Golaem Crowd
 | This article contains promotional content. (April 2011) |
| Developer(s) | Golaem |
|---|---|
| Initial release | May 2011 |
| Stable release | 6.3.1
/ June 2018 |
| Written in | C++, MEL, Python |
| Operating system | Linux Microsoft Windows |
| Platform | x64 |
| Available in | English |
| Type | 3D Computer Graphics |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.golaem.com/crowd |
Golaem Crowd is a plug-in for Autodesk Maya that allows for the simulation of controllable characters crowds based on independent agents.[1] It is developed by Golaem, a France-based software company (created in Rennes in 2009).
It is a tool to generate characters in reachable areas of the scene (e.g. to place an army in a field avoiding trees and rocks) While animators can use Maya tools to make the crowd characters (represented as particle) move in the scene, the plugin provides navigation behaviors to make them go from A to B autonomously.[2] It allows for automatic navigation mesh computation, Roadmap-based path planning and configurable steering behaviors (including reactive collision avoidance).
The included animation engine enables to replay previously created motion, even on characters of different morphologies. Golaem Crowd can adapt motions to the ground and automatically compute transitions between motions, for two-legged or four-legged motion. It provides: Automatic and editable skeleton mapping, biped & quadruped dedicated animation engine, automatic motion retargeting, blending & ground adaptation. Animations can be triggered and blended by defining associated behaviors with start/stop trigger conditions.
The user interface is based on Maya workaday objects (particles, fields…). Golaem Crowd is based on the standard animation workflow in CGI, and allows users to incrementally build a scene. Steps are validated one by one: assets, flows, population; behaviors; animation.
History
- The first public version of the software was presented and released in May 2011 at the 16th annual FMX conference in Stuttgart.[3][4][5]
- V1.1 was released in June 2011 with the added support of 3Delight.[6]
- During SIGGRAPH 2011, Golaem and the Academy award winning post production studio Mikros Images[7] released Golaem Project a humorous short film showcasing Golaem Crowd capabilities.[8]
- V1.2 was released in September 2011, it was the first version supporting Chaos Group's V-Ray rendering engine and using Disney's Partio particle cache.[9]
- V1.3 was released in November 2011, this versions included new characters behaviors relying on IK. At the same time, the new pricing was announced as well as the official Golaem Crowd blog.[10][11]
- V1.5 was released in July 2012.
- V2.0 was released in August 2012, this version introduced a graphical behavior editor, as well as Ragdoll physics and formations.[12]
- V2.2 was released in January 2013, added support for Solid Angle's Arnold rendering engine.[13]
- V3.0 was released in December 2013, added n-peds support, flocks behaviors and a new previsualization.[14]
- V3.1 was released in February 2014, added visual debug and Arnold mtoa 1.x compatibility.[15]
- V4.0 was released in March 2015, added timeline scrubbing, cache editing, cloth simulation, squash & stretch, alembic support...[16]
In production
Some examples where Golaem Crowd was used in production includes:
- ALÉSIA, le rêve d'un roi nu,[17][18][19] by Mikros Image (post-production)
- Once Upon a Time,[20] by Zoic Studios
- Nissan Juke commercial,[21] by Mikros Image (post-production)
- Orange Sport Be Prepared commercial,[22] by Mikros Image (post-production)
- Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia,[23] by Mikros Image (post-production)
- Warm Bodies,[24][25] by Look Effects
- Nike 'Dare to be Brazilian' commercial,[26][27] by Framestore
- Game of Thrones,[28][29][30] by Pixomondo
- Der Medicus,[31] by Pixomondo
- Sky Sports 'Making Sports Better',[32] by Framestore
- Hercules,[33] by Milk VFX and Cinesite
- Dracula Untold,[34] by Framestore and Milk VFX
- Dawn of the Planet of the Zombies and the Giant Killer Planets on Some Serious Acid,[35] a short movie by Alf Lovvold
- Woodlawn,[36] by Red Sky Studios
- Guitar Hero Live,[37] by Framestore and FreeStyleGames
- Norm of the North[38]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales[39]
Compatible renderers
- Pixar's RenderMan[40][41]
- Chaos Group's V-Ray[42][43]
- Guerilla Render[44]
- Solid Angle’s Arnold[13]
- Mental Ray
- 3delight
- Redshift
See also
References
- ^ "Interview with Golaem's CEO Stéphane Donikian". Archived from the original on 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ www.crowdscontrol.net. "Golaem Crowd Launch". Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ "Attack Of The Crowds - New Tools For Crowd Simulation". Archived from the original on 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ www.vizworld.com. "Golaem launches Golaem Crowd at FMX". Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ www.3dworldmag.com. "Golaem Crowd for Maya released". Retrieved 2011-08-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Golaem Crowd 1.1, Golaem Puppet 2.2, Golaem SDK 2.3 available". Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ "Logorama remporte l'Oscar 2010 du meilleur court-métrage d'animation". Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ "Golaem and Mikros Image partnered to produce funny short mov". Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ "Golaem Announces Golaem Crowd 1.2, supporting V-Ray rendering". Retrieved 2011-11-04.
- ^ "Golaem Crowd 1.3". Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ www.cgchannel.com. "Golaem releases Golaem Crowd 1.3 for Maya". Retrieved 2011-11-09.
- ^ www.cgchannel.com. "Golaem ships Golaem Crowd 2.0".
- ^ a b Golaem Crowd 2.2 – Supporting Solid Angle’s Arnold
- ^ Golaem Crowd 3.0 – Unleash your imagination
- ^ Golaem Crowd 3.1
- ^ Golaem Crowd 4.0
- ^ Alesia, le reve d'un roi nu (2011) on IMDB.
- ^ Alesia, le reve d'un roi nu (2011) on Facebook.
- ^ Bande annonce Alésia, le rêve d'un roi nu
- ^ Once Upon a Time (TV Series 2011) on IMDB.
- ^ Mikros testimonial on Nissan Juke commercial.
- ^ Mathematic commercials: Orange Sport Be Prepared.
- ^ Astérix et Obélix au service de Sa Majesté.
- ^ The 5 step zombie plan: Warm Bodies.
- ^ How Dan Schrecker and Jonathan Levine brought the undead to life in Warm Bodies.
- ^ Framestore - Nike 'Dare to be Brasilian'
- ^ Framestore Creates Brazilian Crowds for Nike Using Golaem Crowd
- ^ Golaem: la start-up rennaise s'invite dans Game of Thrones
- ^ Palme de l'animation : Golaem crée les armées de Game of Thrones
- ^ Golaem, numéro un mondial de la création de foules virtuelles
- ^ Pixomondo : retour sur les effets du film Der Medicus
- ^ Sky Sports 'Making Sports Better'
- ^ 'Legend or truth: the VFX of Hercules'
- ^ 'Going full vamp: Dracula Untold'
- ^ 'How one VFX artist made these 3 minutes of madness'
- ^ 'Woodlawn Vfx Breakdown'
- ^ 'It’s Guitar Hero, but not as you know it'
- ^ 'Post Magazine : Artic Blast'
- ^ 'Art of VFX: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN – DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES'
- ^ Pixar Launches RenderMan On Demand™ Archived 2012-01-23 at the Wayback Machine, on Pixar Press Releases
- ^ Pixar launches RenderMan On Demand online service, on cgchannel.com
- ^ Guerilla Render Technology
