Side Effects Software has announced the immediate release of Houdini 12.5 which offers a wealth of new and enhanced features including Cloud FX , Ocean FX, OpenVDB volume sculpting tools and an optimized lighting and rendering pipeline with built-in support for delayed-load Alembic primitives.
The new Cloud FX tools offer an artist-friendly way of building, sculpting and rendering cloud formations. This workflow utilizes sparse volume sculpting tools created as part of the OpenVDB [Openvdb.org] open source initiative. The integration of these tools is the result of a direct collaboration between DreamWorks Animation and Side Effects Software.
Fluid simulation also receives an overhaul, with tools for setting up animated ocean surfaces, then generating FLIP fluid sims from those surfaces, with a unified solver for generating spray and foam, and a separate tool for mist.
There are also a lot of other new features including new volumetric lighting options, improved relighting workflow in the IPR preview renderer, and a new Alembic primitive that removes the need to bake Alembic data into Houdini geometry.
Houdini 12.5 is shipping now on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is available for as low as $1,995 for modeling, animation, character rigging and rendering and Houdini FX, used for visual effects such as particles, Pyro FX and fluids, is available for as low as $4,495. Houdini Apprentice HD is available for an annual fee of $99.
For more details visit: Side Effects Software