Products: Softimage

At Siggraph, Softimage delivered a number of enhancements to its product lineup, but the company also engaged in some strategic repositioning.

Improved third-party software support is key; for the first time, new version XSI 6.5 will support six different render engines beyond its built-in mental ray renderer. Besides new capabilities (HDR rendermap support and improved UV editing), interoperability in mixed-tool pipelines will be key to the success of XSI, because few houses exist solely with one set of tools. Expect to hear more about Softimage's Crosswalk initiative (designed to seamlessly transfer XSI content into and out of previously established 3D pipelines), as well as its support for COLLADA standards, a widely supported XML-based digital asset exchange scheme designed to transport data between 3D content creation tools.

Softimage is rejiggering its shrink-wrapped package contents, pricing, and marketing approach, too. While XSI Foundation (described as "for the 3D enthusiast") keeps its $495 price, XSI 6.5 Essentials ("for the artist") goes from $1,995 to $2,995, and XSI 6.5 Advanced ("for the studio") drops to $4,995. Essentials now bundles in Hair and Fur as well as Syflex Cloth (these added packages now priced at $2,700), while Advanced includes Behavior (crowd and behavioral simulation) and five added batch-rendering licenses. www.softimage.com