NDL Announces NetImmerse 3.0 3D Game Engine Running on PC, PlayStation 2 & MacOS Platforms.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000

Adds curved surfaces, skinning, continuous level of detail;

Software rendering for improved low-end PC performance

Numerical Design Ltd. (NDL) announces a major new release of its NetImmerse 3D game engine that supports PC, PlayStation 2 and MacOS platforms.

NetImmerse 3.0 features curved surfaces, character skinning and continuous level of detail (CLOD) for greater realism and faster development time. Software rendering has been added to improve performance on low-end PCs. Beta evaluation copies of NetImmerse 3.0 have shipped and the full product is scheduled for release in March.

Maximizing Cross-Platform Graphics

PlayStation 2 developers can use the NetImmerse 3.0 rendering pipeline to take advantage of both vector processors, the graphics synthesizer, the DMA controller and other important PSX capabilities. For Mac developers, NetImmerse 3.0 is fully Carbon-compliant, includes AltiVec enhancements, and will run natively on MacOS X.

In addition to supporting three major hardware platforms, NetImmerse 3.0 provides the features to develop any style of game from any player perspective, including first-person, third-person and massively multi-player Internet games.

"NetImmerse does not restrict developers to one type of game or platform," said John Austin, NDL's president. "Developers can adapt quickly and easily to market trends. Most importantly, the user doesn't pay a price for versatility. We'll match our feature set and performance with any game engine on the market."

Curved Surfaces for Balance of Power

The new curved surface module within NetImmerse 3.0 addresses the different memory requirements for game consoles versus PCs. Objects can be stored in a compact, curved-surface representation that maximizes the performance of the PlayStation 2. Users are able to tesselate and render with exceptional realism at the highest possible frame rates. NetImmerse's curved surface module provides the additional benefit of seamless integration with character skinning, continuous level of detail, and terrain modules.

Natural-Looking Characters in Less Time

The character skinning feature within NetImmerse 3.0 allows developers to create aesthetically superior characters in less time. When animated, NetImmerse 3.0 characters have skin that moves in concert with underlying bones.

Mythic Entertainment, developer of the Internet game Spellbinder: The Nexus Conflict, ran tests using the same figure rendered as both an articulated and a skinned character. "The NetImmerse skinned character rendered in half the time of the articulated character and looked better," says Mark Jacobs, Mythic's president.

Design Once, Use Many Times

Continuous level of detail (CLOD) allows developers to design characters or objects once, and NetImmerse automatically scales them at run-time according to the perspective.

"NetImmerse's CLOD addresses a game developer's most precious resource: time," says Mike Woodroffe, president of Headfirst Productions, developer of Call of Cthulhu and Simon the Sorcerer 3D games. "We don't have to compromise the quality of our models for the sake of speed."

Across-the-Board Performance

NetImmerse 3.0 takes advantage of the latest 3D hardware advances - including multi-texture modes and hardware transform and lighting. But, NDL also recognizes that developers want titles that will run on a broad range of platforms. To meet that need, NetImmerse 3.0 offers a new software renderer that allows the game engine to run efficiently even on low-end PCs.

An Engine for All Reasons

NetImmerse 3.0 offers plug-ins for the industry's leading modeling packages (Maya, 3D Studio MAX and SoftImage 3D) and supports OpenGL and Direct X7. Beyond features, NetImmerse offers three important benefits: all licenses include access to full C++ source code, developers are not required to pay royalties as part of the licensing agreement, and NDL provides support directly from the engineers who developed NetImmerse 3.0.

Additional information on NetImmerse 3.0 and its features can be found on the NDL Web site: http://www.ndl.com. Evaluation copies can be requested through the web site or by e-mail: [e-mail]

NetImmerse 3.0 is an exclusive product of Numerical Design Ltd. (NDL), with offices in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Palo Alto, Calif. Founded in 1983, NDL has been responsible for major developments in 3D graphics technology incorporated into leading PC and game software. The NetImmerse engine is used by game developers worldwide, including Red Orb Entertainment, OddWorld Inhabitants, SouthPeak Interactive, AniVision, Mindscape, Headfirst Productions, Mythic Entertainment, Totally Games, Microids and others.

For an html version and images visit http://www.ndl.com/net3.0rel.htm