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Okino's Plug-ins Provide 40 New Import/Export Converters for 3DS MAX« v1.2 and v2.0
Detroit, Michigan - November 4, 1997 - At the AUTOFACT '97 (booth # 141), Okino Computer Graphics today released its long awaited 3D Studio MAX geometry import/export translation plug-ins which are based on Okino's award winning PolyTrans 3D data translation technology. These plug-ins provide a vital new link between Kinetix' 3D Studio MAX animation package and other popular 3D packages or file formats such as SoftImage, IGES 5.3 (full implementation), ACIS SAT, DirectX, DXF, Lightwave, OpenFlight, Pro/Engineer, QuickDraw-3D, Strata StudioPro and many others.
The new plug-in modules are the first to provide bi-directional translations of 3D Studio MAX v1.2 and v2.0 scenes to and from the most popular 3D file formats. In the tradition of all Okino translator modules, the resulting translated files are "Render Ready" meaning that they can be loaded and rendered in the destination program (SoftImage, Lightwave, Renderman, etc.) with few or no changes necessary. The translation process accommodates triangulated meshes, vertex normals, (u,v) texture coordinates, material and texture mapping parameters, lights, cameras and automatic bitmap conversion to/from the 3DS MAX supported bitmap formats.
"At DreamWorks Interactive we have been using Okino's PolyTrans plug-ins for 3DS MAX to transport SoftImage databases into and out of 3DS MAX," said George Chang, Lead Animator at DreamWorks Interactive. "When working between these two programs PolyTrans provides the only viable solution that I've seen. I've even been able to translate mesh deformation data from Softimage to MAX to do single skin character animations. This gives me the flexibility to use the programs best suited for any project. PolyTrans is the best file translator I've ever used; it's incredibly robust and delivers on the promise of converting from a large variety of file formats to another cleanly. The technical support has been very responsive to our needs and have given us solutions that have made a big impact on our production process."
""Kudos to Okino for a product that's worked exactly as advertised, and much more!" said Gord Davison, 3D Animator & Media Designer for the IBM Media Design Studio. "PolyTrans has proven to be a rock-solid, full-featured, easy-to-use and extremely accurate translator for our 3D Studio MAX and Lightwave scenes. Even our most esoteric scenes converted flawlessly."
"I am very happy to see our PolyTrans import/export translation technology available for 3DS MAX as direct plug-ins." said Robert Lansdale, President & CEO of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. "This comprehensive collection of import/export plug-ins are the crowning touch for 3DS MAX which, until the release of these plug-ins, was limited to importing or exporting only 3DS, DXF, AI, STL and VRML file formats. 3DS MAX users now have access to over 40 of the best 3D converters available today, providing clean and accurate bi-directional data transfer between 3DS MAX and all the most popular 3D animation, rendering and CAD programs. No longer will 3DS MAX users have to spend hours re-creating the texturing, materials, lights and cameras of translated files since these new plug-ins do it for them automatically."
"PolyTrans Model Translator", An Overview
Okino's stand-alone "PolyTrans Model Translator" for Windows, SGI and SUN was released in August 1996 and has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed and respected 3D geometry translators available today. Unlike most translation programs which only convert basic polygon geometry, hierarchy and some shading information, PolyTrans is unique in its ability to convert every aspect of a 3D model file; this includes all geometry (meshed polygons with recursive holes, NURB and bicubic patches and quadrics), object hierarchy, pivot points, smoothing data (vertex normals), (u,v) texture coordinates, bump mapping information (tangent vectors), lights, cameras, all texture projection methods and animation. In addition, PolyTrans accurately matches the color, shading and texture mapping parameters between the input and output file formats resulting in models that will render faithfully in the target rendering program. With the release of the new 3DS MAX plug-ins the PolyTrans import/export converters are now accessible directly inside the MAX user interface.
Notable users of the PolyTrans software include Acuris, ATI, Disney, DPS, Dreamworks, EDS, HP, Hughes, Infobyte, IBM, Intel, JPL, LEGO, MIT Media Labs, PIXAR, REM Infographica, Westwood Studios and major 3D game development companies such as Acclaim Entertainment, Broderbund, Electronic Arts, Interplay, Lucas Arts, Microprose, Namco, Sierra Online, Stage 22, Virgin Interactive, Virtual World Entertainment, Williams/Bally/Midway and many others (more are listed at http://www.okino.com/conv/users.htm).
Industry Standard Import and Export Filters
The new PolyTrans plug-ins for 3DS MAX support all of the most popular industry-standard 3D geometry data formats by means of plug-in geometry filters. These allow 3DS MAX users to exchange 3D data, of any size or complexity, with virtually any external modeling, CAD, landscape (DEM) or design package. Supported formats include 3D Studio, ACIS SAT, Alias PolySet, Apple 3DMF (Quickdraw-3D), DirectX, DXF, Fractal's Detailer, IGES 5.3, Imagine, Lightscape, full Lightwave, OpenGL C Code, OpenFlight, POV 2.0/3.0, Pro/Engineer .SLP, Renderman RIB, Renderware, SoftImage .hrc models and scene databases, Solid Edge, StereoLithography .STL, Strata StudioPro, trueSpace, USGS DEM, Vistapro, VRML 1.0/2.0 and Wavefront. The converters have been developed by Okino Computer Graphics over a period of 10 years and are complete implementations of their respective file formats.
