3DS Renderer for SGI
18 messages in this thread
Autodesk Multimedia Announces 3D Studio Renderer for Silicon Graphics Leader
in 3D Visualization Software to Develop with Leader in 3D Graphics Hardware
Sausalito, CA–March 18, 1994–The Multimedia Division of Autodesk, Inc. today
announced that it has agreed with Silicon Graphics, Inc. to codevelop a
Silicon Graphics version of the rendering module in Autodesk's market-leading
PC-based 3D Studio Release 3 software. In addition, a Silicon Graphics
version of AutoVision, Autodesk Multimedia's photorealistic still renderer for
AutoCAD, will be developed.
"By combining the leading PC-based 3D software with the leading graphics
workstations, we address the fact that 3D graphics designers live in
increasingly heterogeneous environments," said Joe Fantuzzi, general manager
of Autodesk Multimedia. "Many of our existing PC-based customers either use
some Silicon Graphics workstations on their network or are evaluating this
powerful platform. Conversely, a majority of high-end production studios and
service bureaus that use Silicon Graphics workstations now see that the PC can
deliver enough functionality for the modeling and animation parts of the
production process. As the leading 3D tools software company, Autodesk is
broadening its solution set for these converging groups."
Professionals and enthusiasts in the CAD, videography/broadcast and
computer/video game production markets will be the primary beneficiaries of
the Silicon Graphics-based 3D Studio Release 3 renderer. Existing 3D Studio
customers who utilize the sophisticated modeling and keyframing tools in 3D
Studio Release 3 to create and animate objects and scenes on PCs, can use the
processing power of Silicon Graphics workstations on their network to quickly
render final images. With the current price of the full PC-based 3D Studio
software at US$2,995, the combined solution of the PC-based animation and
modeling modules and the Silicon Graphics rendering module is expected to
create a new price point for this type of solution. Postproduction companies
and "F/X" studios integrating PCs with Silicon Graphics systems will be able
to cost-effectively add or expand modeling and animation services.
"The 3D Studio rendering technology is something that our customer base has
been requesting for some time, and we're excited about the opportunities this
new product will create," said Kirk Loevner, vice president and general
manager of Silicon Graphics' Applications and Markets Division. The quality
of the renderer is outstanding, and the speed is a great benefit to users,"
Loevner stated.
"With the introduction of Release 3 last October, 3D Studio's rendering engine
has boasted many capabilities previously only available in a few of the
workstation-class renderers: gamma correction, analytical antialiasing, 64-bit
color computation," said Bob Bennett, group product manager for Autodesk
Multimedia. "We're looking forward to taking such a compute-intensive
application as 3D Studio to the Silicon Graphics platforms, where it can
really flex its processing muscles."
"When this product becomes available, DOS-based game developers will improve
their time-to-market with faster, lower-cost development cycles," stated
Michael Moon, president of the market research firm GISTICS, Inc. "This
announcement leverages the dominant market position that 3D Studio maintains
in the game development community — upwards of 70% market penetration. The
announcement also marks a move by Silicon Graphics to become more accessible
to broader multimedia markets," Moon said.
With the advent of AutoVision for SGI platforms, Autodesk will leverage the
Silicon Graphics versions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD Designer, Autodesk's
parametric, feature-based solid modeler, to offer a complete MCAD solution.
The two companies will work together to pursue new and existing dealer and
sales opportunities, as well as expanding existing customer accounts.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance
visualcomputing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional
graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to
technical, scientific and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS
Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor
technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon
Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Autodesk's Multimedia Division was established in 1990 to develop and deliver
affordable visualization software products for professionals such as
architects, engineers, designers, game developers and videographers. The
Division's products are aimed at automating and enhancing a wide range of
tasks, from modeling and rendering to animation and beyond.
(Note: This press release will be available in library 9, What's New!, in the
file
SGIREN.RLS.)
Are there any more details on this like what the expected cost will
be, when this interface is due for release etc. Will it be just the
rendering code like 3DS Render? Like I REALLY want to know! As this
SGI thing is going to have a Mega Impact on all of us in one way or
another! Can things get any wilder? Can things move any faster? THERE
IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT AROUND HERE! Well maybe for 15 mins or so like
when the system is down. <g> But then I guess you guys are pretty
busy. 🙂
-John (Amazed again) Ellis
You know, I could have said I saw it coming, but I just didn't want
to believe it, in case it never happened.
Price and availability haven't been determined yet, John. When they
are, we'll let ya'll know. Re how it'll work… it'll be a slave,
just like a DOS slave. Boot it up, put it in slave mode, and if
you've got your SGI boxes and PC boxes on the same network, it'll
start rendering frames.
>> it'll be a slave, just like a DOS slave. <<
Thanks Gary, sounds like a winner.
>> Boot it up, put it in slave mode, and if you've got your SGI boxes
and PC boxes on the same network, it'll start rendering frames. <<
Holy cow!
