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- The Lightwave plug-in for Macintosh has now been released. The long awaited plug-in is available for the 9.3 Universal Binary version of Lightwave. Version 9.3 is a free update for Lightwave 9.0 users. Stay tuned! More Lightwave news coming soon……
- The RealFlow development team is working on a Character-Environment interaction scripts pack which will be available from www.realflow.com very soon. With the Character-Environment scripts, users will be able to create rag dolls inside RealFlow and make them interact with fluids and solids. It will also be possible to import/export animations in bvh format. Keep an eye on the website to be the first to take advantage of the pack!
- The development of the new shading toolkit for RealFlow particles for Renderman has finished and is currently being tested by our Beta testing team. The new toolkit solves the problem of shading particles and offers two different approaches to render a scene in RF4 without having to make a mesh. The first approach is focused on generating procedural geometry at render time, and the other approach is a ray-marching technique that samples an implicit volumetric representation of the fluid through Level Set methods. Take a look at the images below to get a better idea of what the toolkit has to offer:
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An image can be mapped to the surface of the fluid |
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- Maxwell Displacement is almost here. As you have read earlier, Maxwell’s displacement is unique and very powerful, offering lots of detail with very little extra memory usage. We are currently in the final quality control stages, including seamless plug-in integrations. As Maxwell Displacement has its very own approach, we also aimed to maintain the best possible interface for ease-of-use….. It is about to leave the dressing room!
- Multithreaded voxelization is coming… An often requested feature has now been finished. This can potentially offer great time savings for those with multi-core systems, especially when enabling motionblur. Memory usage during voxelization has also been optimized, which will be most noticeable on 64-bit systems and to a lesser extent on 32-bit systems. Optimizations of the core have resulted in 10-15% faster renderings, especially on 64-bit systems.
- An update for the Maxwell Cinema4D plug-in is currently being tested and will shortly be ready for release. This update will bring greatly improved material integration with a new Maxwell Material now added to the list of Cinema materials. This material loads an MXM file and shows its preview in the material preview. Active MXM textures are shown in the view port when the material is applied, and it is possible to change the shown texture. Textures can now also be rendered in the Cinema4D render to be able to adjust the placement of textures doing fast previews, without starting MXCL. Other improvements include the possibility to enable or disable animation, regardless of which filename padding format is chosen, a STOP button to stop saving animations and more…. Take a look at these sneak-peek screen shots:
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Upper left: MXCL rendering the scene; Lower left: Maxwell Studio with the scene; Upper right: the Cinema4D viewport with the Maxwell material rendered; Lower right: the C4D viewport showing the Maxwell material (the wood) |
- An update for the Maxwell plug-in for SolidWorks 2007 and 2008 will soon be ready for release. The new SolidWorks plug-in offers fully integrated materials (saved directly in the SW doc, as opposed to simple linking of MXM files used in previous plug-ins). The plug-in also provides a Maxwell object-properties window, showing the material-source and a thumbnail preview of the currently selected object(s). There is also a new plug-in window called the Maxwell Database Manager, containing all Maxwell material sub-components, making it easier to store, create and manage your materials. And let’s not forget the improved mesh export performance, several modeless windows, menu/ toolbar commands for render and much more. This update will be available for SolidWorks 2007 and 2008, in both XP and Vista, in 32 and 64-bits. Get a taste of things to come and take a look at the screenshots below:
- Maxwell Studio is undergoing an overhaul that will feature a much more robust transformation system and several other things. These structural improvements are still in development and we will update you on the progress being made in future newsletters.
- Issues on 64-bit systems fixed! Some users experienced slowdowns on 64-bit multi-core systems. These issues have been solved so that the 64-bit performance is no longer below expected. The fix applies to OSX as well. In addition, a bug in the polygonal diaphragm which was affecting speed in a negative way has also been fixed. These fixes, which are currently being tested by the new testing team, have lead to speed improvements and some of your scenes will now render remarkably faster depending on your scene set-up. Speed improvements of 15 to 20% have been reported by the testing team.
- A Maxwell Render plug-in for Lightwave version 9.3 (UB) for Macintosh has been released. Lightwave 9.3 is a free update for Lightwave 9.0 users. The plug-in is available from the usual customer download area.
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- RealFlow up for Oscar: The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the final 15 scientific and technical achievements that have been selected for further Academy Awards consideration. Next Limit Technologies is delighted to see that RealFlow4 is amongst the competing candidates.
The final award decisions will be made by the Board of Governors in December. Check out the official press release here: www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2007/07.09.07.html
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- Authorized renderfarm: RANCH Renderfarm is the first authorized renderfarm for Maxwell Render, and it is available now! RANCH’ user-friendly service is automated and runs 24 hours a day, all at very competitive prices. The status of rendering jobs can be checked in an online waiting list, and finished projects can be downloaded from a secure ftp server. Interested? Now you can pay one weekly or monthly price and have unlimited rendering access. Check out www.ranchcomputing.com
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- Second rendering service soon available: REBUSfarm rendering service, equipped with a capacity of 600 GHz, will provide a fast and easy way to render your projects in time. REBUS offers free-of-charge personal supervision of all rendering projects, which will help you meet deadlines cost-efficiently. For more information, visit www.rebusfarm.com
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- RealFlow magazine: Thomas Schlick presents the first edition of RF_magazine, a special publication for RealFlow users. This first issue takes an in-depth journey through the Cinema4D plug-in for RealFlow, its features, possibilities and limitations. It also includes advanced techniques, tips, and all the necessary studying materials such as scenes, textures, scripts and models. Learn how to bake dynamics for network rendering, how to connect your particles to Pyrocluster, how to import via ThinkingParticles, and how to deal with a high object count. This magazine – certified by Next Limit – is packed with valuable information for every RealFlow user! For more information or to purchase RF_magazine, visit www.rf-magazine.com
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- Ready-to-render Maxwell plants: 3D product library Turbosquid is now offering ready-to-render, low-poly plant and shrub models for Maxwell Render for purchase from their website. Interested? Check out www.turbosquid.com for more info!
