Autodesk GDC 2008 Press Preview

Overview

This year at GDC, Autodesk will showcase the latest releases of its games solutions. The company will also offer six different training sessions throughout the week. Winners of the Autodesk Mudbox contest will be announced in conjunction with the show on Autodesk's 3D Community Portal AREA ( www.the-area.com). All entries are posted on AREA for viewing.

Product Showcase

Autodesk offers the broadest set of solutions, development resources and streamlined workflows available to game developers today. Visitors to the Autodesk stand can view the company's latest offerings for game developers, including Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya animation, modelling and rendering software, Autodesk MotionBuilder character animation software and Autodesk Mudbox brush-based modelling software.

Also at the stand, some of the industry's top artists will present work they've completed with Autodesk games solutions. These presentations will include:

· Phil Shenk, art director and co-founder of Flagship Studios, showing how 3ds Max was used in the creation of Hellgate: London

· Ryan Lesser, art director at Harmonix Systems Music demonstrating how 3ds Max was used in the development of Rock Band

· Andrey Grigoyev, technical lead artist at Saber Interactive, showcasing the use of Maya for TimeShift

· Francois Levesque, character technical director at Ubisoft highlighting how 3ds Max was used on Assassin's Creed

· Joel Emslie, lead character artist at Infinity Ward, discussing the use of Maya on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Autodesk Events

Session: Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya: Integrating High-Level Shading Effects

Date: Wednesday 20 February, 2.30 - 3.30pm

Description: Autodesk's Neil Hazzard, software engineer and Bernard Kwok, senior software developer will offer this technical talk for shader writers. Hazzard and Kwok will describe the range of high-level shading effects that can be integrated into the latest versions of Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya applications.

Session: Autodesk 3ds Max Tips and Tricks

Date: Thursday 21 February, 12.00 - 1.00pm

Description: Adrien Cho, BioWare Corp's lead character artist on Mass Effect, and Mike Trottier, BioWare Corp's lead environmental artist on Mass Effect will offer this session. Attendees will learn to harness significant power from the new features in Autodesk 3ds Max software.

Session: Autodesk HumanIK Middleware Introduction: Complementing your Forward Kinematic Animation

Date: Thursday 21 February, 2.30 - 3.30pm

Description: In this session, Eric Bibeau of Ubisoft will talk about why Ubisoft chose to use HumanIK for Assassin's Creed, describe how it was implemented, and provide a postmortem of the process. He will be joined by Jason Walter, from Autodesk Consulting, who will provide a detailed breakdown of the technology and provide more insight into how artists can incorporate HumanIK into their game engine.

Session: Autodesk MotionBuilder: Cross Product Integration with Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya Animation Assets to Develop Workable Motion Libraries

Date: Thursday 21 February, 5.30 - 6.30pm

Description: Justin Muir from Midway Games will break down one of their production pipelines. He will focus primarily on a pipeline for assembling cinematic rendered scenes in Maya using a library of motion being worked on and edited directly from MotionBuilder. Real-world examples, challenges and production techniques will be discussed.

Session: Autodesk Mudbox: Integration and Use with Autodesk 3ds Max & Autodesk Maya

Date: Friday 22 February, 10.30 - 11.30am

Description: Rich Diamant will go over how Naughty Dog used Autodesk Mudbox and Autodesk Maya in their pipeline for the creation of characters in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, as well as different approaches and techniques for using Mudbox in any production environment. Louis Marcoux will also talk about how to best integrate Mudbox with 3ds Max. He will cover best practice techniques for transfer of data and how to optimise once in 3ds Max.

Session: Autodesk Maya Tips and Tricks

Date: Friday 22 February, 12.00 - 1.00pm

Description: In this session Sam Sharit, Insomniac Games' senior character artist on Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Autodesk's Steve Roselle, application engineer will offer valuable tips and tricks that artists can use everyday to improve their efficiency in working with Autodesk Maya. The session will focus on the needs of next-generation developers with complex data sets.

For more information about Autodesk at GDC 2008, visit www.autodesk.com/gdc2008.

Press Announcements

The announcement below crossed the wire on Tuesday 12 February 2008. It is not under embargo.

Autodesk Launches 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment Software and Introduces 3ds Max Design 2009 for Design Professionals

3ds Max Design Meets New Requirements for Advanced Visual Communication

12 February 2008 - Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced two new versions of its Autodesk 3ds Max modelling, animation and rendering software - the leading asset creation tool for game development. The company launched Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 software for entertainment professionals, and debuted 3ds Max Design 2009 software, a tailored 3D application for architects, designers and visualisation specialists. Both versions of the software offer new rendering capabilities, improved interoperability with industry-standard products including Revit software, as well as additional time-saving animation and mapping workflow tools. 3ds Max Design 2009 further provides lighting simulation and analysis technology.

"Every design has a story to tell," explained Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Entertainment technology enables design professionals to explore ideas, validate concepts and communicate design intent. It allows them to experience their designs before they are real."

"Autodesk 3ds Max now comes in two distinct flavours to better meet the specific needs of our entertainment and visualisation customers," Petit added. "3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009 provide users with tailored online experiences, user interface and application defaults, tutorials, samples, and more. This simplifies the learning process and makes it easier for users to find the information that's most relevant to them."

New Feature Highlights

Key features in Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 include the new Reveal rendering toolset, which streamlines iterative workflows; and the ProMaterials material library for simulating real-world surfaces. The release also delivers numerous biped enhancements and new UV editing tools. Improved OBJ and Autodesk FBX file formats import and export vastly enhance interoperability with Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk MotionBuilder software programmes and other third-party applications. In addition, Recognize, a new scene-loading technology, significantly improves the inter-application workflow with Revit Architecture 2009.

