For Immediate Release
DNA Research Announces "3Delight for Softimage 2.0"
Now with ICE support, point-based GI features and better overall integration.
Singapore – May 20th, 2009 – DNA Research announces the release of 3Delight for Softimage 2.0, the second major evolution of the fully integrated version of its RenderMan-compliant renderer for Autodesk® Softimage (formerly SOFTIMAGE|XSI) 3D animation software for visual effects and games production. Building on top of an already solid baseline, this new version further improves integration with Softimage software and introduces support for the new Interactive Creative Environment (ICE) technology, allowing the rendering of massive amounts of particles with 3D motion-blur and depth of field - two strengths of the 3Delight renderer. Additionally, 3Delight for Softimage 2.0 introduces easy-to-use global illumination technology to render occlusion and color bleeding without resorting to ray-tracing, thus greatly improving performance, especially when displacements are involved.
3Delight is still the only third-party renderer to fully integrate into Autodesk® Softimage software and DNA Research is proud to continue its commitment and privileged relationship with Autodesk® by providing
an alternate rendering solution that is known to be among the best in the VFX industry.
"3Delight is by far the best integration of a 3rd party renderer into Softimage software", said Andreas Bystrom, senior 3D artist at Glassworks. "The learning curve is almost nill. The rendering speeds are blazingly fast no matter what you toss at it. Motion Blur? Hair? Displacement? How about all of them combined? Hardly any hit to the render speed whatsoever! Combine all of that with stellar customer support and 3Delight is an excellent addition to any pipeline" add Andreas.
Highlights of 3Delight for Softimage 2.0
· Rendering of ICE particles - Rendering huge amounts of particles, with 3D motion-blur and depth of field, is not a problem anymore.
· Point-based Global illumination - Occlusion and global illumination can now be rendered using a state-of-the-art point-based rendering technique, eliminating the need of ray-tracing. GI effects rendering use this technique produce smooth and animation-stable rendering at a much lower cost, especially when displacement is involved.
· Image-Based Lighting - Artists can now use environment shaders to render diffuse lighting and directional shadows, making integration of 3D objects into real and synthetic environment much easier.
· Color Management - This version fully supports the color management features introduced in the most recent versions of Softimage software.
· Ink and Toon shading support - Inking is performed using an efficient algorithm that produces nicely anti-aliased lines making 3Delight for Softimage a prime choice for toon rendering.
· Complete Instancing and "Stand-ins" Support - Hair instancing is fully supported and rendered efficiently. Stand-ins, a feature introduced in the latest version of Softimage software, enable the user to cache pieces of scene geometry into re-usable archives, saving memory and render time.
· Enhanced Render Tree Support - This new version supports even more shader nodes and materials, such as the Architectural and Skin materials. Shader compounds are also fully supported, meaning that third party compounds built on top of standard shader nodes will work out-of-the-box.
· High-end quality, speed and robustness - Built on top of a production proven and pioneering render engine, 3Delight for Softimage will bring years of film rendering experience to VFX studios.
A technical overview with a complete feature list of 3Delight for Softimage 2.0 is available at http://www.3delight.com/3dfs_tech_specs.pdf.
Pricing and Availability
3Delight for Softimage 2.0 is available in the following two configurations:
· 3Delight for Softimage | Studio: USD $1,450
The feature complete package. Each license running up to four threads.
· 3Delight for Softimage | Artist: USD $495
Includes all the important features from Studio but lacks RIB export, third Party RenderMan shaders support and advanced pipeline features. Each license running up to four threads.
Contact: mailto:info@3delight.com
About DNA Research
DNA develops rendering solutions for the demanding environment of the CG film production pipeline. Its product line includes 3Delight, 3Delight for Softimage and 3Delight for Maya. For more information about DNA Research, please visit www.3delight.com.
© 2009 DNA Research. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications and availability are subject to change without notice. All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. only and are subject to change without notice. Contact us or your local reseller for prices outside the U.S. RenderMan is a registered trademark of Pixar. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.