Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 19, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The new code has already been added to the Github repository, from which anyone can download it. The alpha release is not yet completely finished, but it shows the direction in which the features of the upcoming beta will go.
Features from DreamWorks
DreamWorks’ contribution to OpenSubdiv will be included in release 3.0. The studio has not yet used OpenSubdiv for any film project, but has already worked with it. DreamWorks Animation Principal Engineer Barry Fowler developed the new features in cooperation with Pixar: a new low-level layer was created that separates the mathematics of subdivision from existing OpenSubdiv data, thus providing a simplified core and an easier-to-understand front view. Thanks to new data structures built on this core, there are no longer any limitations regarding the type of meshes that can be processed. This also considerably accelerates the CPU process and the GPU pre-process.
OpenSubdiv Support for 3ds Max
Autodesk has also announced support for OpenSubdiv for 3ds Max. This means the sets of the Subdiv library are already standard for subdivision content creation in Maya, Modo, Blender, Houdini, Mari, Cinebox and soon also in 3ds Max.
Support for OpenSubdiv in 3ds Max adds numerous features: it should be possible to visualise a model interactively without prior rendering, in-viewport performance for meshes with a high subdivision level is said to have been considerably accelerated, and complex topologies can be created in a much shorter time frame. Models are also said to be easier to exchange with other software packages that likewise support OpenSubdiv using Autodesk FBX Asset Exchange Technology.
Here you can download the OpenSubdiv alpha code and obtain all further information.
The documentation for OpenSubdiv 3.0 can be found here.
