Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 2, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
More new features from Autodesk: At Siggraph 2019, the Maya 2019.2 update now brings a new Bifrost —the new multiphysics simulation tool. It can now create effects such as fire, smoke and explosions. The old Bifrost is now called “Bifrost Fluids,” by the way.
Bifrost for Maya features
With Bifrost, Autodesk now wants to enter the world of simulations. With the new Graph Editor, you can perform scattering, instancing, deformations, volumes, dynamic simulations, material assignments, I/O and low-level math operations, among other things. Feature highlights include:
- More physically based solvers for combustion and aerodynamics, as well as an MPM solver (Material Point Method) for granular materials. On this basis, it is possible to create smoke, fire, explosions, cloth, hair and fluids such as sand or snow, among other things.
- New particle system with higher performance and as a driver for simulations
- Format support for Alembic, OpenVDB, Field3D for export to other DCC tools
- Instancing and previews: Arnold Instancing, Arnold Viewport and Viewport 2.0
- Template node graphs in the new Bifrost Browser with save function
Bifrost is available with the update to Maya 2019.2—further information here.
Maya 2019.2 update
Alongside Bifrost, the new functions in Maya 2019.2 include the Substance in Maya 2.0 plug.-in for better integration. Also added:
- Light Groups can be exported as a JSON file.
- Render Setup System with the option to override attributes of texture ramps.
Further information: To the Autodesk website
