pmG Worldwide LLC has released an advance version of messiah:studio, the company's new, integrated 3D animation, rendering and developers' package. Featuring an all new intuitive interface and highly stable and efficient architecture, the advance version of messiah:studio is on sale right now for US$1,395 (MSRP $1795) and is expected to ship the first week in October 2001. Purchasers of the advance version will automatically receive the final version of the software when it ships on November 26, 2001. According to pmG Worldwide partner Fori Owurowa, the advance version of messiah:studio is designed to give current owners of previous pmG products, as well as those considering a new addition to their 3D pipeline the opportunity to get an early look at one of the most eagerly-awaited toolsets in the 3D animation market. "We want people at all levels, from hobbyists to studios, to get the program so that they can begin planning for actual productions and do tests that will better answer their specific questions. The real feedback we receive in return will guide us in seeing if there's anything we can add or improve before the final release." When released on November 26, the complete suite will consist of messiah:animate, messiah:render and messiah:develop, an entirely new kind of custom tool for developers, developed in house by pmG. The advance version of messiah:studio will not include messiah:develop, nor pipeline connections to other 3D packages. However, according to Lyle Milton, "The advance version will give new purchasers and current users the ability to see how messiah will work as a standalone program. The fact that we are having users play with it early, will drive home the fact that the needs of our users actually factor into our programming decisions."
After amassing rave reviews and hit projects in just one year, Heather Kenyon visited the project:messiah Group, creators of 3D animation's software package that was created from the ground up to fill both studio production and animators' artistic needs.
