Luxology announces modo for Linux

Luxology has announced that it is to release a Linux version of modo. The company has posted a teaser screenshot of modo running under CentOS to accompany its latest modcast.

According to company founder Brad Peebler, the work began before Luxology’s merger with The Foundry, but was accelerated by the resulting increase in the size of the modo development team.

“This is one of the great advantages of the expanded development resources. We have an entire team of people who have been working on modo [for] Linux.”

“Every [release] cycle someone says ‘Why doesn’t modo support Linux?’. And you know what the answer is? Because we weren’t yet merged with The Foundry. Because we did not increase our development staff by 30%.”

Support for Linux looks set to increase the uptake of modo at large VFX facilities, for which The Foundry’s tools are already industry standards, Peebler notes:

“We have a lot of people who love modo and use it at home, but can’t use it at work because they can’t get access to a Windows or Mac machine.”

A glimpse of modo 701?
The screenshot also shows several interesting changes to the modo interface, including the addition of Audio options, Key Sets and Channel Sets, while the ‘recoil’ menu becomes ‘Dynamics’.

The software also seems to have a new Foundry-style logo, with the old modo spiral inside a black circle.

Luxology doesn’t comment on these changes in the modcast, but it seems probable that they represent work on modo 701 – which, if the company sticks to its past release schedule, should be out later this year.

Listen to the full modcast (Discussion of modo for Linux starts at 03:00)