Toolchefs has announced Atoms Crowd, a new crowd simulation tool to be released soon for Maya and Houdini. Features include:
- Skeletal animation.
- Seven types of agent in the core package comprising four humans, two dogs and a cat. These are called bundles, so it is reasonable to assume that more will follow.
- Ability to randomise characters to create variations.
- 300 motion clips ready to use.
- Several area types including triggers, curve following, mesh avoidance, curve fields, 2d and 3d height fields.
- Animation rig retargeting.
- Animation caching.
- Support for RenderMan, V-Ray and Arnold.
- Work between Maya and Houdini. Each platform shares the same interoperable workflow.
- A custom proxy system for visualising simulations.
- LOD support.
- Supports for characters with any number of legs.
- Node-based agent network editor.
- C ++ and Python APIs and a proxy system to quickly view the scenes.
The price and release date have yet to be announced, but users wishing to learn more and test the software can contact Toolchefs via their website.
