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Okino Computer Graphics Announces Scene & Animation Translation
Support for MultiGen's OpenFlightÒ File Format.
Toronto, Ontario - February 1, 1998 - Okino Computer Graphics today announced extensive support, including animation and automatic bitmap conversion, for MultiGen's popular real-time OpenFlight 3D file format via plug-in modules to Okino's award winning NuGraf Rendering System and PolyTrans Model Translator software products. This support includes 3D scene content conversion, animation conversion, automatic 2D bitmap conversion and native support for 3D Studio MAX plug-ins. Where only limited conversion capabilities existed before, these new translation modules provide seamless scene, content and animation conversions between the OpenFlight file format and all of the most significant 3D application programs and/or 3D file formats used in the Visual Simulation (VisSim), game development, multimedia, CAD/CAM, AES, entertainment and animation industries. Some of these packages and file formats supported include 3D Studio MAX, SoftImage, Lightwave, Alias|Wavefront, IGES 5.3, ACIS SAT, STL, DirectX, DXF, Apple QuickDraw-3D and many others (as listed below).
The new plug-in modules are the first to provide bi-directional translations of OpenFlight 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" for immediate and direct import into any number of 3D modeling, animation and/or rendering programs.. The translation process accommodates triangulated meshes, trimmed NURBS, vertex normals, (u,v) texture coordinates, material and texture mapping parameters, lights, cameras, automatic bitmap conversion to/from the most common 2D bitmap formats, and animation export to OpenFlight from 3D Studio and Lightwave animation data (SoftImage animation support to follow shortly). Okino's PolyTrans and NuGraf products are the most extensive, feature laden rich and cutting edge 3D-multimedia conversion products on the market today.
"This is a dawning moment for all real-time content developers," said Robert Lansdale, President & CEO of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. "Never in the recent past have real-time content developer's had such a large and varied selection of 3Dd modeling tools to choose from. With the release of our new OpenFlight converters, these developers now have access to an indispensable tool to convert their fully texture mapped, colored, shaded and animated scenes from their favorite modeling packages into the rich-content format of OpenFlight. No longer will these developers have to stoop use to using the least-common-denominator of the simple DXF file format, losing all texture data, texture bitmaps, color and shading information in the process."
"OpenFlight is the most widely used and industry accepted 3D file format for visual simulation and real-time content development.," said Jay Kidd, Vice President of Marketing for MultiGen Inc. "Okino's support for OpenFlight is the first product to tieties together the VisSim and the real-time content development industries to the multi-media, animation and CAD/CAM industries. This important product directly benefits all users of OpenFlight who now have a much broader selection of tools and 3D content to pool from whenwho seek re-use of existing 3D content when assembling their 3D real-time environments." It will be interesting to see the outcome of this cross-pollination between these disparate industries over the coming months and years � as it has been said, interoperability is the key to success of software packages in the 90's.".
"OpenFlight" And Its Growing Industry Popularity
OpenFlight is an industry standard real-time 3D scene description format developed, owned and maintained by MultiGen, Inc. OpenFlight is the most widely used 3D file format for visual simulation databases and is supported by dozens of vendors of real-time 3D tools. In visual simulation, OpenFlight is the defacto standard format. OpenFlight is also becoming prevalent in the PC animation and modeling communities for optimizing and tagging 3Dd data for real-time playback. In the visual simulation industry OpenFlight is the format for entire worlds; in the entertainment industry it is widely used for level building in realtimereal-time games (notable users are Atari Games, FASA, Nintendo, Origin/EA and Trilobyte); and in the AES or urban simulation industries it is used to organize and optimize scenes for realtimereal-time walkthroughs.
In the words of MultiGen Inc., "If the content is targeted for realtimereal-time playback, then OpenFlight, and the tools that edit OpenFlight format, provide the highest degree of control over the database organization and the ability to attach data attributes to elements of the model. Most other 3D file formats are good at storing state or cinematic information whereas OpenFlight focuses on reducing the source to screen latency to improve the overall realtimereal-time 3D experience." The reduced latency is achieved by structuring the database as a `scene graph' of hierarchical `beads'. Objects can be tagged with such various attributes as `Level of Detail' which allow the scene graph to be culled according to distance and other aspects of the playback environment.
PolyTrans & NuGraf, An Overview
Okino's stand-alone PolyTrans Model Translator for Windows and SGI was released in August 1996 and has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed and respected 3D geometry translators. 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 (for specific formats). Okino's NuGraf Rendering System is the elder sibling of PolyTrans that includes, in addition to everything in PolyTrans, high-end scanline and multi-threaded ray tracing (for product visualization), material editing, bitmap and procedural texture mapping, texture projection methods, extended user interface and font editing. NuGraf received the "IEEE Technical Excellence Award" from IEEE CG&A Magazine in 1997.
Notable users of Okino's 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).
Supported Import and Export File Formats
In addition to the new OpenFlight import/export converters, Okino's NuGraf & PolyTrans programs support the following extensive list of 3D formats: 3D Studio, 3D Studio MAX (via native plug-ins), 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 OBJ (both polygons and NURBS). The converters have been developed by Okino Computer Graphics over a period of 10 years and are complete implementations of their respective file formats.
Applicable WEB pages
Available Through VARsThe following are pertinent pages on the Okino WEB site relating to this press release:
NuGraf and PolyTrans are available through a growing number of Value Added Resellers (VARs) in the design, CAD and multimedia markets. The products are also available directly from Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. Fully functional demonstration versions (with minor limitations) are available through Okino's Internet WEB site at http://www.okino.com/nrs/demos.htm (NuGraf) and http://www.okino.com/conv/demos.htm (PolyTrans).
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
NuGraf and PolyTrans operate efficiently with Pentium®-based computers equipped with Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95, 16MB or 32MB 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.
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.
NuGraf and PolyTrans are registered trademarks of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. Okino is a trademark of Okino Computer Graphics, 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