Throwing their hat into the OS X ring, Corel has announced that their powerful and popular 3D application, Bryce 5, will soon be available for Mac OS X. Bryce allows users to create visually stunning 3D landscapes and animations. Bryce marks the first application that Corel is moving to the new OS. According to Corel:

Corel Corporation is pleased to introduce Bryce 5, the latest version of its powerful 3D landscape creation and animation application, designed to empower unlimited creativity on Macintosh OS and Windows. Bryce 5, part of Corelis creative collection, will be available for purchase in July 2001. Bryce 5 is Corelis first application for Appleis new Mac OS X platform. It is the first of many creative products Corel will deliver for this advanced operating system over the coming months.

"With Bryce 5, we are delivering on our promise to release exceptional applications for Mac OS X," said Ian LeGrow, executive vice-president of creative products at Corel. "Based on customer feedback, weive tailored Bryce 5 to meet the needs of serious Bryce users and 3D graphic artists. This includes the addition of time-saving Network Rendering and the ability to create premium photo-realistic images."

Bryce 5 makes its mark in the 3D graphics environment by striking an optimum balance between power and ease of use. The dynamic tools in Bryce 5 enable users to unleash and explore the full potential of their creativity. Bryce 5 powers the creation of truly photorealistic landscapes, models and other images without the expensive and time-consuming training required by many other 3D applications. New Features in Bryce 5 Include:

Network Rendering dramatically increases rendering speed by using the power and speed of multiple computers for a single image or animation. There is no limit to the number of systems used, and it is platform independent, enabling Mac and Windows users to render their images on either or both platforms simultaneously.

Premium Rendering Options take Bryce to a new level of quality facilitating the creation of naturally photorealistic images with depth of field, blurred reflections, and soft shadows. The Tree Lab powers the creation of organic 3D trees. Users specify the exact look and feel of trees in a scene from the number of needles on a branch to selecting one of over 60 different tree types.

Metaballs are a primitive object type that enable users to quickly create and experiment with organic shapes opening up a new world of creative possibility.

The Light Lab gives more robust control over lighting direction, intensity and tinting addressing the need for accurate production of real-world environments.

Bryce 5 will be available for US$309. You can find more information at the Corel Web site.