CompuServe Messages

Dear ASOFT Members, There have been many messages and threads devoted to our World Builder software. Some true, some totally false. I want to take a minute and answer some questions and set the record straight. 1. The future of World Builder is secure. There are some people posting messages that World Builder is an experiment and that future development and enhancement is uncertain. This is FALSE. World Builder is being developed by a whole team of fantastic programmers in Moscow. They are absolutely committed to creating the best landscape development package in the world. Now and into the future. This is what they do and they love doing it. World Builder was originally developed as an in house tool by AnimaTek (Makers of Tetris, El Fish and other games) to create outdoor scenes for their games several years ago. Since then they have concentrated on interface and functional issues to transform the utility called Land Editor (as it was known when it started) to World Builder. Siggraph 95 was the first official showing of World Builder and the whole AnimaTek team was very encouraged by the reaction of everyone who saw it. Even now they are working up a list of enhancements for the Windows NT version due out this year. We have talked about animated weather (snow, rain), smoke, fire (imagine waving grasslands on fire) and waterfalls. We are also looking for suggestions from our users for upcoming versions. 2. World Builder is not an IPAS. I take part of the blame for this misconception myself because I have posted messages about World Builder in the IPAS section of this forum. World Builder is as large in scope as 3D Studio itself. It is a DOS stand alone product that works very well with 3D Studio since it reads and writes .3DS files. World Builder is capable of importing geometry, materials, mapping, lights, cameras and animation from 3D Studio. World Builder can also export all of that back to 3D Studio. The important thing to remember is that World Builder can function on it's own. It has it's own modeling, materials editor, animation editor and renderer. World Builder also comes with two IPAS routines for 3DS that allow Video Post to save ZBuffer data for image compositing. 3. The introductory price of World Builder is $995. The MSRP is $1495. I have seen messages posted that $995 is too high. I have seen messages that $995 is too low. It is true that a landscape program can be had for $100 (Vista Pro for example) but it is truly a case of 'you get what you pay for.' Vista Pro is a fine program and worth every penny of $100 but it is not in the same league as World Builder. Our targeted market for World Builder is graphic proffesionals (people who make money by doing graphics) who need professional tools. This is not everyone I realize but it is the market that we have chosen for this tool. Some people have said that they will not buy World Builder at $995, that is their choice but I find it strange that they are using 3D Studio. 3D Studio is not the cheapest 3D program for PC's. As a matter of fact it's one of the most expensive, but people pay the extra money because they see the extra value in the tool. It's the same way with World Builder. There is nothing else like it. It is the most advanced landscape creator on the market and the people who use it feel that it is worth every penny of the purchase price (if not more). By the way the introductory price will extend through 1995. I have had a great time working with World Builder. I outgrew Vista Pro years ago and for me this really fills the bill. I encourage anyone interested in World Builder to download the sample images here on the forum and/or call us at Digimation, toll free, 800-854-4496, and get the real story on the best landscape program available anywhere. David Avgikos Digimation, Inc.