Softimage|XSI 3.0 is now available for download

[ambient-whisper]

grr. taking my credit eh ;)

[Joril]

Does it require an annoying 10 digit license key?
XSI: NO
Maya: YES
Does it have a huge intrusive watermark?
XSI: NO
Maya: YES


Lol
Kudos to Avid.

[wmendez]

Enjoy!!! :beer:

[SheepFactory]

Busted :blush:

Sorry Martin , I was trying to quote your post and accidentally hit edit :(

[ambient-whisper]

heh. no problem.

[Meshbuilder]

Where is the OSX version??? ;)

[ambient-whisper]

mac osx can run 3d apps ? ;)

[Nonproductive]

Looks like renders are limited to 510x510 with their small watermark...which I can deal with :) Beyond that it seems it is 99% of the full version.

so much for any free time in the future:applause:

[Meshbuilder]

Originally posted by ambient-whisper
mac osx can run 3d apps ? ;)

:p

[Per-Anders]

what's more amusing is the age old flame war that seems to be going on on softimages messageboards about os x.

anyway this is good news for those that wanna try out this awesome beast of a package.

[Stejahen]

These companies are finally starting to get it, when it comes to warez and the like. This is great!

[azazel]

Yeah, why warez something you can legally download....
Hope I manage to run it at 1024x768 res... only higher I can have at 60 Hz refresh rate:annoyed:.

[froggyplat]

i already posted a notice in their forums, but i can't get past the first registration page in order to d/l. l keep getting a vbscript error or something. anyone else have this problem?

this looks really cool: kudos to softimage and ambient-whisper, i mean sheep factory.

[hiko_]

SOFTIMAGE XSI roulez !

[MCronin]

Very cool. I'm downloading it. I don't like that the res is limited to 510x510, but I suppose anyone could render to 508x402 and use a script to resize the images to 640x480 for their demo reel.

They got a nice EXP site with a bunch of tutorials:)

[SheepFactory]

Froggy ,


I am downloading it with 170k at the moment. The problem might be on your ISP's side.

[markdc]

Originally posted by froggyplat
i already posted a notice in their forums, but i can't get past the first registration page in order to d/l. l keep getting a vbscript error or something. anyone else have this problem?

this looks really cool: kudos to softimage and ambient-whisper, i mean sheep factory.

I've tried to download it 4 times. I got to 104mb but it keeps freezing up. It also won't allow you to use getright. I'll try again in a few days.

[Sil3]

Originally posted by Sheep Factory
http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/


Save is enabled in this version , it saves to .EXP

and for people that want to learn it, theres a Learning Kit inside the softimage store.

you can get Softimage | EXP + the learning kit for $59.99 ( until april 30. )


TIP BY mista imp. :) :beer:

( sorry had to edit yer msg to add this in :) no hard feelings?

Oh Yeah, time to learn a new tool that´s for sure hehehehehe, Thanks Avid for leting us save :thumbsup:

Sil3

[fig]

ooh, and includes final gathering and mental ray...score...

chris

[froggyplat]

Originally posted by Sheep Factory
Froggy ,


I am downloading it with 170k at the moment. The problem might be on your ISP's side.

sheep, i just switched computers and got registered, thanks. this is so cool!

[cmortier]

Wahoo !!!!

[FusionDG]

Originally posted by fig
ooh, and includes final gathering and mental ray...score...

chris I'm not too sure about that

The mental ray standalone renderer has been removed. Here's a list of all the restrictions:

http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/details_limitations/default.asp

Still, a great offer none the less :D

EDIT:

But then it says this also:

Rendered images will be watermarked with a SOFTIMAGE|XSI and mental ray watermark. :shrug:

[SheepFactory]

It does include mental ray and final gathering , i just used it ;)

I think what it means with "mental ray standalone rendering" is the batch rendering. Thats removed , but the renderer in there is no other than MR 3.1

[HapZungLam]

is it a trial version or something?

