gold
Medal - Malaysia Video
Awards for Animated Short,
Prime Minister Best of the
Best Merit Award)
- My Wrongs 8245-8249 and
117
(2002 - BAFTA
2002 Winner)
- One Lucky Night
(1998 - Big
Kahuna Winner)
- Ray Tracey in Full Tilt
(2000)
(SIGGRAPH
Electronic Theater Opening)
- Ring of Fire
(1999)
- Swing
(2001 - Big Kahuna Winner)
- Tinny Tom and the Magic
Box (2003)
- Understanding Chaos
(2000)
|
| Music
Videos: |
- Aerosmith - Fly Away
(2001 - Best
Music Video Grammy Nominee)
- Back Street Boys -
Larger Than Life
(2002)
- Black Eyed Peas - Hey
Mama (2004)
- Black Eyed Peas - Let's
Get It Started
(2004)
- Busta Rhymes -
What's it Gonna Be?
(2001)
- ColdPlay - Trouble
(2000)
- CR2 - I Believe
(2002)
- Funkstar Deluxe:
Saturday
(2003)
- Ferry Korsten: Gouryella
(2002)
- Gorillaz - Clint
Eastwood
(2001)
- Gorillaz - 19-2000
(2001)
- Gorillaz - Rock the
House (2001)
- Janet Jackson -
Doesn't Really Matter
(2002)
|
- Jet68 - Super Queen
(2003)
- Missouri - Let's Get
Married
(2004)
- Muse - Sing for
Absolution
(2004)
- Moby - We Are All Full
of Stars
(2002)
- Nena - 99 Luftballons
(2002)
- No Angels with Mousse T
-
Let's go to Bed
(2002)
- Offspring - Hit That
(2003)
- R.E.M. - Bad Day
(2003)
- Robbie Williams -
Let Love Be Your Energy
(2001)
- Rolling Stones -
Anyone Seen My Baby?
(2001)
- The Supermen Lovers -
Starlight
(2000)
|
|
Games:
|
2006:
- Dark Sector
- Driver: Parallel Lines
- KrabbitWorld Labyrinth
2005:
- Black
- Burnout: Legends (PSP)
- Burnout: Revenge
- Heroes of Might & Magic
6
- Ridge Racer (PSP)
- Ridge Racer 6 (Xbox 360)
- Serious Sam 2 (PC)
- Shadow of the Colossus
(PS2)
- Quake IV
2004:
- Ace Combat 5
- Baldur's Gate: Dark
Alliance II
- Burnout 3
- The Chronicles of
Riddick:
Escape from Butcher Bay
- Cold War
- Deus Ex 2: Invisible War
- Doom III
- Ground Control II
- Powerdrome
- ProPlanet Sanitaryware
Browser
- Targetware:
Unlimited Expansion Flight
Sims
- WarDevil
2003:
- Battlestar Gallactica
(cut scenes)
- Broken Sword:
The Sleeping Dragon
- Brute Force
- Deus Ex 2: Invisible War
- Firestorm
- Port Royale
- Removal Man
- Serious Sam - XBox
- Unreal Tournament 2003
2002:
- Age of Mythology
- Anno 1503
- Blood Omen 2
- Carnivore 3
- Dead to Rights
- Serious Sam: Second
Encounter
- Unreal Championship
2001:
- 007 Racing
- Anachronox
- Barbie Pet Rescue
- Civilization III
- Halo
- I-War 2: The Edge of
Chaos
- Mechwarrior 4: Black
Knight
- Resident Evil: Code
Veronica X
- Serene Screen
Aquarium Screen Saver
- Serious Sam
(2001 Game of
the Year,
April 2001 PC Gamer Game of
the Month)
- Three Sons
(modeling /
character movement)
|
2000:
- 1602 A.D.
