What’s faster than a barreling tyrannosaur, more powerful than the Force, and able to render complex 3D models in a single pass? The mighty Electric Image Animation System (EIAS), of course. Now dubbed Electric Image Universe, this well-known computer animation system returns with version 3.0 and includes a host of new features, a rewritten core, and multiplatform capability that render It more awesome than ever.
Every serious Mac 3D animator knows about — and very likely has used — EIAS. Legendaryforthe impressive quality and speed of its render engine, this 3D computer animation package is now back in the hands of its original owners after Play bought and sold it. You’ve probably seen its handiwork in a zillion TV commercials (Sony PlayStation, Hanes, MGD), television shows (TheX-Files, Deep Space Nine, The West Wing), and feature films (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Jurassic Park, The Mask).
Though its cost might induce a heart attack. Universe offers significant tools for professional 3D animators. Once a Mac-only package, it’s now available in three flavors: Mac, Windows, and Sun Solaris. Users can open, edit, and render projects created on one platform in any of the other supported platforms. In addition. Universe supplies the render engines for all platforms no matter which version you buy, allowing a studio to utilize all of its hardware for rendering final frames. Universe is composed of three separate applications — Modeler (for designing), Animator (for bringing to life), and Camera (for rendering) — all rewritten using a uniform code base.
Modeler uses both solid- and surface-modeling techniques, supporting polygons, NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines), and subdivision surfaces called Über-NURBS. It also provides a rich set of tools for building realistically complex organic and mechanical shapes, and supports a variety of file formats. Modeler saves work in its own proprietary format, but you must export them to the FACT format before using models in Animator. This can be problematic if you want to edit a model after you begin animating— you have to make changes to the original Modeler file, then export it again as a new FACT file.
Animator is the soul of Universe, giving life to static models with its vastly improved inverse kinematics system. You can create anything from smoke-filled titles and particle explosions to Air Force One in flight and X-Wing versus Tie Fighter dogfights in space. Besides FAQ, Animator supports over 30 file formats from other applications. You can also render features such as glows, blurs, and particles, or add textures and shaders to models before rendering them. Plus, you can view real-time shaded previews instead of wire-frame skeletons, thanks to the new OpenGL support.
Camera’s amazing render output is the reason many artists chose Electric Image in the past, and the new version takes it even further with some remarkable new features — most important, ray tracing. Ray tracing generates an accurate representation of surfaces and light, and Camera’s ray tracer is nothing short of stunning, it produces remarkable images that blow away just about every other package’s. You pay a price in terms of time, but this ray tracer is still a speedy render engine.
Though pricey. Universe packs in substantial value with its powerful modeler, solid animation environment, and license-free multiplatform render engine. For anyone who thought this program was withering in the hands of Play, Electric Image has proven that Universe is alive and heartily kicking.
Caputo, Mike. (July 2001). Electric Image Universe 3.0. MacAddict. (pg. 36).
Electric Image, Inc.
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ElectricImage3-Universe.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
SheepShaver
