Electric Rain Inc. has updated Swift 3D to version 3.0. The application for building and exporting 3D animations to the Macromedia Flash (SWF) file format (as well as other vector and raster formats) is now Mac OS X compatible.
The Mac OS X version of Swift 3D offers advantages over previous versions by utilizing Mac OS X’s dynamic memory management and multitasking capabilities, providing faster rendering speeds and enhanced workflow, according to Electric Rain President Mike Soucie.
In Swift 3D images can be created from fonts and basic 3D primitives within the application itself or imported from other software solutions such as 3D Studio, Adobe Illustrator or any program that exports Encapsulated PostScript files (EPS). It’s powered by the RAViX II rendering engine, which provides such options as reflections, transparency, specularity and multiple shadows.
Swift 3D 3.0 also offers SmartLayer Technology and an EMO Ray Tracer. The first works in conjunction with the Swift 3D Importer plug-in for Flash MX enabling the rendering of scenes to layers. EMO Ray Tracer offers support for bitmap texturing and can export images and animations to raster-based file formats as well as Macromedia Flash
The Mac OS X version of Swift 3D is a free upgrade for owners of Swift 3D 3.0 for Macintosh; upgrades from other versions are US$89. For new users, the suggested retail price is $169.