Press Release
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MONTREAL, Quebec (Dec. 13, 2001) -- Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc. today announced that SOFTIMAGE|XSI v2.0 software, the latest version of its flagship nonlinear animation (NLA) system, is now shipping. Customers around the world have already used the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v2.0 system, which includes more than 2,500 new features and enhancements, to produce films, television series, games and TV commercials. Information on these projects and accompanying images can be viewed on www.softimage.com.
The third major release of Softimage's flagship product comes fully loaded with the fastest tools and workflows available to give artists in all industries, including film, broadcast, games and interactive markets, the ability to work efficiently and creatively. Real-time shaders and integrated hair and fur simulators, as well as increased performance, expanded interoperability and improved stability, build upon the product's trademark features of non-destructive animation mixing, interactive rendering and an Internet-enabled workflow. [an error occurred while processing this directive] "After receiving much praise and extensive use throughout the beta testing cycle, SOFTIMAGE|XSI v2.0 is shipping worldwide, empowering a new generation of digital artists to innovate, create and collaborate," stated Michael Stojda, managing director, Softimage. "We're confident that users will find the latest version to be faster, more efficient and more flexible than ever before as a result of more than 2,500 new features inspired by our artist customers."
New features of SOFTIMAGE|XSI v2.0 include:
Fully Integrated Compositor - this integrated compositor is fully scriptable and can harness all animation capabilities of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI system. It also features more than 100 film quality effects (8, 16 and 32 bits per channel), accessible through an intuitive graph-based interface, combining to represent an unparalleled gain in creative and productive potential. Plus, with the ability to quickly verify and tweak the results of a multi-pass render directly within the XSI software, digital artists may now significantly increase the speed of the post-production process while enhancing the quality of their imagery.
Next-Generation Interactive Rendering - the latest in rendering technology is included in v2.0, offering quality improvements in final gathering, motion blur and displacement, as well as significant increases in speed and improvements in memory management. Additionally, Softimage, whose integration of mental ray(R) technology is unmatched in the industry, will be the first to take advantage of the latest release of mental ray, version 3.0, in an integrated pipeline.
Hair and Fur - new in XSI v2.0 software is a seamlessly integrated dynamics simulator for creating short and long hair and fur for humans, animals, or any character imaginable with advanced capabilities for grooming, photo realistic rendering, and interaction between hair and its environment. This groundbreaking toolset is unmatched by other 3-D products.
3-D Text Generation - utilizes TrueType fonts (including international double-byte fonts) or EPS files to generate 3-D text and complex curves directly in the XSI system. This geometry can then be edited and refined further, deformed, textured, animated and rendered using any of the powerful tools within the XSI software.
Synoptic View - technical directors and users can now easily create their own completely customizable and contextual graphic user interface palettes that function on any XSI system-supported platform - a major innovation in creative workflow.
Real-time Shaders - this advanced feature provides game developers with the tools to create, visualize, export and test real-time per-pixel and per-vertex shaders. The pipeline, which is fully integrated with the groundbreaking SOFTIMAGE|XSI Render Tree interface, provides unparalleled flexibility and productivity enhancements for its users.
3-D Web Authoring - XSI users can now create content for distribution directly to the Web using the XSI v2.0 Shockwave 3D or Flash exporters.
Software Developer's Kit (SDK) - v2.0 users will be able to build their own seamlessly integrated toolsets for XSI, through either scripted operators or compiled plug-ins based on a common API and standard languages. Additionally, the new "Add-On" feature of the SDK provides the ability to easily package and distribute newly created plug-ins in one easy step. The SDK also includes new productivity enhancement tools, like the "Shader Wizard," to ease the set-up and creation of custom shaders.
Support for Linux - as a leading innovator in 3-D for Linux, Softimage is proud to announce that XSI v2.0 is shipping on Linux, alongside current versions on the Windows NT, Windows 2000 and IRIX platforms.
Availability and Pricing
The SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 system is now shipping. Pricing and promotions may vary by region. Please check with your local Softimage representative for specific pricing information as well as any current purchase incentives, or contact Softimage at (800) 576-3846.
For more information, visit www.softimage.com
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