Bongo 2.0 Beta 2 now available

Bongo 2.0 Beta 2 is now available from http://bongo3d.ning.com/

This is the first Beta version of Bongo 2.0 for Rhino 4.0 and 5. The beta is open – you no longer need Bongo 1.0 to run it, just a valid license of Rhino 4.0. We’ve been working hard on this and we think the new features are a great addition to the product, but there’s still some way to go, so please let us know if you find any bugs or if there are features that you think we should still be considering.

The full documentation isn’t there yet, but you’ll find a number of tutorials on the new Bongo web site at http://bongo3d.ning.com/ which demonstrates the power and flexibility of the new features. Let me know if you find them useful!

New Features in Version 2.0:

• Mechanical constraints (Inverse Kinematics)
• Morphing
• Multiple animations per file
• New curve editor
• Improved UI including keyframe editor and timeline
• Parameter animation for materials, environments, sun, textures and many more features.

Rhino versions supported: Bongo 2.0 requires a Rhino 4.0 CD key on the download page. Bongo 2.0 Beta testing is limited to Rhino 4.0 and 5 users. Rhino 4.0 Service Release 5 or later is required to install Bongo 2.0 and can be downloaded from http://www.rhino3d.com/download.htm

Notes:

• Bongo 2.0 is a complete rewrite of the Bongo plug-in. Most of the functionality of Bongo 1.0 has been replicated, but there may be some areas where Bongo 2.0 does not yet match the 1.0 functionality. Please let us know if you find these issues.
• This is the current beta release of Bongo 2.0 for Rhino. Bongo 2.0 will read Bongo 1.0 files, but will save Bongo 2.0 data only. This data cannot be read by Bongo 1.0, so please backup any files before using them in Bongo 2.0.
• The Bongo Video texture feature has not yet been implemented in the 64-bit version of Bongo 2.0.
• There is currently no support in the 64-bit version for writing video directly from the Render Animation dialog box, but you can write single frames and make video files using the Bongo Video Encoder.

New features in Beta 2:

• Smart object dragging

Commands added in Beta 2:

• BongoDeleteKeyframe
• BongoCopyKeyframe
• BongoMoveKeyframe
• BongoScaleKeyframe
• BongoTimelineInsertTicks
• BongoLoadEntityToFile
• BongoSaveEntityToFile

Bug fixes in Beta 2:

• Memory leaks.
• Travel path on curve editor takes tweening easing into account.
• Removed tree-panel collapsing control from keyframe editor.
• Changed visual settings on curve control.
• Object properties page updates now when changing current selection.
• Options dialog control background color fixed.
• Proxy name fixed.
• Fixed localization bugs.
• Changed the command to add keyframes to entities.
• Fixed a crash on exit.
• Animation frame/reticle draws now also in shadow/rendered mode.
• Removed debug print to command line.
• Keyframe editor flicker fixed.
• Check added to verify that entered keyframe parameters are in range/valid.
• Added scene updates when entity properties changed (animation manager).
• View flips back now when user does not want to disable it while manipulating when animation mode off.
• Keyframe editor timeline updates when dragging/deleting keyframes on Timeline dockbar.
• BongoAddKeyframe command extended with tweening properties.
• Removed custom tangent type section from tweening sections.
• Animation mode disables when closing/hiding timeline.
• Video encoder cuts of underscore in video name generated from frame.
• Changed threshold check box position in tweening sections.
• Option added to turn off smart dragging for multiple objects.
• Render animation default path extended with "Animation" subfolder.
• Animation mode disabled when rendering.
• Render animation stops now when user does not agree to create output folder.
• Textures stay on objects when rendering an animation.
• Bongo decorations not displayed anymore when rendering animation.
• Option added to show/hide object constraint heading.
• Added text to named view dialog to explain drop down list.
• Added tick(s) deletion and insertion to timeline.
• Copy/Paste an animated from one document to another works now.
• Fixed a big in the document merging code (inserted object list got deleted).
• Render file collection added.
• Email notification finished (prototype).
• Restore expanded state in tree only worked on visible items. Now works on whole tree.