NewTek cans CORE as standalone package

NewTek has announced that its long-delayed CORE technology will be rolled into LightWave rather than released as a standalone product, as the company had originally planned.

CORE was announced in early 2009 by Jay Roth, then president of NewTek’s 3D division, and was initially positioned as a complete next-generation architecture.

Since then, the release date for the technology has been put back several times, and with the appointment of Rob Powers as the company’s new VP of 3D development, elements of CORE began to be incorporated into LightWave itself: most notably the Viewport Preview Renderer added in LightWave 10.0.

At the time, the inclusion was explained as an interim measure, with the release of CORE itself to follow by the end of the second quarter of 2011.

Different vehicle, same destination?
The news that NewTek had reversed its position, and that CORE will not become a standalone product, was announced to users with a HardCORE subcription on Tuesday.

At a press briefing, Powers ­- himself a HardCORE member before he joined NewTek – presented the change of direction as a more efficient way to deliver next-generation technologies to LightWave users.

“The vehicle is different but the destination is the same. We want an integrated application that is going to be effective for the users,” he said. “It’s true we have changed the direction of the delivery of the technology, but I think most users [just] want the functionality.”

The first product of the new development strategy will be LightWave 10.1, announced earlier this year, and now due to ship before the end of the month. You can read a more detailed discussion with Rob Powers about NewTek’s new LightWave development strategy at the link below.

Visit NewTek’s LightWave 10 product page

Read Rob Powers’ thoughts on NewTek’s new three-year LightWave roadmap