V-Ray 1.50.09 ScreenShot

High Quality to Rendering 3Ds Max

today announced Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 software, the latest version of its out-of-the-box solution for 3D modeling, animation and rendering

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 6 -- Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) today announced Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 software, the latest version of its out-of-the-box solution for 3D modeling, animation and rendering. 3ds Max 2008 enables artists and designers to overcome challenges associated with large and complex 3D datasets. The software has been used to create numerous notable projects, including visualizations for the EMI Records building in London, the Mass Effect game and the Grindhouse movie. 3ds Max 2008 will be showcased at the Autodesk booth (#703) during SIGGRAPH 2007, being held at the San Diego Convention Center August 7-9.

"Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 provides an ideal environment for creating the complex 3D content demanded by today's game, design visualization, film, and television industries," said Marc Petit, Autodesk Media & Entertainment senior vice president. "3ds Max 2008 dramatically improves artists' productivity, enabling them to quickly achieve higher levels of visual sophistication through innovative modeling and interactive rendering capabilities."

Neversoft Entertainment used 3ds Max to create Tony Hawk's Project 8, the premier next-generation version of a Tony Hawk title. "Autodesk 3ds Max let us quickly visualize our work as it would appear in the game engine," explained Nolan Nelson, character art director at the facility. This kept our creative momentum flowing and allowed us to produce the most advanced characters possible for the title."

Robert Stava, creative director at 3D Media Group and 3ds Max 2008 beta tester said, "Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 quickly became a standard part of our production pipeline. With many of our architectural design projects tipping the scales at millions of polygons, 3ds Max 2008 software's improved handling of complex data is a very welcome addition." 3D Media Group recently used 3ds Max to create visualizations for the Fulton Street Transit Center in New York City, the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the New Songdo City in Korea.

Highlights of 3ds Max 2008
Improved viewing and handling of large complex scenes:

o New viewport technology and optimizations provide improved performance
with large and complex scenes consisting of tens of thousands of
objects. Artists can select thousands of objects and perform material
assignments up to 10 times faster. They can also transform objects up
to 60 times faster.**
o 3ds Max 2008 offers a new Scene Explorer, which provides artists with a
hierarchical view of scene data, as well as fast scene analysis and
editing tools. This facilitates working with complex, object-heavy
scenes. It also includes a new Adaptive Degradation System, which
improves the software's interactivity by automatically simplifying the
scene display to meet a user-defined target frame rate.

New options for fast, artist-friendly modeling:
o New modeling user interface options give artists a less menu-dependent
modeling experience.
o 3ds Max 2008 offers conceptual design artists and modelers a more
streamlined modeling workflow, which enables them to focus more on the
creative process.

New Review toolset and mental ray workflow improvements:
o The new Review toolset provides iterative rendering workflows with
interactive previewing of shadows, the 3ds Max sun/sky environment, and
Architectural and Design material settings.
o 3ds Max 2008 also provides several mental ray workflow improvements,
including a new mental ray Sky Portal, which simplifies lighting indoor
scenes using outdoor lighting and supports HDRI-based lighting effects.

New tools and enhancements for complex workflows and pipelines:
o The new integrated MAXScript ProEditor makes it easier to author
scripts that automate and customize 3ds Max.
oMajor improvements in file-linking and interoperability with other
Autodesk design solutions provide faster, more accurate importing of
data into 3ds Max. Furthermore, new features, such as Select Similar,
facilitate work with imported data inside of 3ds Max.

For a complete list of new features and enhancements in Autodesk 3ds Max 2008, visit http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax.

Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that 3ds Max 2008 will be available in English in October 2007. The Autodesk suggested retail price for 3ds Max 2008 software is US$3,495*. The Autodesk suggested retail price to upgrade from 3ds Max 9 to 3ds Max 2008 is US$795*.

Subscription is available for purchase simultaneously with the product purchase or upgrade. The Autodesk suggested retail price for 3ds Max Subscription is US $495* per year. Subscription customers qualify for access to the latest software updates, valuable product extensions and e-learning materials. For more information about 3ds Max Subscription, please visit http://www.autodesk.com/subscription.

