Alienbrain 8.2 - Now Available for Maintenance Customers

Alienbrain 8.2 is a service pack release that enables direct integration with 64 bit versions of popular 3D packages such as 3ds Max 2009 (64 bit), Maya 2008 (64 bit) and XSI 7 (32 and 64 bit), as well as native 64 bit pipelines through an updated SDK. Alienbrain 8.2 also comes with a host of administrative and client software enhancements requested by customers.

Alienbrain 8.2 is available for customers with a valid Maintenance contract to download here.

What's new in Alienbrain 8.2

Alienbrain 8.2 is now available to customers with a valid Maintenance contract.

64bit integrations for XSI, 3ds Max and Maya

Alienbrain 8.2 expands the list of digital content creation tool support to include 64 bit versions:

64bit SDK for custom integration

Alienbrain 8.2 now provides a 64-bit C++ SDK for production studios requiring customer native 64-bit integration.

Enhanced bucketing support for removing old versions of assets

As projects ramp up with many files and their revisions, file servers can easily run out of disk space. Alienbrain provides a bucketing feature to help move unused or older file revisions from the main file storage to alternative storage locations (e.g. DVD, tape). With Alienbrain 8.2, this feature has been enhanced to automatically move and delete buckets after a bucketing operation, saving both disk space and administrative time.

Enhanced administrative features for Shared Client Caches enables remote teams to work more effectively

The Shared Client Cache acts like a mirror of the Alienbrain server assets. This enables people connected to the Alienbrain server over a slow network connection to have faster access. Enhancements to the Administrative Features in Alienbrain 8.2 allow administrators to easily create cache configuration files and scripts for updating shared client caches automatically.

Support for custom differencing tools for text asset types

With Alienbrain 8.2, users can now configure custom differencing tools for all text asset types. Users are no longer bound to using the differencing tools within Alienbrain.

Performance improvements to Visual Studio integration on remote connections

Improvements have been made to the Visual Studio integration running on remote connections, resulting in significant performance gains. In some cases, performance has been improved by as much as 4x.

Workflow enhancements for Change Sets

It is now easier for users to keep track of all items in the currently active Change Set at all times. This enhancement also simplifies moving multiple items from one Change Set to another. 

What's new in Alienbrain 8.1

Keep your production pipeline on the cutting edge. Alienbrain 8 supports the latest operating systems and the latest artist and developer tools. You can upgrade to the most recent versions of your favorite applications and still enjoy Alienbrain's rock-solid management tools that help you keep projects on track and let artists focus on their art.

Alienbrain 8.1 is a FREE upgrade for all Alienbrain 8 users. Download it today.

Support for the Latest Operating Systems

Planning an OS upgrade? No problem! Alienbrain 8.1 runs on Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard. Take advantage of the latest computing technologies knowing that your Alienbrain asset management solution will keep on running smoothly.

Support for the Latest Versions of Popular Art Tools

Dying to get your hands on the killer new features in your favorite app? Go right ahead. Alienbrain 8.1 supports the latest versions of the most popular 2D and 3D artist tools including:

• SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6.5
• Adobe Photoshop CS 3
• Autodesk 3ds Max 2008
• Autodesk Maya 2008
• Autodesk AliasStudio 2008

Use the same asset management and review and approval workflows you know and love. No need to stay a version behind.

Support for the Latest Development Environments

Alienbrain 8.1 supports Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, so you can develop for the latest platforms using the latest tools and still take advantage of top-notch Software Configuration Management.

DirectX File Preview

Working on your game just got easier. Alienbrain 8.1 feratures integrated previewing of DirectX (.x) files. Now you can review your DirectX content without switching applications.

Also in Alienbrain 8.1:

Alienbrain 8.1 boasts all of the great Alienbrain 8 features and enhancements that make administration of individual projects, or multiple projects easier than ever. Add in remote access solutions that make life easier for off-site users, and the whole team is happy.

Central License Server

The Central License Server (CLS) makes it easy to maintain, manage, and track licenses across multiple Alienbrain servers. You can set up servers for load-balancing, back-ups, or to boost performance, using a single license file. Licenses are allocated on a per-user basis with no time restriction.

Multi Project Administration

Project grouping features allow you to perform administrative tasks across multiple projects, making frequent configuration modifications You can use those groups to change user privileges, bucket configurations, backup configurations, and more, for multiple projects simultaneously.

Enhanced Remote Solution

To help teams working remotely, we’ve created a lean and mean mode for the Alienbrain client, optimized to run over slow connections. Easy to toggle on and off, the Slow Connection Mode keeps artists working when network traffic is high. Complementing the remote client is a Shared Client Cache for frequently used data, which helps to reduce traffic between remote and local sites.

Bucketing Improvements

Bucketing is faster and easier than ever now that we’ve replaced the bucketing wizard with a dedicated view. Buckets are now created automatically during the bucketing process so you don’t have to create them manually, and it’s possible to bucket a dedicated branch or across branches. Searching is much faster and scales with the number of search criteria. There is also an improved bucketing log file.

Branch Specific Meta-Data

New branches no longer inherit properties from their parent nodes by default. Instead, they have branch-specific meta-data, allowing you to configure a distinct sign-off workflow for each branch.