New Release Provides Stereoscopic Production Capabilities, nParticles
Simulation, and Powerful Animation and Productivity Tools
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At SIGGRAPH 2008,
Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) announced Autodesk Maya 2009 3D animation and
visual effects software, in celebration of the software's 10-year
anniversary. Maya 2009 includes a host of advancements in modeling,
animation, rendering and effects that maximize productivity, optimize
workflows, and provide new creative possibilities. Maya 2009 will be
showcased at the Autodesk booth (#501) during SIGGRAPH 2008, at the Los
Angeles Convention Center Aug. 12-14.
"We are celebrating the work done with Autodesk Maya over the past 10
years by many artists and creative visionaries in film, television
production and games, as well as in industrial design and architecture,"
said Marc Petit, Autodesk's Media & Entertainment senior vice president.
"We designed Maya 2009 as a tribute to creative innovation and production
efficiency. The new release will allow artists to raise the bar and deliver
even more ground breaking computer graphics work."
Mike Romey, senior technical director at Zoic Studios was a beta tester
for Maya 2009. "The future of Maya is shining brightly with the upcoming
release," said Romey. "Autodesk Maya 2009 will change the way artists think
about dynamics, rendering, compositing and pipelines. With the solid mental
ray multi-render pass workflow, production will be far more effective. This
new workflow will optimize render times for multiple render layers and, in
turn, elevate the quality of work. The creation of nParticles builds on the
unified dynamics engine introduced in nCloth, allowing for greater
integration of advanced effects."
Key Highlights of Autodesk Maya 2009
Complexity Managed
While the complexity and size of scenes continue to rise, Maya 2009
provides new tools to make them more manageable. These tools include the
new Maya Assets toolset, which enables users to encapsulate a set of nodes
into a single container and publish a view of the data suited to the
artist's task. The release also offers a new Render Proxy feature in mental
ray, and additional multi-threading work and algorithmic speedups that
boost interactive draw, simulation and rendering performance for even the
heaviest scenes.
Accelerated Modeling Workflow
Maya 2009 gives modelers and texture artists unprecedented control over
polygon modeling and UV texturing through powerful selection management
features, efficient modeling workflows and precision UV unfolding and
layout options.
Collaborative, Iterative Projects and Pipelines
Tighter schedules and budgets demand that projects and pipelines take
full advantage of available resources. Maya 2009 supports collaborative,
iterative workflows and promotes data reuse. The software has a new
animation layering paradigm that provides animators with increased
non-destructive flexibility, as well as an updated Render Pass toolset that
offers precise control over render output and optimizes integration with
Autodesk Toxik procedural compositing software.
New Creative Tools
Maya 2009 offers an innovative Maya nParticles dynamic simulation
module and an extensive Maya Muscle feature set. nParticles is part of the
Maya Nucleus Unified Simulation Framework, a ground-breaking approach to
creating complex physics simulations that interact directly with each
other. Furthermore, to help studios capitalize on the growing popularity of
stereoscopic 3D films, Maya 2009 offers a flexible new stereo camera rig,
complete with in-viewport stereo viewing.
For a complete list of new features and enhancements in Maya 2009,
visit http://www.autodesk.com/maya.
Pricing and Availability
Autodesk anticipates that Maya 2009 will be available in English in
October 2008. Maya 2009 will be supported on the Windows (64-bit and 32-bit
versions), and Linux (64-bit version only) operating systems as well as Mac
OS X for Intel-based Macintosh computers (32-bit version only).
Autodesk suggested retail pricing is US$1,995* for Maya Complete 2009
(Standalone) and US$4,995* for Maya Unlimited 2009 (Standalone). The
upgrade price from Maya Complete 2008 to Maya Complete 2009 is US$899*, and
the upgrade price from Maya Unlimited 2008 to Maya Unlimited 2009 is
US$1,249*.
Autodesk Subscription with Gold Support is available for purchase
simultaneously with the product or upgrade purchase. The Autodesk suggested
retail price for Subscription with Gold Support for Maya Unlimited is
US$1,495* per year, and for Maya Complete is US$1,295*. Subscription with
Gold Support customers qualify for access to the latest software updates,
valuable product extensions, telephone and web support, a comprehensive
knowledge base and e-Learning materials.
For information about Maya learning tools, visit
http://www.autodesk.com/learning-tools.
* International pricing may vary.
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.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Maya, and Toxik are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, in
the USA and/or other countries. mental ray is a registered trademark of
mental images GmbH licensed for use by Autodesk, Inc. SIGGRAPH is a
registered trademark of the Association of Computing Machinery, Inc. All
other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective
holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and
specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for
typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
(C) 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO)
Contact: Brittany Bonhomme, 514-954-7419
Email: brittany.bonhomme@autodesk.com
SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.autodesk.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Brittany Bonhomme of Autodesk, Inc.,
+1-514-954-7419, brittany.bonhomme@autodesk.com
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