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Autodesk Debuts New Discreet
Division with Broad Range of
Product, Customer Announcements

San Rafael, California, March 16, 1999—Autodesk, Inc., today debuted its new Discreet entertainment division, representing the merging of Discreet Logic, a leading developer of visual effects, editing and broadcast solutions, and Kinetix®, the San Francisco-based multimedia business unit that Autodesk created in 1996. At the Computer Games Developers Conference today Discreet also unveiled 3D Studio MAX® R3, a major new release of the world’s best-selling professional 3D modeling and animation solution for PCs. The purchase of Discreet Logic represents the largest acquisition in Autodesk’s history and creates the company’s second largest operating division.

The combination of award-winning products from Discreet and Kinetix—including inferno*, flame*, flint*, fire*, smoke*, frost*, edit*, effect*, paint*, Lightscape™, 3D Studio MAX, 3D Studio VIZ® and Character Studio®—are used in film and video post production and editing, game authoring, design visualization, broadcast graphics and on-air production. Discreet’s advanced systems and software have also been widely adopted for use in the production of Visual Effects Academy Award-winning feature films.

“The combination of Discreet Logic and Kinetix further establishes Autodesk as a leader across the broad spectrum of digital content creation,” said Eric Herr, Autodesk president and acting vice president of Discreet. “We are fully committed to advancing the award-winning technology for which Discreet Logic and Kinetix have historically been known. This includes continued leadership in powerful and creative 2D and 3D systems and software that offer the best in-context interactive feedback and powerful tool sets for the world’s most talented visual artists, editors and operators. We intend for the leadership which has set us apart in the past to continue and grow in our future.”

“Today marks an exciting milestone for Discreet, culminating in our ability to focus a unified team on solving our customers’ most complex production challenges,” said Mahmoud Al-Daccak, vice president of product development at Discreet. “Our focus continues on building innovative technology and delivering integrated systems and software solutions based on the platforms best suited to deliver the required value, performance, interactivity and features. We remain firmly committed to our UNIX, PC/NT and MAC strategies, perfecting the development on each platform to best cater to our broad and diverse customers' needs and expectations."

Discreet Announces Range of Related News at CGDC
Discreet also announced a host of other news that underscores the momentum of the Discreet product lines and spotlights the use of Discreet and Kinetix 2D and 3D software among game developers, broadcasters, and film and video production studios. Details of the following announcements are available in separate releases:

Discreet Unveils 3D Studio MAX R3—Designed for today’s collaborative studio production environments, 3D Studio MAX R3 software adds a long list of enhancements including: nestable external references; application-wide scripting and macro-recording; a customizable work environment; a completely redesigned renderer; powerful organic modeling capabilities; and several features designed to enable creation of next-generation 3D game titles. 3D Studio MAX R3 will ship with the ability to link directly with paint* and share 3D data with effect*.

Plug-In Developers Anticipate Release of 3D Studio MAX R3—Discreet announced today that nearly all commercial plug-ins will be available when the new 3D Studio MAX R3 ships this spring. 3D Studio MAX R3 is expected to be supported by the more than 300 commercial and public domain plug-ins currently available for 3D Studio MAX software, while many developers plan to create new plug-ins for the MAX R3 release.

Lightscape to Replace RadioRay® As Discreet’s Product of Choice for Lighting Design and Effects—Discreet announced that it has terminated its publishing relationship with the authors of RadioRay, and that Lightscape will replace RadioRay in the Discreet product line. Lightscape, the industry leader in photorealistic architectural rendering and lighting simulation, interoperates with both 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ software. Registered RadioRay customers will be allowed to upgrade to upcoming versions of Lightscape.

Integrated Discreet Tools Empower Digital Content Creators—Digital content creators across the globe are gaining a competitive edge by combining powerful applications from Discreet’s 2D and 3D product lines to create integrated end-to-end solutions for professional production. The integrated solutions enable DCC professionals to work more efficiently, in some cases cutting project cycles by several days. Most recently 3D Studio MAX and frost* were used together to produce stunning on-air broadcast graphics for the Superbowl.

Discreet Software Takes Broadcast Industry By Storm—Using Discreet tools including 3D Studio MAX R2.5, 3D artists and animators recently raised the bar for visual effects during “Sweeps Week” by creating stunningly realistic effects for the ABC movie mini-series “Storm of the Century,” and by designing dynamic on-air graphics for leading cable networks including Nickelodeon, MSNBC and Cartoon Network, and for national TV ads.

SZM Studios Trims Project Time With Discreet Software—SZM Studios has been able to dramatically trim the time it takes to produce high-end film and television series effects using Discreet’s recently integrated 3D Studio MAX and effect*.

3D Studio MAX Adds Stunning Realism to Game Industry’s Hottest 3D Titles—Game developers of all sizes are using 3D Studio MAX and Character Studio to deliver blockbuster 3D adventure, action, and strategy games, including SimCity 3000, Tomb Raider III, Duke Nukem: A Time to Kill, Rugrats. Kinetix tools also were used to create key 3D content for 1998’s No. 1 title, StarCraft, and its new sequel Brood Wars.

About Discreet
Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., develops systems and software for visual effects, 3D animation, editing and production used in the creation of digital moving pictures for video, HDTV, the Web, broadcast graphics, interactive games and feature films, including the last three years’ winners of the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Discreet products are used extensively in film and video post production, games and multimedia, broadcasters graphics, programming and on-air event coverage. Software by Discreet is also popular with designers and architects for 3D visualization and conceptualization. Discreet was recently recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a Scientific and Engineering Award for flame* and inferno*. Headquartered in Montreal, Discreet was established in 1999 when Autodesk acquired Discreet Logic and merged its operations with Kinetix, the San Francisco-based multimedia business unit that Autodesk created in 1996.

About Autodesk
Autodesk is the world’s leading supplier of PC design software and digital content creation. The company’s 2D and 3D products are used in many industries for architectural design, mechanical design, mapping, film and video production, video game development and Web content development.

The fourth largest PC software company in the world, Autodesk has more than four million customers in over 150 countries. For more information, contact any Authorized Autodesk Reseller, call Autodesk at 800-964-6432 or visit the About Autodesk section of the Autodesk website. Autodesk shares are traded on the NASDAQ national market under the symbol ADSK.

Autodesk Editorial Contact
Rich Koch
Public Relations Manager
415-507-6611
rich.koch@autodesk.com

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