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Sunday, April 6th, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerMaxons free Cineware for Unreal now supports character animationhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Maxons free Cineware for Unreal plugin now transfers character animation from Cinema 4D to Unreal Engine. Video recorded by motion graphics artist Jonathan Winbush.Maxon has updated Cineware for Unreal, its free plugin for transferring content between Cinema 4D, its 3D animation and motion graphics software, and Unreal Engine.The add-on lets users import Cinema 4D scenes into UE5 and edit them directly inside the game engine, with any changes made automatically being transferred back from Cinema 4D.The latest update, Cineware for Unreal 2025.2, greatly extends animation workflows, making it possible to transfer rigged and animated characters as well as animation caches.Edit Cinema 4D content directly inside Unreal Engine for motion graphics or VFXFirst released in 2021, the Cineware for Unreal plugin streamlines the process of working with Cinema 4D content inside Unreal Engine.The add-on makes it possible to import a Cinema 4D file into Unreal Engine, edit its parameters, and have the scene update inside Cinema 4D and transfer the changes back to Unreal.You can find more details in this story on the original version of Cineware for Unreal.Now transfers rigged, animated characters from Cinema 4D to Unreal Engine 5.5+In the initial release, it was possible to transfer geometry, materials, lights and cameras, but support for animation was largely limited to simple object transforms and material changes.While it was possible to import more complex animations as geometry caches, the workflow did not support skeletal meshes.That changes with the latest update, which makes it possible to transfer rigged and animated characters via Unreal Engines new Interchange Framework.To do so, you need to be using Unreal Engine 5.5: while the plugin is also available for previous versions of Unreal, those versions use the older Datasmith API.However, Datasmith currently supports a greater range of Cinema 4D materials, lights and cameras, so it is still available as an option, even in Unreal Engine 5.5.You can see a detailed comparison table of the types of Cinema 4D content you can transfer using Datasmith and the Interchange Framework in the online release notes.System requirements and availabilityCineware for Unreal 2025.2 is compatible with Unreal Engine 5.3+ and Cinema 4D 2024.0+ on Windows and macOS. Read a full list of changes in Cineware for Unreal 2025.2Download Maxons free Cineware for Unreal pluginHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsBlackmagic Design releases DaVinci Resolve 20.0 in betaDiscover key features for VFX artists and colorists in this major update to the free grading and editing app and its $295 Studio edition.Sunday, April 6th, 2025Maxon's free Cineware for Unreal now supports character animationBig update to the free link plugin makes it possible to transfer rigged and animated characters from Cinema 4D to Unreal Engine 5.5.Sunday, April 6th, 2025Maxon releases Red Giant 2024.4 and Universe 2025.3Updates to the effects plugins for compositing and video editing apps extend support for DaVinci Resolve, but end support for Vegas Pro.Friday, April 4th, 2025Nekki releases Cascadeur 2025.1 with AI-based InbetweeningInnovative animation app gets new AI system for generating realistic motion connecting two poses. Check out the other new features.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Maxon releases Redshift 2025.4Big update to the renderer adds OpenPBR support. See the other new features for 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Houdini and Maya users.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025Maxon releases Cinema 4D 2025.23D animation and motion graphics app gets integrated Spline Modifiers and updates to particle simulation. Liquid simulation 'coming soon'.Thursday, April 3rd, 2025More NewsMaxon releases ZBrush 2025.2Maxon adds ZModeler and UV Master to ZBrush for iPad 2025.3Adobe releases After Effects 25.2Autodesk releases Mudbox 2026Otoy releases OctaneRender 2025.1Poly Hammer releases Meta-Human DNA add-on for BlenderCheck out virtual cinematography tool Radical VCamChaos launches Chaos ArenaLumion unveils Lumion ViewMaster the art of Virtual Makeup Design with Neville PageAutodesk releases Arnold 7.4.13DGS Render 3.0 lets you paint 3D Gaussian Splats in BlenderOlder Posts

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 78, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If youre new here, welcome, sorry everythings about to get so expensive, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, Ive been reading about baseball bats and work-life balance and BYD and Scarlett Johansson, watching Paradise, rekindling my love of pear-flavored jelly beans, sharing Robin Sloans AI take with anyone who will listen, grooving to the greatest unexpected Doechii remix of all time, and finally finding the monitor mount that makes my webcam upgrade work.I also have for you a couple of great new apps for streaming and gaming, a look back into Microsofts history, the latest on the Switch 2, a screed against screen time, and much more.Oh, and a programming note: Installer is off next week. Taking a little break before we ramp up for Developer Conference season. But we have lots to do today! Lets get into it.