- Baldur's Gate II
- Daikatana
- Deus Ex
(2000 Game of the Year)
- Disney's Mickey Saves
the Day
- Escape from Monkey
Island
- Everquest: The Ruins of
Kunark
- Icewind Dale
- Kiss Psycho Circus
- Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
- NFL Blitz 2000
- Quake III Team Arena
- Rollercoaster Tycoon:
- Loopy Landscapes
- StarTrek Elite Force
- Star Trek: Klingon
Academy
- Virtual Pool 3
- V-Rally 2
1999:
- Abomination:The Nemesi
Project
- Asheron's Call
- Braveheart
- EverQuest
- Homeworld
(1999 Game of the Year)
- Nomad Soul
- Official F1 Racing
- Omikron: The Nomad Soul
- Planescape: Torment
- Resident Evil: Code
Veronica
- Rollercoaster Tycoon
- Rollercoaster Tycoon:
Corkscrew Follies
- Sid Meier's Antietam
- Ultima IX: Ascension
- Unreal Tournament
- Urban Chaos
1995-1998:
- Adidas Power Soccer 98
- Baldur's Gate
- Command & Conquer: Red
Alert
- Diablo
- Duke Nukem'
- Fallout
- Fallout 2
- Red Beard's Pirates
Quest
- Star Trek: Starfleet
Academy
- Ultima Online
- Virtual Pool
- Virtual Pool 2
- X-Men: The Ravages of
Apocalypse
|
|
Print: |
- 0-30000
Greece -
Cover 2004
- BusinessWeek
Cover -
November 6, 2000
- Discover
Cover - March
2000
- Entertainment Weekly
Cover - March
23, 2001
- Esquire
- FamilyPC
- Foire Internationale de
Bordeaux
2004
- Gillette
Corporate
Football Billboard - 2004
- Grolier's Encyclopedia
- Happy and Max Children's
Books
- MacFormat 147
October 2004
- Maxim
3D Printer
Article - July 2001
- Maximum Golf
- Men's Journal
- Moto Revue
France -
Cover 2004
- National Geographic
- New York Times
|
- The New Yorker
- Newsweek
Cover -
January 23, 2002
- OzBike
Cover -
January 2002
Cover - May 2004
- Philippe Raimbault:
Foire Internationale de
Bordeaux
(2003)
- PM Magazine
(Germany)
- Popular Science
Future
Aircraft Article - 2003
Cover - May 1999
Cover - July 1999
- Readers Digest World
Atlas
2004
- Red Herring
- Scientific American
- Solo Moto
Spain - Cover
2004
- Sports Illustrated
- Time Magazine
Cover - June
6, 2001
Cover - July
2, 2001
Cover - May 22, 2000
- Today's Home Owner
- Wind Scorpions -
National Geographic
July 2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LightWave 3D v9: |
| General Requirements:
System RAM: 512 MB minimum requirement, 1 GB recommended
Graphics Card: nVidia FX 5200 series (minimum)
ATIFireGL V 5100 (minimum)
Graphics support: Full OpenGL (OpenGL 2.0 support, or
ARB_shading_language_100 OpenGL
extension in earlier versions, required to
use GLSL features)
Driver: Latest from chipset manufacturer
Dedicated Video RAM: 64 MB per display minimum requirement, 128 MB
recommended
Minimum Screen Resolution: 1024x768 minimum requirement, 1280x1024
recommended
Hard Drive Space: 230 MB for program installation (not including
content)
Windows® 32-Bit:
- Operating System: Windows® XP
- Processor: Intel® or AMD
Windows® 64-Bit:
- Operating System: Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition
- Processor: Intel® EM64T or AMD64
- RAM: 1 GB
Macintosh®:
- Operating System: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 Panther(TM)
- Processor: PowerPC® G4 minimum requirement, G5 recommended
Specifications subject to change without notice.
