Autodesk Inc. subsidiary Discreet on Tuesday announced combustion 3, a major new release of its visual effects and 3D compositing software for Mac and Windows.
Combustion 3 includes new features like the Editing Operator, which enables users to assemble video with transitions directly in combustion, without using a non-linear video editing software package first. Also new are Expressions — JavaScript code that allows combustion users to create complex animations while reducing repetition. Flash output is now supported — vector paint and animation interface tools can let users export animations in Macromedia’s Flash format.
Other changes to combustion 3 include customizable brushes, savable presets, timeline markers, and DV capture and output.
Discreet expects to ship combustion 3 first for Windows XP and Windows 2000, in fall 2003. The Mac OS X version will follow in early 2004. Combustion 3 will cost US$995, or $199 for upgrades from Combustion 2.x.