The team that won an Academy Award for its crowd simulation software has now announced a major milestone in its development. Massive, has introduced at SIGGRAPH 2017, Massive Prime version 9. The latest release of crowd-simulation software features a universal plugin for all major 3D software suites.
What About Massive Prime v9
Addressing years of requests from leading animation and rendering applications and their users, each having their own unique requirements and file formats, Massive has finally responded to meet the overwhelming demand for integration of Massive’s crowd simulation tech directly inside leading 3D apps.
The new universal plugin enables Massive’s AI-controlled agents to appear in the viewport of the host application. “Every year we receive multiple requests to support various animation and rendering applications,” said Stephen Regelous, Massive’s CEO and founder. “We want to make it easy for anyone to utilize Massive’s tools, which is why we decided to make a straightforward ‘universal’ plugin that would allow Massive agents to appear in renders, or even directly in software viewports.”
01 – Massive Prime 9 features a new Universal Plugin bringing AI-controlled crowd agents directly into the viewport of your host 3D application.
Along with the universal plugin, Version 9.0 will include a new shader network feature that allows users to import, edit or build shading networks directly within Massive. When importing a shading network from a third-party tool, such Autodesk Maya or 3ds Max, these networks will look and function the same in Massive, enabling artists to continue to edit and improve an agent’s look without interrupting their workflow.
In a nod to the architectural visualization market, Version 9.0 will also introduce a new option called “Lanes as Generators.” In current iterations of Massive’s software, artists can assign a lane for agents to follow, but they must also include separate generators to tell the agents where to appear and what geometry they occupy in the simulation. “Lanes as Generators” combines these two features, simplifying the artist’s process and offering new crowd movement options, including a convenient way to incorporate escalators and travelators.
These new features found in Version 9.0, together with recent introductions like the Massive Parts Library and the Ready to Run Agents, make designing crowd simulations easier than ever. All updates introduced to Version 9.0 will be applied to both Massive for Maya and Massive for Max as well, at no additional charge.
Massive Version 9.0 will be on display at SIGGRAPH 2017. For a demonstration, appointments are available.
Pricing and Availability
Massive for Max is available for $595/quarter or $1995/year, and includes the Ambient Agent and one-year of maintenance. Massive for Maya can be purchased for US $3,500, including the Ambient Agent and maintenance for one year. Massive Prime is USD $16,000, which includes one year of maintenance and support. Customers who purchased Massive within one-year year of Version 9.0 release will receive the new software at no additional cost. A 30-day free trial of Massive is available upon request.
Massive Prime runs on Windows and Linux platforms.
About Massive
Massive makes 3D crowd simulation software for professional film, broadcast, and architectural visualization artists. Developed by Stephen Regelous for the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, Massive allows artists to populate complex scenes with editable agents. Using artificial intelligence, these Agents save artist’s time by ensuring that complicated shots can be created quickly. Massive’s list of clients includes the most prominent VFX studios in the world, including WETA Digital, The Mill, Digital Domain, Iloura, and Cinesite.
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