This is for all the modellers out there, LumenRT Review for SketchUp, is a tool for turning models into interactive, photo-rendered environments. The output is a stand-alone file — a whole mini application, really — that anyone can open and explore like they’re in a video game.
Take a look at this video to see how the navigation works:
The results are really pretty incredible. The LumenRT Downloads page includes a number of sample “LiveCubes” (self-contained 3D environments) that you can download and explore at your own pace. Here’s a video of the LiveCube on YouTube:
LumenRT is available for both Windows and Mac, and it works with both the free and Pro versions of SketchUp 7 and 8.
The computer specs necessary for creating and viewing LiveCubes includes:
Pre-processing machine
- Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 32/64 or Mac OS X v10.6+ 32/64 (64 bit recommended)
- nVidia GeForce 8800 or newer or ATI Radeon 4000+ or newer video board, with at least 512MB VRAM
- 2GHz processor or faster (multi-core CPU recommended)
- 2GB of free RAM (4GB recommended)
- 4GB of free Hard Disk space.
Navigation/Viewing machine
- Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 32/64 or Mac OS X v10.6+ 32/64
- nVidia GeForce 8800 or newer or ATI Radeon 4000+ or newer video board, with at least 512MB VRAM
- 2GHz processor or faster
- 1GB of free RAM (4GB recommended)
- 200MB of free Hard Disk space.
Licenses cost US$295, but they’re only $195 for a limited time.
[Via: SketchUp blog]
