StudioGPU annouces MachStudio Pro 2 with new renderman support, and creative options for students. MachStudio Pro is a virtual real-time studio environment that allows artists to work with 3D lighting, camera views and multi-point perspectives in an interactive non-linear fashion to produce real-time high-fidelity views as they will appear in the final rendered format. StudioGPU also announced that the full-feature version of its award-winning MachStudio™ Pro non-linear real-time 3D workflow and rendering software is now available at educational pricing to qualified students. MachStudio Pro bundled with the high-performance ATI FirePro™ V7800 workstation graphics card from AMD is available at the student price of $999 (USD), while the software only version is available for $499 (USD).
MachStudio Pro 2 software continues to revolutionize 3D production environments with new features that include:
- Pixar RenderMan Integration: Provides the flexibility to switch between or combine fast high-fidelity MachStudio Pro GPU-based rendering and industry-standard Academy Award®-winning Pixar RenderMan CPU-based ray tracing rendering software on-the-fly to create beauty shots and/or specific render passes.
- MetaSL and mental ray Support: Allows 3D artists to quickly and easily build MetaSL-based custom procedural shaders using an intuitive mental mill® node graph user interface for rendering out to both the mental ray and MachStudio Pro renderer.
- Improved Pipeline Rendering Functionality: Offers a new Unified Pass Renderer (UPR), which breaks out all passes for the final render, and an EXR Sandwich Tool that combines all EXR files into one layered file for compositing.
- DirectX 11-Based Workflow: Offers more efficient rendering, tessellation, and multi-threading capabilities for improved performance throughout the pipeline.
- Volumetric and Screen Space Global Illumination (GI): Takes into account the bouncing of light from surfaces, allowing for more realistic renderings.
- Spot and Directional Lights: Allows for greater freedom towards achieving perfect lighting conditions.
- FBX Output: Exports models and baked textures in the FBX file format for compatibility with all leading 3D modeling and animation software programs.
- Increased Python Support: Allows for the creation of custom properties, parenting objects, and spot and directional lights.
- Workflow Improvements: Eases organization and viewing of everything in a scene, including groups, hierarchies, context menus, light sets, influencers and render pass isolation.
Award-winning MachStudio Pro supports Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista operating systems on most professional graphic accelerator cards. MachStudio Pro software is available in North America for $3,999 (USD) or bundled with the ATI FirePro V8800 3D workstation graphics accelerator card for $4,999 (USD). MachStudio Pro 2 is expected to ship in Q3 2010. All existing MachStudio Pro customers will receive the MachStudio Pro 2 software upgrade at no charge upon product availability. For pricing in other regions, visitwww.studiogpu.com/buy/locator. Student, education and volume licensing is also available upon request. For more information about MachStudio Pro and to download the free full-featured MachStudio Pro 30-day trial software, visit the StudioGPU web site at www.studiogpu.com.
