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Nova Design Releases ImageFX 3.0!
Nova Design, Inc., producers of the award winning ImageFX package and the highly received Aladdin 4D package, are proud to announce the exciting version 3.0 upgrade to ImageFX! ImageFX has been the required graphics application for all Amiga owners and has been a part of Video Toaster/Flyer owner's toolkits for years. Combining painting, image file format conversion, image processing, and special effects, ImageFX is the undisputed leader in graphics manipulation on the Amiga.
"ImageFX 3.0 can be called the 'Users Request' upgrade as it is built upon the input of our users.", says Bob Fisher, Vice-President in charge of sales at Nova Design, Inc. "We've made wonderful changes to the interface, adding instant asynchronous redrawing of your images, larger previews that can be magnified, multiple image windows, real image layers, and many more special effects!"
Highlights of ImageFX 3.0
The interface still follows professional standards for the Amiga and the video and film industry with its paintbox style approach. This has been built on in ImageFX 3.0 to allow child menus to remain open for quick access to frequently used functions, larger effects previews that you can zoom in and out of and move around in, font sensitivity, multiple image windows including the ability to open multiple windows for the same image, real image layers that allow you to compose complex composited images that can be modified over and over with ease, and many other improvements throughout.
Cross platform connectivity has been a top concern with ImageFX, from its Video Toaster/Flyer support, to its wide range of image file format support for all computer platform image formats. With this new release ImageFX improves its Flyer support and also now gains support for the Photoshop native file format so that layered images can be shared from Photoshop to ImageFX. ImageFX also now directly supports loading, and preserving, color-mapped (CMAP) image data for quick, accurate, conversion of these formats.
Optimizations are also included now for all processor types including the 68040 and 68060 chipsets.
Special effects have always been one of the touchstones of the power of ImageFX. From the earliest days ImageFX pioneered bringing high-end "Hollywood-style" special effects to the desktop with it's morphing and warping, wire removal, lightning and fire effects. The effects in this release extend this even further!
The all-new Clouds module allows you to generate true fractal clouds that can animate their movement and evolve over time, via batch processing, from one form to another. The clouds can be layered to create three-dimensional effects and combine with custom, or supplied, palettes to create wild plasma designs as well.
Scatter is an amazing new effect that can shatter an image into pieces as small as a single pixel and blast them apart in many different patterns. This can be used for artistic designs or for dramatic transitions.
Also new in ImageFX 3.0 is Splash. Splash uses ray tracing and bump mapping to create liquid simulations of rain, water ski surf, gelatinous wiggles and more. The effect can be batched to animate puddles of rainwater and create highly organic transitions.
A classic effect from other computer platforms, Pagecurler, has been added as well. This can add a cool curled page effect to the edge of an image or make letters appear to peel off of the page!
The true gem in the new effects is called FXForge. FXForge uses simple mathematical expressions that, when applied against each pixel in the image, can create hundreds upon hundreds of new effects. It uses a superset of the same technology used in Adobeä Photoshopä' s Filter Factoryä plug-in and is completely compatible to formulas for effects created for that package. Due to the overwhelming popularity of these formulas, you can find hundreds, if not thousands, of them available on the Internet. Experienced users can create these as well to extend their toolkit of special effects on their own! Unique to ImageFX's FXForge is the ability to animate the parameters and access ImageFX's swap buffer for transitional effects as well!
Ordering the Upgrade
The upgrade from the ImageFX 2.0 through 2.6 release is only $79.95 plus shipping. ($5 in the US, $10 elsewhere) Versions of ImageFX prior to 2.0 can be upgraded for only $124.95. You can order via 1-800-IMAGE-69 in the US and Canada or call (804) 282-1157 elsewhere. Orders can also be faxed to (804) 282-3768 or mailed to our address. Anyone purchasing ImageFX 2.6 after January 15th, 1998 can upgrade for free with proof of purchase.
ImageFX is also available, new, through your local Amiga dealer or via mail order at a suggested retail price of $349.95.
Wildfire PPC - Animation Sequencing and 3D Effects
Nova Design, Inc., producers of the award winning ImageFX package and the highly received Aladdin 4D package, are proud to announce that they have arranged to be the exclusive distributors of the Wildfire and Wildfire PPC 3D effects package for North America.
Wildfire is an exciting new animation sequencing, 3D effects, transitions, and animation package by Andreas Maschke and released in Germany by Oberland Computer. It can be compared to SGI Flint or Flame systems and it is capable of creating amazing 3D effects by mapping video sequences into Wildfire's intuitive storyboard animation sequencing system.
Highlights of Wildfire
Wildfire is a professional animation sequencer that allows you to create and process animations in several formats, to generate time-dependant 3D special-effects and design large projects containing several animations and frame-synchronized sound-effects. Wildfire's animation sequencing allows you to combine animations on a timeline and output them in a common format. Wildfire supports the creation of YAFA animations with synchronized sound as well!
The 3D effects included in Wildfire include height-field deforms, cubes that automatically unfold and fold again, Lightwave object support, 3D magnet effects, 3D transitional morphing, unlimited mathematical deformations, twists, sphere mapping, twirling, water transitions, perspective transforms and more!
· Full CyberGraphX Support
· Font Sensitive GUI
· Special PowerPC Edition
· Storyboard Animation Interface
· Timecodes Editor
· Envelope Controls for Effects
· Filmstrip Interfaces
· Real-time Feedback
· Transition Maker
· Preview for almost any Operation
· Animation with Sound
· Post Processing Effects
· Color correction Tools
· 24-bit Animation Player with Sound
Wildfire is an open development platform, like Nova Design, Inc.'s own products, with complete plug-in development information and a full Arexx interface (with over 400 commands) is included.
Ordering Wildfire
Wildfire for standard Amiga 68k series machines with a 68020 or better is available for $149.95 and Wildfire for the PowerPC is only $199.95. Both are available at your local Amiga dealer or mail order firm.
Wildfire comes on CDROM and requires an Amiga 68k series or PowerPC system.
Kermit Woodall
Nova Design, Inc.
http://www.novadesign.com