ADDS V-RAY COMPATIBILITY, PLANETARY RENDERING, CAMERA MAPPING, CLOUD ALPHA
May 27, 2009. Beaverton, Oregon: e-on software, maker of Vue, the leading solutions for natural 3D environments, today announced the immediate availability of Vue 7.5 xStream and Vue 7.5 Infinite, the company’s latest release of its professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments.
E-on software also released a Vue 7.4 update for all Vue 7 products (including Esprit, Pro Studio and Complete, its products for artists). This update adds new functionality to Vue 7 and is available at no cost for all Vue 7 users (the complete list of improvements and new features is available at
www.e-onsoftware.com/update).
New features of Vue 7.5
Vue xStream and Vue Infinite are the company’s professional solutions for the creation, animation and rendering of natural 3D environments. While Vue Infinite is a standalone application, Vue xStream operates seamlessly inside of 3ds Max, Maya, LightWave, Cinema4D and Softimage|XSI. Specifically designed for graphics professionals, these products combine a multitude of cutting edge features that easily integrate into existing production pipelines.
Release 7.5 adds significant new functionality to Vue 7:
- Color and Alpha masks of single clouds and cloud layers in multi-pass renderer
- "Camera Mapping" to dramatically cut animation render times
- Spherical and planetary procedural terrains with infinite level of detail
- Spherical cloudscapes (procedural, or based on real-world/modified cloud maps)
- Material Painting and effect-driven material mapping in the Terrain Editor
- Enhanced Multi-Processor usage for procedural terrains, Dynamic EcoSystems and panoramic rendering
- EcoSystem populations that can evolve over time
- Support of the V-Ray renderer for 3ds Max (xStream)
- Support of EcoSystem painting in XSI (xStream)
- Cloud layers that cast and receive shadows from other cloud layers and objects in the scene
- Improved OpenGL sky and cloud preview, colored EcoSystem instance previewing
- Other productivity and feature enhancements.
More information on the new features of Vue 7.5 is available at:
www.e-onsoftware.com/professional
Vue 7.5 and Vue 8 Upgrades Guaranteed with Maintenance Plans:
Following the terms of e-on software’s maintenance contracts, users of Vue 7 xStream or Vue 7 Infinite who subscribed to a Standard or Premium maintenance plan will receive the upgrade to the corresponding Vue 7.5 product at no charge.
In order to help synchronize timing and activation concerns surrounding the rollout of e-on’s new maintenance programs, e-on software has announced a guaranteed commitment policy which allows all Vue 7 maintenance subscription users to receive their upgrade to Vue 8 at no charge, when it becomes available, regardless of the effective start date and initial subscription period of their maintenance program.
This one-time policy is designed to ensure that users who have already purchased maintenance, or intend to purchase maintenance (to receive the Vue 7.5 upgrade), will not be penalized by timing if the Vue 8 release should happen to fall outside a user’s initial subscription period.
Users who are not under maintenance have the option to purchase the upgrade to Vue 7.5 (see further down for pricing). However, e-on software strongly recommends that they consider subscribing to a maintenance plan instead, as this may prove more cost effective in the long term:
The cost of upgrading to Vue 7.5 and Vue 8 will be as follows:
- Upgrade from Vue 7 to Vue 7.5: $295 (Infinite) and $495 (xStream)
- Upgrade from Vue 7.5 to Vue 8: $295 (Infinite) and $495 (xStream)
- Upgrade from Vue 7 to Vue 8: $295 (Infinite) and $495 (xStream)
More information on e-on software’s maintenance plans can be found at:
http://www.e-onsoftware.com/maintenance
Standard Retail Price, Grace Period and Late Buyers:
Vue 7.5 xStream retails for $1,495, with upgrades from Vue 7 xStream available for $495. Vue 7.5 Infinite retails for $895, with upgrades from Vue 7 Infinite available for $295. Other upgrade paths from Vue 6 Infinite and Vue 6 xStream are also available (see full product pricelist for details).
Annual subscriptions for Educational licenses of Vue xStream and Infinite are available respectively for $149/year/seat and $99/seat/year. Upgrades to Vue 7.5 are free for owners of active educational licenses of Vue 7.
Site licensing discounts are available, contact e-on software for further details and pricing information.
Customers who purchased Vue 7 xStream or Infinite after May 1st will receive the upgrade to Vue 7.5 at no cost. Customers who purchased Vue 7 xStream or Infinite between April 1st and May 1st benefit from a "late buyer" program and will get the upgrade for half the price.
Owners of Vue 7 network rendering licenses who upgrade to Vue 7.5 will receive the corresponding Vue 7.5 network rendering licenses at no cost.
Availability
Vue 7.5 xStream and Vue 7.5 Infinite are available in English for Windows XP32/64 and Vista 32/64, and on Mac OSX 10.4 and 10.5 as a 32 bit application (Universal Binary). Vue 7.5 xStream is compatible with the following renderers: Mental Ray for 3ds Max, Maya and XSI (integrated and MR satellites), V-Ray for 3ds Max, and Maya, Cinema4D and LightWave native renderers. Other renderers are under consideration.
