Product: 3ds Max 9 To Include Bionatics EASYnat

Representatives from 3D plant modeling and simulation developer Bionatics have announced that its EASYnat plant and tree modelling software will be included with Autodesk's 3ds Max 9, along with 6 sample plants including trees, pines, bushes, flowers and palm trees. The EASYnat installation with 3ds Max 9 ups the number of included plants from 4 to 6, including 1 tree, 2 pines, 1 bush, 1 flower and 1 palm tree, which can be used for evaluation purposes. EASYnat is used to rapidly model and render realistic trees, with both full 3D geometry for close-ups, and a "hybrid" low-poly billboard mode that combines both 2D and 3D elements. After being installed, the included EASYnat gives users access to a library of over 400 plants from around the world, which are available as "seeds" which can be modified for any age of the plant's life, and any season. Additional seeds are purchased invidually through Bionatics' website with a quantity discount from 10-100 seed credits. “Bionatics is continuing its strategy of being fully compatible with the Autodesk products”, said Bionatics VP and sales director Stephan Gourgout. “The new features offered by the version 9 of 3ds Max is a great opportunity for the EASYnat customers to enhance the realism and quality and accelerating the rendering time of our plants”.