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As one of the first 3D programmes on the market – originally a 3D component of the Amiga-based video toaster from Newtek – the software (now for Windows and Mac) has a long and chequered history behind it. Especially in its heyday, Lightwave was able to score points by being used in numerous productions such as “300”, “Iron Man” or “Avatar”. The times when graphics and especially 3D software was booming (suddenly everyone seemed to be able to produce cinematic 3D film effects themselves) are probably over. Some websites that list such software are now categorised as “dead”.
Lightwave has also suffered. The disaster with the “Core” project certainly caused the first major setback. For many users, Core was seen as a real new beginning with a new UI, new concepts and innovative functions – and a stylish T-shirt that some users referred to as a shroud. After the project was quietly cancelled in 2011, things became increasingly quiet around Lightwave. Nevertheless, the software has remained available to its users and has been further developed. Even today, Lightwave is still sometimes the software of choice for smaller studios and freelancers.
Fans of Lightwave 3D are particularly hopeful about the latest upgrades. There was also a change in nomenclature – after numbering up to version 11, the last version was 11.6, followed by version 2015 (we reported on this in issue 02:15). The next release did not appear until 2018 – but now Newtek seems to be getting serious. Lightwave 2019 was announced at the beginning of the year. After a few weeks, the first fixed versions have been released. The software’s range of functions has increased significantly.
Regular Lightwave users, as well as users of other 3D software, amateurs and professionals, are encouraged to see Newtek’s new start as an opportunity. Newtek offers an unconventional but complete and production-proven tool for a manageable price without any subscription obligation, with which a variety of tasks for motion FX, animation and game design can be completed.
Some say so – others say so …
The current version of Lightwave remains true to itself and retains some of its sometimes famous and much-discussed peculiarities. For example, while the division of the software into two programmes, the Modeler (the part in which 3D objects are created) and Layout (the part in which scenes are arranged, illuminated, animated and rendered) is an annoying relic for some users, others see this as an advantage because it keeps the focus on the essentials and improves clarity. Lightwave’s UI manages without colourful icons or tooltips. Some new users complain about hidden functions or functions that are complicated to use. For example, a number of different presets can be selected for the viewport layout – albeit in the preferences. In the view layout menu under the “View” tab, there are only options to call up the previous or next layout from the list. This still applies, for example: If nothing is selected in the modeller, Lightwave considers everything to be selected – without studying the manual, the learning curve seems to be difficult to overcome. Experienced users, on the other hand, praise the customisability of the UI (all menus can be freely designed), the effective control options with shortcuts and the speed when working as well as the variety of functions of the software, which can be enhanced with numerous plug-ins from third-party providers(a list of extensions can be found here).
The many third-party extensions, some of which have been developed over the years and are used by professionals as a matter of course, can be a challenge for programme newcomers when, for example, video tutorials are studied and commands appear that Lightwave does not even have by default. The names of plug-ins or commands do not always say anything about their function. Some different extensions fulfil very similar tasks in different ways, and some simply no longer exist at some point.
15, 18, 19 …?
As Lightwave has hardly changed externally, the new features only become apparent at second glance. While new features in the 2015 version included bullet constraints, the Genoma 2 character rigging system, a match perspective tool and rendering techniques such as importance sampling or edge rendering, as well as workflow improvements, the list of new features in the 2018 version is much more extensive: Lightwave’s scene format has been changed to support new functions. If scenes are to be opened in older versions of the programme, they must be exported as an earlier version.
A new physical-based rendering system was introduced in the 2018 version (PBR Rendering); new shading, lighting and rendering options are intended to enable a higher degree of realism when creating 3D scenes and images.
With extended render & light buffers, Newtek aims to improve performance when working with compositing. Using the Node system, any render buffer can be created and displayed in any viewport as a VPR preview in (near) real time.
For the 2019 version, Newtek is advertising the bridge to the Unreal Engine. Several Lightwave applications can be connected to the Unreal Engine at the same time. Updates to scenes or objects are made in real time. According to Newtek, the bridge uses a network detection algorithm from Newtek for simple automatic configuration, which can be installed on a single project in Unreal or as a general plug-in for use in all Unreal projects. In an initial test, the connection to the Unreal Engine worked straight away.
Creating OpenVDB content, Metamorphic (animated sculpting in layout), Empty Volumes (conversion of meshes to volumes, Boolean functions in real time), new shader nodes and new compositing buffers as well as physical sky and render extensions (Denoiser, Despike) are just some of the keywords for the current 2019 version.
Shape primitives and empty volumes
Null objects can be assigned primitive shapes (sphere, cube, cylinder, torus, cone and plane) as object properties in Layout. The Shape > Empty Volume option creates an empty volume. Such empty volumes can be used to create real-time Booleans in Layout. The CSG node takes over the Boolean functions (Union, Intersection, Subtraction). A new Volumetric Engine generates volumetric clouds and fog from primitives.
Newtek introduced OpenVDB support in the 2018 version. This award-winning open source C library is now used by most 3D programmes. In the 2018 version, Newtek advertises volumetric effects for smoke and fire, among others.
