Autodesk Introduces MotionBuilder 2010 Real-Time 3D Character Animation Software

Software Offers Faster Performance, Enhanced Animation Workflows, Expanded Physics Capabilities and Improved Interoperability.

NEW ORLEANS - At SIGGRAPH 2009, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced a new version of its real-time 3D character animation software -- Autodesk MotionBuilder 2010. This latest release offers faster overall performance, productivity-enhancing animation workflows and expanded real-time physics capabilities. MotionBuilder has been used to create numerous entertainment projects, including "Beowulf," "Gears of War 2," "Shaun White Snowboarding" and "Resistance 2."

MotionBuilder 2010 will also ship as a part of the Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites and the Autodesk Real-Time Animation Suites, leveraging the software's improved interoperability with Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max software and making it more affordable to incorporate the technology into digital entertainment workflows.

"Autodesk MotionBuilder is an ideal tool for high-volume game animation pipelines, director-driven virtual cinematography and real-time character simulations," said Stig Gruman, vice president, Autodesk Digital Entertainment Group. "The enhanced capabilities and accessibility of the 2010 release will help to further reshape the creative decision-making process, as more and more creative visionaries adopt the technology for virtual cinematography and pre-visualization work."

"I haven't been this excited about a MotionBuilder release since I was first introduced to the software in 2003," said CJ Markham, lead animator at Rockstar Games London. "The physics tools and solutions are amazing, and it feels much faster than the older versions. Compatibility with my 64-bit processor and the ability to use all 12 gigs of my RAM makes plotting long scenes with multiple characters a breeze."

New Feature Highlights

Accelerated Performance

* Improvements to and memory optimization of the core engine help provide superior performance when handling large scene files.
* The nonlinear editing capabilities of the Story Tool are now faster than ever, enabling more rapid handling of data for cinematics and motion editing scenes.

Productivity-Geared Animation Workflows

* Enhanced pose control support enables animators to capture poses and apply them to another object for rapid reuse of animations.
* Support for user-defined keying groups enables animators to work more efficiently with custom rigs, props, cameras, and lights, as well as define their own methodology for setting keys.
* The Actor tool has been exposed in Python scripting language, helping users save time by automating the setup and transfer of motion-capture data onto a character.

Expanded Physics and Character Simulation Capabilities

* Joints can now be used to connect multiple simulated objects together for the purposes of a simulation. This means that users can hook props onto their character and have the secondary animation automatically solved by the physics engine.
* A new pose-to-pose workflow gives animators the ability to guide or match their ragdoll simulations to user-defined poses.

Enhanced Interoperability

* MotionBuilder 2010 has been integrated with the latest version of Autodesk HumanIK middleware. Also, the MotionBuilder pose controls, character controls and character definition list can now be used when working with the HumanIK plug-in.
* The character templates in MotionBuilder have been updated, providing improved support for 3ds Max Biped.
* Autodesk Softimage 2010 software now includes the MotionBuilder Template rig, facilitating character data exchange between applications.
* Support for Qt user interface elements within MotionBuilder enables developers to use an industry-standard user interface toolkit to help build Open Reality software development kit (SDK) plug-ins.

Autodesk Digital Entertainment Creation Suites

Autodesk's new Entertainment Creation Suites and Real-Time Animation Suites give artists and production facilities access to a range of powerful creative tools at more than 35 percent* cost savings, compared to purchasing each product individually. With Autodesk FBX 2010 data exchange technology, the suites provide a cohesive, efficient pipeline. Used together, the products in these suites help artists maximize creativity and optimize productivity.

Pricing and Availability

Autodesk anticipates that MotionBuilder 2010, as well as the new Digital Entertainment Creation suites, will be available in August 2009. The 32-bit version of MotionBuilder 2010 software will be supported on the Windows XP Professional operating system (SP2 or higher). The 64-bit version of MotionBuilder 2010 software will be supported on the Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and the Windows Vista( )Business x64 Edition operating systems.

The Autodesk suggested retail price for MotionBuilder 2010 software is US$3,995*. The Autodesk suggested retail price to upgrade from MotionBuilder 2009 to MotionBuilder 2010 is US$995*. Autodesk Subscription with Gold Support for MotionBuilder is available for purchase at the Autodesk suggested retail price of US$795* per year.

*International pricing may vary.