Improvements Focus on Look-Development, Connected Desktop Workflow
At NAB, Autodesk announced 2016 versions of Maya, 3ds Max, and Flame.
Notable features in the new version of Flame include look development tools and a more connected desktop workflow. Lightbox, which Autodesk describes as an interactive GPU shader tookit for 3D color correction, is a powerful look-dev tool that allows color-correction functions like lift, gamma and gain to be cast from 3D lights in a scene. Matchbox in Action applies GLSL shaders directly in the 3D compositing environment. And color-management workflow has been improved.
Maya 2016 has been made faster and easier to use, Autodesk said, with a new parallel rig evaluation system that uses both the CPU and GPU to increase the speed of playback and rig manipulation. Bifrost has gotten more new capabilities, including foam, froth and bubble simulations, and a camera-adaptive function that lets users focus in on part of a scene for the heaviest calculations.
And 3ds Max 2016 has improvements to collaborative workflow along with new non-destructive animation workflows in XRef, a new node-based content and tool creation toolkit called Max Creation Graph, and a new design workspace.