"Autodesk 3ds Max has never failed to deliver; now it's even stronger with specialised versions," said Technical Director Yunus "Light" Balcioglu. "3ds Max 2009 offers great new features that allow me to be more productive and creative. The new biped improvements make it easy to build quadrupeds, Reveal rendering lets me iterate faster, and reworked OBJ import makes it easier than ever to jump between 3ds Max and Mudbox".

3ds Max Design 2009 includes all features offered in Autodesk 3ds Max 2009, with the exception of the software development toolkit (SDK). The SDK is a set of development tools used in the entertainment markets to integrate software into a production pipeline and develop in-house tools to be used in conjunction with the application. 3ds Max Design also includes Exposure technology for simulating and analysing sun, sky, and artificial lighting to assist with LEED 8.1 certification.

"At SHoP Architects we rely on computer-aided design technology not only to produce innovative architectural forms, but also to create new efficiencies and cost-savings in the design and construction process," said David Fano, designer at SHoP Architects. "Autodesk 3ds Max Design will help us further this pursuit. The newly enhanced daylight simulation tools and improvements to the rendering workflow will allow us to iterate more freely and create better quality work faster. Also, the FBX-based interoperability with Revit will give us a continuous digital workflow by leveraging our Building Information Model for advanced visualisation in 3ds Max during all stages of design."

For more information about 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009, visit: www.worldpressdays08.com.

Pricing and Availability

Autodesk anticipates that 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max Design 2009 will be available in English during spring 2008. The Autodesk suggested retail price for 3ds Max 2009 or 3ds Max Design 2009 software is £2,600 (3,900)*. The Autodesk suggested retail price to upgrade from 3ds Max 2008 to either 3ds Max 2009 or 3ds Max Design 2009 is £675 (1,000)*. Product availability will vary by country. Details and purchasing options are expected to be accessible from 25 March 2008 at: www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions. Information and selected content from Autodesk World Press Days may be found at www.worldpressdays08.com.

From 31 March to 17 July 2008, existing Autodesk VIZ 2008 software Subscription customers will be able to cross-grade to 3ds Max Design 2009 for £189 (279)**. During this same timeframe, Autodesk VIZ 2008 customers who are not on Autodesk Subscription will be able to cross-grade to 3ds Max Design 2009 for £315 (1,015)** if they purchase Autodesk Subscription for 3ds Max Design 2009.

Autodesk Subscription will be available for purchase simultaneously with the product purchase or upgrade. The Autodesk suggested retail price for Autodesk Subscription for 3ds Max or 3ds Max Design will be £375 (550)* per year.

** International pricing may vary. This promotion only applies to Autodesk VIZ purchases made prior to 12 February 2008.

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 visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Exposure, FBX, Maya, MotionBuilder, Mudbox, ProMaterials, Recognize, Reveal, Revit and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. 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.

® 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved

Autodesk Reduces Pricing for Maya Unlimited and Announces Maya 2008 Extension 2

19 February 2008 - Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced reduced pricing for Autodesk Maya Unlimited 3D modelling, animation and rendering software - the tool of choice for designers and artists working in film, television and games. Autodesk also announced Maya 2008 Extension 2 software, which provides enhanced creative control over polygon modelling and UV texturing, as well as significant improvements to the Maya Muscle toolset. Maya was recently inducted into the Game Developer Front Line Award Hall of Fame for its outstanding contribution to the game development industry.

"The reduced price of Autodesk Maya Unlimited makes its extensive toolset more accessible to new users and existing facilities that want to expand their Maya-based pipelines," said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "More artists can now take advantage of the software's professional tools and advanced workflows to meet demands for captivating content created on shorter deadlines and tighter budgets."

Maya Unlimited contains everything offered in Maya Complete software, plus innovations such as Maya Fluid Effects, Maya nCloth, Maya Hair, Maya Fur, and Maya Live. Pricing for Autodesk Maya Complete remains unchanged.

The Autodesk suggested retail price of a new license of Maya Unlimited, Standalone has been reduced from £4,899* to £3,725 (7,349 to 5,575)*. The Autodesk suggested retail price of a new license of Maya Unlimited, Network has been reduced from £5,899* to £4655 (8819 to 6970)*. Maya Complete 2008 customers can now cross-grade to Maya Unlimited 2008 at the reduced Autodesk suggested retail price of £2,225 (3,350)*. All price changes are effective as of 18 February 2008.

Autodesk Maya Extension 2 Software

Autodesk Maya 2008 Extension 2 software is expected to be available for download to Maya Complete 2008 and Maya Unlimited 2008 Autodesk Subscription customers with Gold support in March 2008. The Extension 2 is not sold separately.

Key features and enhancements offered in Autodesk Maya 2008 Extension 2 include:

· Superior modelling workflow: New selection management features offer modellers a fast and precise workflow for controlling large amounts of complex geometry. Also, symmetrical modelling has been enhanced through such additions as seam preservation functionality.

· Faster texturing through streamlined UV workflows: New and enhanced UV workflow tools provide artists with more control over their texturing, which enables them to achieve their desired results faster.

· Detailed skin articulation and animation: New features and enhanced workflows for Maya Muscle extend the animator or technical director's ability to precisely direct muscle and skin behaviour. These include a new smart collisions toolset, support for three new forces, and the ability to displace skin.

For more information about the features offered in Autodesk Maya 2008 Extension 2, visit www.autodesk.com/maya-extension2.

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 visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. 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.

® 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved

Contact: Kim Willsher or Louise Wells, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, +44 (0) 20 7403 8878

Email: kimw@rlyl.co.uk or louisew@rlyl.co.uk