Developer: Next Limit Technologies
Type: Fluid and dynamics simulation
Website: Next Limit - RealFlow

The technology developed by Next Limit for the simulation of fluids, water surfaces, rigid bodies, soft bodies, fibers, and meshes is groundbreaking in that it is particle based. The elements of the simulation use physical properties to control their behavior and can interact with each other and react according to impulses, forces and accelerations.

RealFlow has been used for the production of spectacular effects in numerous major movies. These include Poseidon, X-Men 3 (The last stand), Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Ice Age 2 (The Meltdown) to name but a few. It has also been used to produce effects for countless commercials and television products worldwide.

RealFlow is a stand-alone application, fully working in 32 and 64 bits, it works on various OS, it is OpenGL compliant that works with 3DStudio MAX, Maya, LightWave, XSI, Cinema 4D and Houdini. Due to RealFlow's Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) engine and its propagation rigid body solver, any kind of effect is possible, from a tornado that breaks a roof apart, to a flood, to a river with flowers floating on it, to a rainstorm; anything you can imagine! Special features include a wet map generator to create surface wetting effects and the inclusion of a camera into the simulation.