LumenRT 2 for SketchUp on Mac and Windows has an entirely new, state-of-the-art real-time rendering engine. The program boasts a complete physical simulation of light, physical and accurate reflections, time-of-day (TOD) real-time rendering adjustability, precise anti-aliasing and motion-blur, software shadows, superb water and underwater effects, realistic skies and advanced material rendering.

01 - LumenRT 2 has stunning real-time lighting rendering capability. (image courtesy of e-on Software)

Some specific new features in version 2 include:

• Standard quality mode generates fast lighting using global illumination
• Accelerated processing of scenes with visual feedback
• Export SketchUp time-lapse animations support
• LumenRT material editor lets you adjust materials directly inside SketchUp
• Create animations of unlimited length
• Low-quality real-time rendering mode for slower graphics boards

e-on Software said the product, currently compatible with SketchUp, is being ported to other 3D platforms, but did not announce which ones. For this major release the company is publishing a free trial version or LumenRT 2 for Mac and Windows, immediately available for download at: try.lumenrt.com

LumenRT is the only solution that combines real-time rendering with a full, physical simulation of light, letting architects and their clients accurately experience the true volume and lighting of their designs.

LumenRT 2 is a plugin application for SketchUp and works on both the free and Pro versions of SketchUp. The product retails for 295.USD with an introductory price of 195.USD. It is supported on SketchUp on Mac OS X platforms (10.6+) and Widnows XP, Vista and 7. Users of LumenRT are eligible for a free upgrade to LumenRT 2 until February 29, 2012. The free trial version is fully functional for up to 15 days. Output for the trial version is watermarked.

To learn more visit LumenRT here.

There is no additional charge for French and German language options.

To learn more visit the e-on software website here.

With these editions you can “test drive” the leading digital nature solutions for 3D artists and graphics professionals. While Vue 10 Infinite is a stand-alone professional application that can be easily integrated into a studio pipeline, Vue 10 xStream operates seamlessly inside of Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Newtek Lightwave, Maxon’s Cinema 4D and Autodesk Softimage.

New editions in the Vue 10 PLE include such items as spline and road tools, physical transparency and water engine, and things like its EcoSystem Phasing. The Personal Learning Editions allow you to save your work, export to other applications, render stills and animations without size or length limits and experience Vue’s power directly inside leading 3D software suites.

To learn more about Vue 10 software options visit e-on Software online here.

“Vue 10 represents a significant milestone in our continuous delivery of leading-edge Digital Nature technologies,” said Nicholas Phelps, President of e-on Software. “High-resolution rocks, physical water and spline-driven effects together with faster rendering and advanced render stacking are some of the examples of the many new technologies in Vue 10.”

The Beaverton, Oregon-based, company also announced that they will release the rest of the Vue 10 product line by mid November, 2011.

Vue 10 xStream is the company’s flagship solution offering CG professionals the leading solution for creating exceptionally rich and realistic “Digital Nature” environments, fully immersed within a range of 3rd-party software suites such as: Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, and Softimage, plus Maxon CINEMA 4D or Newtek Lightwave. All Vue tools are fully integrated in the host application as menus and toolbars and directly accessible from within the host interface.

Vue 10 Infinite is a premier standalone solution from e-on Software. It offers all the powerful tools in a separate application and is ideal for multimedia and entertainment professionals, architects and graphic designers.

Standard retail pricing for Vue 10 xStream is 1,790.USD with a one year maintenance contract and upgrades start at 395.USD. Vue 10 Infinite retails for 1,190.USD with a one year maintenance contract with upgrades from 295.USD.

To learn more about the Vue 10 product line visit them online here.

The new build also adds several quality and reliability enhancements to improve overall performance and stability. As an example, new optimizations in Release 1.2 can lead to a 14x gain on pre-processing time!

LumenRT Accolades

LumenRT users may download this important new release for free

After just over a month since commercial release, the 3D World CG Awards 2011 jury, composed of 17 industry experts, nominated LumenRT for the Plug-in of the Year award!