Made in the U.S.A. |
|
LightWave 3D [8]:
|
|
Windows:
- System Processor Pentium III or higher (Pentium IV
recommended)
- AMD Athlon or higher (Opteron recommended)
- Operating System: 2000 (Sp3), XP (Sp1), XP (Sp2)
- TCP/IP Network Protocol Installed
- USB Port
- System RAM: 512 MB (1GB recommended)
- 230MB available harddrive space (not including content)
- Graphics Card:
- AGP slot interface or PCI-Express
- Full Open OpenGL and DirectX support
- Latest drivers from chipset manufacturer
- 1024x768 minimum screen resolution (1280x1024
recommended)
- 64MB onboard dedicated RAM per display (128MB
recommended)
Macintosh:
- System configuration: G4 or higher (G5 recommended)
- Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.3 (Panther)
- System RAM: 512 MB for OS X (1GB recommended)
- 230MB available harddrive space (not including content)
- Graphics Card:
- Full OpenGL support
- Latest drivers from chipset manufacturer
- 1024x768 minimum screen resolution (1280x1024
recommended)
- 64MB onboard dedicated RAM per display (128MB
recommended)
|
|
LightWave 3D [7.5c]: |
Windows:
- System Processor Pentium II or higher (Pentium IV recommended)
- Operating System: Windows 98, NT (Sp6), 2000 (Sp3), XP (Sp1)
- TCP/IP Network Protocol Installed
- System RAM: 256 MB (1GB recommended)
- USB Port
- 32MB available harddrive space (not including content)
- Graphics Card:
- AGP slot interface
- Full Open OpenGL and DirectX support
- Latest drivers from chipset manufacturer
- 1024x768 minimum screen resolution (1280x1024 recommended)
- 32MB onboard dedicated RAM per display (128MB recommended)
Macintosh:
- System configuration: Power Mac Processor G3 or higher (G4
recommended)
- Operating System: Mac OS 9, OS X (10.2.8 recommended)
- System RAM: 384MB for OS9, 512 MB for OS X (1GB recommended)
- 32MB available harddrive space (not including content)
- Graphics Card:
- Full OpenGL support
- Latest drivers from chipset manufacturer
- 1024x768 minimum screen resolution (1280x1024 recommended)
- 32MB onboard dedicated RAM per display (128MB recommended)
|
|
File Compatibilities: |
- LightWave 3D® includes a library of license-free objects,
images, textures and scenes.
- LightWave 3D File Import Formats:
- LightWave 3D File Export Formats:
- obj
- 3ds
- lwo
- dxf
- w3d
- Any other files may be imported or exported by using a 3rd
party translator
- LightWave 3D Render File Formats:
- Still Image:
- Alias (.als)
- BMP 24 & 32-bit (.bmp)
- Cineon FP (.cin)
- JPEG (.jpg)
- PCX (.pcx)
- PICT 24 & 32-bit (.pct)
- PNG 24 & 32-bit (.png)
- Photoshop 24 & 32-bit (.psd)
- RLA 24 & 32-bit, Deluxe RLA (.rla)
- Radiance (.hdr)
- SGI 24, 32, 48, & 64-bit (.rgb)
- Sun 24 & 32-bit (.ras)
- TGA 24 & 32-bit (.tga)
- TIFF 24 & 32-bit, LogLuv (.tif)
- VPB(.ypb)
- YUV (.yuv)
- Flexible Format (.flx)
- IFF ILBM & IFF ILBM 32-bit (.iff)
- Animation:
- 4X Storyboard
- AVI & DirectShow (.avi)
- Film Expand
- QuickTime, QuickTime VR, & QuickTime Stereo (.mov)
- Storyboard
- Flexible Float & Flexible Integer (.flx)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LightWave v9: FAQ |
Delivery:
Does LightWave v9 require
the dongle?
Yes. LightWave v9 will utilize the hardware lock dongle for
software protection. The dongle should remain attached to
the artist’s system when LightWave 3D is in use.
Is LightWave v9 compatible with the parallel-port dongle?
