Are There any rumors about the next version of xsi ?
Anybody know nay detail ?
Why this question ?
Just to know !
Some said SIGGRAPH, but I doubt it. The last version was released only 6 months ago!
Salutations - Cheers
Bernard Lebel
I went to an AVID/softimage XSI presentation on Monday in NYC and the guy (I forgot his name) kept talking about the beta of XSI 2.5 that was on his computer and how it would blow people away but he was not allowed to show it or talk about it...
I'm sure they'll have something to show at Siggraph. They've been cranking out updates faster than any other software vendor I know of! I can't keep our studio up to date with the latest version...by the time I install the newest version, another comes out 
softimage rulez 
Great ! I hope to se an hide/unhide polys option
And a tool to direct export avis... 
Xsi lakcs of some stupid features, but a love it !
Huh? What's so hard about compiling an avi using the flipbook? Rendering to single frames ensures that you don't waste time in case of a crash or other anomalies; you only have to restart from frame x instead of the beginning. I sincerly hope they will NOT include that feature.
And by the way, keep an eye open for Siggraph. I won't say anything, but the wait should be much worth it
What about when you need a simple preview avi of 20, 25/50 frames ? Don't you think that the " start capture " is something like a crap ?
I hope they revise also the material/ texturing procedure, very powerfull for complex works, but too much intricated for simple one.....
The bump,glow, reflection spherical mapping should be all in the same panels !
Also the alpha procedure, and the multitexturing tools are too intricated. Something like lw layer based wo9uld be apprecieted !
Wouldn't be easier too manage tools if they resize the button for the interface ?
A also hope interactive tools for bend, taper and the other deform instead of the " slider way " it goes now.
What else ? A modify option, that let you scale, rotate and translate components, using as a point of reference the mouse pointer, instead of having to define a " referece" any time i need a particular center of the transformation...
This from a lw user..... I love xsi and the Experice CD !
It's far away from lw for a lot of features, but is still young, with strage lacks in some areas, or too much complex procedure too obtain simple thing like : cut and copy polygon from a mesh to another.... )
"A modify option, that let you scale, rotate and translate components, using as a point of reference the mouse pointer, instead of having to define a 'referece' any time i need a particular center of the transformation... "
That sounds cool, but can you explain a little more about how this would work? How would the mouse-pointer be used to select a point that doesn't exist in screen space?
"Also the alpha procedure, and the multitexturing tools are too intricated. Something like lw layer based wo9uld be apprecieted ! "
I like that idea.... Instead of a series of nodes, have one BIG node that handles like photoshop, with a variable input of images which can be blended using different methods. The output of the node would be a colour.
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I like that idea.... Instead of a series of nodes, have one BIG node that handles like photoshop, with a variable input of images which can be blended using different methods. The output of the node would be a colour.
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Isn't the Mix_8colors doing this?
" That sounds cool, but can you explain a little more about how this would work? How would the mouse-pointer be used to select a point that doesn't exist in screen space? "
In lightwave's modeler, this is the default option.
When you whant to rotate an obj in it's center, you go with the mouse in the center of the obj, and rotate it.
If you whant to rotate, from the corner you go with the mouse on the corner and rotate, easy !
Now, look at the lw marterial panel, far away for semplicity and easy texturing ! Glow, reflection map, shaders, bump mapping, shadows, all this paramters putted togheter !
take a look at the image :
byez
Softimage already has self-contained panels with all your texture controls neatly packaged together. It's called Softimage|3D.
I wouldn't have XSI give up its render tree paradigm for anything. Granted, it's more difficult for neophytes to learn how to use because it requires a deeper understanding of the whole process of texturing, but once you have that understanding, the render tree is second to none when it comes to providing advanced power and control over Mental Ray. The tree is also integral for dealing with specific render attributes for splitting out render passes and partitions, as well as integrating material attributes into animation and usage with the compositor.
A lot of this cross-linked interoperability just simply cannot be done using the older-styled, all in one, material control panel.
I think you're right. But foe newbie like me, lw systhem is far a way simplier, for a lot of simple tasks. I'll learn....
Same here I admit render tree is a powerful tool but right now it's kicking my ass..
All I can say guys is stick with the render tree because:
1) I can now texture faster than was efver possible in Soft3D, even for simple things. And this while I've taught myself XSI, whereas I was trained at Mesmer in Soft 3D. Once you get the hang of it, it's a godsend.
2) You will learn so much more about shading and rendering than you would otherwise. And that will make your images better no matter what software you use in the future.
It's a bit more work to understand, but in the end it's well worth it. If you haven't tried this already, download some of the render tree presets available at edharris.com or softimages site. Apply them, then start dissecting them, playing with sliders, pulling nodes off, etc. You will eventually find amethod in the madness.
Scott
Amen. After 2 years with the render tree in production, I'm a far better look artist than 6 years in other apps using other paradigms. Start with learning to understand the mixer nodes. Once you get that down, figure out texture space, how to control it, how to warp it, etc.
Most importantly, working with the render tree forces you to think in terms of compositing. In order to build your shader, you must break it down into its specific parts. Look at the overall diffuse shading. Figure out the source of the speculars... how many are there, can you reproduce them with default illumination speculars or should you do a reflection map? What are the imperfections? Scratches, dents, dirt? Then you re-assemble all the source parts into one whole shader.
Since you begin to train your mind to break things down into separate image sources, you have a natural segue into breaking out your passes for post effects. You'll discover pretty quickly which effects you can get Mental Ray to do, and which ones are going to need some help in post. And hey, look at that. The compositor in XSI can handle most of those effects without even leaving the app!
All I can say guys is stick with the render tree because:
1) I can now texture faster than was efver possible in Soft3D, even for simple things. And this while I've taught myself XSI, whereas I was trained at Mesmer in Soft 3D. Once you get the hang of it, it's a godsend.
2) You will learn so much more about shading and rendering than you would otherwise. And that will make your images better no matter what software you use in the future.
It's a bit more work to understand, but in the end it's well worth it. If you haven't tried this already, download some of the render tree presets available at edharris.com or softimages site. Apply them, then start dissecting them, playing with sliders, pulling nodes off, etc. You will eventually find amethod in the madness.
Scott