Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

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artistfuture
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Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by artistfuture » 16 Jul 2015, 02:01

Hello everyone. I have question I own Softimage XSI 7.01 and I tried to find a newer version for sale with no luck. I wonder is this version of Softimage to out dated to do professional work. I'm a newbie at Softimage I want to learn more about it sense I own a copy. Thank you for anyone who can help.

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Draise
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Draise » 16 Jul 2015, 17:57

I've played with the XSI mod tool 7 and 7.5, and have some old projects done with 7.0, and.. well got it going in Windows 8 and 10 Tech Preview on my Intel machines. I haven't had much luck on my AMD machines though...

I think.. if you are creative, you can still get some cool stuff out. The now EOL but left for free Mach Studio Pro 2 GPU renderer will give you a very fast render GPU engine workflow (with AO and GI realtime) that is compatible with those. I wouldn't bet on other render engines though...

For a particle renderer, mootzoid might know what is compatible with those versions or not. If not, it's integrated Mentalray, though old for todays standards - might actually render quite fast on todays machinery.
Last edited by Draise on 16 Jul 2015, 18:00, edited 1 time in total.

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Draise
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Draise » 16 Jul 2015, 17:59

Ah, you can technically still buy Softimage 2015 (latest version) at the "low" price of Maya, and you get a free copy of Maya 2016 from Autodesk resellers included. Before April next year...

Helli
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Helli » 16 Jul 2015, 18:03

You might run into a lot of instabilities caused by operating system and hardware.

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Rez007
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Rez007 » 16 Jul 2015, 20:04

In case you are unaware, the naming of Softimage XSI was changed to just Autodesk Softimage around the time of the acquisition. It is the same software but there are no newer versions under the naming convention of XSI (I believe XSI 7 was the last). Autodesk Softimage 2015 is the newest and last version of Softimage. And Draise is correct, from your reseller, you have to ask for the "Maya with Softimage" bundle for "Max with Softimage" bundle. They cost the same as either Maya or Max alone, but it uses a different SKU number, so you have to ask for those bundles specifically. (I believe these bundles are only available from a reseller, before sometime next year, and are not available on the Autodesk online store).

luceric
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by luceric » 16 Jul 2015, 23:06

XSI 7 is in no way out-dated, although most third party renderer and ice plugins require a newer version. It's still being used in production today.
You can't get support for your licence, though - for example if you need to move or reinstall it.

angus_davidson
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by angus_davidson » 17 Jul 2015, 04:29

When I need to do commercial work I still use my version 7, and its works really well. Mostly for archiviz stuff though.

So yes its still very usable.
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Manticor
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Manticor » 17 Jul 2015, 08:54

our studio is still using it .we use 3dcoat and roadkill to beef up the uv tools but aside from that I would choose it over the latest maya or max for getting stuff done.

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FXDude
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by FXDude » 18 Jul 2015, 03:13

Softimage (whichever version to a large extent) remains an exceptionally convenient and workable, or like a particularly non-finnicky /no-nonsense 3D environment to work with, (if only for it's basic interaction model but among a bunch of many little and some big things)

And although there has been quite noteworthy improvements in various solutions,
(some things or parts of them use to be pretty bad in terms of general usability especially in comparison )
it's still a prime choice (if not a reference) in exactly that regard of consitency reliability & non-finnickiness in the very small league of "pro" software.

For those that have the privilege of working with it, Softimage remains a particularly good 3D environment with a great deal of advantages (& some disadvantages) compared to working with perhaps more common solutions.

Soft has traditionally been and remains like a real rocket :)

artistfuture
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by artistfuture » 21 Sep 2015, 05:10

Hello Everyone

I wanted to thank you all for your advise and encouragement. One problem I'm having is trying to find a render that is compatible with this version. Draise I downloaded MachStudio Pro 2 but the plugin to softimage doesn't work for XSI 7.01. Does anyone have the plugin for MachStudio Pro 2 that works with XSI 7.01. Does anyone have any suggestion on a render that will work with XSI 7.01 or I'm I stuck with the old verison of Mental Ray that's integrated with XSI 7.01. because as of now I don't think I can afford the new Softimage 2015 before Autodesk stops sales in 2016. Once again I want to thank everyone for there input.

