Alias Announces Maya 7 Now ShippingAlias Announces Maya 7 Now Shipping

Alias has announced that its 3D graphic creatio package Maya 7 is now shipping worldwide to 3D professionals working in film, games, broadcast, digital publishing and design visualization.The latest edition of this software is available for purchase by new and upgrading customers from an authorized reseller or online at the company's official website. This version’s features include a complete re-architecture of the Maya render layers functionality, enabling multiple versions of objects as well as post processes such as Maya Fur to be managed in a single scene file. Render layers can be rendered with any renderer integrated in Maya, including mental ray for Maya technology. "Maya 7’s features were extremely well received at our SIGGRAPH launch earlier this month in Los Angeles," said Shai Hinitz, senior product manager for Alias MotionBuilder, mental ray and Maya. "The new features in Maya 7 that sit atop a solid foundation delivered in Maya 6.5 provide the creative power and reliability Maya represents to so many customers." Game-specific enhancements include Edge Loop and Edge Ring tools, UV unfolding, tri-planar and multi-mesh mapping, and the inclusion of CgFX and ASHLI plug-ins which allow hardware shaders for next-gen consoles to be previewed within Maya. The IK solver from Alias MotionBuilder has been integrated into the program, making rigging and posing characters simpler and more precise. RenderMan-compatible variable creasing on smoothly subdivided polygon meshes is enabled, allowing precise and intuitive control between smooth and hard edges. Portions of the subdivision surface implementation incorporate the use of Pixar Subdivision Surface Patents.