LightWave Digital has announced a new macOS version of its 3D animation software, LightWave 2023, called LightWave 2023 for Mac.
The Mac comes in Intel and Apple Silicon versions, and LightWave Digital promises “up to 53% improvement in display speed” with the Apple Silicon version.
Since the release of “LightWave 2023 for Windows” in 2023, the bundled versions of the TurbulenceFD fluid simulation tool, the Octane viewer, and the LightWave Pro Tools plug-in have also been updated.
The first update in 3 years adds procedural modeling and implementation tools
LightWave 2023, released for Windows in November 2023, is the first update to the 3D animation software since 2020.
The update adds a node-based procedural modeling system, instance brushes for creating 3D scenes, and new 3D text tools in the LightWave layout app. Several third-party tools are also included in the software, including the gas and fluid simulation add-on TurbulenceFD, the OD Tools workflow plugin suite (now renamed LightWave Pro Tools), and the animation cache sculpting application ChronoSculpt.
Now available not only on Windows but also on macOS
The update also makes the current version of LightWave available to Mac users. LightWave Digital plans to release 2023 LightWave versions for both legacy Intel Macs and current Apple Silicon Macs.
The original version of Apple Silicon promises “up to 53% faster rendering speeds,” but it currently lacks Python support and won't work with existing Python scripts or plug-ins, including LightWave Pro Tools.
Apple Silicon Mac users who need Pro Tools can use the Intel version, which supports Python 2 and runs on M-series processors through Apple's Rosetta translation environment.
LightWave Digital says native Python scripts and plugins will be updated to Python 3, at which point Python support will be reintroduced to the Apple Silicon version.
Updates to TurbulenceFD, LightWave Pro Tools, and Octane plug-ins
LightWave 2023.0.1 will be released for macOS only, so the Mac version is slightly ahead of the Windows version in the update.
Several previous third-party add-ons have been updated, with new smoke and flame shaders added to TurbulenceFD and “presets and workspace optimizations” added to Pro Tools.
System requirements
LightWave 2023 for Mac is compatible with macOS 10.15+ for Intel Edition and macOS 11.0+ for Apple Silicon Edition. Octane requires MacOS 13.3+.
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