Wondertouch has announced the release of particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X, a software application for creating particle animations that can be used cinematically and for artistic purposes. It costs US$349 through August 31; afterwards it will cost $399. Existing owners of particleIllusion SE for Mac OS X can upgrade for $249.
ParticleIllusion is a standalone application that generates effects like smoke, fire, explosions, water effects, sparkles and more. It features OpenGL-based hardware acceleration to provide real-time previews of most effects, as well.
The new release includes features found in the already-released Windows 3.0 release, such as “super emitters,” “forces” that let you influence particles after they are created (like wind), new color options like “get color from layer,” and dozens of interface and productivity improvements. The rendering engine has been improved, as well.