Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 Breaks the Rendering Barrier

Producing Higher Quality Imagery and Animation Is Now Faster and Easier

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 9, 2010 - Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 software - the latest version of its modeling, animation, rendering and compositing application. A new node-based material editor, innovative hardware renderer and full-featured compositor are new features offered in the 2011 release to help accelerate the creation of compelling imagery and entertainment content.

Slate Material Editor - Easily visualize and edit material component relationships with Slate, a new node-based material editor that helps significantly improve workflow and productivity for artists creating and editing complex material networks. The intuitive schematic framework is engineered to handle the vast numbers of materials required by todayâ€™s demanding productions.

Quicksilver Hardware Renderer - Create high-fidelity pre-visualizations, animatics, and games-related marketing materials in less time with Quicksilver, an innovative new hardware renderer that helps produce high-quality images at incredible speeds. This new multi-threaded rendering engine utilizes both the CPU and the GPU, and supports alpha and z-buffer render elements; depth-of-field; motion blur; dynamic reflections; area, photometric, ambient occlusion, and indirect lighting effects along with precision adaptive shadow maps; and the ability to render at larger-than-screen resolutions.

"Our first priority with 3ds Max 2011 was to make artists more productive in common everyday workflows," said Stig Gruman, Autodesk vice president of digital entertainment. "We have re-architected core parts of the software, introduced a much requested node based material editor streamlining workflows and added new features, like the painting tools and the Quicksilver hardware renderer, to help customers meet or beat their deadlines without compromising either creativity or quality."

Local Edits to Containers - Collaborate more efficiently with significantly enhanced workflows for Containers that enable users to layer local edits non-destructively on top of referenced content. Meet tight deadlines by working in parallel: while one user iteratively edits unlocked aspects of the container, another can continue to refine the underlying data. Multiple users can contribute changes to different elements of the same container at once, while simultaneous edits to the same component are prevented.

Modeling and Texturing Enhancements - Accelerate modeling and texturing tasks with new tools that extend the Graphite modeling and Viewport Canvas toolsets: a revised toolset for 3D painting and editing textures within the viewport; the ability to paint with object brushes to create geometry within a scene; a new brush interface for editing UVW coordinates; and an interactive tool for extending edge loops.

Key New Features in Autodesk 3ds Max 2011

Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 software has the following new and enhanced features:

Slate, a new node-based material editor that enables artists to more easily visualize and edit material component relationships
Quicksilver hardware renderer, a new multithreaded rendering engine that uses both the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), and can achieve up to 10 times faster rendering than traditional techniques on common graphics cards
Ability to view many 3ds Max texture maps and materials in the viewport to help develop and refine scenes in a higher-fidelity interactive display environment - without the constant need to re-render
Extended Graphite modeling and Viewport Canvas toolsets for 3D and 2D painting of textures directly in the viewport, along with the ability to paint with object brushes to help create geometry within a scene
Ability to non-destructively layer local edits on top of referenced content, helping artists to collaborate more efficiently
3ds Max Composite, a full-featured, high dynamic range (HDR)-capable compositor, based on technology from Autodesk Toxik software

3ds Max Composite - Enhance rendered passes and incorporate them into live action footage with 3ds Max Composite: a fully-featured, high-performance, HDR-capable compositor, based on technology from Autodesk Toxik software. The 3ds Max Composite toolset incorporates keying, color correction, tracking, camera mapping, raster and vector paint, spline-based warping, motion blur, depth of field, and tools to support stereoscopic productions.

From March 11-13, 2010, visit the Virtual GDC event on the AREA to watch 3ds Max 2011 product demonstrations and customer presentations live from the Autodesk Game Developers Conference booth. More information is also available on Autodesk's 3ds Max blogs by Ken Pimentel, Shane Griffith and Louis Marcoux. Videos of the new features in 3ds Max 2011 are available on the Autodesk YouTube channel.

In-Context Direct Manipulation UI - Save time when modeling and maintain focus on the creative task at hand with a new in-context user interface (UI) for polygon modeling tools that eliminates unnecessary mouse movement away from the model. Modelers can interactively manipulate properties, enter values directly at the point of interest in the viewport, and preview results prior to committing changes.

Beta Tester Feedback

"The new Object Paint tool and the updated Viewport Canvas are like gold for game artists," said James Haywood, senior technical artist at Bungie. "Those two things alone are going to save tons of time creating our game assets. And the fact that we can save back to version 2010 means that we can safely make the jump to 2011 midproject without the usual upgrade jitters."

"The new release is packed full of great new features and refinements to existing tools," said Martin Coven, founder of Launch Studio. "Building complex materials is a breeze with Slate. Workflow enhancements in Graphite tools and the inclusion of 3ds Max Composite put the cherry on top of 2011."

CAT Integration - More easily create and manage characters, and layer, load, save, remap, and mirror animations with the Character Animation Toolkit (CAT). Now fully integrated into 3ds Max, CAT provides an out-of-the-box advanced rigging and animation system. With its approachable, flexible toolset, animators can use default settings in CAT to help achieve high-quality results in less timeâ€”or completely customize rigs to include arbitrary morphology, embedded custom behaviors, and procedural controllers for more demanding character set-ups.

Pricing and Availability

Autodesk anticipates that 3ds Max 2011 will be available in English in April 2010. Autodesk expects to announce Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2011 software in late-March 2010. The Autodesk suggested retail price (SRP) for an Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 stand-alone license is US$3,495.* The SRP to upgrade from either 3ds Max 2010 or 3ds Max Design 2010 stand-alone to 3ds Max 2011 stand-alone is $1,745.* Autodesk Subscription is available for purchase simultaneously with the product or upgrade purchase for $495* SRP per year.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 will also be available as part of the Autodesk 3ds Max Entertainment Creation Suite 2011. The Suite offer customers 3ds Max 2011, together with Autodesk Mudbox 2011 and Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011 software. Artists and production facilities have access to a range of powerful creative tools at more than 35 percent** cost savings, compared to purchasing each product separately.

*International pricing may vary.
** International savings may vary.

Ribbon Customization - Maximize the usable workspace and focus on the features that matter most for specialized workflows with customizable Ribbon layouts. Create and store personalized UI configurations that include frequently-used action items and macro scripts, and toggle the display of these configurations with the touch of a hotkey or button.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies Ã˜ as well as the last 15 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects Ã˜ use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit http://www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, Toxik and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. Â© 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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