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Side Effects Software Releases Houdini 11.1 New version includes ability to import Houdini 12 geometry files TORONTO – August 9, 2011 - Side Effects Software Inc. today announced the release of Houdini 11.1 in support of the Alembic open source initiative. The Alembic project was initiated by Industrial Light and Magic and Sony Imageworks to provide the CG community with an open computer graphics interchange framework capable of handling production-quality data. With Houdini 11.1, studios will be able to import Alembic files for procedural processing in Houdini. “With Alembic, ILM and Sony Imageworks have created an invaluable interoperability tool that fits perfectly into Houdini’s procedural philosophy,” says Kim Davidson, President and Chief Executive Officer at Side Effects Software. “Our tests have shown how efficient Alembic can be and we know our customers will be thrilled.” Houdini 11.1 will incorporate the most recent third party libraries necessary for Alembic to run properly including Boost, which extends the functionality of C++. Houdini 11.1 will also include extended support for OpenEXR and Sony Imagework’s Field3D, a format for working with 3D voxel data. “Houdini 11.1 will play an important part in the transition to Houdini 12,” says Cristin Barghiel, Director of Product Development at Side Effects Software. “It ensures compatibility for geometry files as customers beta test Houdini 12 and begin exploring the powerful new geometry engine.” Today at the Houdini User Group Meeting at SIGGRAPH 2011, Side Effects Software is previewing our next major version — Houdini 12 — with its focus on speed and performance. Key features include a new geometry engine built from the ground up, Pyro FX 2.0 for fast fire and smoke, an integrated Bullet solver, super fast instancing tools and an enhanced viewport experience. The new version will be in beta in late October and is shaping up to be one of the most important releases ever for Houdini users. Houdini 11.1 will be available for download starting the week of August 15, 2011 at www.sidefx.com and can be downloaded by all Houdini and Houdini Apprentice customers. About Side Effects Software Established in 1987, Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of Houdini, our advanced 3D animation and special effects software for use in film, commercials and video games. Side Effects Software has twice been recognized with Scientific and Technical awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Houdini is used by numerous leading digital content creation facilities including: Blizzard Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain, Double Negative, Dreamworks Animation, Electronic Arts, Framestore, Guerrilla Games, Pixar Animation Studios, Rhythm and Hues and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Press Contact
Bill Self |
