Curious Labs, developers of 3D character and design tools Poser and Poser Pro Pack, has signed an agreement with Adobe Systems where the two companies have agreed to work together on technology, content and marketing activities for Adobe Atmosphere software and Curious Labs' avatar-creation tools. Atmosphere world builders will have an easy system for building custom avatars. Additionally, both Adobe and Curious Labs incorporate Viewpoint technology, resulting in smooth skinned, bending 3D characters from Poser Pro Pack that can be used as avatars in Atmosphere 3D worlds.

Softimage Co. has announced the release of SOFTIMAGE|3D v4.0 and SOFTIMAGE|XSI 2.0. "SOFTIMAGE|3D, an industry-standard for more than 10 years, has been used extensively by more than 13,000 customers in the animation, special effects and games development industry. The product's great success is a direct result of our long history of listening and responding to our customers' needs," said Michael Stojda, managing director, Softimage.

Discreet has announced combustion 2, the latest version of its award-winning paint, animation and 3D compositing software. combustion 2 will support new multi-format project capabilities, including video, HDTV, and 64-bit color, offering enhanced image quality and performance.

Macromedia and Discreet announced a strategic partnership that will accelerate the deployment of interactive 3D content to the Web by uniting the worlds of 3D authoring and Web design. The partnership will bundle Macromedia Director 8.5 within 3ds max. The co-marketing partnership and bundle arrangement will begin in mid-August 2001.

At QuakeCon, the world's premier multi-player gaming event, Discreet unveiled gmax, the company's licensable game development platform and free consumer game-content editor. The consumer version of gmax will be available as a free download to gamers in fall 2001 and will come with 3D modeling, animation, texturing and character building tools. Discreet previously announced that elements of gmax will be bundled with MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2002: PROFESSIONAL EDITION, shipping in Q3 this year.

Side Effects Software has announced that Walt Disney Feature Animation made a significant purchase of the company's Houdini 3D animation software package. Houdini has been used in many projects at the Walt Disney Company including FANTASIA 2000, GONE IN 60 SECONDS and TARZAN. "Houdini's flexible procedural paradigm helps our artists be more creative, while maintaining an efficient production environment," said John Carey, VP of technology at Disney.

WildTangent has announced that their direct-to-Web exporter for 3ds max will be packaged along with the software. WildTangent's integrated solution gives artists the ability to pull animated scenes directly from 3ds max into a Web page. The encryption options allow artists to pinpoint where Web page assets can be viewed. If someone attempts to copy and paste an artist's page into a new source, they will receive a refuse to load response.

Exluna, a new start-up dedicated to developing affordable 3D tools, is releasing Entropy, an advanced 3D rendering product. Entropy is the first offering of Exluna's "Look Development" tools and technologies, which allow digital artists to manipulate the appearance of 3D objects, using shading, lighting, painting and rendering techniques. Entropy will be unveiled at SIGGRAPH 2001 in Los Angeles on August 14-16, along with a first look at Exluna's bridge product for Discreet's 3ds max and 3D Studio VIZ scheduled for release this fall. Entropy will sell for US$1,500.

REALVIZ has announced upgrades to ImageModeler and MatchMover. The new ImageModeler will be the first to be Mac compatible. ImageModeler 3.0 feature highlights include a newly designed user interface and contextual menus allowing for improved calibration workflow and easier camera navigation. ImageModeler is compatible with all major 3D animation packages, including Maya, Lightwave 3D, Softimage, 3D Studio Max, and Cinema 4D.

Curious Labs, Inc. has announced that their Poser and Poser Pro Pack will be supported within the Cinema 4D and PiXELS 3D applications. The Cinema 4D plug-in will be available for download at no charge to Pro Pack customers from the Curious Labs Website and will enable Pro Pack users to integrate and render their animated Poser scenes directly in Cinema 4D. The PiXELS 3D plug-in will offer similar functionality. Distribution details will be announced once they have been formalized.