Kinetix Announces Widespread Third-Party Support For New 3D Studio MAX; Powerful Modeling and Animation Package Designed to Enable Workstation-Class 3D Capabilities for PC Platform.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 1996--To open the National Association of Broadcaster's convention, Kinetix(TM), Autodesk Inc.'s (NASDAQ: ADSK) new multimedia business unit, today announced it has amassed widespread support from key developers of software "plug-in" applications and hardware products for 3D Studio MAX(TM).

3D Studio MAX from Kinetix is a new version of the award-winning 3D Studio(R) modeling and animation application rearchitected for Microsoft(R) Windows NT(TM) Workstation.

With an extensible software architecture that makes plug-in application development simple, 3D Studio MAX has attracted third-party products ranging from modeling and particle systems effects to video compositing and hardware acceleration boards designed to drive workstation-class 3D graphics and animation features.

"The delivery of 3D Studio MAX is the culmination of a three-year project to create a powerful 3D modeling and animation tool specifically designed to inspire and support extensions in the form of third-party products," said Larry Crume, Autodesk vice president and general manager of Kinetix. "By continually expanding the features and capabilities of 3D Studio MAX, Kinetix and its partners are assigning a powerful new meaning to 3D on the PC."

Extensible Platform Architecture

3D Studio MAX installs third-party plug-in applications seamlessly as part of the main application interface. Installation is as simple as dragging and dropping a plug-in icon into the 3D Studio MAX plug-in folder. Once installed, the plug-in application appears as a built-in function of the overall software platform. Built upon an elegant API (Applications Programming Interface), the 3D Studio MAX architecture allows plug-ins to take full advantage of native 3D Studio MAX features such as interactive real-time rendering, modeling, function curve editing, selection, manipulation, and even inverse kinematics.

"The far-reaching architecture of 3D Studio MAX benefits tremendously from Intergraph's TDZ 3D graphics workstation," said Wade Patterson, president, Intergraph Computer Systems. "The TDZ's multiprocessor configuration combined with Intergraph's advanced GLZ 3D graphics accelerators results in superior 3D graphics performance. We've expanded these GLZ cards with drivers to support the native Heidi(TM) API, delivering the performance required to take full advantage of 3D Studio MAX and its many plug-ins."

"We are excited about the possibilities that have opened up to us as plug-in developers for 3D Studio MAX," said David Avgikos, president of Digimation. "For the first time, we feel we are free to develop high-end plug-ins without having to worry about limitations imposed by the host software. Kinetix and the Yost Group have definitely done their homework and provided us with an incredible foundation on which to build."

"The popularity of 3D Studio MAX among game developers inspired Animetix to develop its GAMUT games development tools for this powerful new 3D content creation application," said Adam Walters, vice president of sales and marketing at Animetix Technologies. "For plug-in developers, the 3D Studio MAX development environment provides far more flexibility and power than was previously possible."

"By combining the TARGA 1000 Pro with Diaquest's 3D/AV Suite for 3D Studio MAX, three visionary companies have joined together to integrate video and 3D animation on the desktop under Windows NT," said Lou Doctor, Truevision's president and CEO. "This product represents an important breakthrough in the price/performance standard for 3D animation and video and is an excellent example of Truevision and its strategic software partners coordinating expertise to deliver a total solution to customers."

"Our focus is on developing core application programs that provide users with powerful tools that extend the modeling and animation capabilities of 3D Studio MAX," said Scot Susmann, president of 4DVISION. "Kinetix has created a feature-rich development environment that will free us to concentrate on the application program, not on the interface."

With third-party plug-ins in development since September 1995, 3D Studio MAX delivers many capabilities found only on expensive applications available for costly UNIX(R) platforms. Designed to take full advantage of Windows NT -- including symmetric multiprocessing, protected address space and integrated networking -- the new application incorporates out-of-the-box features and capabilities from more than 60 of the most popular 3D Studio Release 4 IPAS plug-ins. These built-in 3D Studio MAX plug-ins include Inverse Kinematics, Snow, Spray, Displace, Optimize, Materials, Glow, and 3D Surfer, as well as several image and object modifiers.

"The power of 3D Studio MAX rests in its architecture -- essentially an extensible framework for plug-in applications," said John Ison, director of product management at Kinetix. "Much of the core capabilities built into 3D Studio MAX are themselves plug-ins that come standard with the software, an approach that has helped Kinetix test and prove the robust nature of the plug-in API. Even the source code for many of these standard plug-ins is being provided to developers to help them to bring their applications to market sooner."

3D Studio MAX will ship this month and is U.S. list priced at $3,495, with upgrades for 3D Studio users priced at $995. Every copy of 3D Studio MAX will ship with a tool kit that enables users to easily build their own plug-in applications giving them the custom features and capabilities they want from 3D Studio MAX.

Plug-In Software Developers Kit

Kinetix also is making available to registered developers its 3D Studio MAX Software Developers Kit (SDK) to expand the industry's most extensible 3D graphics development platform. Documenting the Applications API for creating plug-in components, the SDK was developed in tandem with 3D Studio MAX itself, therefore the API is tightly coupled with the application and all core components are implemented through the API.

"3D Studio MAX was developed with extensibility in mind," said Jim Dudman, product development manager at Metatools, Inc. "The Software Development Kit for third parties provides very deep access to virtually every aspect of the program. With the 3D Studio MAX API, the only thing limiting an engineer is his or her imagination."

Kinetix recommends that for plug-in development, software publishers use a PC system with a Pentium(R) class processor running Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and Microsoft Visual C++ 4.1.

About Kinetix

Kinetix develops and delivers affordable content creation tools for professionals such as film and video producers, video/computer game developers, Web content developers, architects, engineers, and designers. The leader in PC-based 3D modeling and animation tools, Kinetix provides a full range of products for the application development process, from 2D and 3D creation to assembly and delivery. With headquarters in San Rafael, Calif., Kinetix is a division of Autodesk, the fourth largest PC software company in the world with three million customers in 130 countries.

Kinetix products are sold through dealers and distributors worldwide. Visit Kinetix on the World Wide Web at http://www.ktx.com, or contact the company at 800/879-4233.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These include the timely development and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and the other risks detailed from time to time in Autodesk's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-Q filed in December 1995. -0-

Note to Editors: Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, and 3D Studio are registered trademarks, and 3D Studio MAX, Heidi and Kinetix are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corp. UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Ltd. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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