MysticGD Updates EMotion FX Character Animation Package

Animation middleware company MysticGD has announced the latest release of EMotion FX, its real-time character animation and model export system, providing updated tools for artists to increase runtime performance and detail. The latest release of EMotion FX introduces a "LOD," or level of detail system, that allows users to tune model skeletons to optimize runtime performance. It also provides a workflow pipeline aimed at speeding setup of complete in-game characters. The company says the new LOD system adds "significant" performance improvements, as it simplifies animations at runtime based on a maximum visual error specified by the user. Additionally, a new Geometry LOD system allows artists to either specify LOD levels for given meshes manually, or let them be generated automatically. The SDK's documentation has been rewritten, adding a sample browser to navigate the 44 different API examples. Finally, the latest release improves memory management with the aim of improving EMotion FX efficiency on consoles. MysticGD development director John van der Burg said this latest version is the first in an ongoing campaign of SDK and tools updates to come, commenting, "This new SDK adds exciting new features that are in high demand among game artists and animators. EMotion FX's tools have been redesigned to make them more intuitive and efficient to accommodate the needs of artists."