Autodesk are continuing to push their virtual reality credentials with the latest version of their Stingray game engine which adds expanded VR support including HTC Vive and Oculus SDK 0.8 integration plus a new 3D character creation workflow.
Autodesk, well known for their CAD (AutoCAD) and 3D modelling software (Maya / 3DS Max) launched virtual reality support in their game engine Stingray in August of last year, starting with native support for the Oculus Rift headset.
At GDC today, the company have now announced that version 1.2 of Stingray will expand on those VR credentials to include native support for the the HTC Vive. The move brings the engine step closer to competing with the likes of Epic’s Unreal Engine or Unity which both include native support for all 3 of the major VR headsets, including Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation VR.
Stingray features modern rendering features like physically-based shading, advanced particle effects, global illumination, and screen-space effects, along with integrated systems for lightning, animation, AI navigation, UI, audio, and physics.
Stingray v1.2 is available for subscription customers to download starting March 15, 2016 and runs $30 US MSRP per month. Maya LT 2016 Extension 3 will be available for download to customers on subscription April 18, 2016, and includes access to Stingray v1.2 in the monthly subscription fee. For more details about Stingray v1.2, Maya LT 2016 Extension 3 and Autodesks GDC 2016 presence, head here.