“LumenRT provides the flexibility and freedom to quickly set up, output, and browse the virtual scene! The high-fidelity output creates a very nice impression and impact.”, Xijin Cai.

“The ability to share the entire model in an easily navigable, visually pleasing is a great feature and could really help when you’re explaining design intent to clients!”, Ben Kitching, 3D Consultant at Jigsaw.

LumenRT Review for SketchUp and SketchUp Pro currently retails for $195 (introductory price – SRP: $295).

LumenRT is a 32 & 64 bits application, designed for the Windows® 32/64 bits XP, Vista and Windows 7 as well as Intel Mac OS X platforms (v10.6+).

To gain better insight into how LumenRT operates, a set of sample LumenRT LiveCubes™ and some electronic documentation is available for download.

For more information.

Carbon Scatter Features Include:

• Automated Smart Scattering:  Carbon Scatter does not merely scatter the objects randomly across the underlying surface, but actually computes where to place them according to the relief of the underlying geometry. For example, as in nature, more trees will grow on flat terrains than on steep slopes, and no objects will be placed where they are likely to “fall down”.

• Paint Objects and Plants with the EcoPainter (3ds Max and C4D):  The EcoSystem painter tool (EcoPainter) lets the user interactively paint instances over any surface (or group of surfaces). Painted instances can be attached to the underlying surface so they move together with the surface, or they can be independent. Painting can be performed with a mouse or with a tablet, which gives you the ability to control additional parameters through pressure.

• Advanced EcoSystem Control:  Multiple plants can be dragged from the plant browser into the EcoSystem population list, making the preparation of complex EcoSystems much quicker. When painting EcoSystems, users can paint with the underlying EcoSystem material rules applied, so that, for instance, the influence of slope and altitude or the sizing rules are taken into account.

• Powerful Layered EcoSystem Materials and Function Graph:  EcoSystems behave just like regular materials. A single EcoSystem material can have any number of layers, each layer with its own population list and full set of controls.

Users can easily influence EcoSystem populations according to altitude, slope or orientation, or even take advantage of Carbon Scatter’s powerful function graph to control almost every aspect of the population. For example, artists can use a fractal noise generator to control the distribution instances, or use a bitmap to limit distribution to specific areas. On top of this, the population density can also depend on time.

And more: compatibility with SolidGrowthCS plant technology, over 100 SolidGrowthCS plant species available, free unlimited network rendering nodes, support for animated proxies…

A complete and detailed list of features

Carbon Scatter is available in English for Windows XP, Vista and 7 (32 and 64 bit), and on Mac OSX 10.5+ (Mac Intel only, 32 and 64 bit).

Carbon Scatter comes in 3 flavors: Carbon Scatter Single, Carbon Scatter Multi and Carbon Scatter Multi-CE (Content Edition).

Carbon Scatter Single (SRP: $195) can be used with one of the compatible applications installed on your system (choice of the host application is done upon order). It will work with all compatible renderers for the selected host application (e.g. mental ray and V-Ray for 3ds Max).

Carbon Scatter Multi (SRP: $295) can be used with all compatible applications and renderers installed on your system.

Carbon Scatter Multi-CE (SRP: $395) includes over 100 SolidGrowthCS plants and can be used with all compatible applications and renderers installed on your system.

Special offer until July 25, 2011, owners of Vue 6 through Vue 9 (Infinite or xStream) can save $200 on Carbon Scatter and get Carbon Scatter Multi-CE for $195 only!

For more info

Vue Users Compete

Designed to showcase the capabilities of 3D technology for CG environments, this competition is open to Vue users, to gain recognition as well as over 11,000.USD in prizes!

