trueSpace 7.6 set free

Graphics company Caligari has released the latest version of its long-running trueSpace all-in-one 3D app for free.

The company, which has offices in California and Slovakia, was purchased by Microsoft earlier this year in order to strengthen its Virtual Earth project. It released the first version of trueSpace in 1994 and has continued development ever since.

In order to give new users a helping hand with the software, which includes advanced features such as real-time modifiable booleans, subdivision surface modelling and procedural animations, the company has also made its library of training videos available for free.

"We are taking the unprecedented step of making these tools available to everyone for free in order to stimulate content creation for the present and future online 3D environments, and so that any artist out there with a dream can fulfill their vision without finding themselves trapped by budget limitations," wrote Caligari CEO Roman Ormandy on his blog.

"This is particularly true if their vision includes emerging 3D online worlds, where free and unrestricted communities of web artists can collaborate on 3D projects and even establish new kinds of communities the likes of which the world has never seen before, way beyond simple chats in isolated 3D rooms or 3D islands."