NewTek Ships New LightWave 3D [8] Release
June 30, 2004
San Antonio, TX - NewTek, Inc., will begin shipping the latest edition of its Emmy-winning LightWave 3D today.
LightWave [8] adds a wide range of new character animation tools and dynamics to the robust modeling, animation and rendering capabilities that have made LightWave a leading production tool in film, broadcast, print, game development, and web development, Newtek announced.
LightWave's character animation system is enhanced with faster inverse and forward kinematics, import and export functions for character rigs that make it easy to apply rigs to new meshes, as well as the ability to cut, paste and adjust hierarchies with speed and ease. Setup and control of character animation is fast, flexible and intuitive, with many users reporting that they can now rig in LightWave in a fraction of the time it would take in other popular character animation systems.
Rigid body dynamics are new to the LightWave toolset, and the cloth and soft body dynamics tools have been enhanced for greater speed and easier setup and control. Cloth can not only be made to move naturally but the new "sewing" features allow the user to tear or separate sections in response to dynamic events. Another addition is that dynamics can be applied not only to meshes but to character skeletons - for example if the animator sends a heavy object on a collision path with a character, the character will automatically react to the strike with real-world motions, based on where the object impacts the character.
The LightWave [8] update also features enhanced modeling tools, including a variety of edge tools, filleting and chamfering via the new Rounder tool, and a variety of other ways to quickly create new geometry, for easy modeling of any needed form, organic, architectural or mechanical. Workflow has been enhanced with a powerful new scene editor with spreadsheet and dopesheet, a dopetrack view, a node-based expression editor, and enhanced OpenGL displays for the viewports in both Layout and Modeler.
LightWave 3D [8] Enhancements:
• Improved workflow in Layout and Modeler
• Rigid Body Dynamics
• Improved Soft Body Dynamics
• Faster IK, FK
• Bone Dynamics
• More powerful and flexible character animation controls and tools
• Improved character setup workflow
• New Particle System Tools
• Animatable UV coordinates
• Improvements to LScript scripting language and to the API
Pricing and Availability
LightWave 3D [8] is available for a suggested retail price of $1595 US. Registered owners of LightWave 3D [7.5] or earlier are eligible to purchase a LightWave [8] Electronic Upgrade Pack for $495 US.
For more information, visit
www.newtek.com
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