Softimage/XSI 3.0: A modeling and animation tool comes of age.

Softimage|XSI Version 3.0 is the release in which XSI comes into its own as a leading-edge package. Since the software debuted a few years ago, it has been playing catch-up with many of the other high-end packages. Version 3 greatly expands the feature set and usability.

Softimage has been continually refining the interface since Version 1.0, and workflow is now excellent. The package is accessible and easy to use, with many of the features employing a browser-like interface. New to Version 3.0 is the XSI Explorer, which offers a tree-like view of your scene as well as a graphic window. Click on a character, and a rendered version of that character will quickly appear in the browser, making it easy to distinguish between objects in your scene. Speed has also been increased substantially. Most CPU-hungry tasks such as loading, shape animation, and subdivision surfaces show significant improvement. I was able to manipulate a subdivided model with practically no lag time on my humble dual-processor 1.4GHZ Pentium III.

Modeling has also been improved. Those who still use NURBS will find support for features such as NURBS trims. Extrusions and lathes have also been updated. And subdivision surfaces has been reworked for speed. There is a new display mode for subdivision surfaces that makes a model look like a NURBS surface. This is great when manipulating a model, as you will see the final tessellation in the viewport.

Character animators will enjoy many of XSI's new features. The software comes with pre-built rigs that can be created with a few mouse clicks. The rigs can be either biped or quadruped and can have dozens of options. These include film- and game-style setups, Quaternion splines, arm and leg roll controls, and deformation controls for the skinning of complex joint areas.

Creating a character mesh is also fairly easy. Character Designer has been upgraded to include more controls that allow you to rough out a character by defining everything from height and musculature to the size and shape of facial features. Those who like to model their own characters can get a good start with Character Designer.

Animators should also be happy with the new Animation Mixer, which is faster and better able to handle complex scenes. One nice new feature is called Mixer Ghosting, which shows ghosted views of your clips and allows you to see what all the clips in the animation mixer would look like if they were not blended.

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