Discreet Ships 3D Studio MAX R3 Software Collaborative Workflow Tools and Powerful, All-New Renderer Highlight Latest Release

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-- Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., announced the worldwide availability of 3D Studio MAX Release 3 software, the latest release of its award-winning professional 3D modeling and animation solution designed specifically for the Intel architecture and Windows NT. Shipping with the 3D Studio MAX R3 software is a free update to Character Studio Release 2.2.

With an enhanced collaborative workflow environment and powerful new renderer, 3D Studio MAX supports hundreds of third-party commercial and free plug-ins, many of which will be available for 3D Studio MAX R3 software today. In a separate announcement today, Discreet and Digimation also unveiled new plug-in bundles that combine some of the hottest component applications designed for use with 3D Studio MAX R3 (see related announcement).

3D Studio MAX R3 software is designed to enable numerous creative professionals to work on specific aspects of the same project while easily combining discrete elements into complex shots, animations, or game levels. The 3D Studio MAX R3 software also boasts a redesigned renderer that retains the speed of its predecessor while delivering superior results and simplifying the process of creating stunningly realistic images, scenes and special effects. Other key enhancements include nestable external references, application-wide scripting, macro-recording, a customizable work environment, powerful organic modeling capabilities, and a host of other new features that accelerate the creation of digital content.

"MAX R3 blows away the competition on price and power," said Matt Merkovich, senior digital artist at Los Angeles-based Digital Muse. Some of Merkovich's credits include 3D work on the motion pictures Spawn, Event Horizon, The Truman Show and Pleasantville, and the TV series Space: Above and Beyond, Star Trek Voyager, and Deep Space 9. "MAX R3's incredible modeler is much easier to use than others, and my tests show that the new renderer is much faster than the competition. Discreet is keeping MAX several steps ahead of the rest."

"3D Studio MAX R3 is an amazing product, with one of the nicest renderers I've ever seen," said Mike Huber, founder of Huber Digital Film, which specializes in character-based content. A long-time animator, Huber has created 3D animations and effects for Godzilla, The Fifth Element, Star Trek Insurrection, and Polly: A Parrot's Tale. "The open architecture of MAX is great. It allows you to make the most of the tools and effects provided, or very easily create whatever effect you need. 3D Studio MAX R3 delivers superior results in an exceptional working environment."

"With the release of 3D Studio MAX R3, we've delivered a solution that is designed specifically to fulfill the wish lists of artists, animators, designers and game developers," said Jim Guerard, vice president of marketing and product management. "Productivity and collaboration are continuing areas of concern for the digital content creation industry, and we've tailored this version of 3D Studio MAX to serve as a catalyst for seamless and streamlined collaboration. Meanwhile, we've turbo-charged R3 with a renderer that truly stands on its own against solutions that cost many times more than MAX, while laying the foundation to work easily with other renderers. 3D Studio MAX R3 software sets a new benchmark for a desktop modeling and animation solution."

Collaborative Features Streamline Workflow

Headlining the new collaboration features of 3D Studio MAX R3 is External References, which allows artists to include in their projects specific objects or entire scenes from other files, and to introduce new animation, materials, or models, as they desire. Artists can then edit the original portions, and their changes propagate through all related files. In addition, a new proxy system within the External References tool enables users to manipulate and animate complex objects interactively.

Artists can also mold their production environment to suit the task at hand. The 3D Studio MAX user interface is now completely customizable, enabling artists to view only those toolbars and menus they need for their current project. Users can also create their own custom layouts for any aspect of production, including modeling, animation, and materials editing. These layouts are loadable and portable, so artists can use them as needed and on any system in their production environment.

3D Studio MAX R3 software also includes a number of workflow enhancements designed to increase productivity, including customizable right-click menus, toolbar scripts, presets, transform gizmos, and selection-sensitive key editing. Plus, Discreet extensively expanded the capabilities of MAXScript, opening 3D Studio MAX's time-saving scripting feature to nearly every aspect of the application, including plug-ins. New Plug-In Scripts enable animators to redesign, simplify, and combine plug-in interfaces, and define their own.

