Maya 4.5, the seventh major release of Alias|Wavefront's popular Maya 3D animation software is now available for the Windows, IRIX and Linux operating systems, with Maya Complete 4.5 for Mac OS X available on September 23, 2002. Maya 4.5 boasts a number of major technological developments such as Maya Fluid Effects and modeling improvements, the largest collection of API enhancements since version 1 and version parity with Maya Complete 4.5 for Mac OS X. "We are proud to be shipping Maya 4.5 on time and for all platforms, as promised to our extensive user community," says Bob Bennett, General Manager of Product Development, Alias|Wavefront. "In addition to the stunning Fluid Effects technology developed for Maya Unlimited, we have answered the need of the Mac community to provide version parity with Maya Complete 4.5 for Mac OS X. Our beta sites have been raving about the new features of Maya 4.5 and you'll soon see the results in upcoming major motion pictures, commercials and video games." Maya Fluid Effects will allow users to create: atmospheric effects (billowing clouds and cigarette smoke); thick, viscous liquids (mud, lava); pyrotechnics (fire, explosions, nuclear blasts); and space effects (comets, nebulae and meteors). The addition of a new Ocean Shader allows users to create realistic oceans through a displacement and shading technique. The ability to create buoyant objects that react to the simulated water movement makes the Ocean Shader one of the software's most anticipated features. An extensive library of examples and presets is included in the software, with additional updates accessible from the Alias Website. For more information on Maya Fluid Effects, visit http://www.aliaswavefront.com/fluids. Maya Complete, available for the Windows XP, Windows 2000 Professional, IRIX, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems, is priced at US$1,999 and includes Advanced Modeling, rendering, animation, dynamics, Maya Artisan, Maya Paint Effects and Maya Embedded Language (MEL), an open interface for programming and scripting. Maya Unlimited is priced at US$6,999 and includes Maya Fluid Effects, Maya Fur, Maya Cloth, and Maya Live.
