Autodesk on Monday announced the next version of Maya, the popular 3D modeling, animation and rendering software for Mac OS X and other operating systems. Maya 2008 will be released in September, 2007 in Complete and Unlimited versions for $1,999 and $6,999, respectively.
Maya 2008 provides users with extensive 3D modeling, animation, effects and rendering capabilities. It sports an engine that can be scripted using an Application Program Interface (API) or using one of two scripting languages. It offers polygon, NURBS and subdivision surface modeling, rigid and soft body dynamics, particle effects, paint effects, different rendering engines and more. The Unlimited version adds support for fluid effects, cloth, hair and fur, along with other advanced effects not available in the Complete version.
Highlights of Maya 2008 include increased polygonal modeling efficiency, including a streamlined Mesh Smooth workflow, new Slide Edge feature, and improvements to Booleans, Bridge, Bevel and other tools; over performance improvements, with an up to 30x improvement when using the Poly Reduce function; mental ray translation up to 20x faster and more; support for DirectX HLSL shaders, a new hardware shader API and enhancements to the high-quality render view; improved rigging and skinning toolsets and new non-destructive skin editing capabilities.
Autodesk’s Maya Web site had not been updated with information about Maya 2008 as Macworld posted this article.