Toronto, Canada-based Alias on Monday announced it’s shipping its previously announced MotionBuilder 7, the latest major release of its 3D character animation software. Pricing remains the same as MotionBuilder 6 — it’s available in a US$4,195 node-locked version and a floating license is $4,795.
MotionBuilder is a professional character animation tool aimed at the entertainment industry that provides users with a real-time architecture, non-destructive animation layering, “Story Timeline” environment and other features. It supports FBX, a 3D authoring and interchange format first pioneered by MotionBuilder’s original developer, Kaydara. Kaydara was acquired by Alias, and their products have been integrated into Alias’ line.
New rigging enhancements include character extensions and control rig visual feedback. New workflow features have been added including save and load character animation functions that let you more quickly transfer and repurpose animation clips with any character. Also improved is interoperability with other 3D applications, including the ability to more easily transfer animated character setups between MotionBuilder and Alias’ Maya software.
System requirements call for a G4 or faster, 256MB RAM, CD-ROM drive, OpenGL graphics support with at least 32MB VRAM, 600MB hard disk space, and Mac OS X v10.3 or later.