Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 22, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At the Game Developer Conference in San Jose, California, Softimage announced version 5.1 of its 3D program XSI. According to the provider, the new release comes with a range of features intended to facilitate the distribution and exchange of assets for game and visual-effects projects in mixed environments. New features include native support for Collada 1.4, improved data exchange with other applications and “hundreds of enhancements” based on feedback from XSI users.
The integrated Collada support – a new standard for asset exchange between 3D authoring programs – is intended to make it easier for users to assemble different programs into powerful pipelines. XSI 5.1 now supports the latest real-time shaders, including Cg, Collada FX and HLSL, as well as SAS 1.0. Softimage has also added more than 200 new SDK features, classes and functions. The expanded import and export functions for assets from the Autodesk applications 3ds Max and Maya are intended to make it even easier to integrate XSI 5.1 into game pipelines.
A detailed overview of all new features is available on the Softimage website (see link below).
Softimage XSI 5.1 is expected to be available from the end of March. Users of one of the 5.0 versions (Foundation, Essentials or Advanced) will then be able to download the update from the Softimage website, the company announces. The software costs new customers 495 US dollars (Foundation), 1,995 US dollars (Essentials) or 6,995 US dollars (Advanced).
Further Links:
- Softimage XSI 5.1 – New Functions and Features
