iClone Unreal Live Link now free to indie users
Reallusion has made iClone Unreal Live Link, its new plugin linking its iClone 3D animation software to Unreal Engine for rendering, free to indie users.
The plugin, previously priced at $1,490, is now free to artists with a revenue of less than $100,000/year.
Send iClone characters, lights and cameras to UE4 for rendering in a single click
First announced at GDC 2019 as part of a wider set of game tools, iClone Unreal Live Link connects iClone scenes to Unreal Engine for rendering.
The plugin exports iClone characters, lights, cameras and animation to Unreal Engine without the need to generate an intermediate FBX file manually.
A separate plugin, Character Creator & iClone Auto Setup, automates the process of mapping iClone shaders and skeletons to Unreal Engine characters, providing three shader quality presets.
Changes made to a scene in iClone are then transferred to Unreal Engine in real time.
It is also possible to send existing UE4 characters to iClone via 3DXchange Pipeline, iClone’s import/export add-on, which is required for iClone Unreal Live Link to work.
Now free for indie developers after some ‘great user feedback’
By the time of its release last July, iClone Unreal Live Link had already generated a lot of buzz in the Reallusion community, but its eventual price tag raised eyebrows among users.
At $1,490, the plugin came in at more than the price of iClone and 3DXchange Pipeline combined, and also more than some other DCC apps with similar live link functionality, such as LightWave.
After what it describes on Twitter as “lots of great user feedback”, Reallusion has now made iClone Unreal Live Link free to artists earning under $100,000/year.
The indie licence program includes a supplementary licence for use on a second laptop or on a dual-boot machines, but studios are limited to one free licence for the entire organisation.
Schools and educational institutions are also excluded from the indie licence program.
Indie users who previously purchased iClone Unreal Live Link will be reimbursed in DA points, Reallusion’s in-store credits on its online store and content marketplace.
Also released: iClone Unreal Live Link 1.11 adds support for Unreal Engine 4.24
In separate news, Reallusion has also released iClone Unreal Live Link 1.11. The update makes the plugin compatible with Unreal Engine 4.24, the latest stable version of the game engine.
The Character Creator & iClone Auto Setup plugin has also been updated.
According to Reallusion, features it aims to support in future updates to the plugin include its new digital human shader, iClone props, “non-human skin-bone characters”, and PhyxX cloth physics.
Pricing and system requirements
Unreal iClone Live Link 1.11 is compatible with iClone 7 and 3DXChange Pipeline 7.
The plugin is free to users earning under $100,000/year who also own iClone 7 and 3DXchange Pipeline 7. The corporate licence remains priced at $1,490.
iClone 7 has an MSRP of $199. 3DXchange Pipeline 7 has an MSRP of $499.
Character Creator & iClone Auto Setup 1.03 is compatible with Unreal iClone Live Link and Unreal Engine 4.20+. It’s a free download.
Read more about Reallusion’s new iClone Unreal Live Link indie licence program on its website
(Includes a link to the EULA)
Read more about iClone Unreal Live Link on Reallusion’s website