What's New in Maya 2018
don’t they realize they have a broken link
looks like the guy who started that other maya thread about viewport 2.0 being* the primary viewport was correct
"Viewport 2.0 is now the primary viewport and hardware renderer in Maya. The legacy default and high quality viewports are no longer available in
the Maya user interface. To ensure that Viewport 2.0 supports your
requirements, Maya 2018 includes a number of viewport workflow
enhancements, feature additions, as well as performance and stability
improvements. See
Viewport 2.0 enhancements below. "
So they are getting rid of the legacy viewport? That’s stupid. I mean, sometimes things don’t work correctly in Viewport 2.0 so I have to switch to the Legacy.
for the maya API there are now Namespaces… now it should be possible to use plugins without a recompile…
http://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2018/ENU/?guid=__files_GUID_C122F8DA_431C_4094_BA54_60B80495A734_htm
thy tried hard to get a good launch release… please reconsider…
if they fail, report some bugs and write a hait male… 
the new Dynamics Node in MASH is a reimplementation of the Bullet solver…
http://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2018/ENU/?guid=GUID-1249B03C-0EA6-4F97-BA44-7B0646F7E1C7
“Maya 2018 includes a number of API updates and additions that require you to recompile your plug-ins as well new ways to make plug-in development more efficient.”
So not this time around. Also, looking at the official release documents (we can finally say that, right?) , i don’t see anything related to a re-write of the core, or any hardcore bug-fixing project. It is exactly the software that people were able to download some weeks ago. No magical autodesk pixie dust has been sprayed in the meantime, as the prophets were prophesying. Another year with autodesk, and another year to hope for the best with next year’s release. That until everyone starts jumping ship and they either kill it / sell it off, or they actually get their sh*t together and start doing actual development and less corporate management meetings or whatever they do all year round. Unfortunately with autodesk, it is usually the former.
i never talked about pixie dust… ;D
for the bugfixes you have to wait for the release notes…
we will never see a core rewrite cause it will take several years and if its ever finished ists old again…
they change the core on the fly… port stuff over to the new one… and even this will take forever…
changeching stuff under the hood you wont see anything on the surface…
I don’t think anybody said the version that was talked about earlier, was a work in progress version.
I think people argued, that you can’t judge a release, by running through the menus and seeing what lights up green.
I maya18 is super stable and fast, that in and of it self, is a great, great feature.
Besides, there seems to be new features for BOSS for instance, which none of the noob youtube videos dove into.
I just had a super quick go, and the fact that you can now light the viewport with a arnold dome light and hdri, is pretty darn cool. Makes for some great looking playblasts!
http://www.cgchannel.com/2017/07/autodesk-ships-maya-2018/
“I don’t think anybody said the version that was talked about earlier, was a work in progress version.
I think people argued, that you can’t judge a release, by running through the menus and seeing what lights up green.
I maya18 is super stable and fast, that in and of it self, is a great, great feature.
Besides, there seems to be new features for BOSS for instance, which none of the noob youtube videos dove into.”
unfortunately you cant please everyone, when there are bug fixes some complain about no new features and vice versa.
Looks good to me, small updated here and there but fixes those little annoying things you use all the time. I am looking forward to try it in a couple months from now 
release notes are now online…
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/sites/default/files/Maya_2018_Readme_enu.htm
I’m counting on that and that other will test it before and I will know what to expect and if it wise to switch or wait more