Electric Image Universe 4.0

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On: 2017-04-12 19:13:35
Updated by: InkBlot
On: 2023-06-18 15:56:57
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What is Electric Image Universe 4.0?

Few 3D applications are as highly regarded as Electric Image Universe. The latest release, version 4.0, offers Mac OS X compatibility, vastly improved character-animation tools, and new rendering features such as global illumination.

Capable of creating everything from detailed architectural walk-throughs to chrome-and-glass flying logos, Electric Image Universe (known simply as Electric Image before the company had any other products) has long been a staple in the toolbox of professional Mac 3D artists. Universe is known for its superior render quality and outstanding speed, and Electric Image continues to expand the program’s feature set without sacrificing quality.

We installed Universe 4.0 on a 500MHz Dual G4 with 1.5GB of RAM running Mac OS 10.1.3. As part of the move to OSX compatibility, Electric Image has changed the dongle to the smaller MacHasp USB type. The thoughtful programmers also provide a QuickTime Component file for OS X on the CD. This allows any QuickTime-compatible application (such as QuickTime Player and Final Cut Pro) to open Universe’s native Image file format.

Electric Image also put lots of effort into improving Universe’s character-animation abilities. The results are two new modeling systems: skinning, which bases model deformations on an underlying bones structure, and constraints, whereby you can limit certain aspects of an object’s motion. Once you’ve built a model in Universe’s Modeler, you can animate it by moving its skeleton (bones); the geometry associated with those bones moves accordingly.

In version 4.0, Universe handles bones much better than it did in prior versions: Bones no longer depend on the skin, so your skinning isn’t bound in the hierarchy. Animating a character through a skeletal structure is akin to making a puppet move, but without the physical constraints of the real world (look, Ma — no gravity!). Also, you can control the influence a bone has over surrounding geometry to the finest degree, which offers a tremendous amount of flexibility.

Universe 4.0’s new constraint system is real-time and interactive, rather than depending on the precomputed values of Auto-Frames as in earlier versions. Constraints allow an animated character’s feet to stay locked to the ground, for example, while the character moves and pivots. Other types of constraints include Auto Look, which allows one object to track another (think of eyeballs following a tennis ball), as well as rotation, scale, and geometry for animating an object so it moves over the surface of another object.

Universe has some drawbacks. The biggest and most obvious issue is that the Animator can’t import native Modeler files. Currently, you create a model and export a copy in Modeler’s proprietary FACT format, then import it into Animator for texturing and animation. However, should the model need any revision, you have to export a new FACT file from Modeler, import it into Animator, and start the texturing and animation process all over again. Rule of thumb: Have the client commit to the model before proceeding to animation.

Also, the application doesn’t supply any hard-copy manuals. We’re fans of online documentation, but leafing through a paperbound manual helps a lot when it comes to software as deep as Universe. Given the electronic-only documentation, the lack of onboard help miffs us: Neither Modeler nor Animator offers a help menu; all you get are basic tool tips, which identify the tools as you mouse over their icons. Modeler has one advantage in the help department, though: a Status window at the bottom of the screen offers a short description of each tool and its use.

Despite these drawbacks, experienced users of this product should love the new version. The ability to run it under Mac OS X alone is worth the upgrade — the additional new features are icing on the cake. The folks at Electric Image are not backing down in the face of increased competition in the 3D space. Widely regarded as the cream of the crop when it comes to rendering quality and output, Universe 4.0 remains a powerful, top-notch package.

Caputo, Mike. (June 2002). Electric Image Universe 4.0. MacAddict. (pg. 58).


Download Electric Image Universe 4.0 for Mac

(90.57 MiB / 94.97 MB)
Electric Image Universe v4.0 / Toast image
159 / 2017-04-12 / 433b2062fd6c9e8020fd5925ff9fe5a942b44f6c / /


Architecture


IBM PowerPC



System Requirements

From Mac OS 9.0 up to Mac OS 10.0





Compatibility notes

Architecture: PPC only

Mac OS 9.x - Mac OS X

At least 100MB of free RAM (more is recommended, depending on your project's complexity)

 


Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver





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