Contestants can use any version of Vue – including Pioneer and the Personal Learning Edition (PLE), stand alone or in combination with any other 3D application. They may also use Carbon Scatter, e-on software’s instancing plugin for 3ds Max, Maya and Cinema4D.

e-on software announced earlier this week, that Vue 9 and LumenRT both being nominated, respectively, in the Software Update of the Year, and Plug-in of the Year categories, at the 3D World CG Awards 2011.

So this is a very exciting time to showcase users and Vue-fans’ skills. Submissions have started July 6, 2011 and end August 31, 2011. The winners of the competition will be announced on September 8, 2011.

World Class Judges

The judges, all leading figures in the world of 3D graphics, across industries from film to media, will be:

Paul Huston – Senior Digital Matte Artist, Industrial Light & Magic
Dark Hoffman – Freelance Digital Artist, Pixomondo
Mikael Genachte – Lead Environment Painter, Rhythm and Hues
Eran Dinur – Compositing Supervisor, Brainstorm Digital
Stephane Belin – Senior Concept Artist, Blizzard Entertainment
Susumu Yukuhiro – Matte Painting Supervisor, Whiskytree
Tom Greenway – Editor, 3DTotal.com
Steve Jarratt – Editor, 3D World magazine
Paul Hellard – Editor, CGSociety.org

The winner of the “3D Environment Competition 2011″ will receive over $6,200.USD worth of prizes including: Vue 9.5 xStream ($1,495), 3D Total Mega Bundle (>$1200), Cinema 4D Prime Release R12 ($995), Pixologic Zbrush 4 ($699), Google SketchUp Pro 8 ($495), Carbon Scatter Multi CE ($395), LumenRT Review for SketchUp ($295), d’Artiste Character Modeling Volume 1, 2 & 3 ($225), 1 year subscription to 3D World magazine ($150), 1 year subscription to 3D Creative and 2D Artist magazines ($81.2), $100 voucher for Cornucopia3D content, Realism in Vue Training book, ($59.95), and a 1 year CGSociety Membership ($29.95).

The first runner up will receive Vue 9.5 Infinite ($995), Pixologic Zbrush 4 ($699), Google SketchUp Pro 8 ($495), LumenRT Review for SketchUp ($295), d’Artiste Digital Painting Volume 1 & 2 ($150), 1 year subscription to 3D World magazine ($150), 1 year subscription to 3D Creative and 2D Artist magazines ($81.2), $75 voucher for Cornucopia3D content, Realism in Vue Training book ($59.95), and a 1 year CGSociety Membership ($29.95).

The second runner up will receive Vue 9 Complete ($599), Google SketchUp Pro 8 ($495), LumenRT Review for SketchUp ($295), 1 year subscription to 3D World magazine ($150), 1 year subscription to 3D Creative and 2D Artist magazines ($81.2), d’Artiste Concept Art ($75), Realism in Vue Training book ($59.95), $50 voucher for Cornucopia3D content, and a 1 year CGSociety Membership ($29.95).

More information and submission guidelines

For more info on E-on Software

The show Seminar events will feature in-depth presentations on e-on software’s flagship Vue Product Line, as well as introduce additional products such as LumenRT and Carbon Scatter.

These seminars will also be covering, simpler ways to use these products more effectively.

Dates and Times

June 14: AIGA, Rennes – France
Philippe Ruveron: philipperuveron@aiga.eu

June 17: Weltenbauer, Wiesbaden – Germany
Berthold Grünhagen: berthold@weltenbauer.com

June 24: Siacad, Singapore
Ben Thum: vue@siacad.com

June 30: C.A.I. Systeme, Berlin – Germany
Armin Issmayer: aissmayer@cai_systeme.com

July 1: 3Dstudio.nl, Utrecht – The Netherlands
Stefan Twigt: stefan@3dstudio.nl

Fusion, Cairo – Egypt
Ayman Raafat: a.raafat@fusionvfx.com

July 5: Bardins, Szczecin – Poland
Piotr Burzynski: info@bardins.pl

July 6: Softwarediskont, Vienna – Austria
Markus Fiala: markus.fiala@softwarediskont.com

For more information

Vue 9.5 adds a number of important new technologies useful to professional 3D production pipelines. A new interactive texture placement features enables users to manipulate, scale and rotate textures interactively in their 3D workflow directly on the mesh. Vue 9.5 also has new advanced cloud control and will utilize a workstation’s GPU for accelerated anti-aliasing of thin polygon meshes.

