Autodesk has announced Maya 8.5, a new version of its 3D animation, modeling and rendering software. It’s available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows platforms. Maya 8.5 is available starting at $1,999 with upgrades also available for users of previous versions.
Maya — the industry-standard 3D software for game designers, film and television visual effects artists and others, now features “Maya nCloth,” which lets artists control cloth, plastic, metal and other materials, simulating air pressure models.
Also new in this release is Python scripting. Python is an open-source programming language that lets you create custom scripts and automate Maya workflows.
Maya 8.5 is finally available as a Universal binary, so it runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs.
Other new features enable you to transfer polygon attributes, make the mental ray renderer easier to use, localized Japanese language support, and a new “Nucleus” unified simulation framework.
Maya 8.5 is available in Complete and Unlimited versions for $1,999 and $6,999 respectively. The Unlimited version adds fluid effects, hair, fur and other capabilities.
System requirements call for a G5 or Intel-based Mac, 1GB RAM, 2GB hard disk space, OpenGL-based graphics, three-button mouse and DVD-ROM drive.