Yes. For artists operating on the 32-bit PC platform,
LightWave v9 will work with the parallel-port dongle. We do
encourage all users to upgrade to the newer, more flexible
technology of the USB DUO dongle, which can be done for free
at the time of a LightWave 3D upgrade, but we will continue
to support the parallel-port dongle for the foreseeable
future.
For artists wishing to utilize the 64-bit PC platform, we
are only able to offer support for the USB DUO dongle at
this time. We will continue efforts to work with the dongle
manufacturer to provide 64-bit drivers for the parallel-port
dongle in the future.
Will a software key be made available for LightWave v9?
NewTek is constantly reviewing options for software
protection to help you protect your investment, and we are
considering the possibility of new methods for the future.
At this time, we believe that the hardware lock offers the
individual artist the greatest degree of flexibility for
using LightWave 3D on the machine, and at the location, of
their choice.
Will a network dongle be available for LightWave v9?
Yes. We are pleased to announce that, as a part of the
LightWave v9 life cycle, we will begin to offer a network
dongle for LightWave 3D. This is being done in response to
requests from customers making use of large numbers of
licenses on a set group of machines, such as schools and
large studios. The NewTek Sales department will have more
information about this new development as it is made
available.
Will there be a LightWave v9 demo version available via
download?
Yes. Now that LightWave v9 has been release, we plan to make
a downloadable demo version available. Unlike previous
LightWave 3D demos, this version will be time-limited,
rather than feature limited, allowing those interested in
taking LightWave 3D for a test drive to realize the full
potential of the application. More details of this new
offering will be posted as they are made available.
Macintosh:
Is there news with regard
to the port to XCode and compatibility with Intel Macs?
NewTek is in progress on a port to XCode so that we can
provide Universal Binaries to support both PPC and
Intel-based Macintosh computers. We will discuss this in
more detail as the process unfolds.
Will OpenGL related issues be addressed in v9?
There are performance improvements for OpenGL in Layout in
v9, and more improvements are planned throughout the
application during the v9 cycle. OpenGL 2 is a requirement
to get complete support of the latest OpenGL capabilities in
v9, and most of these functions have been made available in
Apple’s latest update to their OpenGL implementation.
Modeling:
In addition to
advancements in Character Animation and Layout for LightWave
that have been mentioned, what are the plans for
improvements to Modeler?
We have made major improvements to Modeler in v9, and as we
create additional updates in the v9 series there will be
even larger changes, including tool consolidation and
workflow improvements, a new state-of-the-art OpenGL engine,
and many, many new capabilities.
Many tools do not yet recognize edges. When will they be
fully implemented?
We will complete the core changes and tool revision for full
edge support throughout Modeler within the coming updates in
the v9 cycle.
Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces seem slower to work with
than Subpatch surfaces. Will there be improvements?
Yes, we will be working to optimize performance of Catmull-Clark
subdivision surfaces with the goal of making it among the
very fastest implementations available. It must be noted,
however, that the speed is one advantage that LightWave
subpatches offer and is among the many reasons we have
retained it as a choice for subdivision surface modeling.
Why aren’t there more modeling tools in Layout?
The migration of modeling tools into Layout will be longer
and more involved than we first thought, and we are putting
a great deal of thought and effort into the design. There
are many issues in Layout that need to be addressed in order
for us to really open up modeling power in Layout, but we
are working on them with dedication.
Layout:
Will LightWave v9 have
instancing?
Instancing will be added in a later update in the v9.x
cycle. We'll be making the core changes that will allow us
to provide instancing immediately as our first effort after
the release of v9.0. These same changes to the core
operation of LightWave will fix a number of long-standing
issues in the code and provide the basis for a complete
change in the workflow of the application, including a
variety of other long-requested capabilities such as
history, parametric evaluation, scene graph and more.
OpenGL:
When will the OpenGL
implementation in Layout be completed?
Work will proceed on improvement of OpenGL performance and
capabilities with an entirely new pipeline throughout the v9
cycle of updates.
