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Chaos Group Releases All-in-one Fluid Dynamics Plugin Phoenix FD 3 for Autodesk Maya

Fire, smoke, liquid and ocean simulations now possible directly in Maya; FLIP Solver tops new feature set.

LOS ANGELES -- Chaos Group has released Phoenix FD 3 for Maya, a major update to its all-in-one fluid dynamics plugin for Autodesk Maya. Phoenix FD supports a wide range of fluid simulations including smoke, fire, water and oceans, making it a popular choice for fast-paced television productions such as Arrow, Once Upon a Time and The Man in the High Castle. With a new FLIP liquid solver, plus a new fire and smoke solver, Phoenix FD 3 for Maya delivers realistic visual effects in shorter time frames.

Phoenix FD 3 for Maya’s quick presets and intuitive controls now make it faster and easier for artists to create any type of fluid simulation. Phoenix FD works seamlessly in Maya and renders with V-Ray, Chaos Group’s Academy Award-winning rendering solution.

“Phoenix FD lets us simulate fire and smoke effects quickly for projects with short deadlines,” said Saker Klippsten, CTO at Zoic Studios. “Artists save valuable time by iterating looks without leaving Maya.”

Highlights of Phoenix FD 3 for Maya include:

  • FLIP solver – Fast, realistic liquid solver.
  • New fire & smoke solver – Create realistic smoke and fire with super-fine details.
  • Quick presets – New toolbar with presets for fire, smoke and liquid simulations.
  • Ocean simulations – Create ocean surfaces that never repeat using procedural ocean displacement. Preview and render the ocean surface without simulating cache files.
  • Wave force – Transition from a procedural ocean surface to detailed wave simulations.
  • Force controls – Art direct and control simulations with forces like wind, mesh attraction and more.
  • Path follow – Create simulations that follow a path along a spline:
  • Interactive simulations – Fine-tune simulations interactively in the viewport with Phoenix FD’s GPU-accelerated preview.
  • Refine simulations – Increase simulation resolution and add detail without changing overall shape or behavior.
  • Simulation retiming – Speed up or slow down simulation playback. Perfect for slow motion effects.
  • Cascade simulations – Create a series of simulations that trigger and interact with each other.
  • Emission sources – Use a wide range of customizable emission sources, including animated meshes, texture maps and particles, to drive complex simulations:
  • Fast volume rendering – Optimized volume rendering with accurate lighting and global illumination.
  • Compatibility – Supports industry-standard tools and formats like Alembic and OpenVDB.
  • Simulation licenses – Use Phoenix FD simulation licenses to submit jobs over the network to Deadline and Backburner.

Phoenix FD 3 is available now for Autodesk Maya and is a free upgrade for all Phoenix FD 2.x for Maya customers. A Phoenix FD 3 for Maya Workstation license is $830 and includes one floating user license and one floating simulation license. Additional simulation licenses are available for $210. Contact sales@chaosgroup.com (link sends e-mail) for volume discounts.

Source: Chaos Group

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.