(October
26) NewTek released HyperVoxels 2.0 in download form today at
a price of $249. The plug-in, which is also a part of next year's LightWave
6.0, was released early so that LightWave artists could take early advantage
of its breakthrough rendering technology that greatly simplifies the
creation of highly sophisticated volumetric rendering effects.
"HyperVoxels 2.0 is another giant leap forward in NewTek's already unrivaled rendering arsenal," says Brad Peebler, vice president of NewTek's 3D Graphics Group. "Finally users can utilize volumetric rendering to create photorealistic clouds, flames, explosions, and other gaseous effects, not to mention the incredible flexibility for creating viscous fluids and detailed solid surfaces as well."
HyperVoxels is a sub-pixel volumetric rendering technology that ray traces continuous virtual surfaces that can be perturbed with various hyper-textures, or algorithmic textures that allow for extremely detailed 3D surfaces. HyperVoxels surfaces and volumetrics are integrated with the LightWave 3D 5.6 rendering engine to support ray-traced reflections, refractions, and shadows.
"This is truly a remarkable technology that is years ahead of its time," says Peebler. HyperVoxels technology provides a geometry-efficient tool for LightWave 3D users that easily creates and renders organic effects such as fluids, smoke, pyroclastic effects, clouds, rocky surfaces, rusted materials, and other worldly phenomena. Previously, animators avoided creating these types of effects or used a laborious combination of morph targets, displacement maps and bones to create these types of effects.
"With HyperVoxels for LightWave 3D 5.6, reality is merely the beginning," says Danny Braet, senior digital artist and founding member of Station X Studios. "Pyroclastics, explosions, dust, nebulas, contrails, liquids, Jell-O and electromicroscopic images. [It's a] Peace of cake thanks to NewTek's HyperVoxels technology."
NewTek made the choice of releasing HyperVoxels 2.0 now versus making users wait until possibly mid next year for version 6.0 of LightWave.
"There will be functions similar to HyperVoxels 2.0 in the next generation of LightWave," says Peebler. "…There is always a delicate balance between releasing something and holding it for another revision. In this case we feel the technology is compelling enough to get it into the hands of early adopters who need this functionality at a price well below the competition. Truth be known, there is really no competition that creates everything HyperVoxels 2.0 can. I can say in good faith that any professional animator using LightWave will be satisfied with HyperVoxels 2.0 and our upgrade strategy for the next generation of LightWave. Will HyperVoxels 2.0 be a part of that next generation? Certainly the engine inside will be. But considering it will only be a small fraction of the total product I think our strategy is a fair one."
Peebler also says that he believes most animators will get their money's worth, from HyperVoxels 2.0, after just the first project.
The most significant new feature in HyperVoxels 2.0 is a completely new internal Volumetric Rendering engine. Now animators have the technology to create impressive effects such as photoreal 3D clouds, volcanic ash, rocket contrails, thick smoke, and other natural phenomena. Because HyperVoxels renders the complete mass, users can create even more realistic animation by flying right into the volume of the effect.
HyperVoxels 2.0 is also being released in CD form at a cost of $269. The CD, however, won't be available until mid-November. User who decide to download instead have to first purchase the product and then are entered into a "que" for downloading the product. Detailed instructions are given when a person calls to order. The number for ordering is 1-800-847-6111. To purchase HyperVoxels 2.0, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
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