LightWave 3D is a 3D computer graphics program developed by LightWave Digital. It has been used in films Star Trek: Voyager, Space: Above and Beyond, seaQuest DSV

On February 4, 2009, NewTek announced "LightWave CORE" its next-generation 3D application via a streamed live presentation to 3D artists around the world. It featured a highly customizable and modernized user interface, Python scripting integration that offered realtime code and view previews, an updated file format based on the industry standard Collada format, substantial revisions to its modeling technologies and a realtime iterative viewport renderer. It was planned to be the first LightWave product to be available on the Linux operating system. However, on June 23, 2011, CORE was cancelled as a standalone product and NewTek announced that the CORE advancements would become part of the ongoing LightWave platform, starting with LightWave 10 (which was originally LightWave HC, intended to be a transitional software system comprising the classical Layout and Modeler applications during the initial stages of CORE, in order to supply compatibility with the existing toolset for LightWave). It added an interactive viewport renderer (VPR), interactive stereoscopic camera rigs, linear color-space workflow, real time interactive physical teleoperation input (Virtual Studio Tools), and data interchange upgrades.

On February 20, 2012, NewTek began shipping LightWave 11 Software, the latest version of its professional 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software. LightWave 11 incorporates many new features, such as instancing, flocking and fracturing tools, flexible Bullet Dynamics, Pixologic Zbrush support, and more. LightWave 11 is used for all genres of 3D content creation-from film and broadcast visual effects production, to architectural visualization, and game design.

On January 31, 2013, NewTek shipped LightWave 11.5 which debuted a new modular rigging system called Genoma. The flocking system was reworked, gaining predator and prey behaviors. The bullet dynamics system was improved to include soft body dynamics, wind forces and to react to bone deformations. Interlinks to After Effects and ZBrush (via GoZ) were added as well. New tools, based on a new experimental subsystem were added to Modeler. It was originally thought that this subsystem would allow further enhancements to Modeler, but disclosures by a developer in the main user forums (since removed by moderators) indicated that this approach had been too problematic and another avenue was being considered to enable Modeler to evolve. FiberFX, the hair/fur system in LightWave, also saw improvements with the 11.5 release, to work with soft bodies and to also directly support curves from Modeler for guiding hair. Additionally, braid and twist support was added, to ease creation of complex hairstyles.

On November 1, 2013, NewTek shipped LightWave 11.6. This release brought a new animation tool, spline control, along with improvements to ray casting (to enable items in the scene to be precisely positioned on a surface, with optional offset. nVidia's CgFX was also implemented, albeit via the legacy shader system. STL support was added to enable output suitable for 3D printers. The virtual studio system was also enhanced to support a LightWave 3D group-authored add-on called NevronMotion, enabling direct motion capture (full body and facial) using consumer devices such as the Kinect (on Windows only) and re-targeting via a simplified user interface. A simplified Python system was made available for the Modeler environment and for common functions. The timeline for Layout support via this simplified system has not been disclosed. Alembic support was also introduced. Since the release of 11.6, two minor patches have been released to resolve software issues (11.6.1 and 11.6.2). In early May 2014, 11.6.3 was released to address a licensing system limitation.

On November 24, 2014, NewTek released Lightwave 2015. The release upgraded Bullet physics integration (constraints, motors, dynamics affecting bones), Genoma rigging automation plug-in with scripting, edge rendering, and the dynamic object parenting workflow. It also added a plate perspective matching tool, and Importance sampling to Global illumination.

On January 1, 2018, NewTek released Lightwave 2018. Features include: Physically Based Rendering System, Render & Light Buffers, New Volumetric Engine, OpenVDB Support, New Lighting Architecture, Surface Editor - Material Nodes & Surface Preview, Virtual Reality Camera, Modifier Stack & Nodal Modifiers, New Cel Shader & Enhanced Edge Rendering, More Integrated FiberFX, Layout-based Parametric Shapes, Physically Based OpenGL, & a Noise Reduction Filter. New Modeler Features include: "A 'Layout View' viewport shows the current camera view from Layout. In addition, LightWave 2018 Modeler provides new fully interactive tools including Lattice, Smoothing, Array and Spline Bridge to speed up your modeling."

In January 2019, LightWave 2019 introduced new integration tools with Unreal Engine, animatable mesh sculpting and painting in Layout, new UV mapping and UDIM tools (as well as support for smoothing groups) in Modeler, improved FBX interchange, shading model customization tools, new shape primitives, OpenVDB creation, shading/rendering enhancements, and workflow/UI improvements.

In April 2020, Newtek released LightWave 2020 which introduced new Environment Lights, new Global Illumination, FBX interchange, OpenGL Viewport shaders, Action Centers, a re-orderable Motion System order, improved SSS (Random Walk), new Hair and Fur materials, Mobile NRC monitoring.

On May 26, 2020, Newtek released LightWave 2020.0.1 which was released with over 570 bugfixes.

On July 15, 2020 Newtek released LightWave 2020.0.2 which was released with over 59 bug fixes.

After a change of ownership, LightWave Digital (LWD) released LightWave 2023 on the 26th November 2023, for the Windows, Mac and Apple Silicon platforms.

On May 8th, 2024, LightWave Digital released LightWave 2023.0.2

In LightWave 2018, the shading pipeline was extensively revamped to support Physically Based Rendering. These free nodes enable modifying images, renders, procedural textures, Hypervoxels, object motions, animation channels, and volumetric lights. Also they enable particles and other meshes to drive node parameters. These nodes have been integrated into LightWave 2025.

LightWave 2025 added Python 3.x scripting with a switchable mechanism between Python 2.7 and Python 3.14 for legacy Python script support.

Licensing

Prior to being made available as a stand-alone product in 1994, LightWave required the presence of a Video Toaster in an Amiga to run. Until version 11.0.3, LightWave licenses were bound to a hardware dongle (e.g. Safenet USB or legacy parallel port models). Without a dongle LightWave would operate in "Discovery Mode" which severely restricts functionality. One copy of LightWave supports distributed rendering of up to 999 nodes.

See also

  • Computer generated imagery
  • Comparison of 3D graphics software

References

  • List of projects which were created with the help of LightWave