The lighting system and the surface editor have also been completely revised. In the 2018 version, Lightwave offers a virtual reality camera for both
cylindrical and spherical mode. This VR camera is also suitable for stereo 360-degree renderings and animations for VR applications.
The FiberFX features have been further developed and are compatible with the new shading system.
If you take the order in which the new features of the current version are presented on the Newtek website as a criterion for their importance, then support for the Unreal Engine seems to be at the top of the list. The improvement of FBX data exchange is also listed at the top. The FBX support of Lightwave was already fine-tuned in the 2018 version, e.g. to better master the exchange with Unity.
[gallery size="full" columns="2" link="file" ids="76662,76660"]The innovations to the bone system to better accommodate the needs of game development also fit the theme. Limited Bones is an option to customise the number of bones that can affect a specific point to match the game engine in use. The new mode also offers real-time optimisations.
Lightwave 2019 includes a new Genoma 2 rig created for Japanese TV animations by Koutarou Shishido. It is designed to be particularly easy to use and allows you to quickly switch between FK and IK.
Smoothing Groups (SG), now a standard for smoothing polygons in game engines, allows up to 32 selected polygon groups to be smoothed in the Modeler without inserting extra geometry.
[caption id="attachment_76653" align="aligncenter" width="2560"]
Volume Shapes in Layout – the three volumetric primitives Cube, Sphere and Cone in the VPR view: on the left the object properties, on the right the node editor for Volume_Sphere, bottom right the settings for the Hyper Voxel Primitive TurbulenceNew content – OpenVDB Evaluator
The OpenVDB options have been significantly expanded in the current version. You can now create your own OpenVDB content using a range of node tools and manipulate it in various ways. Meshes, particles or primitives can be turned into gaseous, liquid or even solid volumes and, for example, enter into Boolean real-time interactions. The new VDB workflow, e.g.
converting meshes into volumes and vice versa, opens up amazing new modelling and animation possibilities (objects become animated clouds, for example). Initial tests and, above all, Newtek’s video tutorials impressively demonstrate how powerful this technology is.
Materialistic – new nodes for new material components
A number of new functions have been added to the material system in the 2019 version. Not only the Surface Editor, but above all the node system has been given numerous new material properties and functions, especially for creating PBR materials.
Material Components in Lightwave 2019 is a new, complex set of nodes and tools that can be used to customise shading effects. Lightwave professionals should be able to achieve the exact look they want for materials. There is access to Fresnel functions, lighting models, volumetrics, material integrators etc. New cel shaders promise improved NPR rendering.
An Edge Shader creates the illusion of additional geometry needed to round edges. A new Patina Node generates shading effects such as on chipped edges or dirty surfaces.
A light goes on
The lighting architecture was completely revised in 2018. For example, the Dome Light has been removed. Instead, the Distant Light now has the option of angle and distance input, which can also be used to control the shadows. There are now physical lights. The “Primitive” light type allows light sources to be assigned the shape of any scene objects, with the “Sample Surface” option taking the surface of the objects into account when emitting light.
Spotlights no longer have shadow maps, but they can now create soft shadows using “Size” settings.
Area lights now only shine in one direction. This means that the lighting effects can be controlled more precisely. The “Portal” option for area lights or polygon light sources supports the illumination of interior spaces.
In addition, most light sources now have a switch called “Normalise”. It determines that the amount of light emitted only depends on the set light intensity. If this option is switched off, the object size also influences how much light is emitted. The loading of IES web files has been improved to better simulate the light intensity of real manufactured luminaires. With the “Visible to Camera” option, light sources can be displayed visibly in the rendering. Volumetric primitives and OpenVDB objects provide new options for luminaires that affect the volumetrics, e.g. a volumetric scattering effect (for so-called God Rays) and new fog settings.
New in the old UI
Menus can now be navigated using the buttons (arrow, mouse wheel, start, end, etc.). Large menus can be searched using filters. The key combination Ctrl-Spacebar calls up a list of all available commands in Modeler or Layout, including the associated key combinations.
Since 2018, a layout view can be displayed in Modeler with “Layout View” (if several viewports are open in Layout, the selection is made by clicking on the camera icon, which is also responsible for the animation preview). Newtek received a lot of praise for the long-awaited revision of the undo system in Layout.
Lightwave’s Node Editor has also been revised. Not only have a number of new nodes been added. A very pleasant new feature is the “Tidy Nodes” function in the Node Editor. Even complex node networks can now be easily untangled. The comma key also highlights all connections upstream of a node, while the dot key highlights all connections downstream. Furthermore, the display of the node connections can be switched between straight, square or as a curve and a background grid can be set.
Some options for UV mapping have been added. The sizes or edge lengths and angles of the geometry and the UV map can now be compared and differences highlighted in colour. The programme highlights overlapping polygons of the UV map in red. A new feature is the ability to create UDIM tiles for UV maps.
By the way, but perhaps worth mentioning for Lightwaver: The online documentation now adapts to the screen format of each device.