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Draise
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Draise » 21 Sep 2015, 06:44

Hmm.... I have the 7.5 version, but I've noticed for the newer versions you need another file for it to work, maybe you can hack the 7.5 version into the 7 with the following below:

The context Menu VBS is that file that might be needed. I've notice just the DLL's are not enough. It's not included with the Mach Studio Pro 2 installer.

I've linked you with the latest exporters, including the 7.5 one. I hope it works with your version. If not, maybe exporting your animations to XSI Mod Tool 7.5 (free) and use the exporter there? I don't think the 7.0 exporter is out there... well not that I could find.

Here are the install instructions:
Find the softimage root directory and the platform
that you are installing this plugin for

Eg: root directory for XSI 2011, where I have installed is
'D:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2011' and platform is 'x64'

From the subfolder corresponding to your softimage version(year) and platform,
copy the following files to
<root directory of Softimage version>/Application/Plugins
directory. 1)MSPSoftImageExport.dll and 2)sgpuExportLib.dll.
Copy the 'MSPXSIExporterContextMenu.vbs' also to
<root directory of Softimage version>/Application/Plugins.


Eg: For SoftImage 2011, 64 bit installation,
If you have installed it in 'D:/Program Files/Autodesk/SoftImage 2011'
copy the following files to the directory
'D:/Program Files/Autodesk/SoftImage 2011/Application/Plugins'

1)
Softimage2011/Windows/64bit/MSPSoftimageExport.dll
2)
Softimage2011/Windows/64bit/sgpuExportLib.dll
3)
MSPXSIExporterContextMenu.vbs



If there is a side by side error, with a dialog which says,
"The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration
is incorrect. Please see the application event log for more detail",
Then please try installing the appropriate vc-redist installation supplied.
(vcredist-x86.exe for 32 bit max installation,
and vcredist-x64.exe for 64 bit max installation)

Download MSP Exporters 1.4.2 for Softimage 7.5, 2010, and 2011.

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Hirazi Blue
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by Hirazi Blue » 21 Sep 2015, 10:09

You could try an older version of 3delight. This one should still work with XSI 7.
;)
Stay safe, sane & healthy!

angus_davidson
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by angus_davidson » 21 Sep 2015, 11:32

Not sure if exocortex Crate will work with 701, but if it does export out the alembics and render them with something like Octane standalone.
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FXDude
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by FXDude » 23 Sep 2015, 01:09

Hirazi Blue wrote:You could try an older version of 3delight. This one should still work with XSI 7.
;)
Indeed it's for v7, and takes advantages of some of the more recent things.


Performance

Overall responsiveness of the plug-in has been improved. Scene parsing of large particle clouds is an example where performance increased tenfolds.
Materials have been optimized and are now much faster with multiple bounces of reflections/refractions (speedups of up to 4x have been observed).

Simplified Workflow

Thanks to the new path tracing algorithm, we are able to provide a simpler and more artist friendly workflow in 3Delight for Softimage. Photons have been deprecated in favor of path tracing, providing results that are both faster and more accurate. Image-based lighting is now an automatic feature of the rendering algorithm and doesn’t necessitate separate controls.

artistfuture
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by artistfuture » 23 Sep 2015, 18:55

Hello everyone
Thanks again for your support. I installed 3delight plugin but every time I use the 3delight skin shader softimage crashes. I use just the standard softimage shader the image renders out a black image. Does anyone have any idea why this is happening.

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FXDude
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Re: Softimage XSI 7.01 Is it still usable

Post by FXDude » 23 Sep 2015, 19:27

Is it the only shader that crashes? and in many variations of shader and render settings? (like alll sorts of sampling settings)

To further diagnose,
In Preferences -> Scripting, you can specify an external log file.

So then you can enable full verbose in 3Delight options, and then check what is written last in the log, which could show what it's not liking.

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