Luxion ships KeyShot 7.3 plus new free KeyShot Viewer
Luxion has released KeyShot 7.3, the latest version of its rendering and technical animation software, plus KeyShot Viewer, a new free application for viewing and interacting with KeyShot scenes.
Free viewer software lets non-KeyShot-users interact with KeyShot scenes
KeyShot 7.3 itself doesn’t add many new features: aside from support for the new versions of SketchUp, SolidWorks and NX, the only major change is the option to add multi-materials to the render queue.
The real news is KeyShot Viewer, the new free standalone viewing app that accompanies the release.
It enables users to load KeyShot scenes saved in the software’s .ksp package format and interact with them using mouse or touchscreen controls.
A new tool for design reviews or creating product configurators
At its simplest, that just means moving the camera view, but KeyShot Viewer also supports the Configurator system introduced in the Pro edition of KeyShot 7 for presenting design or material variations of a scene.
It uses the same CPU-based ray tracing engine as KeyShot, so scenes should look consistent with KeyShot itself, although it can’t currently play back animations.
Luxion says that it intends KeyShot Viewer both for use as a product configurator for showroom or kiosk displays and as a way of sharing scenes with clients for design reviews.
As such, users of the Pro edition of KeyShot get a number of options for securing the scenes they export, including password protection and the option to watermark the viewport display.
Pricing and availability
KeyShot 7.3 is available for 64-bit Windows 7+ and Mac OS X 10.8+. It comes with integration plugins for a range of DCC and CAD tools, including 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Maya and ZBrush.
A new licence of the base HD edition costs $995; the Pro edition costs $1,995. An Enterprise licence, which includes the KeyShotXR and network rendering add-ons, costs $3,995. See a comparison table here.
KeyShot Viewer is available for Windows and Mac OS X. The software is free, but you’ll need to enter your name and email address in order to download it.
Read more about KeyShot Viewer on Luxion’s website
(Includes download link)
Read a full list of new features in KeyShot 7.3 and KeyShot Viewer in the online release notes