Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., has announced that it has begun shipping the latest version of its 3D modeling, animation and rendering software package, 3ds max 7 software.
This latest release includes a number of advancements and optimizations to its core features intended to enhance the workflow for 3D artists and designers in film, television, games, and visualization. Particular highlights include further support for normal maps, with workflow developed for gaming adding extreme detail to low-polygon models with high resolution maps, as well as Character Studio integrating its advanced character animation toolset into the core feature set of 3ds max 7 software, and enhanced Mental Ray rendering integration in 3ds max, with accelerated performance and better memory efficiency.
Games that use 3ds max in their construction stage include 'a majority of of PC and console games', with highlights including
Spider-Man and
Spider-Man 2 The Game (Treyarch);
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and
Jade Empire (BioWare);
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and
Prince of Persia Warrior Within (Ubisoft);
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (Relic Entertainment),
Fable (Lionhead Studios, Microsoft);
Grand Theft Auto series (Rockstar);
Halo and upcoming
Halo 2 (Bungie); and
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Electronic Arts).
