Recently Autodesk released Maya 2016. New, are some really great changes within Maya Bifrost. The latest release adds some new active adaptability features for both spacial adaptivity and camera based adaptivity.

New guided simulation workflows let you drive the behavior of liquids using a cached simulation or an animated mesh object.

There is also a new Aero Solver, which is an aerodynamic FLIP solver in Maya Bifrost. It will let you create air based effects such as fire, smoke, cloud, and fog effects. The Aero solver includes control over both the simulated FLIP particle density and the rendered particle density. This means you can simulate at lower resolutions while rendering higher resolution versions of your effect.

Another welcome feature is the ability to have artist driven simulations with Maya Bifrost’s guided simulations. This puts the control of the simulation in the hands of the artist. You can art direct the behavior of liquids in Maya Bifrost, either using a cached simulation or an animated mesh object.

With a guided simulation in Maya Bifrost, a full-depth low-resolution liquid can be used to guide a high resolution simulation on the liquid’s surface, which is useful for effects such as hero waves.