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NewTek Announces LightWave 3D Version 5.5

Significant Upgrade to the Popular 3D Animation System Boosts Interactivity and Power, Adds New Features and Multiprocessor Support


More on LightWave 3D 5.5

CONTACTS:

Keith Goodman (Vice President, Sales and Marketing)
(303) 448-9700

Steve Herrmann (Director, Marketing Communications)
(303) 448-9700

Hollie Wendt (Communications Consultant)
(408) 688-1193

April 7, 1997

NAB, Las Vegas, NV, - NewTek, Inc. today announced LightWave 3D Version 5.5, an updated version of the software that enhances its stature as one of the industry's most powerful photorealistic 3D animation systems for desktop computers. LightWave 3D 5.5 boasts a highly streamlined user interface and increased interactivity, as well as new features that dramatically improve character and background animation, add a new volumetric rendering engine and particle system, better support multiprocessor hardware systems and generally boost usability.

"LightWave 3D 5.5 represents a whole new look for LightWave 3D, as well as new features and capabilities that for most other companies would warrant a 6.0 release," said Tim Jenison, Chairman and Founder of NewTek. "This newest release of LightWave 3D proves that we have achieved the elusive balance between long-term industry experience and a fresh, innovative spirit. We believe that LightWave 3D 5.5 will excite our existing customers while attracting additional customers to our loyal following."

Brand New User Interface, Features, Levels of Interactivity for LightWave 3D 5.5

NewTek capitalized on current software and technology trends to provide LightWave 3D 5.5 with a whole new user interface (UI). For instance, with the new non-modal panels feature, users gain a highly interactive 3D workspace that allows tool panels to be open, and their parameters adjusted interactively, while users view the changes in real time. Buttons are color-coded for easy use: red signifies instant action, blue denotes Panels, green indicates pop-ups, yellow identifies Modes. And the application now supports real-time texture mapping.

In general, the UI of LightWave 3D 5.5 conveys a more "standard" flavor that adheres to important UI trends in the computer industry. Some examples are the system's new OpenGL, Direct 3D (using MMX technology) and QuickDraw functions in Layout and Modeler modes. LightWave 3D 5.5 takes advantage of fast 3D acceleration hardware and software to improve interactivity for the user, such as real-time texture viewing and user selection of BKG color.

One of the most important new features of LightWave 3D 5.5 is the Morph Gizmo, which drastically improves character animation, particularly for facial movements such as lip synching. Morph Gizmo enables users to visually morph an object between several targets, which may be a series of facial expressions or phonemes, simply by moving an on-screen slider. As a result, complex movements such as lip synching - a frequent activity for animators in television production, film effects and game/multimedia content - become both more realistic and easier to achieve.

LightWave 3D 5.5 enhances the product's well-respected renderer with a new engine that provides volumetric rendering and volumetric lighting. Volumetric rendering lets animators add realistic-looking fog, smoke, etc. to their scenes, while volumetric lighting allows users to see lights as physical elements, such as like sunlight streaming through a window or through tree branches, or like light glowing from a distant source. With these capabilities, users can create effects such as explosions, fog, light cones and other atmospheric conditions. NewTek has also added an advanced particle generator that can create effects such as dust and smoke.

Another new feature, called the Super Cel Shader, enables animators to quickly and easily turn their 3D models into 2D-style animations, much like the Japanese "Anime" style. The resulting animation looks like a 2D-drawn cel animation, but the Super Cel Shader cuts out the entire step of drawing the 2D forms. Already, the Cel Shader is being used in Batman: The Animated Adventure Story. as well as a number of high-end games, films and new television shows.

As it has done in the past, NewTek conducted research with a number of Hollywood facilities to yield groundbreaking technology for its products. This time, the technology takes the form of increased inverse kinematics speed and accuracy in LightWave 3D 5.5, which makes character animation easier than ever before. NewTek has speeded the inverse kinematics calculations by approximately 500 percent, which results in far greater interactivity. In addition, improved accuracy in the inverse kinematics engine creates far more stable and smoother animations.

As processors continue to increase speed, it is obvious that multiprocessor systems are an important trend. Recognizing this trend, NewTek re-engineered the LightWave 3D rendering engine to add multi-threaded rendering capabilities, so that users with multiprocessor systems can leverage the additional power provided by their hardware systems' extra CPUs. Now, users can increase rendering speed simply by adding CPUs, achieving much faster LightWave 3D operation with far less invested in additional memory and other peripherals.

Availability, Price and System Requirements

LightWave 3D 5.5 will begin shipping in Q2 for Intel-based systems running Windows NT or Windows 95; Alpha-based machines running Windows NT; PowerMac systems running system 7.5.1 or greater with QuickDraw 3D 2.0 and QuickTime 2.5 or newer; and Silicon Graphics workstations with Irix 6.3 or greater with at least a R4000 processor.

The software is available through more than 250 dealers and 25 distributors in the U.S. as an upgrade for $495.00 (Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha and PowerMac systems) or $1,495 (SGI systems). The comprehensive software package is priced at $1,995 (Windows NT, Windows 95, DEC Alpha and PowerMac systems) or $3,995 (SGI systems). New customers who purchase LightWave 3D 5.0 after April 1, 1997 will receive a $100 coupon towards the LightWave 3D 5.5 upgrade.

About NewTek, Inc.

Headquartered in Topeka, Kan., NewTek Inc. is the leader in providing full-featured video editing and special effects tools at a price that allows anyone to produce professional video and graphics. The company's products are used worldwide on projects from home video to feature film and have won awards for television shows such as Babylon 5 and Star Trek. NewTek's Sales and Marketing office is located in Boulder, Colo. Contact NewTek at 1200 SW Executive Drive, Topeka, KS, 66615. (913)228-8000. FAX (913)228-8099.

LightWave 3D is a trademark of NewTek, Inc. PowerMac, QuickTime and QuickDraw are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Alpha is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. Windows 95 and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Irix is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.


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