Metamorphic – Sculpting in the layout
Newtek has integrated the mesh sculpting and vertex map editing system Metamorphic by Jamil Halabis, which was previously available as a plug-in, into the 2019 version. The toolset is multithreaded and supports the pen pressure of a tablet to control the size, thickness and hardness of the modelling brushes, at least under Windows. It is now possible to perform animated sculpting, weight mapping and vertext painting in the layout. However, Metamorphic is not a competitor to applications such as ZBrush (the bridge to ZBrush, GoZ, has been part of Lightwave since version 11).
To start sculpting, a “Metamorphic” modifier must be assigned to the object to be edited in the properties. Double-click on the modifier to open the plug-in’s work window. The features of Metamorhic include
- Free-form animated sculpting
- Integrated undo / redo system
- Multithread with all available CPU cores
- Pen pressure support for brush size, thickness and hardness (Windows only)
- Nodal Brush Texture Support
- Non-linear interpolation of keyframes for sculpt animations
- Convert shape animation keyframes to endomorphs
- Full motion blur support
There are various brush modes such as Select (vertex selection), Transform (moving vertices), Sculpt (the actual sculpting), Weight (for creating weight maps in layout), Normal (for editing normal maps), Colour (for creating vertex colour maps). The brush size can be adjusted with the shift and right mouse button.
To sculpt animatedly, simply navigate to the desired position in the timeline. Lightwave automatically creates keyframes for the changes to the object during sculpting.
Metamorphic works, but should not be seen as a competitor to real sculpt software. Rather, the tool is designed to create corrective morphs for animations. The tool is surprisingly well suited for this purpose. Sculpt animation keyframes can be converted into endomorphs, Lightwave’s built-in animation objects, and interpolated non-linearly.
The sky above Lightwave – Physical Sky
Lightwave offers various options for designing a scene environment, backgrounds or skies. In the current version, the Hosek Wilkie Sky Simulator, which is also used by Blender, is added to the backdrop options Gradient, Image World, Sky Tracer 2 or Textured Environment.
In Lightwave, it is possible to select any point on a world map and specify the date and time. A sky background is generated accordingly. The values for azimuth, elevation and (colour) temperature as well as the intensity and size of a sun can also be specified manually. A light source in the scene can act as a sun (SunLight Hosek-Wilkie light type). In this case, the option of selecting a location is omitted.
This and that – making life easier for Lightwaver
Newtek has tweaked many aspects of the new Lightwave. The render options have become much more extensive. The two new options “Enable Despike” and the noise filter should be emphasised. When “Enable Despike” is active, an attempt is made to smooth out abnormal brightness peaks in the rendering. Newtek recommends only activating this function if bright peaks actually occur in the rendering.
The noise filter can be set to be CPU- or GPU-based. However, according to the manual, the GPU option only works for still images (not on the network) and requires an Nvidia Geforce, Quadro or Tesla graphics card with at least a Kepler chipset. There are no user-configurable options.
The Nvidia CUDA system is no longer supported by MacOS. This means that Nvidia Optix Denoising is not available for the MacOS platform Source.
Lightwave offers quite a long list of render buffers in the current version. There are standard buffers that are provided by the render engine (alpha, depth, lens flare etc.). Additional buffers, which depend on the materials used among other things, are intended to support extensive compositing work (e.g. refraction, reflection).
In the render settings under “Buffers”, light groups can be created for which special buffers can be rendered. It is also possible to create user-defined buffers that are saved together with the respective object in the interface.
One little thing: after the last update, it was no longer possible to delete anything in the Modeler – at least not as usual with the Del key. Why the shortcut had disappeared from the default settings remains a mystery – but such minor problems can be quickly resolved with Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
Model-like
a tool for the parametric creation of bolts was added in 2019. QuickBolt generates bolts according to various, quite complex specifications with one click in an empty layer. This works in a similar way to the “Gemstone Tool”, which is already part of the arsenal, but has far fewer setting options and is also interactive. Unfortunately, LWCAD is not (yet?) part of the software.
Simple but effective is Spline Bridge, a tool for connecting polygons with a bridging effect. There are only three options: Divisions (number of subdivisions), First Twist, Second Twist (twists at the beginning and end of the connection) and the ability to bend the bridge at a spline.
Conclusion
After many years of a chequered history, Newtek finally seems to be recognising the potential of Lightwave and devoting the necessary attention to the software. The latest updates give us hope. It’s not just the regular users who will be grateful.
The software has at least retained essential characteristics such as the separation of modeler and layout or the fact that everything is selected in Lightwave if nothing is selected, or that Newtek still does not use icons in the UI.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Lightwave die-hards claim that the software is beginner-friendly, leads to quick results and, given the current price-performance ratio, represents a real alternative to the (current) top programmes.
As far as the programme’s performance is concerned, this is true. The manageable price for the range of functions also speaks in favour of the program (approx. 1000 US dollars for the full version, 495 US dollars for an upgrade – 95 US dollars for an educational licence) and it is still possible to purchase the software without the need for a subscription.
From our point of view, the tool offers a large number of professional functions and, for those in the know, an unmanageable wealth of possibilities that make enormous time savings possible (for trained users). The functions added in the latest versions make us curious about future developments. If Newtek continues to develop the programme in the way it has, Lightwave could perhaps soon return to its former heights. We hope so.
