Massive software released a major new upgrade to the Academy Award-winning, AI driven animation system, Massive 3.0 showcased at its SIGGRAPH 2007 booth #1428. Massive 3.0 delivers improved dynamics, dynamic hair and fur, lanes, layer simulations and more.
Massive allows artists to create and direct a great variety of things, from CG humanoids to birds, animals, cars and more to deliver realistic and emotive virtual performances. Massive "agents" are 3D characters that use sight, sound and touch to interpret and react autonomously to the world around them. Using procedural animation and AI.
"The release of Massive 3.0 marks a huge milestone for the company," said Massive Software ceo Diane Holland. "Not only are we delivering a significant upgrade to the software-but releasing it simultaneously on Linux and now Windows delivers what our customers in the animation, visualization, and education community have been eagerly waiting for."
New Massive 3.0 features:
* Dynamic Hair and Fur -- Use texture maps to control all hair parameters. Dynamic guide hairs can be interpolated in a render taking advantage of various details of implementation of the hair shader for either long or short hair.
* Lanes -- Lay down directional lanes in terrain and set up agents to follow lanes with this new automated feature. Designed to simplify traffic simulations with multiple layers, this feature is ideal for animating cars and streets, boats in a harbor or even groups of people in a building.
* Subdivision Surfaces -- Interactive viewing of subdivision surfaces on hundreds or thousands of agents is now available in the viewport via a specially developed and highly optimized level of detail algorithm. This feature enables users to build more high fidelity agents with a simplified pipeline.
* Simulation Passes -- Built-in simulation passes allow the user to set up multiple layers of simulation for such things as performance, dynamics, hair and cloth more quickly and efficiently. This feature saves time, improves workflow and allows for better collaboration between artists.
* Improved Dynamics -- It's now possible for agents to seamlessly transition back from dynamics into performing motion captured or keyframed actions. This means that an agent could be violently knocked down to the ground with all the realism of a "smart stunts" dynamic performance, and then get back up to continue the fight.
* FBX Support -- Easily import and export skeletal data in and out of Massive when using animation packages ranging from Autodesk Maya and Maxon Cinema 4D to Autodesk 3ds Max much more quickly and easily than before.
For more comprehensive Massive 3.0 features and product information, please visit www.massivesoftware.com.
Massive 3.0 is available now for Windows and Linux. Massive Jet 3.0 is priced at $5,999, while Massive 3.0 is priced at $17,999.
New Zealand-based Massive Software (www.massivesoftware.com) is the leading creator of artificial intelligence-based 3D animation systems. Massive was founded when Stephen Regelous programmed a unique piece of software for director Peter Jackson to make creation of complicated visual effects scenes involving hundreds of thousands of digital characters a practical reality. Regelous garnered a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004.
