Topic: Lumion 5.0 released

[Morten]

Dear Lumion users,

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that version 5.0 of Lumion and Lumion Pro has been released!



Many months of hard work is now over for us, and it's time for you to reap the rewards.

We would like to thank all of you for your support, feedback, error reports and patience since Lumion 4.5.1 was released earlier this year. We have read all of your suggestions and every single +1(!) and have tried to take as many of your suggestions into account as possible.

Please read the release notes list to see what has changed:
Lumion 5.0: Release Notes
Lumion 5.0: Overview

We've also updated the forum documentation for version 5.0 in three new posts:
Quickstart Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Keyboard Shortcuts

There's a lot of interesting new features and content to play with in 5.0, so we hope this new version will save you time, make work more fun and above all, help you get more customers!

Best regards,

Team Lumion

DOWNLOADING LUMION 5.0
Licensed customers will receive an email with download instructions within the next 24 hours (please check your Spam folder on your email account).

If you haven't received the email within 24 hours, please forward your license number to [email protected].

COMPATIBILITY
Please note that scenes and LS5 files saved in 5.x are NOT backwards compatible with earlier versions. If you try to load scenes or imported model files made with an earlier version of Lumion, you will have to re-apply all materials in Lumion 5.0. For that reason, we recommend that you finish your 4.x projects in 4.5.1, and only start up new projects in 5.0.

[Morten]

In addition to the features that were announced on the 20th of October, we've got a bit more in the goodie bag for you!

'PLACE ITEM ON NODES' TOOL
The new Place Item on Nodes tool allows you to import a model that consists of multiple objects (e.g. tree or spotlight dummy objects). The dummy objects can subsequently be replaced with either a Lumion tree/plant or light of your choice.

In Lumion, the Place Item on Nodes tool is accessed via the Context Menu for imported models (Extra -> Place Item on Nodes).

PROCEDURE
1) Each spotlight/plant/tree species can be represented via any user-nominated object (a Node) in your 3D modelling software, e.g. a row of boxes.
2) Export only the object type that is to be replaced via the Place Item on Nodes tool in Lumion.
3) Repeat the isolate and export process for each subsequent spotlight/tree/plant species Nodes by overwriting and then reloading the model file in Lumion and use the Place Item on Nodes tool again with a different spotlight or tree/plant species selected.

Exporting Nodes from SketchUp: Each node has to be a component or a group. The best file format to import in Lumion is .skp format, but if you export to DAE format, please make sure that 'Preserve Component Hierarchies' is turned on.

Exporting Nodes from 3DS Max: No special requirements - each node just has to be a separate object with its own position/rotation/scale. DAE and FBX files are supported. MAX files also work provided that you've got 3DS Max installed on the PC.

Exporting Nodes from Revit: The Revit To Lumion Bridge will currently export a collapsed model which is unsuitable for use with the Node Replacement tool. For that reason, please export the model as an FBX file instead.

Please note that the tool requires access to the original imported model file.
If you have renamed the model file or moved it, Lumion will ask you to locate it before executing the command.

When replacing imported dummy objects with spotlights, please note that the dummy objects have to be rotated by 90 degrees to look correct after replacement in Lumion.

We hope this tool will save you time when adding trees and spotlights based on your clients' drawings - enjoy!