Major Benefits to 3DS MAX Users
Some of the major benefits 3DS MAX users will gain from using these new import/export translator modules include:
- Very strong and production-worthy support for the Lightwave file format (among others). The Lightwave import converter, in particular, allows entire Lightwave scenes to be loaded and rendered with no changes necessary (including automatic conversion of IFF bitmaps to TIFF, and support for Lightwave's multiple layers of texture maps).
- Direct import and export of SoftImage database scenes and .hrc files from within the 3D Studio MAX user interface.
- Robust and dependable import of IGES 5.3 and ACIS SAT files which will greatly benefit CAD users.
- Bullet-proof and robust import of DXF files. The PolyTrans DXF reader reads in and converts literally any DXF file then optimizes it into a render-ready model.
- Through use of the stand-alone version of PolyTrans, MAX users have access to robust polygon processing tools which can take impossible-to-render data sets and turn them into render-ready models. Functions include auto-welding, auto-unification of normals, reorientation of normals, removal of double sided polygons and more.
- Strong support for getting the popular CAD-related "STL" and "ACIS SAT" formats into and out of 3DS MAX as well as guaranteed conversions of Pro/Engineer "SLP" files.
- Conversion of 3DS MAX animation data to Direct X format and to/from Lightwave. Animation conversion is currently only available through use of the stand-alone version of PolyTrans that ships with these plug-ins.
- Reading and writing of Okino's native "BDF" file format. This allows 3DS MAX users to directly communicate with Okino's NuGraf Rendering System software which provides advanced ray trace and scanline rendering.
Increased Performance
Since its inception PolyTrans has been written to import and optimize 3D data sets very quickly and with minimal memory usage. This is particularly true when the DXF reader of PolyTrans is compared to the performance of the native DXF reader that ship with 3DS MAX. The timing comparisons are outlined as follows:
DXF File Polygon Count 3DS MAX v1.2 Import Timing PolyTrans DXF Import Timing PolyTrans Speedup Nozzle3D 8963 1min 40sec 9sec 11x US Capital 12852 3min 10sec 11sec 17x Bridge 22134 40sec 15sec 2.7x Look-out Tower 32394 7min 42sec 48sec 9.6x Average Speed-up 10x This shows that PolyTrans can import, weld and auto-normalize a DXF mesh roughly 10 times faster than the DXF reader that ships with 3DS MAX. The added performance comes about from the faster welding algorithm used by PolyTrans and by the more efficient DXF reader. Similar results were found when the STL readers were compared (using the beta version of 3DS MAX 2). Tests were performed on a 133Mhz Intel Pentium machine with 96Mb, running Windows NT 4.0. The PolyTrans timings were performed using the PolyTrans DXF import converter running inside 3DS MAX v1.2. The 3DS MAX v1.2 timings were performed with the DXF import converter that ships with MAX.
Applicable WEB pages
The following are pertinent pages on the Okino WEB site relating to this press release:
Available Through VARs
The new plug-in modules are bundled for free along with each copy of Okino's PolyTrans and NuGraf Rendering System software. These software programs, and the accompanying MAX plug-ins, are available directly from Okino Computer Graphics and through a growing number of Value Added Resellers (VARs) in the design, CAD and multimedia markets. Fully functional demonstration versions (with minor limitations) of the software are available through Okino's Internet WEB site at http://www.okino.com.
Product Pricing
For product pricing, to locate an authorized VAR or for customer inquiries, please contact Okino Computer Graphics at (905) 672-9328 or toll free at (888) 3D-OKINO (1-888-336-5466).
System Requirements
The PolyTrans plug-ins require 3D Studio MAX 1.2 or v2.0 and operate efficiently with Pentium(r)-based computers equipped with Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 or higher.
Company Background
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Okino Computer Graphics specializes in the development of 3D photo-realistic rendering, visualization and model translation technology. This technology is currently used within Okino's NuGraf Rendering System product, its PolyTrans data translation program (and byproducts) and its NuGraf Developer's 3D Toolkit. For more information on Okino Computer Graphics, please call 905-672-9328 or visit Okino Computer Graphics' Internet WEB site at http://www.okino.com.
Documents Available Electronically
Attention editors. This document, as well as screen snapshots and related documents for the Press (in Word for Windows format) can be obtained electronically by visiting http://www.okino.com/press/magpics.htm.
PolyTrans and Okino are trademarks and NuGraf is a registered trademark of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. Autodesk and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and SoftImage are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Editorial Contact:
Robert Lansdale
Okino Computer Graphics
T: (905) 672 9328
F: (905) 672 2706
Email: lansd@okino.com
WEB: http://www.okino.com