Discreet Introduces character studio 3, a Major Release That Reaches New
Frontiers With Large-Scale Character Animation ('Crowd'), Behavioral
Animation, a Dramatic Performance Boost to Physique and New Biped Inverse
Kinematics Enhancements
SIGGRAPH, NEW ORLEANS, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Discreet, a division of
Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), today announced the launch of character
studio(R) 3, the newest version of the powerful extension to 3d studio max(R)
3 that delivers breakthrough performance for 3D character animation in games,
film, broadcast, video and interactive entertainment.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/SFTH083LOGO )
character studio 3 provides animators with dramatic new capabilities
unrivaled in other products, including the industry's most advanced crowd and
behavioral-based animation system, super-fast Physique(R) skinning and major
enhancements to the inverse kinematics tools including inverse kinematic pivot
points for smooth, natural hand and foot movements. Other enhancements help
to improve studio workflow including new features for non-linear animation and
track operations.
character studio 3, along with Discreet's full range of 3D animation
products, is being demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 2000 in the 2D/3D integration and
film and video effects theatres at the Discreet booth (#1037) of the
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, July 25-27, 2000.
"Discreet has been at the forefront of character animation technology used
to produce truly phenomenal work in the 3D animation space," said
Phillip Miller, senior director of software products, Discreet. "This new
release of character studio extends that lead by giving animators even more
power and flexibility. The ability to rapidly animate crowds of humans so
that every character moves and interacts intelligently is a tremendous
breakthrough that will greatly optimize the workflow of animators."
Discreet introduces revolutionary enhancements with Crowd, a
groundbreaking toolset designed to animate large groups of both human and
non-terrestrial entities, known as delegates, such as a swarm of bees, a
school of fish, or any group of other-worldly creatures. With Crowd, a user
can animate both the position of the delegates and how they move through time,
making it the most advanced crowd system available.
Related to this advancement is behavioral-based animation for Bipeds,
which enables interactions between Biped and Crowd. This advanced
behavioral-based integration allows groups of humanoid characters to be
motivated by a combination of animations: either hand-designed animations,
motion capture, or a mix of both. The close integration between Biped and
Crowd will allow an artist, for example, to quickly populate an entire
battlefield with characters that advance, retreat, avoid obstacles and wield
their weapons in an intelligent but individualistic way.
"We are currently evaluating character studio 3 and have found its Crowd
system to be a compelling tool for simulating populous bipedal crowds in
complex environments," said Dr. David Fracchia, senior software developer,
Mainframe Entertainment. "Our requirements demand a system capable of
handling thousands of characters interactively influenced by its neighbors
within an expansive set. In my opinion, character studio 3 is currently the
most complete and production-ready crowd system available in an off-the-shelf,
commercial package."
Discreet has also dramatically accelerated Physique to perform
significantly faster than previous versions. This performance increase is
achieved by optimizing Physique and supporting multi-processor systems,
allowing studios to use hardware to realize even greater acceleration over
single-processor machines. Physique also offers improved functionality,
especially for highly detailed polygon and Bezier Patch surfaces.
Additionally, character studio 3 incorporates a fast, intuitive way to
specify up to six different animatable pivot points on a character's hands and
feet. Inverse kinematic (IK) pivot points set a center for rotation during
contact with a surface. Since they can be specified per-key frame, complex
interactions between feet, hands and surfaces can be rapidly set up and
animated, with high-integrity interpolation between key frames with different
pivot points. Walking sequences, for example, can now be fluidly simulated to
create natural movement with as little as three keystrokes.
Pricing and Availability
character studio 3 has a suggested retail price of $1,495 (USD). Upgrades
from version 2 are $495 (USD) and $9959 (USD) from version 1. Prices will
vary outside U.S., and local Discreet offices should be contacted for pricing
information. Customers and interested parties can contact their regional
Discreet Sales Office (http://www.discreet.com), or call 800-869-3504 or 514-393-1616
for more information.
About Discreet
Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in digital content
creation, management, and distribution tools. Discreet develops systems and
software for visual effects, 3D animation, editing, and production used in the
creation of digital moving pictures for feature films, video, HDTV, broadcast
graphics, interactive games and the web. Discreet products are used
extensively in film and video post-production, games and multimedia, broadcast
graphics, programming, and on-air event coverage. For more information,
contact any Authorized Discreet Reseller, call Discreet at 800-869-3504, or
visit http://www.discreet.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq national
market under the symbol ADSK.
Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. 3d studio max and character
studio are registered trademarks, and Discreet is a trademark of Autodesk,
Inc./Discreet Logic, Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
SOURCE Discreet
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http://www.discreet.com
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CONTACT:
Karen Jezdinsky of Edelman, Toronto,
416-979-1120, ext. 252, or karen_jezdinsky@edelman.com, or Megan
Prest of Edelman, Silicon Valley, 650-968-4033, ext. 2730, or
megan_prest@edelman.com, for Discreet
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