* International pricing may vary.

PRESS: 3ds Max 2008 imagery is available on Autodesk's website at http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax-pressimagery

**Performance data is based on comparisons with Autodesk 3ds Max 9, based on tests conducted by Autodesk over a controlled network, using Windows XP Professional (32b) and DirectX 9c graphics hardware. As with all performance tests, results may vary based on machine, operating system, filters, and even source material. While every effort has been made to make the tests as fair and objective as possible, your results may differ. Product information and specifications are subject to change without notice. Autodesk provides this information "as is," without warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit http://www.autodesk.com/.

Source: Autodesk, Inc.

CONTACT: Brittany Bonhomme of Autodesk, Inc., +1-514-954-7419, brittany.bonhomme@autodesk.com

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/
http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax-pressimagery
http://www.autodesk.com/3dsmax

Autodesk has announced that developers NCSoft, Webzen and Gravity are using Autodesk's 3D modeling, animation and rendering software in the development of their upcoming MMO titles -- AION, Huxley and Ragnarok Online II, respectively.

NCSoft plans to launch AION, a fantasy flying combat and role-playing game in 2008, and are developing its asset creation pipeline using Autodesk 3ds Max. According to Autodesk, Webzen is employing Autodesk 3ds and Autodesk Maya for the multiplayer shooter Huxley, just as it did on its previously-released Soul of the Ultimate Nation.

In addition to its upcoming MMO titles Requiem Online, Pucca Racing and W-Baseball, Gravity is also using Autodesk tools for the upcoming sequel to major Korean MMO Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Online II. The company says it will feature full-3D graphics and sophisticated character expressions in place of the bubble emotes featured in the first Ragnarok game.

Park Young Woo, Ragnarok Online II producer at Gravity, said that using 3ds Max helped in his goal of creating "cute yet extremely expressive and natural facial animations" for the game characters.

NCSoft art director Kim Hyung Joon also noted the broad penetration of 3ds Max internationally: "As well, the 3ds Max software's pervasiveness makes it easier for me to recruit new artists, since there's a large 3ds Max talent pool in Korea and around the world."

"Online games have become a major part of Korea's entertainment culture, and Korea is a hotbed for game development innovation," said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media and Entertainment. "We've seen an explosion of massively multiplayer online games in the past five years."

MecSoft Releases Parametric CAD/CAM Bundle

MecSoft Corporation, developer of industry leading CAM solutions announced the release of a 3D parametric CAD/CAM bundle. This product bundle includes Alibre Design Basic, a powerful 3-D parametric modeling tool from Alibre Inc., Alibre CAM a fully integrated CAM add-on that runs inside Alibre Design family of products and MecSoft’s VisualMILL™ suite of products. Special pricing for these bundled products is available.
Joe Anand, President and CEO of MecSoft says "Working in partnership with Alibre Inc, we are excited to bring to the market a fully integrated parametric CAD/CAM product bundle. This bundle offers cutting edge CAM functionality, based on our renowned VisualMill CAM engine. With the integration inside the Alibre Design family of products we can now leverage the power of parametrics, associativity and the intelligence embedded in the Alibre Design models. Targeted at the mechanical design market, this product nicely complements our RhinoCAM and VisualCAM family of products."

“We believe that our relationship with MecSoft will be a big win for our customers,” said Greg Milliken, CEO of Alibre. “With our robust API and innovative partners like MecSoft, we can provide a larger set of cutting-edge solutions at competitive prices. With the release of Alibre Design 10.0, our integrated CAD/CAM solutions bring 3D CAD technologies to users who could not previously justify the cost or the time to learn. Machinists and CAM specialists now have the ability to easily create or modify models before moving into CAM.”

For further information please call 949-654-8163 or email Email Contact.

MecSoft Corporation is a leading provider of Windows®-based CAM software solutions for manufacturing parts in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, mold & die, aerospace, general machining and education.

Alibre, Inc. develops and markets Alibre Design™, the fastest growing parametric 3D solid modeling software for mechanical design and manufacturing. Founded in 1997, Alibre Inc. is privately funded and based in Richardson, Texas

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