Autodesk has added the Golaem plug-in in the latest release of its Design & Make software for Media & Entertainment Collection, to simplify the process of creating large-scale crowd scenes.Crowd simulation has long been a challenge, and our mission has always been to make it accessible to all, said Nicolas Chaverou, Golaem co-founder and principal technical product manager at Autodesk. Now, as part of Autodesks M&E Collection, were thrilled that Golaem is in the hands of more studios and can empower more artists to create stunning, large-scale scenes with ease.Golaems Layout tool allows studios to adjust and customize characters directly in the Maya viewport without altering simulations, while the built-in procedural animation engine helps control multiple characters at once. Once the simulation is set up in Maya, it can be transferred to 3ds Max, Houdini, Unreal, or Katana using Golaems dedicated plug-ins.Meet the new M&E Collection with Autodesk Golaem:Major industry formats are supported, including OpenUSD. The Autodesk Media & Entertainment Collection allows running Arnold on up to 5 machines, making crowd rendering faster and more cost-efficient.Were breaking down long-standing technical barriers to get artists into the creative zone faster, said Ben Fischler, Autodesks director of product management for content creation. With new crowd simulation, AI-powered tools, and Flow-connected workflows, our latest updates help you reach that last 80% - where the real fun begins, and you can focus on making your shot work for the story.Flow Animating in Context integrates surrounding shots from Flow Production Tracking (formerly ShotGrid) directly into Mayas timeline, and allows users to switch between different pipeline steps. The latest updates to Maya and 3ds Max also include hundreds of enhancements and fixes, including:Modeling improvements The powerful Volume Booleans tool is now available in Maya and 3ds Max, creating a more unified Boolean engine between the two tools. This update makes it easier to explore freeform shapes and build complex organic forms from simple primitives.Liquids Bifrost's new liquid simulation feature is now available directly within the Bifrost graph. The new FLIP solver offers adaptive resolution for efficient computation, particle-based foam, and improved velocity estimation. You can also emit and blend colored liquids. It is perfect for large-scale, non-viscous fluids.OpenUSD enhancements Improvements continue across both Maya and 3ds Max OpenUSD, with added support for axis and scale adjustments in Maya and recently, an Attribute Editor in 3ds Max. A long-requested feature, Light Linking, is also now available in both tools, giving you greater control over rendering.OpenPBR integration OpenPBR is now the default shading option in both Maya and 3ds Max, bringing enhanced artistic controls, more accurate material representation across tools and improved interchange with other software.Source: Autodesk Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologistL'Wrenbrings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.