E-on software previewed key new technologies of its upcoming Vue 9 products for professionals: Vue 9 xStream and Vue 9 Infinite (scheduled for release Q4 2010), at this year's SIGGRAPH. E-on software also performed product demonstrations of Carbon Scatter (instancing plug-in for 3ds Max, CINEMA 4D, LightWave 3D, Maya, and Softimage; scheduled for release later this year; more information), as well as LumenRT, a new product dedicated to high fidelity real-time visualization of architectural projects. [source]

E-on software, developers of natural 3D environment software, announced the immediate availability of an early beta version of Vue Infinite and xStream for Cocoa 64 framework on Mac OS X. Vue Infinite and xStream are e-on software's award winning solutions for CG professionals. Vue for Cocoa 64 is a complete rebuild of Vue for the Mac that will bring native 64-bit processing to this platform. On top of offering true 64-bit processing power to Mac users, the Cocoa 64 bit implementation of Vue will take advantage of the latest Apple hardware and operating system technologies to greatly enhance the work experience on this platform and allow the creation of much larger and more complex scenery with faster performance throughput. The Early Beta of Vue for Mac 64 is available at no charge to all users of Vue 8 Infinite and xStream, as a direct download from their User Account page. The Early Beta of Vue xStream currently operates in standalone mode only. The 64 bit versions of the xStream integration plug-ins will be made available in a future revision of the application. [source]

E-on software, digital nature specialist, announced the immediate availability of Vue 8.5 xStream and Infinite, its professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments. Vue xStream and Vue Infinite are the company's flagship solutions for the creation of natural 3D environments. While Vue Infinite is a stand-alone application, Vue xStream operates seamlessly inside 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, LightWave 3D and CINEMA 4D. Release 8.5 of Vue adds a number of new features, including: global gamma control, interactive cloud control, animated planetary cloud density maps, diagnosis render passes, unlimited material painting, new terrain sculpting tools, advanced EcoSystem control, improved OpenGL engine and viewport display, and more. Vue 8.5 upgrades are available free of charge for all users under maintenance. Users of Vue 8 who are not under maintenance and wish to advance to Vue 8.5 should purchase maintenance - they will receive Vue 8.5 and the Vue 9 upgrade free of charge. [source]

E-on software pre-released Vue 8.5 xStream and Infinite, its professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments. While Vue Infinite is a standalone application, Vue xStream operates seamlessly inside 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, LightWave 3D and CINEMA 4D applications. Version 8.5 adds a number of new features, incl. global gamma control; more control over cloud shape and animation including the ability to control the animated density of cloud layers on a planetary scale; new terrain sculpting tools; improved OpenGL engine and viewport display; and more... Vue 8.5 updates are available free of charge for all users under maintenance, and can be downloaded immediately. Final versions of Vue 8.5 xStream and Vue 8.5 Infinite are expected to ship during Q2 2010. [source]

Russian 3ds Max plug-in developer Exlevel released GrowFX 1.4.0, and update to its tool that "allows [you] to build plants and other objects, which grow in various directions." GrowFX works in 3ds Max 9 - 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2009 - 2010 (both 32 and 64-bit versions), and in its latest incarnation features: new Spline direction modifier; several new parameters for instanced geometry; improved user interface; and bug fixes (more). GrowFX 1.4.0 costs $325 US, updates from v1.x are free to all the registered users... A 30-day trial version of GrowFX (requires registration) includes all the features available in the registered version, with the exception of Editable Mesh conversion, GrowFX object copying, path limitation and disabled rendering in third party renderers... [source]

E-on software, a long-time specialist for 3D terrain and nature simulation software, released Vue 8.4, a major free update to its award winning Vue 8 solutions. Vue 8.4 adds many new features together with significant improvements to existing technologies, and overall productivity and workflow enhancements, including: faster displacement mapping; new Multi-materials that allow users to change all materials of any given object in a single operation and save them for future use; user-definable units in Function Graphs; EcoSystem display improvements; faster high quality previewing in OpenGL; etc. The Vue 8.4 update is initially released as a beta update and at no cost for users of Vue 8 xStream and Vue 8 Infinite through e-on software's regular update page. The Vue 8.4 update for e-on's product line for 3D Artists will be released in English later in this week, and in German and French shortly thereafter. [source]

Massive Software, developer of the Academy Award-winning 3D animation software for AI-driven characters, has released Massive 4.0. Massive allows artists to create and direct digital actors, from humanoids to birds, animals, cars and more to deliver realistic and emotive virtual performances. Massive "agents" use sight, sound and touch to interpret and react autonomously to the world around them. Massive incorporates procedural animation and artificial intelligence algorithms, and is used by professionals in animation, visual effects and design visualization. The latest release includes support for the popular V-Ray renderer (in addition to RenderMan, 3Delight, Air and mental ray), new terrain nodes with an unlimited number of .obj files for terrain geometry, enhanced Agent Fields and Variables, the ability to use Deep Shadow Maps to realistically render longer hair and fur and generate high quality self-shadowing, and more. Massive 4.0 is now available for Windows and Linux; Massive Jet 4.0, delivering out-of-the-box functionality, is available for $5,999 US per license. For ultimate customization, flexibility and the ability to create and edit agents, Massive Prime 4.0 is priced at $17,999 USD per license. [source]

E-on software announced the immediate availability of the French and German versions of its "virtual nature" product line for 3D enthusiasts and artists: Vue 8 Pioneer & Theme Packs, Vue 8 Frontier, Vue 8 Esprit, Vue 8 Studio and Vue 8 Complete. E-on software also confirmed that a Japanese version is underway, and should be released shortly. The localized documentation, interface and help files are available at no charge for existing users, via a dedicated language pack. This language pack can be downloaded from the e-on software website, alongside the latest Service Packs. [source]

Itoo Software's Forest Pack, a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max designed to create natural environments of trees and plants, has now been released in an updated version 3.3. This version is available to all users, and includes: new Distribution Map->Diversity modes; rewritten collision checking; fully multithread scattering process; etc. See all changes in the release notes. Forest Pack Pro 3 sells for 250 EUR (now temporarily reduced to 200 EUR) or 125 EUR (in case of an upgrade from Forest Pack 2.x), a freee, feature limited Forest Pack Lite version is available here. [source]

Planetside Software's Windows and Mac OS software for visualization of landscapes and natural environments, Terragen, has been upgraded to version 2.1. Terragen 2.1 is a free update for all purchasers of Terragen 2 and comes packed with new and enhanced features: reduced render time and multithreading enhancements; new shaders; new "populator" features; GUI improvements and fixes; safe saving fixes/changes; population and object rendering fixes; and more! If you've purchased Terragen 2, use the "Check for Updates" feature to get access to your 2.1 downloads. New licenses start at $199 US. The feature limited Free Edition can be downloaded at this location. [source]