Autodesk Unveils 3D Studio MAX for Windows NT; Technology Innovations Mark Next Generation of Leading Professional 3D Animation Tool.LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 1995--At SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics, www.siggraph.org) The arm of the ACM that specializes in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Providing publications, workshops and conferences, it has served technicians and researchers as well as the artist and business community 95 (Booth No. 1631), Autodesk, Inc. today debuted 3D Studio MAX(TM), a completely re-architected, Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. (TM) version of the world's leading professional 3D animation software. Featuring an all-new real-time interface, support for graphics hardware acceleration In computing, hardware acceleration is the use of hardware to perform some function faster than is possible in software running on the normal (general purpose) CPU. Examples of hardware acceleration include blitting acceleration functionality in graphics processing units (GPUs) and and multiprocessor systems, and the first seamlessly extensible architecture in its market, 3D Studio MAX will deliver full workstation-class performance and functionality to the desktop. In addition, Autodesk previewed the first 3D Studio MAX plug-in, a sophisticated application for animating two-legged skinned characters, called Biped (see separate release dated 8/8/95). 3D Studio MAX and Biped software is expected to ship in Q1 1996; pricing information is not yet available. "Three years ago, the combination of 386/486-based PCs and AutoCAD let Autodesk overtake IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) and become the global leader in design software, with a desktop product," said Carol Bartz, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Autodesk, Inc. "To date, our 3D Studio product line has been tremendously successful, garnering nearly half of the entire worldwide market for professional 3D animation, on a relatively old operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. and modest hardware. 3D Studio MAX on Windows NT should have an `AutoCAD effect' on the high-end 3D graphics and animation market: level the playing field in every respect except price, where we will win hands down." The 3D Studio MAX software is a revolutionary addition to the 3D Studio(R) product line, the most popular solution for professional 3D modeling, rendering and animation. The product has previously been available only for MS-DOS MS-DOS in full Microsoft Disk Operating System Operating system for personal computers. MS-DOS was based on DOS, developed in 1980 by Seattle Computer Products. Microsoft Corp. bought the rights to DOS in 1981, and released MS-DOS with IBM's PC that year. (R), with the 3D Studio rendering engine also available for Silicon Graphics workstations. "With 3D Studio MAX, Autodesk has done it again: delivered a robust `platform' for 3D innovation," said Bill Caffery, vice president of the Advanced Technologies Groups at Gartner Group (company) Gartner Group - One of the biggest IT industry research firms. Address: Connecticut, USA. , a Stamford, Connecticut-based market research firm. "I believe Autodesk is the first major 3D software developer to re-architect for Windows NT, a feat which all serious contenders in this market must emulate to remain competitive." 3D Studio Product Line Autodesk remains committed to its 55,000 DOS-based 3D Studio customers. It will maintain and extend the DOS release of 3D Studio with the introduction of supplements to 3D Studio Release 4. In addition, Autodesk will soon deliver a free patch modeler plug-in and free VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) A 3D graphics language used on the Web. After downloading a VRML page, its contents can be viewed, rotated and manipulated. Simulated rooms can be "walked into." The VRML viewer is launched from within the Web browser. conversion utility to registered owners of 3D Studio R4. More details on the continuing support of 3D Studio for DOS are expected in fall, 1995. Technology Advancements 3D Studio MAX incorporates numerous technology advancements, which improve functionality and performance, including: -- Graphics Acceleration: Using the Heidi graphics design structure developed by Autodesk, 3D Studio MAX software provides greatly accelerated shaded 3D graphics performance without hardware assistance. Through Heidi, 3D Studio MAX supports a wide array of graphic display devices, including the GLINT(R) chip set from 3Dlabs, which can provide TrueColor performance at two to four times MAX's 8-bit dithered performance. Using the Heidi technology, 3D Studio MAX drivers will also work with Open GL-based graphics cards. -- Multiprocessing/Multi-Tasking: An extensively multi-threaded application, 3D Studio MAX takes full advantage of the symmetric multiprocessing See SMP. (parallel) symmetric multiprocessing - (SMP) Two or more similar processors connected via a high-bandwidth link and managed by one operating system, where each processor has equal access to I/O devices. features of