Electric Rain launches Swift 3D LW 2.0

Tue 3rd Dec 2002 | News

Today Electric Rain, Inc.® announced the release of Swift 3D® LW Version 2.0, the next generation plug-in allowing LightWave 3D users to render their scenes to the SWF file format as both vector and raster output. Swift 3D LW 2.0 enables 3D content developers working with LightWave 3D to create Web-optimized output in the SWF file format, as well as AI, EPS, SVG and Toon Boom’s PNT format.

“LightWave 3D users have appreciated the publishing flexibility Swift 3D LW offers with its vector rendering technology,” said William Vaughan, NewTek LightWave 3D Evangelist. “We’re excited to see Electric Rain update their LightWave plug-in to provide our users with the latest advancements in the growing market of Web-optimized 3D content creation.”

New Vector Rendering Capabilities

Swift 3D LW 2.0 features the industry-leading RAViX III rendering engine with features including:

• Transparency – Renders objects with opacity control
• Reflectivity – Support for reflective materials
• Advanced Specularity – Gradated specular highlights
• Multiple Shadows – Overlapping shadows from any light source
• Patent-Pending SmartLayer™ Technology

SmartLayer technology works in conjunction with the Swift 3D Importer plug-in for Macromedia Flash MX, enabling users to render scenes with certain aspects broken out into individual layers.

• Render separate layers for colors, outlines, shadows, highlights, reflections and
• transparencies for better integration with Flash projects
• Create separate layers for stationary and moving objects, eliminating duplication of static frames and reducing file size
• Insert Swift 3D LW renderings directly into Flash MX libraries for better workflow
• Textured Raster Export to SWF

Swift 3D LW 2.0 also supports full-textured renderings for raster-based output to the SWF format, with per-frame cropping to insure maximum optimization.

“After seeing what our Swift 3D users have done with RAViX III, we’re really looking forward to having this technology in the hands of the LightWave crowd,” commented Mike Soucie, President of Electric Rain, Inc. “We’re confident that Version 2.0 of our LightWave plug-in is going to set the new bar in the 3D-to-vector industry in terms of quality, flexibility and power.”

Swift 3D LW is available on the Windows and Macintosh OS 9 and X platforms and is compatible with LightWave 3D versions 6.5 and above. The SRP for Swift 3D LW is $295.00 USD for the full version and $149.00 for the upgrade, with a special $129.00 upgrade offer through December 20, 2002. Swift 3D LW 2.0 is currently available from the Electric Rain Web site at www.erain.com.