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- RealFlow forum contest: The RealFlow forum contest “Washed away” at www.realflowforum.com has come to and end and the jury has chosen the winners from the impressive entries. Coming first place, and winning a full RealFlow4 license, is Dans with his stunning Green Hill animations. Second came Macrossmo and third came Bishop_Animation, both with remarkable animations. Congratulations everyone! Check out the winning animations below:
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First prize:
Dans animation |
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Second prize:
Macrossmo animation |
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Third prize:
Bishop animation |
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- MXM Gallery contest: The MXM Gallery July and August competition, themed “Automotive”, has finished. With 147 uploaded materials, the jury had a tough task choosing the winners, but finally awarded the first prize to Helder Ricardo for his super-realistic and original material “Sun Reflector”. Helder Ricardo has won a Dell E1505 laptop computer! Runner-up were Laszlo with his material “Gasoline Film”, Sabkarim with his material “Car Keychain” and Henriquelana with his material “Porsche Logo”. They all win Apple iPod Shuffles. Congratulations winners! Thank you all for participating, and stay tuned for the October MXM contest!
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Helder Ricardo:
Sun Reflector |
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Henriquelana:
Porsche logo |
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- RealFlow in Discovery Channel ad: Fusion CI Studios used RealFlow to create ground-breaking ocean visual effects for the season launch of Discovery Channel’s Emmy nominated series “Deadliest Catch”. Check out the entire case study at www.realflow.com/n_cs_discovery-channel.htm
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- RealFlow in BMW Hydrogen 7 ad: Hydrogen liquid keeps the motor of the latest BMW model running, and so the launch spot for the luxury car centers on water. And where there’s water, there’s RealFlow. German digital image studio Pictorion das Werk took on the spot’s VFX and created some hyper-real water simulations. Take a look at the case study at www.realflow.com/n_cs_bmw.htm
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- RealFlow in WOWOW commercial: WOWOW, Japans largest satellite TV channel, contracted Framestore Design for a series of station and genre idents. Framestore went for a sophisticated calligraphy look, using RealFlow in combination with Houdini to create an adjustable liquid system that splashes into invisible containers, dynamically forming the letters. View the case study at www.realflow.com/n_cs_wowow.htm
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- Maxwell Render interview: Arch Vis artist Brian Looney talks about his work for McFarland Davies Architects and his experience with Maxwell Render. Don’t miss this interview from the Novedge blogs, check it out here: http://blog.novedge.com/2007/09/an-interview--3.html
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- Online purchasing: The online purchasing option on the Maxwell Render and RealFlow websites is available again! The new shopping cart is clearer and more user-friendly than ever, with all purchasing options listed and easy check-out. Time to upgrade your license or buy some new nodes? Visit www.maxwellrender.com or www.realflow.com today.
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- Win a Maxwell Render license: popular sharing website ShareCG is running a Spooky Halloween Challenge and gives away a full Maxwell Render license to the winning entry. So get your scariest stuff together and create zombies, witches, ghosts, monsters, or haunted houses for a chance to win. The deadline for entries is October 31, 2007 (All Hallows Eve) and winners will be announced on November 5th. Don’t be afraid – take part in this challenge! For more information, please visit http://www.sharecg.com/challenge.php
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- MXM October contest: Winter is coming! It’s time to pack away the swim suits and the beach towels and dust off your knitted sweaters and long underwear: retreat to your warm, cozy living room with a cup of hot chocolate and a fire crackling in the background.
It’s also time for the October MXM Gallery competition, and after having received many requests from users, we have decided to focus on architectural materials, starting with a “Floors” theme. It can be a wooden floor, a stone floor, a carpeted floor, a rugged floor, inside or outside the house. As always, realism and originality will be highly valued.
Keep an eye on http://mxmgallery.maxwellrender.com for more competition details and to find out what stunning prizes you can win this month. Good luck!
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- New Lightwave tutorials: Maxwell Render and Lightwave users pay attention! We have now uploaded several Lightwave-focused video tutorials to the Maxwell Render website. You will find videos on General Workflow, Rendering Animation, Controlling Depth of Field, Environment, Materials Approximation and more… Go to www.maxwellrender.com/plugins/lightwave/ to learn more about Maxwell Render & Lightwave.
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Image created in Lightwave and rendered in Maxwell by Hervé Steff |
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- Maxwell Render review: The Japanese publication CAD and CG Magazine has reviewed Maxwell Render 1.5 for their latest issue, which was out on September 24. Get your copy now or visit www.cadcg.com
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- MW demo: The Japanese CAD and CG Magazine (www.cadcg.com) offers a copy of the Maxwell Render demo (Win32 and Win64) on their CD insert. The magazine is out on October 24, don’t miss it!
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Lighting set-up
Maxwell Render & 3DS Max |
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