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Tuesday, 16 November 2004 | senay
Alias MotionBuilder 6 Now Available
Alias MotionBuilder 6 Now Available to Customers on Maintenance
New Time-Saving Tools and Intelligent Character Controls Enable Artists to Create Character Animation Faster
(Press Release)
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Alias today announced that Alias MotionBuilder 6, the foremost 3D character performance and animation system, is now available to customers on maintenance. Alias MotionBuilder 6 software will be available to the public in late November. Alias will notify MotionBuilder Pro and Standard customers eligible to receive MotionBuilder 6 with instructions on how to acquire the latest release.
Alias MotionBuilder 6 delivers unmatched real-time character animation technology including an advanced Story Timeline and enhanced world-class keyframing, intelligent character technology (such as auto-rigging with Human IK) and precision-animation tools. Customers agree that creating advanced character animation for games, film and broadcast with Alias MotionBuilder 6 is now faster and easier than ever before.
"Ubisoft is developing several AAA title games and we needed a powerful tool that performs well on next generation consoles," said Nicolas Rioux, vice president of technology at Ubisoft's Montreal Studios. "We selected Alias MotionBuilder Pro 6 because its keyframe animation tools are simple to use, and yet still provide our artists with an unprecedented level of control and precision when developing highly realistic character animation. In addition, its seamless integration from authoring to delivery will allow us to focus on character animation and performance, and not worry about interoperability between software applications."
Alias MotionBuilder is now even better equipped to work in conjunction with most 3D animation packages. Version 6 includes a more intuitive environment with a high-level animation editor, redesigned properties viewer and the ability to emulate the hotkeys of other 3D packages.
Its simplified camera controls make repetitive camera navigation tasks more clear and direct, and the enhanced viewer with new navigation hot buttons makes editing animation faster and easier. MotionBuilder 6 also features a redesigned transform manipulator and Handles, a new tool that gives artists complete control over selecting and manipulating objects.
"Alias MotionBuilder 6 includes a host of exciting new character animation features that are optimised for today's media rich production pipelines," said Bob Bennett, general manager of product management for Alias. "MotionBuilder's renowned real-time architecture, Story Timeline performance environment, intelligent character controls and the FBX file exchange format make it the fastest, most artist-friendly software solution for any production involving character performance and animation."
MotionBuilder 6 natively supports FBX, an award-winning, platform-independent 3D authoring and interchange format, that allows MotionBuilder customers to quickly and easily acquire and exchange 3D assets and media from a wide variety of sources. FBX is widely supported by most 3D software packages and hardware manufacturers, as well as film and game studios, including A&G Soluzioni, Alias, Avid, Discreet, Natural Motion, NewTek, Noitaminanimation, Okino, Qedsoft, Softimage, Strata, TurboSquid Virsys, and Wings3D.
Pricing and Availability
Alias is currently notifying MotionBuilder Pro maintenance customers and MotionBuilder Standard customers eligible to receive Alias MotionBuilder 6.
Alias MotionBuilder Pro 6 and Alias MotionBuilder Standard 6 will be available to the public in late November from the Alias network of authorized resellers. Alias MotionBuilder Standard will be available at www.alias.com MotionBuilder Standard 6 is priced at $995*; and MotionBuilder Pro 6 is priced at $4195* which includes one year of maintenance, offering technical support and upgrades for the duration of the maintenance term. MotionBuilder 6 is available for Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X.
Alias will also offer a 30-day trial version of MotionBuilder 6 beginning November 29, 2004. The trial version allows artists to experience all of the power of MotionBuilder's award-winning character animation technology. The trial software is a fully functional, non-commercial version.
* Prices are list prices for node-locked licenses; floating licenses for MotionBuilder Pro are available at an additional fee. * All prices quoted are in U.S. dollars. International pricing may vary.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is an international producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products. A leading company in the multimedia industry, Ubisoft has grown considerably, especially through its strong and diversified lineup. In addition to steadfastly continuing to partner with several high-profile companies, Ubisoft has also confirmed its presence on the global market by developing its own exceptional properties. Founded in 1986 in France, Ubisoft is now present on every continent, both through offices in 21 different countries including the United States, Morocco, Germany and China and through sales of products in over 50 countries. The group is dedicated to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge videogame titles to consumers around the world. Ubisoft generated a turnover of € 508 million for the 2003-2004 fiscal year, up 22.5% at a constant exchange rate over the previous fiscal year. To learn more, visit www.ubi.com
About Alias
As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias develops award-winning software, custom development and training solutions for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, automotive, industrial design, education and visualization markets. On March 1, 2003, for the awards year 2002, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Alias|Wavefront an Oscar for scientific and technical achievement for the development of Maya software, the professional 3D animation and effects package. Alias also offers a powerful range of services for new to advanced users in the most demanding environments. Learning Tools and training, support, and professional services help meet rigorous production deadlines.
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