Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 2, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
It has been announced for many months; now Newtek is showing version 9 of its Lightwave 3D modelling and animation software for the first time at Siggraph. According to the manufacturer, it has completely rewritten a large part of the Lightwave core and expects this to provide, among other things, greater stability and better performance. The most striking new feature is the node-based materials, which add several new shader models such as Oren-Nayar, Anisotropic and Subsurface Scattering to Lightwave.
Newtek has accelerated the renderer considerably. It demonstrates its strengths especially with large scenes. The raytracing core was completely reprogrammed. The renderer now makes better use of multi-threading and is, when all is said and done, up to 2.5 times faster than the previous version.
Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces and improved normal subdivision surfaces allow significantly more precise control over the surface.
In terms of animation, Newtek introduced the Relativity 2 system. It makes it possible to use expressions in animation and to link and calculate parameters with one another. The “Expression Wizards” help with creating the scripts.
In addition to the new shader models, the new material editor also supports the import of normal maps from ZBrush 2. The new Camera Tools allow rendering with real lens distortions, genuine orthographic rendering and 360-degree panorama rendering.
Newtek has also improved the connection to Open GL considerably. It is now also possible, for example, to display procedural maps in the viewport.
The new version is available now and costs between 395 and 795 dollars. A detailed list of the new features can be found on the manufacturer’s website.
Alongside the new version already released, Newtek also showed techniques for the next Lightwave version at Siggraph. It is to include, for example, genuine photorealistic motion blur and photorealistic defocus.
There is hope for owners of an Intel Mac as well: At its Siggraph stand, Newtek demonstrated a “Technology Preview” of native Lightwave 9.
Further Links:
- Lightwave 9 Features