[FusionDG]

Originally posted by Sheep Factory
It does include mental ray and final gathering , i just used it ;) Cool! :D

[Vic3k]

GREAT FOR XSI!

i don't get it, you say renders are limited to 510x510 well maybe there FINAL render ok but it can't be done to the render region can it? and if not then why not just render with render region and save it from there?
i mean if for crying out loud you want an animation for demo reel and have a bigger res then 510x510 why not render in the region frame by frame?

just a thought. i haven't and will not dl the EXP coz i got full anyway

[ambient-whisper]

this is what the watermark looks like. not too bad. could lose the xsi demo all over the image tho.

http://ambient-whisper.cgcommunity.com/images_dump/MR-XSI-watermark.jpg

( model not included with xsi :p )

(note: the render size that you see there is the maximum that the render region will go to )

[JDex]

Yippie... just saved $450.00!!! ordering the disk set now... I was going to buy the student version next week... now that can wait...

[xzevlin]

Wow, way cool. Ever since I was a wee lad, I've wanted to use Softimage. Now I don't have to sell my kidney to have it :D

[wgreenlee1]

Like I aint got enough work already,now I'm downloading this to play with also!!LOL!


Thanks for the heads up!



134kb per second,it'll be a few minutes.Swweeeettttt!

[Northchild]

Crap. I actually *just* had their 2.x experience CD shipped to me a week ago.

Way to go Avid. :P

[Northchild]

BTW - Does anyone know roughly how Softimage's scripting tools compare with Maya's? I haven't even had time to use my OLD experience CD yet.

[azazel]

It wants to download for next 21 hours or so, and I'm not on dialup :(

[Solesurvivor]

no need no more for warez indeed, this is a brilliant way to discover new packages, i'm sure gonna give it a try, get in the row XSI ;)

[Lukashi]

The xsi demo thing doesnt appear all over my image if i render it normally isnt of thru the region tool

[MCronin]

That XSI watermark appears in the final rendering. Just in the lower left corner.

Also there is a wordmark in the lower right corner of each viewpane, and a large but barely preceptable "XSI DEMO" watermark that's repeated over the entirety of every viewport. These don't seem to appear in the final renndering.

[runejw]

Very cool, thanks for posting the info about EXP. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

73% downloaded - 8 min left :xtreme: :cool: :deal:

Fair amount of tutorials in the community section also. Niiice.


Cheers,
Rune

[raffael3d]

and here a 1:1 Comparison from Maya PLE vs XSI 3.0

http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/head_to_head/

as well as a FAQ about the EXP:
http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/faq/

[JamesDeschenes]

Yeah speedy downloads! :applause:

http://www.accesscable.net/~jamie/speedy.png

[ggg]

Originally posted by Vic3k
GREAT FOR XSI!

i don't get it, you say renders are limited to 510x510 well maybe there FINAL render ok but it can't be done to the render region can it? and if not then why not just render with render region and save it from there?
i mean if for crying out loud you want an animation for demo reel and have a bigger res then 510x510 why not render in the region frame by frame?

just a thought. i haven't and will not dl the EXP coz i got full anyway
as ambient-whisper shows the render region size is also limited
message in script editor window:

'WARNING : "3000 - WARNING : 3000 - -------- This is a demo version of mental ray --------
'
'Copyright (c) 1986-2002 mental images GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, Germany.
'This demo version may be used only for evaluation, but not for commercial
'purposes. All rights reserved. It has the following built-in restrictions:
'- geometry is retessellated before every frame; triangles are not retained in memory for the next frame
'- watermark logos appear in bottom left corner
'- multithreading and network rendering is disabled
'- scene echo (-echo option) is not supported
'- restricted pass/preview rendering to a resolution of 400*300
'- renders that exceed 510*510 resolutions will exhibit artifacts
'- restricted region renders to even resolutions of up to 510*510"

You can draw a render region of quadrants 1-4 and advnace a fraem and capture for each thenmpiece the 4 together as one image but then there would be water mark in each in the bottom left corner so there would be a watermark almost in the center of the assembled image too which would look bad.

