Universal Audio released a new version of the UAD Software package for its UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform and hardware accelerators. It contains a new plug-in, the Ocean Way Studios Plug-In, and two new Direct Developer plug-ins (SPL TwinTube and Sonnox Oxford Inflator). Developed over a three-year period by UA and Allen Sides, Ocean Way Studios ($349US) is an audio processing breakthrough - combining elements of room, microphone, and source modeling so tracks sound as if they were recorded in the legendary studios of Ocean Way Recording. Built upon UA's proprietary Dynamic Room Modeling technology, Ocean Way Studios provides the unique ambience and dispersion properties of various sources in the rooms at Ocean Way, as recorded through a selection of rare vintage microphones that can be dynamically positioned in real time. The SPL TwinTube Processor Plug-In ($199 US) is an authentic software version of SPL's tube effects processor, adding analog tube warmth, saturation, and harmonic distortion without impacting dynamic range. The second Direct Developer plug-in, Sonnox Oxford Inflator ($179 US), increases the apparent loudness of a mix or individual tracks without audibly affecting sonic quality or reducing dynamic range. Get the UAD Software v7.0 here. [source]

E-on software announced the availability of Vue 11.5 xStream and Infinite, the latest production-driven version of its professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments. Specifically designed for graphics professionals, Vue xStream and Vue Infinite combine a multitude of cutting edge features that easily integrate into existing production pipelines. Vue Infinite operates as a standalone application while Vue xStream works seamlessly inside 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, LightWave and CINEMA 4D. Release 11.5 of Vue adds a number of new features including: EcoCollision, making EcoParticles collide with EcoSystem instances; Render Stack improvements merging render areas, reloading camera settings or setting stacks per scene; improved material management; a new Color Channel Editor available from the Post Render Options; and more. Vue 11.5 is available free of charge for all users under maintenance. Vue 11.5 xStream retails for $1,995 US (with one year maintenance), and upgrades from Vue 10 xStream are starting at $539. Vue 11 Infinite retails for $1,495 US (with one year maintenance), upgrades from version 10 are $459 US. [source]

cebas Visual Technology Inc. announced the release of an all-new Service Pack for thinkingParticles 5 (more) and the availability of the plug-in for 3ds Max 2014 and 3ds Max Design 2014 versions. The build is also compatible with 3ds Max 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 editions. In addition to thinkingParticles 5 SP3, cebas also released volumeBreaker, scalpelMax, and StairMax for 3ds Max 2014... More here. [source]

Autodesk Labs extended the preview period for its Sci-Viz tool designed to enable Max users run scientific visualization tools such as ePMV and autoPack from within the 3ds Max (more). The preview period has been extended till November 1, 2013. [source]

Planetside Software released a free version of Terragen 2.5, and an updated v2.5.5.0 for licensed users of the full edition. Build 2.5.5.0 includes a more robust OBJ reader, corrected normals on the Card object, and other fixes as well as user interface improvements. If you are new to version 2.5, significant changes in 2.5 include the export of camera, lights, nulls and animation to FBX format, export of camera data to Nuke .CHAN format, export of terrain data to FBX format, and more. Licensed users can use the built-in Help > Check For Updates feature to update. The Free Non-commercial Edition is located here. [source]

French developer Golaem announced the release of the Golaem Crowd Character Pack, a set of free ready-to-use characters and motions enabling faster crowd shots creation. It is available free of charge for all users of Golaem Crowd, a crowd animation solution for Autodesk Maya on Linux and Windows systems. The Golaem Crowd Characters Pack includes ready-to-use character with a hundred props, texture variations for each prop, and 14 motions. Golaem Crowd has also been updated to version 2.3 introducing the Geometry Behavior as well as the Character Maker, a revamped tool for converting and editing character skeletons or motions. [source]

Thinkinetic released Pulldownit 2.5, new version of its dynamics solver for Maya and 3ds Max, designed to create fractures in models as well as massive rigid body simulations. Version 2.5 adds several fixes, and new features alike, including new activation options for fracture bodies, new ability to set fragments as static/dynamic, force fields that can break fracture bodies, and more. [source]

E-on software's procedural vegetation modeling software The Plant Factory will be released Q2, 2013 for an as of yet unannounced price, revealed theplantfactory-tech.com. The software will enable to create virtual plants by either manually painting the shape of the plant, by assembling ready-made components, or by constructing them from scratch, using a graph of nodes. The Plant Factory will be a standalone application (compatible with all 3D products) that will also integrate more tightly with Vue. Plants created with TPF in .veg format will be compatible with Vue 11 and up. All Vue versions will be able to read static plants exported from TPF as .obj or .3ds. [source]

Side Effects Software released Houdini 12.5 which offers a wealth of new and enhanced features including Cloud FX, Ocean FX, OpenVDB volume sculpting tools and an optimized lighting and rendering pipeline with built-in support for delayed-load Alembic primitives. The new Cloud FX tools offer an artist-friendly way of building, sculpting and rendering cloud formations. This workflow utilizes sparse volume sculpting tools created as part of the OpenVDB Open Source initiative. The integration of these tools is the result of a direct collaboration between DreamWorks Animation and Side Effects Software. The Ocean FX Wave tool deforms geometry into animated oceanscapes using volumes. Users can visualize the results in the viewport and either render the geometry as is or export an animated texture to use as a displacement map. The lighting and rendering pipeline in Houdini 12.5 has been significantly enhanced with relighting options and optimizations in IPR. Primitive support for file types such as Alembic resulting in much lighter data passing to either the viewport or the Mantra renderer. These enhancements make Houdini much more robust when working with huge data sets... Version 12.5 includes many additional features including Volume lights, new Bullet RBD constraints, a new PolySoup primitive type for optimizing large models, point primitives, a powerful Surface remesher and more. [source]

Thinkbox Software announced the release of Krakatoa SR, a stand-alone version of Thinkbox Software's high-volume particle renderer for Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems that can be integrated with any 3D content creation application. Previously available for Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya 3D software, Krakatoa is CPU-based, highly optimized, heavily multi-threaded, and can be used successfully on most hardware, including laptops and render nodes, without dedicated high-end graphics accelerators. Krakatoa SR exposes both a Python-based interface and a C++ API to connect to various professional 3D applications such as The Foundry's Nuke or Side Effects Software's Houdini. For information on pricing or to request a 15-day evaluation license, visit thinkboxsoftware.com. [source]