Toronto, Ontario - April 8, 1996 -- Okino Computer Graphics today released the NuGraf Rendering System, an advanced photo-realistic rendering, visualization and high quality 3d model translation program available for Microsoft Windows 3.1, 95 and NT. Emphasizing dependability, speed and ease of use, the NuGraf software provides a wide assortment of seamlessly integrated 3D tools that accelerate each step of a design, visualization or data translation project. Industry standard geometry import and export filters, realtime scene manipulation functions, 3d extruded font generation and high quality, fast "photo-realistic" rendering tools all combine to form an integrated and comprehensive work environment for 3d data visualization. By utilizing a streamlined internal pipeline organization, NuGraf can effortlessly import, interactively manipulate and photo-realistically render large 3d scene files quickly and without the performance degradation that is often encountered with other 3d visualization packages.
"The NuGraf Rendering System represents the culmination of over eight years of intensive research and development," said Robert Lansdale, President & CEO of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. "This development effort has produced a significant new professional productivity tool for the Windows-based 3D visualization market which allows beginner and power users alike unprecedented access to data import/export, data manipulation and 3d rendering capabilities. The robustness, dependability and feature set of the NuGraf Rendering System are second to none, and priced under $500 it is the most comprehensive visualization package for the Windows- based market available today."
Market Applications
The unique combination of robust import filters, real-time data manipulation, and strong rendering support makes the NuGraf Rendering System ideally suited to a wide variety of market applications. Such applications include architectural model rendering, engineering studies & visualization, industrial design visualization, GIS and USGS DEM data studies, furniture point-of-sale presentations, interior design projects, accurate batch translation of 3d data files, 3d game design and the generation of 3D corporate logos. It is also ideal as a versatile and easy to use teaching tool to explain and exemplify the concepts of 3d rendering and 3d computer graphics in general. Efficient, Bottleneck-Free Design
Throughout the development process of the NuGraf Rendering System concentrated effort was made to remove the major performance bottlenecks often encountered with other 3d rendering and visualization packages. NuGraf can effortlessly accommodate large polygon datasets (on the order of 50,000 polygons or greater) on minimally configured Windows-based computers with as little as 16MB of memory. Fast and memory efficient data import filters, mouse-interruptable user interface functions and an efficient renderer (which allocates memory resources on a per-pixel or per-object basis) all combine to form a highly integrated and high performance visualization system that is not susceptible or prone to performance degradation.
Graphical User Interface
NuGraf's versatile user interface provides for fast and easy access to all elements within a 3d scene. Key features include real-time OpenGL shaded viewing of objects, fast and transparent redraws, interactive placement of camera and lights, and the selection of materials using snapshot icons from a large material library. In addition, the multi-function "Selector Window" allows users to create complex object hierarchies using drag & drop operations, perform hierarchical picking, assign or edit materials, and quickly access all geometry, lights, cameras, materials and textures with simple point and click operations. Underlying the graphical user interface are over 60 detailed dialog boxes which allow every aspect of a scene database, including all material attributes, to be numerically edited. Access to the large 7Mb online help file (which is also provided as a printed 600 page manual) is never more than a button push away.
Industry Standard Import and Export Filters
The NuGraf Rendering System supports all of the most popular industry- standard 3d geometry data formats by means of plug-in geometry filters. These allow NuGraf 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, Alias PolySet, DXF, IGES, Imagine, Lightwave, Pro/Engineer .SLP, StereoLithography .STL, trueSpace, USGS DEM, Vistapro and Wavefront. The converters have been developed by Okino Computer Graphics over a period of 8 years and all are complete implementations of their respective file formats.
Fully Featured DXF File Reader
For CAD-related visualization projects, the DXF import reader is one of the most fully-featured currently available. It can import R13 binary and ASCII DXF files by block, layer, one layer, entity or color. Polygon processing functions include auto-weld/unify/smooth, the ability to mitre all polyline corners, and the unique feature of being able to convert flat 2D drafting drawings into meshed 3D objects. Other features include a fast "pre-scan" mode to find names in a DXF file, the ability to retain block hierarchy information and the ability to read in camera views. In addition, the DXF file reader can import huge DXF files quickly and efficiently (20Mb DXF files on a 16Mb PC machine is handled with ease).