You also can't trick it like in another app by rendering subregions then peicing them together and putting the water marks not in the center but in the outer corners by lens shader flipping the top, top right, and and bottom right images.

They've thought of everything :)

besides I think 510*510 is enough for a student reel.

well done Softimage!

[ggg]

Originally posted by azazel
Yeah, why warez something you can legally download....
Hope I manage to run it at 1024x768 res... only higher I can have at 60 Hz refresh rate:annoyed:.
It says you cannot at start up and if you edit a layout to fit you will not be able to save it as saving is disabled.

So the work around is each time at start up
-view>views>netview
-go to xsinetview, xsinetlive, tools, UI/Viewing/Interaction, UI controls and download my SmallWideDualorToolbarLayouts v1.1 (http://www.softimage.com/xsinet/getFile.asp?Id=1966&Path=/xsinet/content/addons/UI_View_Interac/UI_Controls/SmallWideDualorToolbarLayouts/SmallWideDualorToolbarLayouts.xsiaddon) with 1024*768 1024*960 etc. or ed harriss 1024x768 (http://www.softimage.com/xsinet/getFile.asp?Id=1739&Path=/xsinet/content/addons/UI_View_Interac/UI_Controls/Eds_XSI2_1024x768_Layout/Eds_XSI2_1024x768_Layout.zip)
-and dragndrop the icon or download, or dragndrop the link above onto the XSI 3d view manager to install it.
-then go to layout> and select the rez/layout you want
-it will not be available at next start up, requiring a repeat of above at each startup

[playmesumch00ns]

Been wanting to try XSI for ages! Now all I have to do is find some time to play with it!:bounce:

[Mazer]

Why no Linux vertion like houdini's....? I know I'm asking too mutch... but it would be awsome to finaly put highend 3d in a 100% free box. I hate those dual boots...

[matty429]

Does anyone know the details about the XSI tradeup program
I can't seem to find prices anywhere....

[ceql]

w00t! there's been sooo much nice stuff made in XSI of late :d~~~ time to check it out :D :D

[MCronin]

Originally posted by Mazer
Why no Linux vertion like houdini's....? I know I'm asking too mutch... but it would be awsome to finaly put highend 3d in a 100% free box. I hate those dual boots...

Uhh, Houdini isn't high end enough for you?

I'd like a Linux version as well.

[DevonH]

XSI is the best program on the market for Modeling and Animation, but Maya still has the upper hand when it comes to VFX... but what i don't get is what is the differance between XSI ESP and regular XSI Advanced?

[Mazer]

Uhh, Houdini isn't high end enough for you?

Of course it is, I was talking to my particular case I'd prefer to learn Xsi.

[MrMunkily]

I didn't like houdini's interface.

Now XSI, the xperience was something I really enjoyed, and now that they have an EXP I'm really happy. It's subsurfs are supposed to be unparralelled!

[Sieb]

It keeps telling me access is denied when i try to download the file.. I activated my account and everything.. oy.. i hate this register junk. I dont want to register anything, I just want the file.. grr..

[Miyazaki]

Originally posted by Sieb
It keeps telling me access is denied when i try to download the file.. I activated my account and everything.. oy.. i hate this register junk. I dont want to register anything, I just want the file.. grr..
Me the same : Access denied. :(
Do you need a Customer ID to download it?
Sorry, the download of MayaPLE is easier, but that`s not listed :D

[fig]

downloaded fine after activating my account from the e-mail they sent me, not sure what the prob is for you guys...:shrug:

chris

[froggyplat]

i had to get 2 confirmation emails: one when i registered then another after i went to the link given in the first email. then i went back and got the download (that's a total of 3 visits to the site). a little archaic.