To learn more about Vue 9.5 xStream and Infinite go to the company’s website here.

The company is therefore calling on CD4 and Maya users (on both Mac and Windows) to help them finalize plugin development by joining their internal beta program for Carbon Scatter.

What is Carbon Scatter?

For those C4D and Maya users not in the know, Carbon Scatter is e-on software’s plugin software tool that integrates e-on’s powerful EcoSystem algorithms directly into the host application, allowing users to populate native scenes with millions of instances, and render them within their renderer of choice.

01 - Carbon Scatter has powerful population technology, runs inside other 3D apps like Maya and Cinema 4D.

Notes on Carbon for Maya and C4D

• Carbon Scatter will initially work with the mental ray and V-ray renders for Maya only
• Carbon Scatter for CINEMA 4D will work with that program’s excellent native rendering engine
• Carbon Scatter will work within Maya 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and C4D R 11.5 and R12 for 32 and 64-bit versions on Mac and Windows.

To learn more visit: www.e-onsoftware.com

New Features in Vue 9.5

Vue xStream and Vue Infinite are the company’s flagship software solutions for the creation of natural 3D environments. Vue Infinite 9.5 operates as a stand-alone application while Vue xStream 9.5 works seamlessly within leading 3d software suites like Maya, LightWave, Cinema 4D and others. Key new features include:

• Interactive Texture Placement — a new texture manipulation gizmo allows texture maps to be rotated and scaled interactively, directly on the mesh.
• Fast Hybrid DoF — Vue 9.5 features a new hybrid 2.5D algorithm to allow depth of field (DoF) to be rendered 4x faster
• Advance Cloud Control — faster editing, animating and cloud rendering performance
• Multiple UV Layers — support for models contains separate UV layers (eg: diffuse, bump, specular, etc.)
• Atmospheric Relighting — the Vue relighting functionality was extended to allow adjustment of all ambient and indirect lighting
• GPU Accelerated Anti-Aliasing — Vue will now use additional power from the GPU to accelerate the anti-aliasing of the thin polygon meshes
• MDD File Format — Vue 9.5 now supports the MDD file format
• Improved EcoPainting — in 3ds Max and Cinema 4D, EcoSystem painting on native objects is now done through the entire brush, resulting in much better control of painted instances
• Custom Star Maps — custom “deep space” maps can be loaded and used as an alternative to standard Vue stars
• Many other improvements.

Vue 9.5 is available pre-release, free of charge to all users under maintenance. Users of Vue 9 not under maintenance who wish to advance to Vue 9.5 should purchase a maintenance today and then they will automatically receive updates to 9.5 and future Vue 10 free of charge.

You can learn more about Vue 9.5 here.

Ozone 5 implements the Spectral 3 (tm.) cutting-edge technologies developed by e-on software for the simulation and rendering of atmospheric effects. The software behaves correctly according to nature’s rules. New features include:

• New support for V-Ray and advanced MentalRay renderers
• Super-fast rendering technology
• Cloud Cross Shadowing (break-through algorithms enables accurate cloud shadow casting on other clouds)
• Extensive library of over 150 predefined atmospheres

01 - Ozone 5 now shipping from e-on Software. Creates realistic skies in most 3D software packages.

Ozone 5 is available for Windows and Mac (Mac Intel only) for both 32 and 64-bit platforms. The product retails for 295.USD. To learn more visit this link.

“Vue 9 includes a wide array of new features and performance improvements for creating Digital Nature scenery with more precision and power than ever before,” said Nicholas Phelps, President of e-on Software. “We believe our valued customers will find that Vue 9 continues to set the pace as the leading Digital Nature solution across the many diverse markets we serve including architecture, animation, special effects, broadcast, art and illustration, and scientific.”

