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Other additions
Motion Mixer has undergone a few changes that should make it much easier to work with.
Finally, LightWave 7.5 supports BioVision Motion Capture data. With this set of plug-ins, LightWave 7.5 reads the BioVision data, creates all necessary bones, and applies the motion capture data to the skeleton. Then it is a simple matter of replacing the Null object that is created, with your character. If you are unsure how big your character should be in order to match the BVH bones, another plug-in can be found in Modeler, which creates Skelegons in the BVH rest position. You then can scale and size your character to match.
Some may argue that the changes and improvements in this version of LightWave 3D do not justify a .5 release. I think it does. In the past when NewTek has released a .2 or .3 upgrade, it has only been to add one or two new features. The features and improvements in this version are significant and I’m surprised NewTek stopped at .5. This version could have easily been LightWave 7.8.
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The more I work with LightWave 7.5, the more I like it. This version is the cleanest, most powerful version to date. As I have done in the past, I give LightWave 7.5 a Must Buy Recommendation for any animator who wants power, creative control, and flexibility when they build and animate projects, for film, video, CD-ROM and the web.
A more official list will be released Thursday after the New York event. Here is a quick rundown of the some of the best parts of LightWave 7.5.
[7.5] New Features
A few of the new features in LightWave [7.5] include:
Single USB duo dongle offers one package for both Macintosh and Windows users
Speed Optimizations for:
OpenGL display
Bone deformations
Deformation Plug-ins
Subdivision Surfaces
Inverse Kinematics
Motion Mixer 2.0 improvements:
Time Warp curves
Blending between motion mixer data and keyframe data
Motion Weighting
Can now utilize any channel in the system
Improved interface
Other:
OpenGL Sliders for quick access to any animated parameters
OpenGL motion blur and depth of field previews
Multiple bounce radiosity
Added filmstock presets to Virtual Darkroom plug-in
DPI calculator sets camera resolution appropriately based on desired inches or picas
X-Ray mode shows bones through solid items
Powergons embed commands into polygons which execute in Layout
Expression builder for easy creation of complex expressions
Dynamic Parenting and constraints
Interactive BandSaw and BandGlue Tools
UV Spider for BandSaw-like UV creation and selection
Magic Bevel tool for interactive bevels along splines
Keyframer tool allows manipulation of multiple keyframes simultaneously
New file formats including PSD, Aura DEEP, RPF, 64-bit SGI, and .flx, a floating point format
Camera Cutting Preview Tool
Ability to exclude objects from a light’s effect in the light properties panel
Ability to set an entire object to ‘Unseen by Alpha’
Luxigons: a new polygon type that can be converted into Lights when loaded into Layout
Thursday, NewTek is releasing LightWave 7.5 registered users. The upgrade can be downloaded from the NewTek site. New users who purchase LightWave 7.5 will receive the new cross platform USB dongle. The new pricing structure is still in effect. LightWave 7.5 can be purchased for both platforms for $1595. For more information, please visit NewTek at www.newtek.com
Stephen Schleicher is the producer for www.digitalanimators.com and www.digitalwebcast.com. When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products he can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at stephens@digitalmedianet.com
Source: Digital Media Online, Inc.
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