e-on software, maker of the leading solutions for Digital Nature, pre-released today Vue 9.5 xStream and Infinite, its professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments.
New features of Vue 9.5 Vue xStream and Vue Infinite are the company’s flagship solutions for the creation of natural 3D environments. Vue Infinite operates as a standalone application while Vue xStream works seamlessly inside 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, LightWave and Cinema4D. Specifically designed for graphics professionals, these products combine a multitude of cutting edge features that easily integrate into existing production pipelines. Release 9.5 of Vue adds a number of important new features including: - Interactive Texture Placement: a new texture manipulation gizmo allows texture maps to be rotated and scaled interactively, directly on the mesh. Users can now place and rotate textures to any position, angle and scale and preview the result in real-time. (Watch this feature in action on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yg7xB_Vgys ) - Fast Hybrid Depth of Field: Vue 9.5 features a new hybrid 2.5D algorithm to allow depth of field (DOF) to be rendered 4 times faster than traditional DOF methods. - Advanced Cloud Control: editing, animating and cloud rendering performance greatly improved. Cloud restriction zones allow users to include and edit out specific cloud regions. The new cloud offset animation capability produces breathtaking renders of clouds sweeping over terrains and other scene objects. (Watch this feature in action on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhwex8HkCpc ) - Multiple UV Layers: support for models containing separate UV layers (e.g. diffuse, bump, specular, noise, dirt, etc) is now included for better compatibility with other 3D applications. - Atmospheric Relighting: the Vue relighting functionality was extended to allow adjustment of all ambient and indirect lighting. - GPU Accelerated Anti-Aliasing: Vue will now use the additional processing power of the GPU to accelerate the anti-aliasing of thin polygon meshes. - MDD File Format: Vue 9.5 now supports the MDD file format which allows morphed meshes to be captured as exact geometry for each animation frame. - Improved EcoPainting: in 3ds Max and Cinema4D, EcoSystem painting on native objects is now done through the entire brush (instead of just the brush center). This results in much more accurate control of the painted instances. - Custom Star Maps: custom “deep space” maps can be loaded as an alternative to the standard Vue stars. Users can even load images of distant constellations. - Many other improvements such as vector quantization node, frame labeling, velocity pass in render buffer, composite layers for matte shadow and reflection materials also added. A complete and detailed list of features will be made available at the time of final release. Vue 9.5 Available as Pre-release Vue 9.5 is available free of charge for all users under maintenance. Users of Vue 9 who are not under maintenance and wish to advance to Vue 9.5 should purchase maintenance today (they will receive Vue 9.5 and the Vue 10 upgrade free of charge). If they wish, users under maintenance can immediately download a pre-release version of Vue 9.5. Users of Vue 9 who subscribe to a maintenance plan today will also be granted access to this pre-release version. Vue 9.5 xStream and Vue 9.5 Infinite are expected to ship during Q2 2011. Customers who purchased Vue 9 xStream or Infinite within 30 days of the release of Vue 9.5 will receive Vue 9.5 at no cost as part of the Free 30 Day Maintenance included with all new purchases. More information on e-on software’s maintenance plans can be found at: www.e-onsoftware.com/maintenance Standard Retail Price: Vue 9.5 xStream will retail for $1,790 with one year maintenance ($1495 without maintenance). A one year standard maintenance plan for xStream costs $395 (renewal: $295 only!). Vue 9.5 Infinite will retail for $1,190 with one year maintenance ($995 without maintenance). A one year standard maintenance plan for Infinite costs $295 (renewal: $195 only!). Upgrades from Vue 8.x xStream to Vue 9.5 xStream will be available for $495. Upgrades from Vue 8.x Infinite to Vue 9.5 Infinite will be available for $395 (upgrades from Vue 7 will also be available). Full pricing information will be disclosed at the time of release. Annual subscriptions for Educational licenses of Vue xStream and Infinite are available respectively for $149/year/seat and $99/year/seat. Upgrades to Vue 9.5 are free for owners of active educational licenses of Vue 9. Site licensing discounts are available, contact e-on software for further details and pricing information. Availability: Vue 9.5 xStream and Vue 9.5 Infinite are available in English for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, and on Mac OSX 10.5+ (Mac Intel only), for both 32 and 64 bit. Vue 9.5 xStream is compatible with the following renderers: - 3ds Max 7 to 2012: MentalRay (integrated and MR satellites), V-Ray - Maya 6 to 2012: MentalRay (integrated and MR satellites), V-Ray, Maya Software - Softimage | XSI 5.1 to 2012: MentalRay (integrated and MR satellites) - Cinema 4D R9.6 to R12: native renderer - LightWave 9.3 to 10: native renderer Other renderers are under consideration. About e-on software E-on software is the leading developer of solutions for the creation, animation, rendering and integration of natural 3D environments. Offering a wide array of Digital Nature products and applications, e-on software provides solutions adapted to every project and budget. E-on software products are used worldwide by the film, television, architecture, game, science, educational and entertainment industries. E-on software products were used in features film such as "Avatar", "Clash of The Titans", "The Wolf Man", "2012", "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", "GI Joe – The Rise of The Cobra", "The Proposal", "Land Of The Lost", "Terminator 4, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Indiana Jones 4", "Monster Vs Aliens", "Australia", "The Spiderwick Chronicles", "KungFu Panda", "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and TV series such as "Battlestar Gallactica", "Stargate Atlantis" and more. Read more on these stories in e-on software's Spotlights section: www.e-onsoftware.com/spotlight. E-on software was founded on the premise that powerful graphics tools should never get in the way of the designer’s creativity. By investing significant resources into research and development, e-on software is able to deliver cutting-edge, user friendly technologies that produce stunning Digital Nature scenery. E-on software is based in Beaverton, Oregon with a European office in Paris, France. Visit their website at http://www.e-onsoftware.com.