You can check out many of the new features in three YouTube videos here:

• Flicker Reduction – video here
• Animated EcoSystems – video here
• Relighting – video here

01 - The new Vue 9 series of 3D software packages for Mac and Windows.

To learn more about Vue 9 series 3D products visit them online here: www.e-onsoftware.com

• Vue 9 for CG Professionals — Vue 9 Infinite and Vue 9 xStream
• Vue 9 for 3D Artists — Vue 9 Esprit, Vue 9 Studio, and Vue 9 Complete
• Vue 9 for 3D Enthusiasts — Vue 9 Pioneer, Theme-Packs and Vue 9 Frontier

Next Generational Features

The entire Vue 9 product line is chalk full of new features and technologies. Here is a partial list of some of the many features:

• New Flicker Reduction Algorithms — improved animations and render quality in animations
• Internal Refactoring for Faster Renders — Vue 9 is up to 30 percent faster
• Relighting — You can instantly adjust the lighting of scenes after a render
• Interactive Network Rendering — Powerful new network rendering technology
• Improved Terrain Editor, EcoSystem 4 and HDR Multi-pass Rendering round out major new improvements

Vue 9 xStream and Infinite pre-release versions are immediately available. To learn more about the Vue 9 series of natural landscape creation and visualization software products visit: http://www.e-onsoftware.com/

Available now the Carbon Scatter works with Autodesk 3ds Max using the instancing plugin for mental ray and V-Ray renderers for 3ds Max. Carbon Scatter helps an artist create massive populations of vegetation and landscape elements within their 3D software suite. The company is working on Carbon Scatter for Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Softimage, Maxon’s CINEMA 4D and Newtek’s Lightwave.

Features include:

• Automated Smart Scattering – Places vegetation smartly based on underlying geometry. For instance placing more trees on flatter terrain.
• EcoPainter for Painting Objects and Plants – Lets the user paint over instances and groups of objects.
• Advanced EcoSystem Control – Users can paint eco systems with the EcoSystem rules engaged thereby speeding up the process of population creation across terrain
• Powerful Layered EcoSystem Materials – The use of layers for further fine grain control over populations

A complete list of features will be available closer to the final release date. The Open Beta for 3ds Max is fully functional and available now. The beta is only available for Windows at this time. To learn more visit the product page here.

Earlier we covered the news about the brand new version of ArchiOffice, version 2010. This product looks impressive and readers interested in catching a view of this office and project management suite for architects can reserve a spot for an August 17, 2010 free live webinar.

Presented by Steven Burns, FAIA, the free webinar will review ArchiCAD 2010’s top features, out of more than 150 product improvements. Tops on this list are the new “Anytime, Anywhere” functionality where you can access critical information about your projects from anywhere you have an Internet connection. Also impressive is the “Zero Deployment” technology built in using JavaStart technology. With ArchiOffice 2010 there is no software to install on your workstations. Finally the webinar will cover the new Document Management technologies. The webinar starts at 12pm EST and is one hour long.

You can sign up here or call: 310-602-4010.

Pre-SIGGRAPH News

SIGGRAPH starts in a few days (July 27-29) and already companies are sharing some upcoming show news. Nvidia for example will be showing off a host of new Quadro solutions, including new developments with raytracing technology. There will also be an amazing display solution from Barco. Nvidia is in booth #725.

Khronos will be featuring some prize sessions at SIGGRAPH, including the OpenGL BOF with a special introduction by Jon Peddie titled: “Open Standards Bringing 3D Everywhere.” You can click here to learn more.

e-on software will have a brand new application at SIGGRAPH to announce. That application will work inside major DCC applications. They will also be showcasing the upcoming Vue 9 line of products. Lastly, e-on software has another brand new application for the architectural visualization market, new for them! This product should be very interesting to see.