[SheepFactory]

no , once you have your registration complete all you need to do is enter your username and password for the DL to start. I registered to softimage long ago so it took me 30 seconds to bypass all that stuff and start the download.

Besides I dont understand why you guys are so inconvenienced just bacause you have to click on an e-mail for two times. In return you get to use a 14000$ software for free.

:rolleyes:

[DrAdamDinosaur]

Thanks froggy. When I registered I kept the window open and after entering my details and then logged in. No luck. I just shut it down and clicked on the link in the email and now everythings fine. Yay.

By the way, not inconvenienced, just happy:)

[pants]

really really really lame that when i went to register for classes this spring, they were like, ya, we're not offering XSI anymore. I stared at them......blankly and intensely. At least i can have this.

/me fuzzles Softimage.

[CTRL+X]

Whats more for you Avid Fans, they have a page for contact info when thier FREE Video package soon becomes available

HERE (http://www.avid.com/forms/info.asp?iTrackingID=7682)

[Sieb]

yeay, a reboot for me made it all work. Downloading as we speak.

[Miyazaki]

yep, it works fine :thumbsup:

[Pharaun]

Looks really nice. Gonna have a look on it later.

[azazel]

Thanks ggg for the 1024 tip:beer: ... had to re-download whole thing, only 9 hours left:wip:

[tournesol]

:beer:

[froggyplat]

Originally posted by Sheep Factory

Besides I dont understand why you guys are so inconvenienced just bacause you have to click on an e-mail for two times. In return you get to use a 14000$ software for free.

:rolleyes:

lol, true. it's not exactly hard when you look at it that way.

[RudeYuut]

Man this is so cool. I've been wanting to get my hands on Softimage for a while. Hopefully it's not a steep learning curve. I use Lightwave so I hope the transition isn't that bad. Quick question, when I click on it to download, the file name is "process.asp", I'm not sure if this is right but I am on a mac at work and a pc at home. I'm downloading it at work. If I change the extension to ".exe" would it work or should I just try and download it at home.

[raffael3d]

no! simply changing the extension of a file doesn't change it's properties!

click on it and wait till it downloads. probably because you are on a mac it doesn't work as it doesn't recognize it. it's a cab or exe file.

[RudeYuut]

Thought so, I'll download it at home. Thanks for the quick reply. God i love this forum.:thumbsup:

[Apoclypse]

and once again softimage proves why they are the caviar to A|W's fishsticks. ( i like fishsticks though). But I've always liked thw way these guys always surprise with something incredible. Is that a tear, oh no my emotions have come back after long years of supression. I love you XSi, be my valentine.



Sorry, Ive composed myself now. XSi is free man there is a god.

[matty429]

Trade-up program info?........anyone?.......

[Sinkywinky]

Is anyone else having trouble running the program with a radeon 9500/9700? As soon as it starts it says it has encountered an error and to restart it. I tried lowering the hardware acceleration for my graphics card, but still no joy.
This is on windows xp with the 3.1 drivers btw.

[ambient-whisper]

dunno. but its VERY rare to hear 3d apps working perfectly with ati cards..

[mic]

Is there a way to download it with Getright or something??

Downloading +150mb over a 56K line is not very exciting...

[Aearon]

yep that's my problem...

any way to get direct linkage on this one? i'm a little afraid to download it in one piece using IE....don't wanna waste several hours of download time

[Array]

Originally posted by matty429
Trade-up program info?........anyone?.......

the tradeup program was a limited time offer. it has since expired.

[Phearielord]

I am really excited about EXP.
Been waiting for this for a while now.
The thing is, my email address has changed since I last created an account, so in order to download the demo, I have to put in my new email address in my details.
But the site wouldn't accept it, and would just go around in circles telling my I have to give my new address.
So I cant get further than my details..........which is really bugging the hell out of me.
I sent an email to the webmaster, so hopefully he can sort it out.
:annoyed:

[TrueOG]

Sorry for this siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilly question.
As far as I know, the XSI Exp doesn't run in NT4 SP6, does it?
:cry: :cry: :cry:
I think I'd have to upgrade to XP professional or 2K and that BOTHERS ME A LOT:annoyed: :annoyed:

Oh mamma, I wish I had the bucks right now...

