Lume Inc. Launches LumeTools Collection for Softimage Mental Ray

ATLANTA, June 19, 1997 — Lume Inc. and Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp., today announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E 3 ) ’97 the LumeTools Collection, a new series of shaders for Softimage® 3D. Developed in conjunction with the artists and animators of Cyan Inc. for use in Riven, the sequel to the hit CD-ROM game Myst, the LumeTools Collection provides highly realistic natural effects for real-world 3-D productions. Lume Inc. will showcase the LumeTools Collection at the Softimage booth (2616A) at E 3 , being held June 19-21 at the Georgia World Convention Center in Atlanta.

The LumeTools Collection is a series of shaders that provides a wide range of tools and natural effects for the Softimage Mental Ray renderer. The collection consists of five individual sets: LumeLandscape, LumeWater, LumeLight, LumeMatter and LumeWorkbench. Detailed information about the sets can be found via the Internet at (http://www.lume.com/) .

“When we created LumeTools, we were primarily concerned not only with the quality of the effects, but also with the clarity of interfaces for a greater overall ease of use,” said Karl Stiefvater, president of Lume Inc. “All these elements are absolutely vital for the shaders to be truly successful for real-world production deadlines, whether for films, games, video or
CD-ROM.”

Each set of the LumeTools Collection was carefully crafted under the guiding hand of such demanding critics as Richard Vander Wende, an alumnus of Industrial Light & Magic, production designer of Disney’s “Aladdin” and now co-director of Riven at Cyan. “There were certain natural effects we were unable to accomplish with more traditional 3-D methods,” Vander Wende said. “We developed the LumeTools Collection to meet these needs because it was so important to the overall success of our images.”

Softimage SDK Eases Development Process

The goal of the Softimage Software Development Kit (SDK) is to provide artists with an environment to express their personal vision. “Many Softimage customers, like Cyan Inc., need impressive realistic effects that require that plug-ins have access to both the animation and coloration description of a scene,” said Jean-Jacques Hermans, group manager, developer relations for Softimage. “The Softimage SDK allows for in-depth access to the Softimage 3D architecture, which permits Softimage 3D to be even more extensible and customizable, allowing the artist’s creativity to flourish.”

Pricing and Availability

The LumeTools Collection is available now for Softimage 3D Extreme customers on the IRIX platform and is scheduled to be released on the Microsoft® Windows NT® operating system in August. The LumeTools Collection software is priced at $1,995 for single copies with discounts available for multiple purchases. 4DIVISION LLC, a leading developer and distributor of computer graphics software, is the worldwide distributor for the LumeTools Collection. To purchase the software, contact 4DIVISION’s sales office at (303) 843-9400.

Company Information

Incorporated in 1996 by founders Karl Stiefvater and Tim Greenberg, Lume Inc. strives to create products that answer the demands of the 3-D computer graphics professional. With a close connection with the groundbreaking content developers at Cyan Inc., each of Lume’s products is conceived with the needs of the real-world CG artist in mind. Lume’s first publicly available product is the critically acclaimed LumeTools Collection, a series of shaders for Softimage’s Mental Ray renderer.

Founded in 1986, Softimage develops software for media-rich applications including video, film, interactive games and CD-ROM applications. Products include Softimage 3D (high-end animation), Softimage Eddie (compositing) and Toonz (2-D cel animation). Additional information about Softimage and Microsoft can be found via the Internet at (http://www.softimage.com/) and http://www.microsoft.com/ , respectively.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.

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