Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 19, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
MotionBuilder 2015
Autodesk MotionBuilder 2015 features several functions that improve the connection of motion capture workflows: the version includes a plug-in for Microsoft Kinect that supports recording motion in MotionBuilder. The Animatable Depth of Field and Follow Focus camera options can be used to reproduce elements of real camera operation.
MotionBuilder also includes a content library with 100 frequently used character animations in Autodesk FBX format and more flexible marker arrangements with which a character’s position can be adjusted.
Mudbox 2015
Autodesk Mudbox 2015 offers improved mesh optimization for retopology as well as new Sculpt and Paint Layer groups for organizing individual layers and identifying them in complex scenes. The new version also features improved interoperability with Maya 2015, an expanded workflow for texture export and updates, and a new scale tool. Intel HD graphics 4000 is also supported on compatible hybrid tablets/PCs running Windows 8.
Softimage 2015
Because the 2015 version will be the last new release of Softimage, the tool received the fewest new features: Autodesk Softimage 2015 optimizes the creation and management of 3D assets through Alembic Caching, the ICE platform has been improved and animatable Weight Maps in Syflex Cloth are supported.
Maya LT
Autodesk Maya LT 2015 is intended to optimize the development of indie games. Maya LT 2015, the latest version of Autodesk’s low-cost solution for 3D animation and modeling for professional indie game developers, features a series of new functions: cloud integration allows artists to open, edit and save Dropbox or Autodesk 360 files in the cloud directly through the Maya LT user interface. In addition, 123D Catch or 123D Creature files stored in Autodesk 123D cloud storage can be used as references for creating game assets in Maya LT.
Unfold 3D simplifies the seamless creation of UV maps from 3D models. Substance Material Integration is intended to allow users to assign procedural materials created in Allegorithmic Substance Designer to 3D models. In addition to the new functions, Maya LT 2015 also includes the enhancements of the Maya LT 2014 Extension: support for MEL, a Send-to-Unity workflow, unlimited polygon export to Unity, the ability to export models or scenes with up to 65,000 polygons in FBX or OBJ formats, Human IK and IK Handle Animation, as well as
Boolean functions for polygonal geometries.
According to Autodesk, Maya LT is also expected to support the Open Subdiv Library:
And feature Geodesic Voxel Binding.
Here is another video about the Texture Deformer in Maya LT 2015.
Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite 2015
In the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite 2015, interoperability between products and teamwork across projects are said to have been improved in particular. An overview of the new functions:
- The ability to exchange Ptex and multi-tile UV textures back and forth between Maya and Mudbox facilitates an iterative round-trip workflow between Maya and Mudbox.
- The expanded Image Plane Matching function between Maya and Mudbox allows artists to use the same reference image without having to adjust it.
- Blend Shapes with multiple targets can be exported from Maya to Mudbox, edited there and then sent back to the original Maya scene.
- Character animations created in Softimage can be imported into MotionBuilder with one click. CrowdFX simulations can just as easily be exported from Softimage to Maya and integrated into scenes there.
Availability differs in each country. Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, Entertainment Creation Suites and Maya LT are available in two ways: as a perpetual license or in the form of Desktop Subscription. Further information is available at www.autodesk.de.
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Redakteurin der Digital Production
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- Mirja Fürst
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