New Animation Functionality Key Feature of HOOPS 3D Application Framework v9.0 from Tech Soft.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2003

Rendering Improvements, Advanced NURBS Surface

Tessellation Control and Faster HLR Algorithm

Highlights of Latest Graphics Component Library

Tech Soft America (TSA), the leading provider of graphics components to the engineering software industry, continues to deliver advanced features in their HOOPS 3D Application Framework (HOOPS/3dAF) technology.

With the 9.0 release, developers can now author XML animation data to act on their HOOPS-based models. This capability is of particular value for CAE post-processing, simulation, training, maintenance and e-commerce applications. The Animation & Behaviors Specification is both powerful and intuitive; supporting the movement of both objects and cameras, attribute changes including color and color ramp modifications and the creation, deletion and modification of geometry within the scene.

In addition to the animation support there were a number of additional features added in the 9.0 release many of which originated as feature requests from the HOOPS User Community. Some of the highlights include:

Shadow Support: HOOPS/3dGS now includes support for "faux" shadows. Via a simple API Developers define a light source and the shadow plane which the shadow is then drawn onto. Any subsequent modifications to the scene, such as geometry creation, translation or deletion, will cause the shadow to be automatically regenerated. This simple approach for shadow generation significantly improves the photo-realistic qualities of the rendering without compromising the rendering speed or requiring expensive graphics hardware.

New Hidden Line Removal Algorithm: A new framebuffer based HLR algorithm now complements the existing analytic HLR already available in HOOPS/3dGS. By using a multi-pass rendering technique you can fully leverage your graphics hardware without losing important HLR functionality such as having the ability to view the hidden lines with the different attributes than the visible lines.

More sophisticated control over NURBS Surface tessellation: New controls enable the user to control the angular and chordal tolerance as well as the length of the facets generated for NURBS Surfaces.

Cap Geometry Support: HOOPS/3dGS now has in-built support for cap edges and cap planes on geometry which is intersected by cutting planes within the scene.

LODS supporting Textures: Levels of Detail functionality now supports vertex parameters which will allow LODS to contain textures or color ramps.

For a more exhaustive list of the features in the 9.0 release you should visit the HOOPS Developer Zone at: http://developer.hoops3d.com/90_release/9.0_features.html.

"We are impressed with the broad set of advancements in this latest release of the HOOPS 3D Application Framework. TSA has always worked hard to respond to the demands of the marketplace and ensure that their software contains leading-edge features. This means that we can quickly advance our own CADIQ software to stay ahead of the industry curve," commented Don Hemmelgarn, President of ITI/Transcendata.

Added Ron Fritz, Managing Partner for TSA, "Beyond our standard customer responsiveness, the inclusion of full animation support makes this a monumental release. Animation is quickly becoming a critical element of a number of engineering software domains and our HOOPS framework will now help developers quickly add this sophisticated capability. HOOPS 9.0 further demonstrates what a powerful and complete system the HOOPS framework is for building a wide range of engineering software applications."

About HOOPS 3D Application Framework

HOOPS/3dAF serves as the core graphics engine in numerous leading applications. As an extensible, high-level framework, HOOPS/3dAF dramatically simplifies the design, development and maintenance of high-performance, interactive 2D/3D applications. Shipping products based on HOOPS/3dAF range from lightweight web viewers to high-end CAD and CAE applications running on Windows, UNIX, LINUX, and even Windows CE-based handheld devices.

Many leading developers of engineering software, including PTC, SolidWorks, MSC.Software, Autodesk/CaiCE, Hitachi Zosen, Famotik, COADE, ITI/Transcendata, Bentley/Infrasoft, Hitachi Zosen, Caterpillar, Boeing, Fluent, CADKEY, Proficiency and 150+ others rely on HOOPS technology in one or more shipping applications to drastically reduce R&D costs, dramatically speed time-to-market, enhance the graphics performance and functionality of their applications and enable them to focus on their core competency.

With HOOPS/3dAF, the base infrastructure for building highly custom, high performance applications is already optimally designed and built. Developers work from a high level to extend and customize the framework, taking advantage of the power of the underlying set of components, and focusing their development efforts on their true value-add rather than attempting to re-invent the vast power and functionality already encapsulated within the HOOPS product set.

About Tech Soft America

Tech Soft America (TSA) provides premier customer driven development tools, consulting and support services enabling their partners to rapidly deliver world-class technical software. TSA develops the HOOPS 3D Application Framework, HOOPS Stream Toolkit and HOOPS Net Server, which dramatically simplify the design, development and maintenance of high-performance, interactive 2D and 3D applications built for desktop or browser-based applications running, Windows, Unix and Linux, Windows CE-based handheld devices. HOOPS 3D technology has been incorporated into over 150 commercial software applications from many leading engineering software firms The company maintains corporate headquarters in Oakland, Calif., and can be reached at http://www.hoops3d.com.

Note to Editors: HOOPS is a registered trademark.