(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be reading / listening to / watching / downloading / sipping on this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)The DropPlex. Plex has spent a lot of time and energy trying to become a proper, legit streaming platform, and the new mobile app is by far the most mainstream-useful thing it has ever made. Mixing streaming media with my library, and lots of discovery tools, feels really nice. Fair warning, though: youll need a $4.99 monthly sub to get a lot of Plexs best features.Delta 1.7. The iPhones best game emulator, now with online multiplayer! (At least for DS games.) It also has nice screenshot support and some new N64-specific updates, which gives me great hope for the Mario Golf ROM Ive already put too many hours into.Skylight. It looks exactly like TikTok, but it runs on the same AT Protocol that powers Bluesky. That is a very enticing combination and its a really nice app for something so brand new. Bluesky is really starting to look like the fediverse.Celebrate 50 years of Microsoft with the companys original source code. This week was the 50th anniversary of Microsoft, and Bill Gates marked the occasion by releasing all its original Altair BASIC source code via one of the cooler retro-style websites youll ever use.The Nintendo Switch 2. I know, weve talked about this before, and I know, its not launching until June. But the new Switch a console I am outrageously, maybe unprecedentedly, excited about, especially now that weve learned more about its specs and its game lineup is officially launching in June, and I just needed you to know so you dont miss it. I will be there. You cant preorder it yet, because of chaos, but Ill keep you posted.I hate my phone so I got rid of it. Been a while since a 46-minute YouTube rant had me nodding this hard but Eddy Burback does a great job of explaining both why our phones are a problem, and why life without a phone feels increasingly impossible. Using a landline? Can you imagine?A Minecraft Movie. The reviews are meh, because of course they are. But Ill watch Jack Black in anything, and Im genuinely curious to see both what the blocky movie world looks like and how this very clearly Lego Movie-inspired flick pulls off the whole just keep building bit.DEVONthink 4.0. DEVONthink is, like, the ultimate Mac app for just storing all your junk. The designs a little 90s for my taste, but the new beta has some nice updates and a huge set of AI tools for finding, summarizing, and organizing content. Im tempted to throw my whole life back in the app.Koira. Another delightful entrant (for Steam and PS5) in one of my favorite game genres the quiet, simple puzzler that never tries to do too much but somehow seems to keep your attention forever. Plus, you get a puppy friend!Weve talked about the app Sofa a few times here in Installer. Its a really good-looking, powerful app for Apple devices that lets you manage all the stuff you want to watch, read, listen to, and everything else. Ive come to appreciate having it as the app I go to when I deliberately want to relax. Rather than just aimlessly scroll on Reddit or whatever, Sofa is just a giant list of stuff I actually want to consume.Sofas big new feature this week is a podcast player, which is full-featured enough that you can use Sofa as your one and only podcast app. Like everything else in Sofa, its really nicely made and is already as good at queue management as any app Ive tried.On the occasion of the new update, I asked Shawn Hickman, Sofas developer, to share his homescreen with us. I figured he might have some widget ideas, you know? Here it is, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:The phone: iPhone 16 Pro Max. I love the big phones and have embraced the PopSocket life.The wallpaper: My homescreen rotates images from my photo library (one of my favorite iOS features), and I use the blurred version of it as my wallpaper.The apps: Camera, Phone, Apple Maps, Clock, Wallet, Settings, Photos, Reminders, App Store, Music, Safari, 1Password, YouTube, Bear, YouTube Studio, Lightroom, Things, Blackmagic Camera, Reeder, Discord, RevenueCat, ChatGPT, Apple Sports, Mail, Messages, Sofa, Apple Notes.I keep very few apps on my homescreen and tend to rely on search more. Also, Im not a big widgets person. I have a few on my first page (Photos, Weather, and Calendar), but I prefer scanning app icons rather than widgets .Things, Bear, and Reeder are a few of my favorite apps of all time. Ive used Reeder (now Reeder Classic) for a long time and have always been impressed with the apps craftsmanship. The new Reeder is even better. I actually like the news feed approach more than the traditional RSS feed / inbox approach. I find it to be a low-stress way to keep up with different news sources.Bear is where I write and store a lot of my work notes. I love writing in markdown, the flexibility of the apps tagging system, and its visual design. Things is my favorite app ever. Ive been using it for so long and couldnt imagine managing my work without it. Simply the best.I have a YouTube channel. Ive been experimenting with shooting Apple Log, and the Blackmagic Camera app is by far the most flexible. You need to do a bit of learning, but its pretty sweet once youve gotten a handle on it. I love photography, and really love editing photos, so I tend to spend a lot of time in Lightroom. I find it relaxing, and tend to edit photos when Im stuck on a problem. It weirdly helps me think.RevenueCat is a great service that makes implementing and managing Sofas app subscriptions much easier.I also asked Shawn to share