Martin,
CSA's sojourn into the SGI world makes some sense now, hey?
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Kevin,
I'm still trying to work out what the consequences, if any, of this move will
be.
>> I'm still trying to work out what the consequences, if any, of this move
will be. <<
I may be taking this out of context but if you're referring to the ability to
go SGI, I think the consequences will be enormous. First it will give 3DS more
credibility in the Workstation world as they see what it can do. Second, it
will probably be fully ported to SGI at some point which means you and I will
have a vertical path with a known package, Third, it will allow us to render
more complex heavier animations competitive with anything out there and at a
cost effective rate. In other words for a free-lance animator you could take a
small portable 486 with you and hook it up to a network and blast render away.
You could even FED-EX a portable with everything on it to an SGI site where
they hook it up and send you the finished product. YOOOOOOOW! And you
specifically could be one globe trotting animator Dude with your little Compaq
tucked under your arm!
-John (too much imagination) Ellis
I like the idea in principle, but I just can't help wondering about specifics
such as IPAS routine and PC file format support.
Martin,
>> I just can't help wondering about specifics such as IPAS routine… <<
These are good points. Essentially what I see developing is a compiler of sorts
which takes a "project" file for lack of a better term and plugs all the
elements you've specified into it outputting a render "style sheet" in a format
the SGI can deal with. The parameters that are there for 3DS render would be
the same for the SGI version. I imagine it along the lines of the Renderman
interface which is somewhat similar in that "shaders" plug in like IPAS. And
like "shaders" all IPAS have to conform to the structure of the render
interface. It seems possible that this "compiler" would take the structure of
the IPAS and incorporate it into the render algorithm. I grant you that it does
seem a bit more complex especially when you think of the complexities of adding
VP and it may not be as straightforward as I would like to think and it may
have limitations. But ADESK in an unusually characteristic manner has announced
its intention to do it and so I assume these issues have been considered and a
determination has been made that its do-able. I feel positive about the intent
because while I don't currently need the capability, I like the potential for
the future. And I think that's what I'm most excited about.
-JE
John,
My own expectations for an SGI-based render module for .3DS would be
that it would operate similarly to 3DS SLAVE. Certainly, the ability to use
SGI file formats would be nice (as well as native PC formats), but not
essential, as the SGI operating system includes many conversion utilities (such
as to/from .TGA). Video Post should not be any problem, either. IPAS routines
will probably need to be handled as SGI implementations. Back in R2, separate
(but equal) IPAS routines were required for either Intel or Weitek.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Kevin,
from what Gary said your expectation that it would operate similarly to 3DS
SLAVE is exactly right on target. I would think you would be able to output in
either SGI file format or PC native formats. There are a whole bunch of free
programs to do conversions like this if necessary. I hope however that the
program will recognize the IPAS that you have installed on your system and
convert them so that the SGI knows what to do. I would think it would be a
nightmare to have to rewrite IPAS to work on SGI in slave mode. I seriously
doubt very many people would have the skill to do it. And that if that was the
case there could be some serious problems and might even kill its potential.
But we shall see.
-JE
Plus one of the biggest points of 3D Studio is that you can get workstation
results for a low price on low priced hardware (ie PC's)
Plus get great performance by networking low priced hardware.
By going SGI, those two benefits dissolve, plus who does the IPAS re-writes
etc.
Hmmmmm…..
>>By going SGI, those two benefits dissolve…
I kinda think that Adesk is shooting for the high end outfits who now
use SGI setups, and already have SGI farms running. They (the CGI houses) had
no reason in the past to use 3ds for any serious work, because they'd have to
purchase and setup an entire network of PCs exclusively for 3ds. Now all they
would need are the 3ds workstations which could then be tied in to their
existing SGI network. They will now be able to run 3ds with a relatively small
hardware investment (if any at all). I think that because of this, 3ds will
start recieving a wider acceptance in the high end animation market and we will
be seeing much more 3ds produced material (mainstream stuff) in the future.
Basically, I see this move by Adesk as an attempt to grab a piece of the "Oh,
sorry, we only use software that runs on SGI" market.
That's my impression, anyway.
David
Michael,
a stripped Indy isn't terribly expensive and would probably be way faster than
a Pentium in FPU performance – just guessing here. I'm still not convinced
there is going to be much impact on the 3ds scene, in the near future, or ever.
Any idea on the price/performance of an Indy vs. a similarly equipped Pentium
slave? I'm rather unfamiliar with the speed differences, but it seems to be
that buying an Indy would be a significantly better choice, even if only used
as a slave. (which would be foolish)
JNJ
John,
<< Any idea on the price/performance of an Indy vs. a similarly equipped
Pentium slave? >>
Autodesk doesn't report benchmark results. You may have to look
to a non-Autodesk forum member for this answer.
jonas[adesk]
I don't know wether you would get more performance slaving a Base model Indy,
as opposed to a few pentiums…..
Anyhow, I wonder wether a Pentium Specific render engine would speed things up
a lot?!?