The venerable LightWave 3D software… still alive, and still free for education users. An open beta for the forthcoming Lightwave 26 is set for mid February 2026, with “speed increases for rendering and interface” along with…
“over 50 new features and 30+ interface changes, alongside under-the-hood improvements for speed. Planned features include SDF (non-polygon geometry), glTF, Ripper 2, OpenColorIO, Ocean Boat and Wake, Motor Rig, Chronoscope, USD True Fillet, Rig It tidy-up, a quadruped system, Octane updates, snow and lightning generators with animatable controls, flame fractals, a new fracture tool, Construct update, an asset browser, and AP (physics-based object placement)”.
However it sounds like the Poser 11 -> E-on Vue route to exporting Poser scenes for recent versions of Lightwave could be bjorked…
“due to 26’s focus on utilizing newer technologies, potentially cutting off older systems.”
Though that might just mean it won’t run on older PCs and older graphics cards? My guess.









































































