Discreet Introduces 3ds max 7.5 to its Subscription-based Customers

Press Release

Discreet Introduces 3ds max 7.5 to its Subscription-based Customers

Latest Software Update Will Expand Company’s 3D Modeling and Animation Features with Built-in Hair and Fur, mental ray 3.4, and Integrated Visualization Tools

San Francisco , Calif. — February 23 rd , 2005— Discreet, the media and entertainment division of Autodesk , Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), today announced 3ds max 7.5 software,an upgrade exclusively for its 3ds max ® subscription customers that will deliver a broad range of sought-after new features and capabilities. The Discreet

3ds max 7.5 software subscription upgrade was developed to provide complete file compatibility with the current 3ds max 7 software, and will add significant enhancements ranging from a robust integrated hair and fur system, the most current version ofmental ray® 3.4 by mental images—and a new design toolset that combines the feature sets of 3ds max and Autodesk® VIZsoftware.

The 3ds max 7.5 software subscription upgrade will especially equip 3ds max software artists working in feature film and game cinematics who want to raise the bar for their 3ds max software work with amazingly realistic hair and fur, and mental ray 3.4, the newest version of the award-winning rendering solution on the market, will offer extended rendering options. Design visualization artists will benefit from a substantial new set of complimentary design visualization features in 3ds max 7.5 software and the mental ray 3.4 advanced rendering features from improved interoperability with DWG-based 3D CAD applications like Autodesk Revit and Autodesk VIZ.

"After delivering a powerful cloth solution to our installed base of 3ds max software subscription customers last month—Discreet continues to drive value and feature benefits with today’s announced addition of award-winning hair and fur extensions, mental ray 3.4, and numerous extensions for the game cinematics and design and visualisation community,” said Marc Petit, vice president of product development at Discreet. “With 3ds max 7.5 software, Discreet further underlines its leadership in total cost of ownership and redefines the level of expectation for a high end 3D package—that ultimately gives our artists the power of an integrated professional 3D pipeline at their fingertips ,” said Petit.

Hair and Fur— Based on Joe Alter’s highly regarded “Shave and a Haircut” solution, the hair and fur in 3ds max 7.5 software offers numerous styling and dynamics tools for creating realistic hair and other strand-derivative effects. These include:

Styling tools —brush tool for combing hair and brushing along complicated contours with “re-comb,” as well as support for clumping and frizz for added realism Hair dynamics tools —using the dynamics engine of Shave and the dynamic forces of 3ds max to inherit inertia directly from the Skin or any other modifier’s surface movement mental ray integration —fast, memory-efficient and direct rendering using the native mental ray hair primitive Hair, plus —instanced geometry can be used as individual hairs to easily create forests, fields of flowers and other landscapes

mental ray 3.4—3ds max 7.5 software will feature mental ray 3.4, mental images’ most current version. Each seat of 3ds max 7.5 will provide access to numerous mental ray 3.4 optimizations, including faster final gathering performance, and fast rasterization for first-generation rays.

Visualization Features—3ds max customers in design markets often require a broad cross-section of 3D and visualization tools. With the subscription delivery of 3ds max 7.5, product designers, architects, inventors and others in this space will have the advanced modeling capabilities offered in 3ds max and Autodesk VIZ in a single package.

Radiosity Adaptive Subdivision —adds adaptive subdivision to the radiosity plug-in, enabling higher quality, more accurate and more efficient radiosity processing Batch render —gives users a solution to quickly render a series of stills from different angles, with the option to change render settings and layers in between views UVW mapping improvement— place physically-scaled materials onto objects in the scene more easily and accurately with support for real-world measurements Sweep modifier —“Loft” a shape or profile along lines or polylines imported from AutoCAD or line work created in 3ds max, even applying pre-set shapes to simple linework Scene State —capture object, layer, material, camera and light information as a "scene state” that can be saved and restored at will Autodesk Revit ® 7 Interoperability —Autodesk Revit users can now create high-quality images of their models with 3ds max7.5 by importing/linking a Revit model via the DWG format, and having their scene objects correspond directly to individual Revit objects Autodesk Inventor ® Interoperability— access the Inventor file option directly within the import tool
DWF export —convey ideas and share designs by exporting models from

3ds max 7.5 for viewing with Autodesk DWF Viewer and Autodesk DWF Composer

3ds max 7.5 software is expected to be available in mid-April to customers in the Discreet Subscription Program, a group that has grown to include more than 40,000 Discreet 3ds max software artists worldwide who value early access to new functionalities. 3ds max subscription customers can be eligible to receive valuable self-paced training options, feature-rich product extensions and a broad range of other technology and business benefits.

Discreet 3ds max software is available for US $3,495 and 3ds max Subscription is available for an additional US $440. For more information about the subscription program for 3ds max software, contact a Discreet Authorized Reseller or visit http://www.discreet.com/subscription/.

Discreet software customers continue to embrace 3ds max software in motion picture production, with the application being favored for the creation of recent memorable visual effects for SkyCaptain and The World of Tomorrow, The Day After Tomorrow and many other films. 3ds max software is also the tool of choice among renowned architectural firms including HOK, KDLAB, Bombardier, OVI, and Urban Simulations for producing final design elements and cinematics. 3ds max software can be purchased now for $3,495 US. For more information, please visit http://www4.discreet.com/3dsmax/.

About Discreet

Discreet empowers media professionals to realize the visual experience and transform their most evocative and ambitious visions into reality. Discreet's award-winning solutions are designed for digital media creation, management, and delivery—across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading, and editing to animation, game development, web/interactive, and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montréal, Québec, and is the media and entertainment division of Autodesk, Inc., the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. Product and corporate information: www.discreet.com.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California.  For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

###

Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet, 3ds max and Autodesk VIZ are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

© 2005, Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.