We have been expecting it. Today at 12:30 PM SLT/PT the Lindens posted: Project Bento now in a Release Channel!
This is your opportunity to test out the new Bento avatars. Akeruka and Catwa have test Bento Heads out. Damien Fate has a Bento Wings Kit out.
This is the stage of development where things are pretty much as they will be. But, problems can still be easily fixed. So, if you plan to build Bento products, now is the time to get going.
Download the RC Second Life Bento Viewer version 5.0.0.319688 – Mac & Windows. This is a new version released late 9/13 or early 9/14, after my weekly update.
AvaStar 2 and MayaStar are add-ons for Blender and Maya. You need these to make mesh and animations for the new Bento avatar. A 3DStar or MaxStar or something for 3D Max is in progress.
See the Wiki for additional information:
AvaStar 2:
There is an AvaStar 1.7 for use with the pre-Bento avatar and skeleton. This is considered the production version of AvaStar. AvaStar 2 is in Alpha and is NOT considered a production tool. BUT… as best I can tell and have heard all the parts are working. The work flow is apparently a bit rough.
MayaStar