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 and Linux operating
systems (64-bit and 32-bit versions), as well as Mac OS X for Intel-based
Macintosh and PowerPC 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.
Brittany Bonhomme of Autodesk, Inc., +1-514-954-7419,
brittany.bonhomme@autodesk.com
