Discreet brings out a visually advanced combustion 4, for both Windows
and Macintosh, which features a complete set of sophisticated tools for
visual effects creation, including vector paint, particles, effects,
animation and 3D compositing tools. Upgrades include interface
improvements, new paint tools and enhanced interoperability with most
3D animation products including Discreet’s 3ds max animation software,
cleaner encoding software and its systems products flint, flame,
inferno, fire and smoke. New features include Diamond Keyer for keying
algorithms, Time-Warp key-framing, B-spline vector shapes and new
optimized "Fast Gaussian Blurs." Combustion 4 is expected to ship for
Windows this month and for Macintosh in May 2005. (Stay tuned for a
tutorial on time-warp key framing in the April issue.) $995 (full
system); $249 (upgrade). www.discreet.com