@Angus
Thanks for the welcome
@MauricioPC
Personally I don't use plugins since my work revolved around modeling, rigging and rendering of all kinds.
For FX I am not really into that and someone else who is more experienced in that department can provide better answers but as far as I can tell, for FX people tend to rely on plugins.
One thing that would probably be valuable to Softimage users is that C4D is very procedural and non destructive. MoGraph, CA toolset and Xpresso combo is very powerful and gives result with very few elements and quick turn around time. Here are some facts that many people don't know about C4D
- Rock stable
- Hair&fur tools are very good and can be used for a lot more then hair. Deep and complex, renders quite fast.
- CA offers plethora of tools, any rig is possible, existing templates are very good. There is dedicated system for creating templates which is robust and offers python scripting
- There is a L-system built into one of MoGraph's spline generators
- Modeling tools are very good. SDS, All the tools you need (best bevel), decent knife and symmetry, sliding,full snapping, workplanes&guides. Built in deformers are very nice.
- Has one the most advanced muscle object
- MoGraph is not only for motion graphics and can be used way outside it's original scope
- Sculpting in Cinema is in fact really nice and doesn't lack anything (it is not Zbrush but compares to Mudbox easily)
- Rendering is improved quite a lot, offers full GI, QMC and Irradiance cache, AO, Light mapping, physical camera, motion blur etc. Full monty
- Viewport performance with low amount of objects, or single object is better than in Maya.
- Alembic fully supported
One thing to be aware off is that Xpresso is not ICE, however It is quite powerful and pretty much the same concept and often more than enough for majority of users.