the Windows NT operating system. Thus, PCs with multiple CPUs can potentially apply more than one CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. to a single 3D Studio MAX operation, or assign individual processors to several MAX operations simultaneously. -- New Geometry Pipeline: The highly efficient geometry pipeline provides 3D Studio MAX users with quick wireframe An umbrella term for a general outline of some structure. For example, the rough design of Web pages may be called wireframes. See wireframe modeling. redraw To redisplay an image on screen whether text or graphics. The concept is that the first time elements are displayed, they are "drawn," and if something is changed, they are "redrawn." Applications often have a Refresh command that redraws the screen. capabilities and the ability to run the product in any or all viewports in a rendered mode, at any screen resolution, with or without 3D hardware acceleration. -- Renderer Independence: 3D Studio MAX is designed to be rendering-solution independent -- multiple software-based rendering solutions will be supported. -0- Product Innovations Following are some of the key areas of innovation and improvement within 3D Studio MAX that provide artists and animators with new levels of efficiency, control and creativity: -- Seamless Interface: To make the product more intuitive to computer artists and animators, Autodesk has created a single environment within the 3D Studio MAX software. This means that even modeling and keyframing operations are seamlessly integrated, their results are apparent on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. immediately, and those operations can be accessed without exiting other core MAX commands. In addition, all objects have an editable "data history," so earlier creation and editing commands can be accessed and nondestructively modified at any time and the changes will automatically be reflected in the current object state. -- TrackView: TrackView is a comprehensive timeline environment which enables precise manipulation of all the animatable tracks within MAX. An alternative way to view and control objects, TrackView provides a vertical "flow chart" of any subset of the objects in a scene, and all of the actions, effects and processes applied to those objects. TrackView lets animators bring sound files in to 3D Studio MAX and animate to music, and its function curve editor provides very advanced time editing controls including unlimited timing curves and notation tracks. -- Space Warps: To facilitate the animation of scene-based special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. (i.e., black holes, explosions, etc.), a class of core component plug-ins called "Space Warps" has been incorporated into 3D Studio MAX. These plug-ins let users define sets of objects and modify them collectively in real-time, in shaded mode, as users transform them. -- Advanced Modeling and Animation Tools: 3D Studio MAX software's object orientation enables sophisticated referencing and instancing capabilities, thereby letting users work easily with highly complex scenes, and create deformation effects without the need for morph targets. 3D Studio MAX will offer full sets of both polygonal and spline-based modeling tools. Additionally, inverse kinematics In 3D animation, a technique that provides automatic movement of objects. It allows elements of an object to be linked, such as the parts of an arm or leg, and causes them to move in a prescribed, realistic manner. (IK) is now a built-in core feature, accessible from an icon in the toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the , and new IK features such as position and orientation pinning assist in character animation Character animation is a specialized process of the animation process, concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work. It is usually as one aspect of a larger production, and often to complement voice acting. . MAX Plug-Ins 3D Studio MAX software will support plug-ins developed specifically for it, as well as a new category of highly integrated plug-ins known as "core components." Although it will not support plug-ins for previous (DOS-based) releases of the product, 3D Studio MAX has been enthusiastically embraced by all of the top 3D Studio plug-in partners, who are committed to delivering 3D Studio plug-ins and core components. Core components are Windows Dynamically Linked Libraries (DLLs) which are fully integrated with 3D Studio MAX itself. Because 3D Studio MAX is implemented as a series of DLLs, this method of "plugging into" the product effectively lets third-party developers build seamless extensions to the 3D Studio MAX software's core, using Microsoft's C++ class libraries and compiler. The API for 3D Studio MAX software will ship with each copy of the product. By using the core component approach to plug-in development, developers can create tools that function mode-lessly inside 3D Studio MAX, without `suspending' the product's normal operations Generally and collectively, the broad functions that a combatant commander undertakes when assigned responsibility for a given