a few things hes into right now. Heres what he sent:Severance. Its probably my favorite TV show since the first season of Stranger Things and I really want to buy one of the keyboards the MDR team uses! Now we must all endure the long wait for season 3.Ive been on a history kick, and there are a few documentaries Ive really liked: The War.Framelines: Im a photography enthusiast, and one of my favorite YouTube channels, and now magazines, is Framelines. They focus a lot on street photography but expand beyond that quite a bit. Their channel is great, and I love getting their physical magazines, too.CrowdsourcedHeres what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what youre into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal @davidpierce.11 with your recommendations for anything and everything, and well feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.I played Dungeon Pages for the first time on my iPad last night and REALLY enjoyed it! Would be even more enjoyable on paper to get away from doomscrolling for a while. DylanI initially had my heart set on the Fujifilm X100VI, but a friend suggested the X-T50. Its been a great learning experience, and Im pleased with the photos Ive taken. Im still discovering all the nuances of the Fujifilm ecosystem. PaulIf youre liking your SodaStream, you should check out Simpli Soda theyre a family business out of SE Wisconsin that does mail-in cylinder swaps for all brands (including quick-connects like your SodaStream Art uses) for less $$. CoriLate to the party, but Baldurs Gate 3. I was blown away by how quickly I got immersed, and Im only on my first playthrough. I didnt realize that it ran natively on macOS until last month. DrakeWanted to recommend a great app I have been happily using (+ paying for) for five years that no one else seems to talk about: Mealime. Its the perfect app if, like me, you struggle not only at planning recipes for the week but also the act of shopping itself. Normally, when I make a grocery list, I crisscross the grocery store looking for what I need. Mealime gives you tons of recipes, lets you filter by dietary preferences, make a meal plan, and then it makes a grocery list grouped by section of the grocery store. Its a total game-changer for me. DrewI absolutely love Li Hing pineapple rings. Im told theyre common in Hawaii, but on the East Coast, theyre new to me. Sour and delicious. I order mine from Wholesale Unlimited Hawaii, and theyre fun and delicious and unique. The store has tons of snacks Ive never seen around where I live, and everything Ive bought is really good. SteveI finished watching Reacher season 3 on Prime Video. I liked the season as an action flick, but it doesnt feel like a Reacher-level story. The investigation element was missing from this season. Season 1 was the strongest offering in this series. AnkurI just found out about the Johnny.Decimal system last night. Diving in to reorganizing my work files as I descend further down the PKM rabbit hole. DirkOtherwise Objectionable is an excellent history of Section 230. Hosted by Mike Masnick and featuring recollections from the folks who were there at the inception of the 26 words that created the Internet. Section 230 is under threat (yet again), so its a good time to learn why its so important we dont screw it up with badly written and misguided legislation. ZipSigning offIf you were extremely online during a very specific time period, the names Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld might mean a lot to you. They were two of my first favorite online comedians, part of a brilliant CollegeHumor gang that was way ahead of its time making funny stuff on the internet.If youve never watched a Jake and Amir, head to their YouTube channel, sort by oldest, and give it a whirl. But if you can quote as many of their bits as I can, you really should check out the Greatest Jake and Amir Episode Ever tournament the two guys are doing on the channel, rewatching and commenting on some of their best work. (If youre on their Patreon, you can already see who won the tournament, but as I write this, the YouTube channel is only up to the Final Four.) I was shocked at how many of these videos I can still recite, pretty much word for word, all these years later. No keeding.See you in two weeks!See More:

Though the gallery wall has roots as far back as Europe in the 1600s, the term first saw its most recent surge in interest in the 2010s. Since then, it's waxed and waned in popularity, and taken on all sorts of forms, but a collection of art pieces remains an ideal way to add a bit of cluttercore charm to any space. British designer Rita Konig is the reigning queen of the gallery wall. (If youve pinned it on Pinterest, she probably hung it, though the collection in the photo above was curated by Watts Design House. ) Here are her Rita's for an effortlessly elegant arrangement, inspired by the perfectly imperfect English salon aesthetic.Frame to the PictureA wall will look more layered and authentic if you pick frames for the specific artwork rather than the wall as a whole. Hang to the Furniture (Or the Floor!)You want the pictures to gravitate to the furniture or floor as opposed to floating out there on their own.Mind the "Avenues"Dont let your wall look like a map of Manhattan. Anytime you start seeing too long of a road, put up a roadblock to keep the overall look loose, not stiff or gridded.Start Small Its better to begin with a few pieces you love in a tight jammed in arrangement and to slowly evolve outward/upward from the floor or furniture as opposed to buying filler or props to round out a space. For whatever reason, filler will always feel like filler, Rita says. More English-Inspired Decor Ideas:

According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple will no longer be launching its rumored smart home hub this year. This is due to all of the delays with Apple Intelligence Siri, and Apple reportedly is considering delaying the launch until sometime in 2026 until some of the engineering challenges are figured out.This news doesnt necessarily come as a surprise, but its still a bit of a bummer.To recap, Apple is working on an all-new product category for your home. Think like an Echo Show or Google Nest Hub, but made by Apple. It was supposed to feature a 7-inch square display, Apple Intelligence, and an all-new operating system that wouldve helped it fit in your home. It wouldve been heavily reliant on Apple Intelligence and App Intents.Now, a plethora of internal challenges with Siri have occurred. The company has officially delayed the launch of its already-announced Siri features from this spring to sometime in the coming year. Apple has also done some internal restructuring, and is reportedly considering rebuilding the features from scratch.Apples first leap into consumer AI hasnt been going great, to say the least.Apple was initially planning for a March launch. Then, Gurman reported on some delays, saying that the product would launch in April or later. Now, its sounding much more dire:Initially, there wassome optimism that the snagswould only result in the smart home hubshipping a few months later say, around the time of the new iPhones. Now the company is considering adelay until 2026,when the Siri features are expected to land. If that happens, itll be a disappointment to Apple fans looking for the company to finally make a larger push into the smart home. But this product probably wont makea big difference in terms of revenue.Its really just an Apple version of theGoogle Nest Hub.Hopefully, Apple wont end up canning this product. Gurman makes reference to the fact that this product is just the stepping stone to an eventual product with a robotic arm and more features, but thatll undoubtedly be more expensive. Itd be really nice to see Apple start on the entry level.My favorite Apple accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

A South Korean website called GenNomis went offline this week after a researcher made a particularly alarming discovery: tens of thousands of AI-generated pornographic images created by its software, Nudify. The photos were found in an unsecured database, and included explicit images bearing the likeness of celebrities, politicians, random women, and children.Jeremiah Fowler, the cybersecurity researcher who found the cache, says he immediately sent a responsible disclosure notice to GenNomis and its parent company, AI-Nomis, who then restricted the database from public access. Later, just hours after Wiredapproached GenNomis for comment, both it and its parent company seemed to disappear from the web entirely.GenNomis is far from the only AI startup peddling tools to generate pornography. It's a small part of a worrying trend enabled by unregulated generative AI across the world. Often known as "deepfakes" because of their lifelike nature, fake porn images and videos based on real people have exploded throughout the internet as consumers get their hands on ever-more convincing generative AI.The consequences of deepfake porn can be devastating, especially for women, who make up the vast majority of victims. Beside the obvious lack of consent when a person is digitally undressed, this stuff has been used to tarnish politicians, get people fired, extort victims for money, and generate child sexual abuse materials. Beyond sexual violence, non-pornographicdeepfakes are responsible for a huge increase in financial and cyber crimes and no small amount of blatant misinformation.It's also no surprise that GenNomis is based out of South Korea. A 2023 report on Deepfake porn found that South Korean women made up 53 percent of individuals victimized by the practice by far the most targeted group. For comparison, the US women made up the second most targeted group, ringing in at 20 percent.The rise of generative AI enabling the rampant exploitation of women coincides with a meteoric rise in sexist rhetoric and gender-based violence in South Korea, as reactionary politicians and influencers blame feminism for the rising rate of male suicide.Overall, it's a strong argument for lawmakers to take a tougher approach to regulating generative AI, though this seems unlikely due to the AI industry's current freedom to regulate itself. For comparison, China has mandated that all AI-generated media be labeled as such from the drop. Though slower to the party, western lawmakers are catching up on criminalizing deepfake porn creation and distribution, though laws and penalties vary from state to state in America.Still, for thousands of women around the world, the fact that companies like GenNomis existed at all means it's too little, too late.More on AI ethics: All AI-Generated Material Must Be Labeled Online, China AnnouncesShare This Article

Neither the design nor the display will wow you, but the performance and battery life from its Intel Lunar Lake CPU provide excellent value to budget laptop shoppers.

Anas took about a week to re-create some youth nostalgia: Crash Bandicoot! Check out this video that includes a breakdown of the entire project.Source