have you all seen the xsi vs. maya thread on the maya forums? Some excellent reading!! looks like maya users are finally waking up and getting in on what we have all known for years!
cheers!!
mark schoennagel
xsi nut
http://www.highend3d.com/boards/showflat.p...rt=all&vc=1
oh yeah, these are my thoughts and dont necessarily reflect the opinion of the company i happen to work for... but i doubt anyone there would argue with me. 
ha ha ha.
We took a bit of a risk buying xsi 1.5 but it looks set to establish itself for the long haul.
Its going to be a testing time for avid/softimage but if they can maintain their current direction its going to get quite interesting.
thats quite a heated bunch of enthusiasts!
best of luck to them, im off to make beautiful things!
Up the hammers Mark! I KNEW Softimage would make it! 
Softimage is gonna be around for a long long time =)
wlau
yeah no kidding huh! softimage is definitely here for the fight. first a kick-ass 2.0 release of XSI and now some bad news at alias.... closing santa barbara is a pretty big deal i think. there are some really talented, not to mention cool people there. hopefully everyone who was effected is either ok with relocating or finds some fun 3d work soon. sb is pretty close to lala land so there's plenty of opportunity.
i was happy to finally have the chance to hang with mark sylvester at a gaming event in montreal a few months ago, what a class dude...
hmmm... what an interesting time.
mark
these are my opinions of course and not my employer.
Heh agreed - XSI 2.0 is truly deserving of all its acclaim. It also looks like more and more people will finally give XSI a try when such a great opportunity is on the table with xsi experience.
I truly hope XSI can continue to expand its already growing and large user base.
And yes, it must have been tough for all the employees at the Santa Barbara office. I'm sure with their individual talent, each and everyone of them will be fine in relocating.
The standard of 3D programs is definately rising. More exponentially so than ever =)
wlau
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The standard of 3D programs is definately rising. More exponentially so than ever =)
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Interesting comment; can you elaborate?
Salutations - Cheers
Bernard Lebel
Well to generalize it all, a few years ago most 3D packages had their own distinct individual advantages, and disadvantages. And these differences were accepted among both critics and users.
Nowadays, however, each program challenges one another with each subsequent release, forcing other developers to enhance their own implementations and even tread new ground.
Programs which now lack certain features that other programs have are highly critized and made noticeable to the public. This occurs more frequently now than ever before when programs were accepted based on their own grounds.
With the advance in technology now, each and every users' standards have grown immensely, thus practically allowing no room for excuses among developers.
wlau
Ok I see.
I tought you meant that all 3D developpers were heading to a common standard. (Well in fact it maybe the case: now, the standard is to have fur/hair-cloth-particles-dynamics-global illumination-scripting-graphical material editing capabilities).
I think that what you describe also occurs in all areas that rely on technological advancement: cars, cell phones, computer hardwares, video/broadcasting, etc. It's a normal process. I think that in the end it makes better products.
Salutations - Cheers
Bernard Lebel
Definately. In the end, the users win no matter what because the price factor will surely play into the situation if a developer continues to charge higher costs than a cheaper but equal competitor product.
wlau
YOu guys are funny! when their is as pasionate a thred in the XSI board then you can say you have arived. When there are 16,000 post with 4000 threads in the general forum alone then you can say XSI has finally made it. Just becasue Maya users bicker does not mean there is going to be a changing of the gauard. the fact that there are so many complaints about Maya reaaly means the user base is through the roufgh like it or not. If there the same amount of user for XSI you would see the same kinds of posts here. So look forward to it.
zach kadish
Oh cna't wait to seriouly try XSI
@@YOu guys are funny! when their is as pasionate a thred in the XSI board then you can say you have arived
I think you miss the point. Some of us have been around for quite a while and remember when Softimage first took the top spot and stayed on top for a while when a little used software named Maya came into town. Softimage users were boasting how Maya wouldn't make a dent because it was missing this and missing that while bitching for v3.8 to show up with some real features instead of a few knick-knacks and bug fixes that had been prevalent at the time. Meanwhile the Maya users were boasting what the future was to bring and pleased as punch to use a software that was all potential and no proof.
Well, here we are 4 years later and I think we're starting to see the reverse. XSI users are largely happy with the progress being made and boasting about the swell new features they can use to make life easier. Meanwhile, Maya users are bitching about getting only a few knick-knacks and bug fixes in their major releases while a lot of important things aren't being addressed. Sound familiar?
I think the handwriting is on the wall.
Matt
Matt Lind
Animator / Technical Director
Softimage certified instructor:
Softimage|3D
Softimage|XSI
speye_21@hotmail.com
point well taken...
I have only been doing 3d for about 6 six years and the first 2 was spent in a vacume. I appreaciate the perspective. We will see what happens.......
zach kadish
Again it's funny how in human nature we don't go kickin' and fighting until our backs are against the wall.
In the past few years, Softimage has been losing quite a bit of steam with potential clients; a lot of people had lost faith in xsi's capabilities, and flocked over to maya. And finally knowing that their own organization needs to do this right to increase their market share- they produce a substantial, near-flawless release in xsi 2.0.
Yes it's still missing stuff here and there, but you can't help but feel happy that they produced a release that is more than just minor improvements and bug fixes.
After all this is only its 3rd revision in such a young product. It is realistic to say that softimage's future is looking pretty damn bright - no matter what happens with Maya and the other packages.
wlau
"After all this is only its 3rd revision in such a young product. It is realistic to say that softimage's future is looking pretty damn bright - no matter what happens with Maya and the other packages"
So bright in fact that I now have to wear sunglasses while I work 
this thread just gives me the "warm fuzzies", every time i read it. Im currently learning in a vacume..... but its going to be nice to investigate some of the good stuff during siggraph.
anyone need an XSI intern for a couple of months june 3 till then end of july (minus siggraph of course).
I make great coffee!
Te Anau