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IDV Launches SpeedTree®RT 4.0 With Greatly Improved Modeling, Efficiency & Usability

CHANGES DRIVEN BY EXTENSIVE INPUT FROM LICENSEES WORLDWIDE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2006





AUTO COMPUTE ~ CLUSTERS ~ INSTANCE ROTATION ~ LEAF MESH GEOMETRY

COLUMBIA, SC - Drawing heavily from the input of the world's leading game developers and publishers, Interactive Data Visualization, Inc., today releases SpeedTree® 4.0, loaded with improvements throughout the suite of award-winning tree and plant software.

"We have dedicated tremendous resources to fulfilling the ideas and visions of our customers," said IDV CEO Chris King. "In this release, we've focused on making the software more efficient, easier to use and even more graphically powerful."

In alpha tests of v4.0 among licensees, Mr. King added, "our alpha testers felt we hit the nail on the head in terms of the performance and workflow improvements they've been asking for." The enhancements also make it much easier to customize the trees and plants to the unique atmosphere of each developer's game world, he said.

Major new features of SpeedTree 4.0 include:

  • Auto Compute. Users may scroll through tree structure and behavior parameters in real-time, seeing instantly what used to take an extra keystroke to reveal
  • Modeling. Greater control over root structure, options for branch and leaf structure (including leaf mesh geometry) and the proliferation of normal maps throughout the tree library mean an unprecedented new level of beauty and realism
  • Clusters & Instance Rotation. These improvements ensure efficiency while enabling amazing variety and density in virtual environments
  • Optimized Reference Rendering Code. Much more extensive and detailed reference for rendering millions of trees on a number of platforms

SpeedTreeRT, winner of the 2005 Front Line Award for middleware, delivers highly realistic trees and plants, with adjustable wind effects, user-configurable and seamless LOD transitions, and an included library of hundreds of tree, plant and marine models representing more than 170 core species. SpeedTreeRT includes SpeedTreeCAD, a Windows application used to create and edit animated trees in real-time. More information is available at www.speedtree.com.

Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV), develops software products with a focus on realtime three dimensional applications for the game development, visual simulation, engineering visualization, and animation industries. IDV, a privately held corporation, was founded in 1999 in Columbia, South Carolina. More information is available at www.idvinc.com.

CONTACT
Kevin Meredith
(803) 356-1999
meredith@idvinc.com

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