When will we see speed increases with the new OpenGL
implementation in Layout?
For version 9 you should see increases with polygonal meshes
in the wireframe, shaded solid and textured shaded solid
modes. In future updates in the v9 series you will see
speedups throughout the rest of the OpenGL pipeline, as
optimizations are applied to working with subdivision
surface object and meshes undergoing deformations, etc.
When will we see a new OpenGL implementation with faster
performance in Modeler?
The Modeler OpenGL pipeline will also be completely
redesigned during the v9 series of updates. Modeler's tasks
and architecture require more profound changes with very
careful design.
Character Animation:
What character animation
improvements can we expect in v9 and when?
For now, we can't provide specifics beyond that we will
improve the workflow of rigging and character animation
including making these fast and responsive within the GUI,
with input from character animators experienced with many
rigging and animation toolsets.
Surfacing:
Is the SSS in v9 an
entire shading model or just a surface aspect?
Actually, there are two SSS implementations in v9! Each is
an entire shading model, one of which can treat the entire
volume of the object if needed, and one which operates on
the surface of the mesh. Both have a variety of choices to
let the user determine how to balance the look and the level
of effect desired versus render time.
Will LightWave v9 have
improved UV Editing Tools?
The version 9.0 release addresses some necessary fixes in
the current UV tools, and we will be addressing new and
improved features for UV editing as we progress through the
v9.x cycle.
Third Party:
Have changes been made to
the SDK to enable the use of third party renderers?
LightWave is known for its renderer (indeed, v9 is currently
rendering 2-3 times faster than v8.5), and NewTek will not
abdicate the task of rendering to outside interests, as
almost all of the other 3D applications in our market have
done. That makes no sense to us, given our business model,
and our demonstrated ability to deliver a world-class
rendering solution. With that commitment and capability duly
noted, we are in fact making changes to the way our native
renderer integrates with the rest of the application that
would also be of benefit to third parties. In addition, we
are working closely with Worley Labs for their input on SDK
features for improving integration with FPrime and their
other products which include rendering services, as well as
receiving input from other developers interested in
providing rendering compatibility with LightWave. All of
these efforts sum up to an extensive set of changes to the
code and the SDK that will make it easier for developers to
implement rendering products as time goes forward.
Lastly, it is worth noting that while some developers
have expressed that they feel they need NewTek to make
changes to better accommodate third party rendering
solutions, the publicly available SDK for LightWave 3D has
always made it among the easiest of applications for other
developers to support. At least three other 3D applications
natively load and render LightWave scenes and objects, and
several third party renderers do as well, so this approach
to rendering compatibility has long been available and many
have taken advantage of this option.
Will FPrime work with v9?
FPrime works with v9, though some additional development is
needed for FPrime to take full advantage of the new features
in v9. NewTek and Worley Laboratories are in close
communication as developments proceed on both sides. We
recommend contacting the developer directly for further
information on product compatibility.
What changes have been made to the SDK to benefit Worley
specifically?
Our discussions with other developers are confidential in
nature so we can't disclose any specifics, but Worley Labs
is certainly among the developers who provide us with very
useful input on SDK development. As with the implementation
of new features, SDK changes are made based on what will
have the most benefit to the most users and the ability to
integrate them with the ongoing changes to the LightWave 3D
code base. A number of third party developers are members of
the LightWave beta program and their input is taken into
account on a continual basis.
Is Poetry in Motion a part of LightWave v9 Layout?
Poetry in Motion is a third party product, currently in
development by Lucid Lights. More information about it can
be found on a number of LightWave-focused forums.
Will all my third party plug-ins work in LightWave v9?
Unfortunately, we aren't able to test all third party
plug-ins. We recommend that you contact the developer for
up-to-date information on LightWave v9 compatibility. And
you may always recommend to the developer to contact NewTek
for information on maintaining compatibility with LightWave
3D.
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