Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Alias|Wavefront Ships Linux Software

Posted by Hemos on from the making-things-look-pretty dept.

NumberCruncher wrote to us from the rendering front, where Alias|Wavefront has announced that it has shipped Maya Batch Renderer for Linux. The software does optimized tile-based rendering and selective ray-tracing.

8 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. It's just the renderer... by epaulson · · Score: 3

    This isn't really that big of a deal, because it's just the renderer - you still need an NT or IRIX box to actually create any content. When they port all of their tools over, then it will be a big deal. (The maya renderer is a command-line tool, and if it was any big deal to port then I'd be really suprised.)

    1. Re:It's just the renderer... by WhyteRabbyt · · Score: 3

      This isn't really that big of a deal, because it's just the renderer - you still need an NT or IRIX box to actually create any content.

      Actually it is; if you're doing serious work, then cheap render nodes are incredibly nice to have. And at the moment, on horsepower-per-buck, it looks like NT systems do damn well; we have a coupla student using Maya at home who reckon that they're getting better speeds of a 2K NT box than our 30K SGI Octanes. Even if thats not true, if you're talking about 1K to 1.5K for a Linux render node and you're talking cheap.

      When they port all of their tools over, then it will be a big deal. (The maya renderer is a command-line tool, and if it was any big deal to port then I'd be really suprised.)

      The fact that it may have been easy to port isn't the issue; its the fact that they did it that is.

      --
      free experimental electronic music netlabel at www.viablehybrid.com
    2. Re:It's just the renderer... by hkon · · Score: 4

      Yes, it's just the renderer, and yes, that's a big deal because the machines that is used for the content-creation are most likely SGI, Intergraph or the like, and Linux doesn't have support for that kind of hardware anyway. At least, not yet. With this software, Content creators can use one machine with $OPERATING_SYSTEM on it and several hundred (assuming he can afford) machines running Linux doing the actual rendering, which is the time-consuming and expensive part of 3D-creation. Throw out the SGI Onyx, replace it with 200 Athlons running Linux, and you have an open, more flexible, and quite possibly cheaper and faster (i won't speculate) rendering engine.

  2. Re:redhat bribing software companies? by Mullen · · Score: 3

    Well, if you can't convert RPM's to what ever you use, then you should be running Redhat. I have Slackware 7 installed, but it is Redhat 6.0 compatable. All I have to do is convert the RPM's to tar.gz and install. No problem.

    --
    Linux O Muerte!
  3. Re:redhat bribing software companies? by tweek · · Score: 3

    I think the reason you see Redhat 6.0 on Intel is because of 2 things:

    1) Redhat (weather you like it or not) is the name of linux right now. I know it isn't right but these are suits who write these things. This leads into the second point
    2) Least common denominator. Redhat 6.0 was the first libc6 distro if I'm not mistaken. I think all of the other major distros have migrated as well.

    Since Redhat was the first name in linux to market, they create on that base. Thus RPM format. Experienced linux users will know to grab alien and convert the RPMs and what not. People who don't know are probably using Madrake or Redhat. (not a negative slam against redhat by any means. I happen to be a redhat user).

    --
    "Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
  4. Just Renderer? Houdini Gives Whole Product by johnrpenner · · Score: 3


    just the renderer?

    that's nothing -- side effects software has ported
    their whole high-end 3D animation software package to Linux almost a year ago (they were the first), and they're ahead of maya for the big film production houses (they use houdini for: titanic, the matrix, appolo 13, etc.)

    also, maya is a bit behind in Procedural technology. side effect's Houdini not only has got the procedural geometry, but also procedural motion and sound editing. check out:

    http://www.sidefx.com/product/index.html

    john.

  5. Softimage was there for a long time by Ainis · · Score: 4

    No big deal.

    Softimage uses a very cool renderer called mental ray and it has been available for linux for a long time.

    Also Pixar's Renderman (used in Toy Story) is also available for linux.

    So Maya's softimage is one of the last of the leaders of 3d animation to join linux bandwagon. It's a little a bit strange that it happened so late considering that SGI (owner of Alias|Wavefront) seems to be so committed to linux.

  6. ray tracing by gnarphlager · · Score: 5

    who is Ray and why would we want to selectively trace him?

    --

    Bad things often happen to good people,
    It is up to them to see that they remain good.