J Dice releases Multiverse | USD 8.0.2 for Maya
Sunday, March twenty sixth, 2023 | Posted by Jim Thacker
Initially posted on 10 February 2023 and up to date with particulars of the free Solo version.
J Dice has launched Multiverse | USD 8.0, the most recent model of its USD-based Maya format, look growth, lighting and rendering toolset for manipulating giant VFX and animation knowledge units.
The replace provides help for CAD and BIM knowledge codecs, help for USDZ materials compounds, and efficiency enhancements of “100x” when loading giant USD hierarchies.
A USD-based resolution for authoring and visualising giant scenes for VFX and have animation
Multiverse is designed to writer, play again and modify advanced scenes, reminiscent of these generated throughout shot format and look growth in visible results or characteristic animation.
Though the software program additionally reads Alembic information, since model 6.0, workflow has primarily been primarily based round USD, now extensively supported in DCC functions.
In addition to studying and writing USD information, customers can writer USD hierarchies straight inside Maya by way of the ‘MEOW’ person interface, pitched as “pleasing, logical and intensely quick”.
Though Maya itself helps USD by way of the Maya for USD plugin, included within the installer since Maya 2022, Multiverse | USD additionally works with older variations of Maya, throughout each Python 2.7 and three.7/3.9.
You’ll be able to learn extra about the way it differs from different USD options within the on-line documentation.
Assist for brand new DCC and CAD file codecs, and USDZ materials packages
Multiverse | USD 8.0 extends the vary of file codecs that the software program helps, now studying in and procedurally rendering OBJ and FBX information, and CAD and BIM knowledge in IFC, IGES, STEP and STL format
J Dice describes the change as “open[ing] up the utilization of Multiverse for visualization [of CAD] knowledge”.
The software program additionally now helps USDZ materials packages – pre-made supplies containing textures, reminiscent of these from on-line asset library ambientCG – and may serialise Maya shading networks within the format.
Workflow and efficiency enhancements
Efficiency enhancements embrace lazy loading of primitives in MEOW, leading to “efficiency good points of 100x” with “hierarchies with a whole bunch of 1000’s of things/prims [loading] with out UI delays”.
There are additionally extra choices to regulate whether or not Multiverse reads in knowledge from exterior information by streaming it into Maya, or importing it within the standard method: you will discover particulars within the launch notes.
New cloud licences for groups the place artists make money working from home
As well as, J Dice has launched Multiverse Professional Cloud: a cloud-based licence system with “assured 99.95% uptime” through which licences usually are not tied to particular person person machines.
The brand new licences, which might co-exist with current offline licences, are supposed to allow groups through which artists make money working from home to licence Multiverse with out the necessity for VPN entry.
Pricing and availability
Multiverse | USD 8.0 is out there for Maya 2018+ on Home windows, Linux and macOS. It’s appropriate with Arnold 5.2+, 3Delight 2.0+, Redshift 3.0.67+, RenderMan 23.2+ and V-Ray 4.3+.
The software program is rental-only, with Professional Offline subscriptions beginning at $270/12 months for interactive floating licences and $90/12 months for render licences. Professional Cloud subscriptions price $30/month or $300/12 months.
Up to date 26 March 2023: J Dice has launched Multiverse USD 8.0.2.
It’s a minor bugfix replace, however it’s significance is that it’s the primary 8.x launch to incorporate the free Solo version for indie artists, which can be utilized in industrial initiatives.
Learn extra about Multiverse | USD on J Dice’s web site
Learn a full record of recent options in Multiverse | USD 8.0 within the on-line launch notes
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