To answer a couple of points: iClone 3 comes with 3DXchange, so all who get iClone 3 Pro or Standard will get iClone 3DXchange with their purchase. iClone 3DXchange will import 3DS, OBJ and Google SKP (3D Warehouse) files.

Ricky’s explaination of the “Persona” feature is dead on. Personas are a combination of motion files controlled by a DramaScript text file (XML). Personas are made so that an actor can have a randomly cycling set of idle motions when the actor is standing idle in a scene and Personas can be used to add additional movement triggers to hotkeys. Hotkeys (W,A,S,D & 0-9) can be assigned any moton from the iClone motion library or a motion you have created yourself with the IK/FK motion editing. The Persona collects all the idle motions and the assigned motions to hotkeys and saves all the data in one file. So, to use Ricky’s example in the podcast… If you have a “Punk rocker” and he has a certain walk, dance moves, head bangs, anarchist gestures, etc… you can create all of this and collect them into a persona. Then any actor can be assigned the “Persona” and all the idle and hotkey motions will be inherited by the actor. I’ll talk/show more with Ricky at Siggraph and we’ll be demonstrating more of the DramaScript funcationality soon in videos and tutorials.

@Tom, It’s great to know your take on iC3. I’m happy you were a part of the early access program. You are thinking in the right direction… Physics is coming.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what the community creates with iClone 3. The measure of the tool will be made by everyone’s ability to realize their imagination. If we can successfully help to export the mind’s eye then we can consider iClone 3 a triumph.

Seriously, IClone 3 is a monster machinima program. Today (Aug 8th) is launch day and I predict it will be a big one for Reallusion. Congrats to John Martin and his crew. After Siggraph, I hope to put in some serious time with this new version. I’ll report back with more info on the “Persona” animation concept after I’ve talked to John.

BTW, if you use a portable recording device that has a 1/4″ jack input, be sure to buy the TRS cable and not the TS cable. Even though the TS cable is like $20 cheaper, it doesn’t have a separate audio ring on the plug end, so both the electrical current and the audio signal travel through the same metal element. Which means your recording device will crash continuously and screw you over when you are trying to record your part of the Overcast. Mea Culpa Maxima Culpa. Thank you Phil for your overactive imagination in solving the problem.

(Watch that GI Joe movie!)