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While the primary focus of the feature is for game characters, the rigs can be used for previs, simulation, design, and ergo- nomics. Characters that are created with the CAT, Biped, or Maya custom control rig can be easily animated. Mixamo also provides a large collection of motions that can be automatically applied to the Auto- Rigger characters or any other character. Mixamo; www.mixamo.com PLUG-INS Monsters Mini-Packs GenArts introduced Monsters GT Version 7 suite of visual effects plug-ins. Monsters are designed to create realistic and original looks. The Monsters GT suite features a collection of more than 50 effects, including fl ickering candle fl ames, realistic star fi elds, evolving sky backgrounds, natural fl uids, and other weather effects. For the fi rst time, Monsters GT is available in 11 mini-packs for $99 and a Natural Phenomena theme pack for $299. Natural phenomena includes snow, rain, fire, aurora, and sky effects. The collection's stylistic effects include fi lm damage, night vision, thermal imaging, TV, paint, and pixel effects. Textures and abstract effects are also included, as are corrective effects such as blurs and clean/ lighten/darken effects. Monsters GT runs within After Effects, Scratch, Fusion, Nuke, and Vegas. The full pack costs $499 ($999 for the Autodesk version). GenArts; www.genarts.com Smart AI For Unity Xaitment has launched two affordable plug-ins for the Unity engine: XaitMap for Unity and XaitControl for Unity, bringing Xaitment's AI functionality to the interface and development environment of the Unity engine, including NavMesh generation, pathfi nding, collision avoidance, charac- ter movement, and graphical character behavioral modeling. XaitMap brings the same fl exible, intuitive AI functionality used by studios to the menu structure and inter- face of Unity and Unity Pro. Users can quickly create NavMeshes on any object in a scene; dynamically set up and modify collision avoidance parameters on any component in a scene; and easily modify a character's movement by assigning a MoveComponent to a game character. XaitControl comes with runtime libraries and a graphical Finite State Machine (FSM) editor that works well with Unity's scene editor and Mono Develop environments, and enables developers to quickly model advanced game logic and character behav- iors. Some of its core functionality includes graphical bot behavior modeling and a real- time debugger. The plug-ins are priced at $499 each and include a 45-day free trial. Xaitment; www.xaitment.com Atmospheric Enhancement E-on has released Version 6 of its atmo- spheric plug-in for 3ds Max, Maya, Soft- image, Cinema4D, and LightWave 3D content creation software. Ozone allows users to create atmospheres that behave according to nature's rules. Based on real- world atmospheric behavior, the Spectral 3 engine produces realistic environments with volumetric clouds, accurate light dispersion, and natural phenomena, such as Godrays. Ozone renders its atmo- spheric effects quickly, thanks to E-on's optimized technology. A library of more than 150 predefined atmospheres are included, along with 140 preset cloud shapes. A single license of Ozone 6 will work with all compatible applications and renderers installed on the end-user's system. Pricing for the software is $295, with upgrades from Ozone 5.0 available for $95. E-on; www.e-onsoftware.com WIN VISUAL EFFECTS Less Noise Red Giant has released Magic Bullet Denoiser II, a re-built version of its De- noiser 1.0, which can be used to remov- ing unwanted noise and artifacts from video footage. Denoiser II is available as a free update for Denoiser 1.0 and Magic Bullet Suite customers. The re- lease features intelligent default settings that provide immediate clean-up results when fi rst applied to footage. The smart default settings, along with advanced noise-reducing tools, deliver sharp, clean, and professional results out of the gate without blurring the footage. Denoiser II for After Effects is priced at $99 for new customers. Magic Bullet Suite 11.3, which includes Denoiser II, is priced at $799. Red Giant; www.redgiant.com April/May 2012, Volume 35, Issue 3: COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD (USPS 665-250) (ISSN-0271-4159) is published bi-monthly with special additional issues in January and July resulting in 8 issues per year by COP Communications, Inc. Corporate offi ces: 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, CA 91204, Tel: 818-291-1100; FAX: 818-291- 1190; Web Address: info@copprints.com. Periodicals Postage Paid at Glendale, CA, 91205 & additional mailing offi ces. COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD is distributed worldwide. 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