High Quality Batch Translation Capabilities
Included with the program is an intuitive batch translation utility that allows high quality and high speed translation between the various 3d file formats outlined above, in addition to OpenGL, POV, Renderman RIB and VRML. Unlike most data translation programs which only translate geometry and vertex normals, the NuGraf Rendering System translates all geometry, normals, color, (u,v) texture data, U/V tangent vectors and opacity attributes; in addition, it converts all materials (including all shading attributes), texture images, lights, cameras and geometry hierarchy so that the exported file is ready to load and render in the destination program.
Photo-Realistic Rendering
At the core of the NuGraf Rendering System software is Okino's production quality, photo-realistic rendering engine. Eight years of development has resulted in a high speed and memory efficient renderer capable of creating dazzling photo-realistic images of complex 3D scenes, all on a typical PC computer with minimal memory. Typical rendering times are under 1 or 2 minutes on a Pentium-class machine and typical memory usage is under 8MB for a complex 50000 polygon scene. When used in conjunction with the 3D Studio, Lightwave or trueSpace import filters, the NuGraf renderer can import and render any such file, including all shading, texture mapping, background color schemes and atmospheric effects - all with no tweaking necessary to the imported data.
Renderer Features
The renderer includes such advanced features as fast shadow generation, automatic planar and cubical reflection mapping, color/bump/transparency texture mapping, analytic texture filtering, analytic scene anti-aliasing, alpha channel usage (for decal mapping), field rendering (for temporal anti-aliasing of animations), unlimited layering of textures, a hybrid A- buffer/Z-buffer rendering algorithm and output to a wide variety of industry standard file formats, the Windows clipboard and Windows- compatible printers (including accurate alpha channel support).
3D Font Generation
Creation of broadcast quality 3D extruded text is a snap using NuGraf's 3d text creator. Click on the predefined options, enter some text, visually choose from a list of TrueType fonts then visually choose from one or more materials and the NuGraf Rendering System software will do the rest by creating a scene which will be ready to produce a perfect rendering on the first pass.
Unlike other font creation packages, NuGraf's font creator allows complex fonts with holes (such as the "Confetti" font) to be rendered quickly when combined with the "hole" rendering capabilities of the NuGraf renderer. In addition, the 3D text is created as a multi-part hierarchical object so that users can quickly select and modify any aspect of the text (back, front, side, bevels, letter, word or sentence) just by clicking on its respective entry in the "Selector Window".
Available Through VARs
The NuGraf Rendering System is available through a growing number of Value Added Resellers (VARs) in the design, CAD and multimedia markets. The product is also available directly from Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. A fully functional demonstration version (with minor limitations) is available through Okino's Internet WEB site at http://www.okino.com/nrs/demos.htm.
Consumer and Academic Pricing
The suggested U.S. domestic retail price for the NuGraf Rendering System is $495. Dealers and resellers may sell for less. 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). Academic pricing is available to qualified students, faculty and schools. Single student copies may be purchased for $195 (U.S.D) and classroom discounts start at $995 (U.S.D) per 10 copies.
System Requirements
The NuGraf Rendering System operates efficiently with 486- or Pentium(r)- based computers equipped with Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51 or higher, 16MB of RAM, a SVGA video card, and a hard disk with 25Mb of available space. 3D hardware accelerators are supported for Windows 95 and NT but are not required.
NuGraf Developer's 3D Toolkit for OEM Vendors
The core NuGraf technology, called the NuGraf Developer's 3D Toolkit, is available separately for licensing to OEM vendors and third party software developers. The toolkit is ideal for the development of interactive 3D rendering applications or to augment existing modeler/visualization/CAD apps with advanced rendering technology. It is available for 32-bit DOS, Windows 3.1/95/NT, SUN Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and DEC Alpha.
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 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.
Trademark Notices
NuGraf is a registered trademark and Okino is a trademark of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. Autodesk and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Windows 95 and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 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
Internet: lansd@okino.com