geographic or functional area. Except as otherwise qualified in certain unified command plan paragraphs that relate to particular commands, "normal operations" of . "In the past a plug-in that involved some amount of graphics editing would have to supply its own editor. Core components will be able to interact seamlessly with 3D Studio MAX software's own editing, keyframing, modeling, and rendering capabilities, which is a much more intuitive, efficient way for customers to utilize these third-party tools. This is a major breakthrough in plug-in technology," said Bob Bennett, senior product manager for 3D Studio MAX. "With its revolutionary product 3D Studio MAX, Autodesk has further refined and dramatically expanded its extensible architecture to make 3D media more accessible to both users and plug-in developers than ever before," said Tim Forcade, president of Forcade & Associates and author of the book The 3D Studio IPAS IPAS Iowa Physician Assistant Society IPAS Integrated Program Assessment System IPAS Inventory Product Assurance Surveillance IPAS Integrated Pressurized Air System (gas turbine systems) Plug-Ins Reference. "3D Studio MAX offers seamless interaction not only with its native processes but also with plug-ins created by 3rd party developers; in fact it will often be difficult to discern any difference -- one of the primary goals in plug-in development." System Requirements To be used efficiently, all computer software needs certain hardware components or other software resources to be present on a computer system. These pre-requisites are known as (computer) system requirements and are often used as a guideline as opposed to an absolute rule. 3D Studio MAX software operates with fast 486- or Pentium(R)-based computers and 100 percent compatibles equipped with Windows NT 3.51 or higher, 32MB of RAM, an high-resolution SVGA (Super VGA) A screen resolution of 800x600 pixels. Third-party vendors extended IBM's VGA display standard and were the first to use the term. SVGA has also referred to 1,024x768 resolutions. See PC display modes. graphics card, and a hard disk with 60MB of available space. 3D hardware accelerators are supported, but not required. Pricing and Availability 3D Studio MAX software will ship in Q1 1996; the product's suggested list price has not been announced. Because 3D Studio MAX is an entirely new product, Autodesk is announcing a series of special offers to its existing customers, rather than a traditional upgrade program. All 3D Studio R4 customers, including those who purchase the product between now and 3D Studio MAX's ship date, will be able to purchase a 3D Studio MAX seat for a suggested retail price (SRP SRP - A data link layer protocol. ) of US$495. Owners of previous releases of 3D Studio can purchase a 3D Studio MAX seat for SRP US$995. These offers are only available in the US. A separate 3D Studio MAX hardware lock will be provided in all cases. 3D Studio MAX software will be available in the US through Authorized Autodesk Multimedia Dealers. Localized versions of 3D Studio MAX are planned for various countries and regions around the world; check with your local Autodesk dealer for more details. For more information about Autodesk's multimedia products, call Autodesk at 800-879-4233 or enter GO AMMEDIA on CompuServe(R). Outside the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , fax inquiries to 415-491-8311. Autodesk's Multimedia Market Group develops and delivers affordable digital media products for professionals such as film and video producers, video/computer game developers, architects, engineers, and designers. The leader in PC-based multimedia tools, the Group provides a full range of products for the application development process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery. Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC and UNIX-based design software and PC multimedia tools. The company's 2D and 3D products and data management tools are used in many industries for architectural design, mechanical design, film-making, videography vid·e·og·ra·phy n. The art or practice of using a video camera. vid  e·og and geographic information systems. The fourth largest PC software company in the world, Autodesk has three million customers in 118 countries. Autodesk products are sold through Autodesk System Centers, Dealers and Distributors worldwide. For more information on Autodesk, please call 415/507-5000 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe, or login with a World Wide Web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. at http://www/autodesk.com. -0- Note to Editors: Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, and 3D Studio are registered trademarks, and 3D Studio MAX is a trademark, of Autodesk, Inc. MS-DOS is a registered trademark, and Windows NT is a trademark, of Microsoft Corporation. GLINT is a registered trademark of 3Dlabs, Inc. CompuServe is a registered trademark of H & R Block. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. CONTACT: Autodesk, Inc. Garth Chouteau, 415/507-5885 or chouteg@autodesk.com |
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