Discreet is pleased to announce the signing of a licence agreement with Microsoft® Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT): The agreement covers the development, publishing and distribution of gmax™ game packs for several Microsoft games. The first title is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002: Professional Edition. Delivery is planned for the third quarter of 2001.
“For years, Flight Simulator customers have wanted an easy way to create and modify aircraft, buildings and other 3D objects and then share those changes with other users. Our strategic alliance with Discreet to integrate gmax provides us with the ideal tool to meet this demand,” said Bruce Williams, product planner for flight simulation at Microsoft. “Our development team has evolved its existing Discreet 3ds max™ game structure and production pipeline, and we now essentially offer these tools in the form of the gmax Game Packs. Users get a package of 3D tools to create, edit and share their own aircraft, scenery and other game content.”
“Just imagine being able to create your own aircraft and fly it over an erupting volcano or through rugged canyons or even over your own street and house. gmax puts players in control and allows them to create new aircraft, terrain and even enemies,” said Paul Perreault, gmax Product Manager. “This deal with Microsoft is a validation of Discreet’s technology and the realisation of our vision to allow customers to extend and customise the gaming experience. Customisation of game content by the user (“mods”) is the latest trend in the gaming market – and gmax is the perfect tool for game developers to offer this functionality to their customers.”
Since the first release of Microsoft Flight Simulator almost 20 years ago, millions of licensed programmes have been sold worldwide. The Professional Edition of the latest version, Flight Simulator 2002, will go on sale this autumn with an integrated gmax Game Pack and the free gmax application. With gmax and the Flight Simulator Game Pack installed, users will be able to import game content such as aircraft, buildings, trees and other 3D objects and customise these objects to their liking. Users can also create detailed new objects for use in Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition.
