Create breathtaking 3D content with Autodesk® Maya® 8 software. With
Maya 8, Autodesk demonstrates its commitment to meeting the demands of
next-generation productions. The new release addresses the fundamental
challenges Maya customers are facing today–and those they expect to face
in the future.

Key New Features & Enhancements

64-bit Release (Windows and Linux platforms)

Maya 8 marks the first full release of Maya with both 32-bit and 64-bit
(Windows® and Linux®) executables. It allows you to address considerably
more memory than you could in the past, enabling you to handle larger and
more complex scenes than ever before.

Performance

Maya 8 has been optimized to provide superior performance across many
areas of the software, both through algorithmic speedups and scalable multi-
threading to take advantage of the latest generation of workstations.

Transfer Polygon Attributes

A new Transfer Polygon Attributes feature allows you to transfer UV, color
per vertex (CPV) and vertex position information between surface meshes of
differing topologies. This proves particularly useful when working with two
different versions of an object/character (e.g., one high resolution and one
low resolution). You could then transfer existing UV sets that have already
been laid out to the lower resolution model. The feature also lets you create
a “shrink-wrap” effect as they transfer vertex positions from one model to
another.

Streamlined New Polygon Tools and Workflows

New and improved tools such as polygon bridge, multiple edge loop insertion,
and enhanced UV layout, and new workflows, such as the ability to
interactively create, position, and scale primitives in a single operation,
maximize productivity for the most common tasks.

Geometry Caching

You can now cache deformations on polygon, NURBS (including curves) and
subdivision surface geometry, allowing for faster playback and rendering of
scenes. Caches can be edited and blended in the Trax Editor, letting you
blend the results of various vertex animations together in order to form a new
animation: for example, you could correct deformations by remodeling and
replacing particular frames and then smoothly blend in and out of the changes.

Override Viewport with Renderer of Choice

You now have the option of overriding the Maya viewports with a proprietary
or third-party plug-in renderer. This will enable you to review your scene as it
will appear in the target renderer–such as a game engine–while maintaining
the ability to interact with the scene in the interactive view. Two example
Windows® plug-ins are provided with the Maya Devkit: one for OpenGL® and
one for Direct3D® drivers.