Monster Media 1993 #2/Image.iso/cad/3ds_r3.txt

Text File | 1993-08-05 | 8.2 KB | 174 lines

This information was released today on Tuesday, August 3, 1993 at 12:01 pm PDT.


For Immediate Release

Contact:
Garth Chouteau
Autodesk, Inc.
[phone]




3D Studio(R) Release 3 Touts Workstation-Quality Rendering and Speed

Major Upgrade Offers Network Rendering Function With Distributed Processing
Capabilities

ANAHEIM, Calif., August 3, 1993 -- The Multimedia Division of Autodesk, Inc.
today announced Autodesk 3D Studio(R) Release 3, a major upgrade of its award-
winning 3D modeling, rendering and animation software for 386/486-based PCs.
Targeting professionals in all segments of the videography market, as well as
CAD professionals, 3D Studio Release 3 software boasts significant improvements
to rendering quality and speed among its 200 new features.  In addition, a
network rendering capability now enables Release 3 customers to achieve
rendering speeds previously attainable only through expensive workstation-based
solutions.

"In less than three years, 3D Studio has captured more than two thirds of the
market for photorealistic visualization and professional animation on the PC.
With Release 3, we further address the two key areas where PC-based solutions
have traditionally fallen short of workstations -- rendering speed and image
quality," said Jack Strange, director of marketing for Autodesk's Multimedia
Division.  "Specifically, the new network rendering support will enable us to
capitalize on the 90 million Intel-based systems out there, half of which are
on networks, and leverage 3D Studio into the uppermost echelons of video
production."

According to Robi Roncarelli, author of the Roncarelli Report on Computer
Animation, 3D Studio has captured the lion's share of the 3D animation market
on the PC.  "In addition to growing its dominant portion of the PC-based market
to 56.5 percent in 1992, 3D Studio also vaulted into the top market share
position across all professional platforms: PC, Macintosh and workstations
inclusive," said Roncarelli.

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New Release 3 Features

Network Rendering

The new network rendering function is Netbios-independent, meaning it will run
on any PC-based local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), including
the new Windows NT(R) from Microsoft.  As many as 9,999 nodes can be accessed
simultaneously, to render any number of images.  Node assign?ment can be
automatic (to any available machine), or specific machines can be assigned to
particular rendering tasks.  Increasing or decreasing the number of machines
during the rendering process is also automated.

"Rendering speed can never be 'fast enough' for videography and CAD
professionals," said Bob Bennett, senior product manager for 3D Studio.  "In
Release 3, we've increased overall rendering speed by as much as 40 percent on
a single PC.  More importantly, the rendering performance of 3D Studio Release
3 on a network is virtually unlimited; users can harness the power of every
machine on a LAN or WAN, and there is no additional per-node cost," said
Bennett.

Workstation-Quality Rendering

3D Studio Release 3 also includes rendering capabilities commonly associated
with workstation-based solutions.  New rendering features include:

-   All renderings are computed in a 64-bit super Truecolor dis?play space,
resulting in a more subtle defini?tion of colors and shades

-   Anti-aliasing capabilities in 3D Studio Release 3 are greatly improved,
with the introduction of a new analytical image data processor, a sophisticated
capability not found in any other PC-based software

-   A new display and rendering gamma correction ensures that all colors in
Release 3 appear as intended, on any display device

Productivity Enhancements

"As with the previous release of 3D Studio, Release 3 is a direct response to
the requests of our customers," said Bennett.  "The many productivity
enhancements in Release 3 further cement 3D Studio as the preferred animation
tool for professionals whose time is money."  Many of the existing functions in
3D Studio have been redesigned and/or expanded in Release 3, resulting in
greater useability.  Improvements include:

-   An expanded Materials Editor that enables new techniques for combining and
layering bitmaps

-   Adjustable "video-safe" frame control

- "Render Region" allows rendering of a selectable portion of the screen, in
any viewport

-   DPMI-compliant, 3D Studio Release 3 can be run under Windows(TM) as an MS-
DOS(R) application

-   Automatic checking and color correction for "legal" NTSC and PAL colors

Beta Site Reaction

Beta sites for 3D Studio Release 3 have expressed considerable satisfaction
with the latest generation of the product.  Among those to comment on their
initial experiences with Release 3:

Trilobyte, Inc.
Robert Stein III, lead staff artist on Trilobyte's "7th Guest" CD-ROM title and
the upcoming sequel "The 11th Hour," is very pleased with the new lighting
effects in Release 3, particularly the ability of spotlights to project still
or animated color bitmaps.  "In 'The 11th Hour,' the setting is a dark mansion
where the only real light source will be a flashlight beam controlled by the
player; I'm using a black and white texture map in a projected spotlight to
simulate the radial design of a real flashlight," said Stein.  "By placing the
texture map inside the projected spotlight instead of overlaying it in the
video post portion of the program as I would have previously, I can make the
shadow-rings of the flashlight bend around walls, furniture and other objects,
just like a real flashlight beam.  The effect is extremely convincing."

"I'm very excited by the prospect of so many new features, a lot of which are
not available in other packages.  Almost daily I find myself creating an effect
that only 3D Studio Release 3 can produce; it's a tremendous improvement to an
already excellent product," Stein stated.


Tim Forcade, Forcade & Associates
Tim Forcade is a leading computer graphics industry consultant, as well as
president of design firm Forcade & Associates.  "3D Studio's Release 3 beta
demonstrates this product's commitment to providing frequent and outstanding
major upgrades," said Forcade.  "New features such as its redesigned Materials
Editor, improved render quality, enhanced lighting control and Network
Rendering add sophistication and flexibility while refining the process of
producing professional quality 3D images and animations on a PC."


System Requirements

Autodesk 3D Studio Release 3 software runs on IBM(R) or Compaq(R) 386/486-based
computers or 100-percent compatibles equipped with MS-DOS 3.3 or later, 8
megabytes of RAM, a hard disk, a Super VGA device, a math co-processor and a
Microsoft(R) or SummaSketch(R)-compatible pointing device.

Pricing and Availability

Autodesk 3D Studio Release 3 software will begin shipping in the third quarter
of 1993, at a suggested list price of US$2,995 (US domestic only) through
Authorized Autodesk Multimedia Dealers.  Customers who purchase Release 2 of 3D
Studio between now and the ship date of Release 3 will receive a free upgrade
to Release 3 upon its availability.  Certain restrictions may apply.  Current
owners of Autodesk 3D Studio (Release 1 or 2) will be able to upgrade to
Release 3 for US$497.  For more information, please call Autodesk toll free at
[phone] or enter GO ASOFT on CompuServe(R).

Autodesk Inc. develops, markets and supports a family of design automation
software products, as well as professional scientific and multimedia software
for personal computers and workstations.  Headquartered in Sausalito,
California, Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of desktop CAD software.
Autodesk shares are traded on NASDAQ under the symbol ACAD.  For more
information, please call 415-332-2344 or type GO ADESK on CompuServe(R).

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Autodesk, the Autodesk logo and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc.  CompuServe is a registered trademark of H&R Block.  Windows is
a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.  All other brand names, product names or
trademarks belong to their respective holders.