Exocortex ships new ‘ultra’ multiphysics system
You wait years for a multiphysics simulator for Softimage, and suddenly two come along in nine months.
Hot on the heels of Thiago Costa’s Lagoa Multiphysics, Exocortex Technologies has released Momentum 2.0: a robust multiphysics simulator for Softimage 2010 and up.
Developed by veteran Softimage tools programmer Helge Mathee and based on the Bullet physics library, Momentum simulates everything from rigid bodies to ropes, by way of plastic materials, soft bodies and cloth.
A comparison chart on the Exocortex site suggests that Momentum is more versatile than either Lagoa or PhysX in terms of the physical phenomena it simulates – but cunningly, with an eye to pipeline integration, also emphasises that it is compatible with both of them.
The demo doesn’t have quite the same visceral impact of the early Lagoa trailers (broadly, ‘I have no idea what that even is, but it looks cool‘) but it’s easier to see direct practical applications – particularly since, as a caption reminds you, the simulations are being conducted at interactive frame rates.
Individual licences of Momentum 2.0 cost $149, while site licences of up to 50 seats cost $1,999.