Multiverse adds new features for animation, Hydra additions, and python API extensions.
J Cube, the company behind Multiverse USD, a tool for Maya that offers pipeline support for USD, just released Multiverse 6.7 that adds a host of new features.
The latest version includes USD purposes orthogonal to viewing modes, production-ready USD blend shapes with support for multiple targets and in-betweens and skeleton animation, composition writing with overrides auto-save to facilitate consolidation of large scenes, Hydra Storm viewport controls for shading and selection, NURBS & timecode scripting, plus all the relative Python API additions.
J Cube releases Multiverse v6.7.
We are announcing the immediate release of Multiverse| USD 6.7 with new features such as USD purposes orthogonal to viewing modes, production-ready USD blend shapes with support for multiple targets and in-betweens and skeleton animation, composition writing with overrides auto-save to facilitate consolidation of large scenes, Hydra Storm viewport controls for shading and selection, NURBS & timecode writing, plus all the relative Python API additions.
On top of this, all the usual improvements and bug fixes come from close collaboration with our customers. Last but not least, thanks to ever-increasing industry adoption, we are excited to announce the new Studio License designed for medium and large companies.
Multiverse enables anyone to non-destructively author, layout, and look-dev complex 3D scenes with layering, compositions & overrides. Stream interactively to Hydra-based viewports for previews and playback. Inter-op with USD-ready DCC apps and game engines. Render procedurally with low TTFP with all major production rendering engines.
Designed to deliver an easy and logical workflow to artists’ users under tight work deadlines and budgets.
Featuring UI and UX that are clear, well thought and pleasant. Ready for deployment in production environments of any scale, with a Python API that is straightforward to use and integrate, abstracting the vastness of the USD APIs.
Multiverse | USD is available in two versions:
- Pro — with mission-critical support services to meet the most demanding production needs,
- Free — fully-featured, indie-friendly, commercially usable, and completely free: its only requirement being connected to the internet.
Highlights of Version 6.7
- USD Blend Shapes — Write assets with Maya blendShape deformer as USD blend shapes. Multiple shape targets and in-between shapes are supported, data can be also written with skeleton animation and skin weights. USD blend shapes are present in MEOW, as well as in the viewport (if visible).
- USD Purposes — Choose whether to read render, proxy, and guide purpose before and after reading the data. Purpose is now orthogonal to the viewport modes. The mvSet node options have been extended to support tagging geometry with its purpose. Finally, purpose is indicated with visual cues in MEOW.
- Auto-save overrides in Compositions — Write pending (unwritten) overrides when writing compositions with automatic and unique filename. This allows users to read multiple Compounds, set Overrides and with a single Write Composition operation write all pending overrides, facilitating consolidation of large scenes.
- Hydra Viewport Settings — New settings window to control the Hydra Storm viewport and customize the look of shading of Compounds and of selected items.
- NURBS Writing— Added support for writing Maya NURBS to the Asset Writer. NURBS curves are typically used to guide curve grooming of fur & hair in Maya / Houdini pipelines.
- Timecode Writing — Added option to all writers for specifying FPS (also known as “timecodes per second”), default to 24.
- Python API extensions — Extended the Multiverse Python API with modules and functions to handle all the new functionalities.
- VRay & Redshift procedurals — Up to 30x performance improvement in startup/closing time with scenes with many Compounds.
- Pro features now available in 6.7.0 Free:
- Activity State — Support for activating/ deactivating items in a Compound as an override action.
- Attributes — Support for primvars on point instancers and custom USD attributes of type bool.
- Arnold — Support for Arnold 6.2 / MtoA 4.2.
- MEOW — RMB option to inspect a material override without selecting it.
- VRay — Support for Maya and VRay displacement.
