Autodesk releases MotionBuilder 2023
Animation Layers in MotionBuilder now get colour hints to identify the active layer: one of a number of workflow and quality-of-life improvements in the latest version of the character animation software.
Autodesk has released MotionBuilder 2023, the latest version of its character animation software, commonly used for editing motion-capture data, introducing a number of workflow improvements.
The release also migrates MotionBuilder to Python 3, and introduces support for Rocky Linux.
Workflow improvements throughout the software
MotionBuilder 2023 features workflow improvements to a number of different parts of the software.
The Keyboard Shortcuts Editor moves from the Asset Browser to the Python tools section of the Main menu, and gets new search capabilities, and the option to duplicate and delete user Keyboard Interaction Modes.
The Animation Layer Editor gets a new editable colour hint to identify the active animation layer, intended to reduce the risk of users accidentally modifying the wrong layer.
The Blend Editor gets a new Sync Take/Edit Start & End option in the Motion Blend options pane, to toggle automatic synchronization between the Edit and Take time values.
It is also now possible to show and select more sub-bones in the Character Controls, with separate settings for individual finger, toe, spine and neck bones.
The Character Controls also get new mouse-click behaviours intended to provide “more intuitive control” when selecting effector cells in the Character Representation.
Other changes include a new “more intrusive” Save Reminder dialog, on top of the often-overlooked Save Reminder button; and changes made in the Profiling Center window now persist after a restart.
Full migration to Python 3, and support for Rocky Linux
In addition, MotionBuilder 2023 migrates the software to Python 3, support for the current generation of the programming language having been introduced in MotionBuilder 2022. Python 2 is no longer supported.
As with Maya 2023, Autodesk has also introduced support for Rocky Linux as a replacement for CentOS, which was discontinued in 2021.
Pricing and system requirements
MotionBuilder 2023 is available for Windows 10+, Rocky Linux 8.5 and RHEL/CentOS 7.6-7.9 or 8.5.
The software is rental-only with subscriptions now costing $2,045/year, up $190/year since the release of MotionBuilder 2022.
Read a full list of new features in MotionBuilder 2023 in the online documentation