This is shaping up to be a good show and Architosh looks forward to covering it.

AEC Software’s new FastTrack Schedule 10 is pretty slick (we’ll have an In-Depth feature coming up very shortly) and the company is setting up training classes in Washington, DC, a bit later this month. Essentials of FastTrack Schedule takes place on 26, May 2010 from 9am – 4pm. You can register for that event here. The following day Advanced Features of FastTrack Schedule takes place during the same hours and you can register for that class here. Classes are 399.USD per student and seating is limited. You can also call 800-450-1985 to sign-up.

e-on software releases Cocoa 64 bit Beta

e-on software has announced that an early beta of the Cocoa 64-bit versions of Vue 8 and Vue 8.5 Infinite and xStream are now available for all registered users of such products, at no charge. If you currently own Vue 8 or Vue 8.5 you may download the beta directly from your User account page. To learn more go to: www.e-onsoftware.com

Maxon News – New Tutorials for CINEMA 4D

Maxon Computer has announced the immediate availability of its new tutorial series, included in the free CINEMA 4D documentation package. The first seven chapters include tutorials for modeling, animation, materials, lighting and more. These tutorials are a perfect introduction for beginners and offer valuable tips for experienced users as well.

Maxon project manager Marco Tillmann stated: “We are very happy to be able to offer our users this comprehensive and easy-to-use instructional material. We worked with the most established CINEMA 4D authors and trainers to create these tutorials and to offer insight into their knowledge and experience.”

To maximize the instructional value of these tutorials, numerous movies and the complete scene files themselves are included and can be opened directly from the tutorial itself. After working through these tutorials you will be able to easily master complex projects and apply this knowledge in real-world projects.

The tutorials are available free of charge and can be downloaded via the Online Updater or online from the Maxon website. The minimum requirement is CINEMA 4D R11.5.

Demo Show Reel

And for those of you who have not yet seen the CINEMA 4D Architecture Edition show reel…it is most impressive! You can check it out here.

xStream and Infinite are the flagship products in the company’s product line, with the former operating seamlessly inside Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Softimage, Newtek’s Lightwave and Maxon’s CINEMA 4D. Specifically designed for graphics professionals these two products combine a multitude of cutting edge features into existing production pipelines.

Breakthrough Features

Release 8.5 of Vue adds breakthrough features, such as:

• Global Gamma Control
• Interactive Cloud Control – cloud layers can be manipulated interactively
• Animated Planetary Cloud Density Maps
• Diagnosis Render Passes – detect rendering bottlenecks early
• Unlimited Material Painting
• Zone Extraction – specific areas of procedural terrain can be extracted
• New Terrain Sculpting Modeling Tools
• Advanced EcoSystem Control
• Improved OpenGL Engine and Viewport Display
• Other Improvements – z-buffer can now be optionally anti-aliased

For more information visit e-on Software online here.

Additionally, the company announced trial versions of its products for 3D artists: Vue 8 Esprit, Vue 8 Studio, and Vue 8 Complete.

Vue 8 Infinite is a standalone application while Vue 8 xStream operates seamlessly within leading 3D production software suites like Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Newtek’s Lightwave and Maxon’s Cinema 4D. The product also works inside of Softimage.

To learn more visit them here: www.e-onsoftware.com

Vue 8 Line Up

The new Vue 8 product line up will feature some brand new and updated technology. Highlights include a new directional displacement engine, new 3D terrain sculpting, and the company’s 3rd generation of its famed cutting-edge atmospheric technology. Additionally, this is the company’s first release on its new annual release schedule program. 

Here’s what coming for the first week of November:

• Vue 8 Infinite and Vue 8 xStream — for CG professionals offering premier solutions
• Vue 8 Esprit, Vue 8 Studio and Vue 8 Complete — for 3D artists and small studios
• Vue 8 Pioneer and Vue 8 Frontier — for home and family use, hobbyist 3D artists