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PRESS RELEASE FOR RELEASE March 30, 1998 Contact:
Williamstown, Mass. -- Sculptware LLC, a 3D and VRML content creation and software development company focusing on enterprise 3D content and applications tools and services, today announced that it has acquired the SiteSculptor virtual reality modeling product line from MCS Inc. (formerly Cadkey Inc.) of Windsor, Conn.. Sculptware was formed independently by a management team from MCS and now includes the entire staff from MCS responsible for SiteSculptor product development. SiteSculptor, first premiered in April 1996, is a software product for building virtual 3D worlds for Web publication. SiteSculptor is an advanced Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) authoring tool, which operates across Windows operating systems. SiteSculptor is the first VRML product offering industrial-strength 3D modeling tools, (true CAD solid modeling, NURBS surface creation, and Boolean operators) for the VR authoring market building 3D multi-media web sites. This product is currently available and preview versions can be downloaded from Sculptware’s Web site: http://www.sculptware.com. "Entering the VRML market was a natural for us while we were at Cadkey. Now, after the formation of Sculptware, this acquisition will allow us to enhance our service offerings by utilizing custom in-house versions of SiteSculptor to great effect, and to provide customized versions of SiteSculptor to our major corporate clients with specialized needs." said Steve Bongiovanni, cofounder and Manager of Sculptware "This robust core of technology will allow us to offer services unique in this industry and to respond rapidly to new developments in the market. We are uniquely qualified to address this market’s needs by leveraging existing technology and our long experience in 3D design software. This technological head-start gives us a distinct competitive advantage and allows us to focus our efforts on customer and market specific features rather than developing the geometric database and core technologies from scratch. DELIVERING 3D ENABLING TECHNOLOGY "The emergence and acceptance of VRML and 3D content on the web and on corporate intranets has raised the graphical and visual expectations of consumers and users. Sculptware’s unique services and products provide its clients solutions to meet that demand. With this acquisition, Sculptware is poised to quickly provide advanced custom modeling solutions to meet the special needs of our clients. Our core product, SiteSculptor, available immediately, provides users a powerful modeling toolkit to create geometrically relevant content. SiteSculptor is our way of applying existing and mature 3D technology to the evolution of today's fastest growing information vehicle - the World Wide Web. SiteSculptor brings 3D enabling technology to the enterprise. SiteSculptor is based on the technology found in the award winning mechanical CAD product, CADKEY, developed at Cadkey Inc. during the past fourteen years. CADKEY, first released in 1985, was the first true 3D CAD system developed for the PC. Today it is one of the most powerful, cost efficient PC-based mechanical design tools on the market. In June 1996 MCS Inc. sold the Cadkey product line to Baystate Technologies of Woburn, Mass., but retained rights to use the core technology in its SiteSculptor product line specifically targeted toward virtual reality authoring. The core solid and surfacing technology in SiteSculptor is provided by the SHAPES geometry engine from XOX Corporation of St. Paul, Minn. "We have worked with XOX for more than six years and have always found their products to be technically superior to their competition" said Bongiovanni. "Utilizing SHAPES for the geometry engine allows us to focus on the specific needs of the market." SHAPES is a revolutionary software tool that uniquely satisfies the geometric requirements of virtual reality authoring. Its interdimensionality and compactness of representation make for fast lightweight website sculpting. VRML SUPPORT ADDED TO STRONG GEOMETRIC MODELING BASE "Most of the work we’ve put into the product since its conception has been the creation and enhancement of VRML specific functionality, rather than core modeling technology," said Dennis Himes, cofounder and Vice President of Product Development. "Support for materials, textures, cameras, automatic levels of detail, and other VRML attributes have all been added to the extensive geometric modeling capabilities which were inherited from the CADKEY and SHAPES core technology. In addition, quick and easy versions of the creation, modification, and transformation functions were added so that someone with no CAD experience could immediately start producing complex and interesting VRML worlds. The more sophisticated and precise versions of these functions have not gone away, however, so that a user who is familiar with CAD style geometric modeling can still get the most out of the product." SITESCULPTOR 2.0 SOON TO BE AVAILABLE Along with the announcement of the product line purchase, Sculptware also is announcing the upcoming release of SiteSculptor version 2.0 with major enhancements including non-linear animation editing controls. This new version allows users to create even more compelling content than before by allowing the new features of VRML 2.0 to be utilized during the creation process. SPECIALTY ARCHITECTURAL DIGITIZING AND VRML MODELING SERVICES Included in Sculptware’s service offerings is specialty architectural digitizing and modeling services. By utilizing a proprietary 3D digitizer capable of measuring very large spaces accurately, Sculptware is able to accurately model architectural and other large objects and include these models in its VR solutions. This service has been used to model a variety of objects and spaces from sculpture to bridges to homes. SCULPTWARE LLC -- www.sculptware.com BAYSTATE TECHNOLOGIES -- www.cadkey.com XOX CORPORATION -- www.xox.com SiteSculptor is a trademark of Sculptware LLC. CADKEY and DRAFT-PAK are registered trademarks of Baystate Technologies Inc. SHAPES is a registered trademark of XOX Corporation. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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