All-New Renderer Maximizes Customization

For 3D Studio MAX R3 software, Discreet also completely rebuilt the MAX Renderer and transformed into plug-ins such specific rendering steps as anti-aliasing, sampling, shaders, and shadows. The use of plug-in rendering features gives artists the flexibility to choose which rendering results they want at any given time, thereby dramatically improving the speed at which they can achieve a particular "look." This approach also simplifies the process of creating rendering-related plug-ins with the Software Developer's Kit (SDK).

More than a dozen rendering components compose the main 3D Studio MAX application, while more components are available in the product's SDK for development use. Powerful new plug-ins help artists make customized use of such advanced features as anti-aliasing and shading. Discreet also optimized the Renderer's displacement mapping in this release and extended it to polygon meshes. This allows all geometries within 3D Studio MAX software to take advantage of realistic and efficient surface displacement. With new Rendering Effects, post processes are applied immediately after a frame is rendered and are interactively adjustable thereafter. Current Rendering Effects include Flare, Glow, Ring, Ray, Secondaries, Star, Streak, Highlight, Blur, and Film Grain.

Discreet simplified the organic modeling process in 3D Studio MAX R3 software by introducing application-wide Soft Selections, which enable artists to easily give regional influences to their selections for gradual falloffs of modeling actions and dynamic effects. Meanwhile, advances in MeshSmooth, the 3D Studio MAX platform's popular polygonal subdivision tool, include weighted vertices and edges, interactive operation at defining levels, and a new NURMS method that approximates a NURBS result. Additional modeling enhancements include Surface Tools, a new Editable Patch object, and numerous spline and patch modeling improvements; faster NURBS modeling; and the capability to leverage models from other applications with IGES support.

For animators, 3D Studio MAX R3 software provides new core character animation tools for skin deformation, secondary dynamic motion, and morphing. In an industry first, Discreet also is making 3D Studio MAX R3's new character animation tools part of the industry-leading MAX SDK. To assist developers authoring content for the Web, the SDK also includes the highly acclaimed VRML Exporter.

Plug-Ins Extend 3D Studio MAX Platform Discreet today also announced new plug-in bundles from Digimation that provide an affordable and easy way for 3D Studio MAX R3 users to purchase some of the hottest and most innovative plug-in applications available including Rodin, DaVinci, Texture Labs and Particle Studio.

Discreet also announced that it expects close to 100 commercial and free third-party plug-ins will be available as 3D Studio MAX R3 comes to market. Commercial 3D Studio MAX plug-ins will be available through individual developers and through Digimation, which provides Discreet customers with a simple process for locating and purchasing third-party plug-ins for Discreet? software. Customers can order plug-ins from Digimation at 800-854-4496 or 504-468-7898 or through the Autodesk worldwide authorized reseller channel. To see a complete list of plug-ins that are available for MAX R3 point your browser to http://www.ktx.com/plug_ins

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

3D Studio MAX R3 is available today worldwide in U.S. and International English. It will be available in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese by the end of August. The suggested list price in the U.S. and Canada is US$3,495 from Authorized Kinetix" Resellers. Upgrades from 3D Studio MAX R2.x are available for US$795. A Character Studio R2.2 patch, a compatibility release that runs with MAX R3, is included on the 3D Studio MAX R3 CD. Users outside the U.S. and Canada should contact local Authorized Autodesk Resellers for new product and upgrade pricing. For local pricing information please view http://ktx.com/worldsites/

Discreet also announced the immediate availability of interactive Courseware for 3D Studio MAX R3 software. Created for digital content creation professionals- as well as for students, educators, and resellers - the Courseware provides an in-depth guide to 3D Studio MAX R3 software. Available now, the Courseware includes a printed book and an interactive CD-ROM stocked with tutorials, reference materials and examples Courseware is US List priced at $75 .For ordering information visit http://www.ktx.com/learning_center/html/courseware.html.

About Discreet

Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., develops systems and software for visual effects, 3D animation, editing and production used in the creation of digital moving pictures for video, HDTV, the web, broadcast graphics, interactive games and feature films. Discreet products are used extensively in film and video postproduction, games and multimedia, broadcasters graphics, programming and on-air event coverage as well as by designers and architects for 3D visualization and conceptualization.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC design software and digital content creation. One of the largest software companies in the world, Autodesk has more than four million customers in over 150 countries. For more information, contact any Authorized Autodesk Reseller, call Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or visit www.autodesk.com. Discreet product information is available at 800 869-3504 or via the web at www.discreet.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol ADSK.