Autodesk Inc. has announced Autodesk Maya 2009 3D animation and visual effects software, in celebration of the software’s 10-year anniversary. Maya 2009 includes advancements in modeling, animation, rendering, and effects that maximize productivity, optimize workflows, and provide new creative possibilities. Maya 2009 is being showcased at Autodesk booth 501. While the complexity and size of scenes continue to rise, Maya 2009 provides new tools to make them more manageable. These tools include the new Maya Assets toolset, which enables users to encapsulate a set of nodes into a single container and publish a view of the data suited to the artist’s task. The release also offers a new Render Proxy feature in mental ray, and additional multi-threading work and algorithmic speedups that boost interactive draw, simulation and rendering performance for even the heaviest scenes. Maya 2009 gives modelers and texture artists control over polygon modeling and UV texturing through selection management features, efficient modeling workflows, and precision UV unfolding and layout options.
Maya 2009 supports collaborative, iterative workflows and promotes data reuse. The software has a new animation layering paradigm that provides animators with increased non-destructive flexibility, as well as an updated Render Pass toolset that offers precise control over render output and optimizes integration with Autodesk Toxik procedural compositing software.
Maya 2009 offers a Maya nParticles dynamic simulation module and a Maya Muscle feature set. nParticles is part of the Maya Nucleus Unified Simulation Framework, an effective approach to creating complex physics simulations that interact directly with each other. To help studios capitalize on the popularity of stereoscopic 3D films, Maya 2009 offers a flexible new stereo camera rig, complete with in-viewport stereo viewing.
Autodesk anticipates that Maya 2009 will be available in English in October 2008. Maya 2009 will be supported on the Windows (64-bit and 32-bit versions) and Linux (64-bit version) operating systems as well as Mac OS X for Intel-based Macintosh computers (32-bit version).
Autodesk is priced at $1995 for Maya Complete 2009 (standalone) and $4995 for Maya Unlimited 2009 (standalone). The upgrade price from Maya Complete 2008 to Maya Complete 2009 is $899, and the upgrade price from Maya Unlimited 2008 to Maya Unlimited 2009 is $1249.
Autodesk Subscription with Gold Support is available for purchase simultaneously with the product or upgrade purchase. The Autodesk suggested retail price for Subscription with Gold Support for Maya Unlimited is $1495 per year, and for Maya Complete is $1295. Subscription with Gold Support customers qualify for access to the latest software updates, valuable product extensions, telephone and web support, a comprehensive knowledge base and e-Learning materials.