SAN FRANCISCO - Discreet (www.discreet.com) has introduced 3DS Max 7.5 software, an upgrade available exclusively to its subscription customers. The latest release was developed to provide complete file compatibility with the current 3DS Max 7 software and will add significant enhancements to the tool, including an integrated hair and fur system, the current version of Mental Ray 3.4 by Mental Images, and a new design toolset that combines the feature sets of 3DS Max and Autodesk Viz software.
"After delivering a powerful cloth solution to our installed base of 3DS Max software subscription customers last month, Discreet continues to drive value and feature benefits with today's announced addition of award-winning hair and fur extensions, Mental Ray 3.4, and numerous extensions for the game cinematics and design and visualisation community," says Marc Petit, VP of product development at Discreet. "With 3DS Max 7.5 software, Discreet further underlines its leadership in total cost of ownership and redefines the level of expectation for a high-end 3D package that ultimately gives our artists the power of an integrated professional 3D pipeline at their fingertips." Hair and fur tools are based on Joe Alter's Shave and a Haircut solution, and offers numerous styling and dynamics tools for creating realistic hair and other strand-derivative effects. Styling and brush tools allow for combing hair. A dynamics tool uses the dynamics engine of Shave and the dynamic forces of 3DS Max to inherit inertia directly from the Skin or any other modifier's surface movement. Hair, plus-instanced geometry can be used as individual hairs to easily create forests, fields of flowers and other landscapes.
3DS Max 7.5 provides access to numerous Mental Ray 3.4 optimizations, including faster final gathering performance, and fast rasterization for first-generation rays.
Discreet 3DS Max software is available for $3,495. The 3DS Max Subscription is available for an additional $440. The V.7.5 release will be available in mid-April to customers in the Subscription Program.