Delivers Faster, More Efficient Tools and Workflows for the Creation of Sophisticated 3D Environments, Characters and Performances

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced Autodesk Maya 2008 modeling, animation, visual effects and rendering software. The new version of the Academy Award-winning product focuses on providing improved workflow efficiency for artists in the film, television, game development, design and manufacturing industries. Maya has been used in the creation of countless high-profile projects such as the Pan's Labyrinth and Spider-Man 3 movies, as well as the Resistance: Fall of Man, and John Woo Presents Stranglehold games. Maya 2008 will be showcased at the Autodesk booth (#703) during SIGGRAPH 2007, held at the San Diego Convention Center August 7-9.

"Artists need production-proven solutions that they can truly depend on," explained Marc Petit, Autodesk Media & Entertainment senior vice president. "With Autodesk Maya 2008, we have placed considerable emphasis on raising the reliability bar higher than ever before. Designed for multi-core workstations, the 2008 release provides artists with an optimized application that includes new creative tools in modeling and animation to help artist meet demands quickly and easily."

"On all fronts Autodesk has improved Maya software's arsenal of tools," noted Rob van de Bragt, animation director at post-production facility The Mill. "Maya 2008 offers more flexibility in its modeling, rigging and rendering tools than ever before." The Mill recently used Maya on the Audi A5 ad Lines, the Playstation 3 commercial This Living, the Absolut commercial Protest, as well as the Comfort ads City Stop and Do The Moves.

Insomniac Games relies on Maya as a modeling and animation tool for several titles including Resistance: Fall of Man. Chad Dezern, art director at the facility said: "When a problem comes up, artists can usually work it out using the Maya toolset. When we need to build on the software, Maya offers an extremely flexible API, which makes it a great hub for our proprietary modeling tools."

    Highlights of Maya 2008
    Increased polygon modeling efficiency:
    -- Maya 2008 enables artists to quickly create, manipulate and place
       polygons that form highly detailed characters and environments, through
       a streamlined Mesh Smooth workflow, a new Slide Edge feature and
       improvements to Booleans, Bridge, Bevel and other tools.

    Overall performance improvements for greater efficiency:
    -- With Maya 2008, Autodesk continues the task of optimizing the
       software's toolsets to provide greater performance through both
       multi-threading and algorithmic speed-ups. For example*:
       -- The Poly Reduce function is now up to 30 times faster for a 22k face
          poly mesh, and Poly Smooth is now up to 4 times faster
       -- The Maya nCloth cache performance up to 3 times faster on a cache of
          10k vertices
       -- mental ray translation for a 20k mesh instanced 2,000 times is over
          20 times faster

    Tools for creating better looking games:
    -- Maya 2008 is better equipped to create and display content destined for
       the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 game
       consoles. It offers support for DirectX HLSL shaders in the Maya
       viewport, a new hardware shader API, enhancements to the high-quality
       render view, accelerated mental ray texture baking performance, and
       more.

    Increased flexibility for character setup and animation:
    -- Building upon the Maya software's advanced, customizable animation
       system, Maya 2008 delivers improved skinning and rigging toolsets,
       including new, non-destructive skin editing capabilities. These
       enhancements allow animators and Technical Directors to efficiently
       explore ideas, manage iterations and get superior results, faster.

For a complete list of new features and enhancements in Autodesk Maya 2008, visit: http://www.autodesk.com/maya .

Pricing and Availability

Autodesk anticipates that Maya 2008 will be available in English in September 2007. Maya 2008 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$1,999* for Maya 2008 Complete (Standalone) and US$6,999* for Maya 2008 Unlimited (Standalone). The upgrade price from Maya 8.5 Complete to Maya 2008 Complete is US$899*, and the upgrade price from Maya 8.5 Unlimited to Maya 2008 Unlimited is US$1,249*.

Platinum Membership is available for purchase simultaneously with the product purchase or upgrade. The Autodesk suggested retail price for Maya Platinum Membership starts at US$1,299* per year. Platinum Membership customers qualify for access to the latest software updates, technical support case management, valuable product extensions and e-learning materials. For more information about Maya Platinum Membership, please visit http://www.autodesk.com/maya-support .

Maya Learning Tools

A variety of Learning Tools are available for Maya, ranging from introductory to advanced skill levels. Learning Autodesk Maya 2008 | Foundation is a new book that enables users to quickly familiarize themselves with Maya 2008. It offers a hands-on introduction to key Maya tools and techniques by enabling users to create and animate characters based on the Sony Pictures Animation feature film Surf's Up. Learning Autodesk Maya 2008 | Foundation is priced at US$69.99*. For additional details, please visit http://www.autodesk.com/learning-tools .

* International pricing may vary

PRESS: Maya 2008 imagery is available on Autodesk's website at http://www.autodesk.com/maya-pressimagery .

** Performance data is based on comparisons with Autodesk Maya 8.5, based on tests conducted or commissioned by Autodesk over a controlled network, with test participants having varying levels of experience with the software. All benchmarks were run on an HP xw6400 workstation under 32-bit Windows XP Service Pack 2 configured with 2.66GHz dual processor, dual core with 3Gb of RAM and an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3500 graphics card. As with all performance tests, results may vary based on machine, operating system, filters, and even source material. While every effort has been made to make the tests as fair and objective as possible, your results may differ. Product information and specifications are subject to change without notice. Autodesk provides this information "as is," without warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

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 and Maya are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. mental ray is a registered trademark of mental images GmbH licensed for use by Autodesk, Inc. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Pictures arts and Sciences. mental ray is a registered trademark of mental images GmbH licensed for use by Autodesk, 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) 2007 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.
08/06/2007

CONTACT: Brittany Bonhomme of Autodesk, Inc., +1-514-954-7419,
brittany.bonhomme@autodesk.com
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