See ya

[raffael3d]

nt 4 is not support anymore...sorry buddy, but it's also already around 6 years old....

[arvid]

It's really cool to see the huge interest in XSI, and this demo seems to be awesome! Saving to the ".exp" format is genious :)

I've been with XSI from the start and Si3D before that :love:, I never doubted Softimage, they rock! and now I can safely say "told you so!"

Welcome aboard fellow Softies :)

[ScottG]

PhearieLord

I had the same problem as you so I just filled out all the details with my brothers name and address and email add, then I got the download no problem ... and its worth it, its amazing for a freebie, someone could definitely make a demo reel with this, unlike Maya PLE . :buttrock:

[MukMan]

I just love how the Softimage people post lies about Maya PLE in their adds. :annoyed:
1. WHo says Maya PLE isn't as fast as Maya? I used both and noticed no difference in speeds.

2. Maya PLE can use Mental Ray. ther's this banner thing on AliasWavefront that links you to MentalRay. PLE users have the chance to use Mental Ray too.

3. GI_Joe works on PLE's and Fulls allike. I get great GI stuff, and I don't even own full Maya.

[Gelfling]

Originally posted by opacity
It's really cool to see the huge interest in XSI, and this demo seems to be awesome! Saving to the ".exp" format is genious :)

I've been with XSI from the start and Si3D before that :love:, I never doubted Softimage, they rock! and now I can safely say "told you so!"

Welcome aboard fellow Softies :)

As a SoftImage fan and lover from way back.. let me say do not get so excited

they have a bit of work getting back the seat's lost to Maya during the extensive time making XSI

It is a good start and we both know the software is exceptional

[fez]

"the tradeup program was a limited time offer. it has since expired."

I think it would have made more sense to extend this offer until a few weeks after the release of the 3.0 experience. I've got a Max license I'm willing to put on the chopping block.

XSI 3.0 is so sweet I am sorry I tried it. Where the hell is Lightwave 8?

[somlor]

Originally posted by MukMan
2. Maya PLE can use Mental Ray. ther's this banner thing on AliasWavefront that links you to MentalRay. PLE users have the chance to use Mental Ray too.

From http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/products/maya/mentalray.shtml
*mental ray for Maya 1.5 is not available for Maya Personal Learning Edition software.

(s)

[matty429]

Originally posted by fez
"the tradeup program was a limited time offer. it has since expired."

I think it would have made more sense to extend this offer until a few weeks after the release of the 3.0 experience. I've got a Max license I'm willing to put on the chopping block.

XSI 3.0 is so sweet I am sorry I tried it. Where the hell is Lightwave 8?


Thats what im saying...I'll Put my maya 4.5 unlimited on the chopping block as well....

[arvid]

Originally posted by Gelfling
let me say do not get so excited

This coming from someone with a Mayabox for an avatar? :p

The future belongs to XSI, there is no doubt :buttrock:

[Gelfling]

at that $

don't think so

better software? I think so

[JDex]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by MukMan
I just love how the Softimage people post lies about Maya PLE in their adds.
1. WHo says Maya PLE isn't as fast as Maya? I used both and noticed no difference in speeds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to Alias Wavefront FAQ (http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/Tmpl/Maya/html/index.jhtml;$sessionid$LW25UKAAAE3BZQCLCVBRT4Q?page=/en/Community/products/maya/ple/faq.shtml&style=normal):

(7th Item)

Is the graphics performance of Maya Personal Learning Edition as fast as the released version of Maya?
The commercial version of Maya is faster than Maya Personal Learning Edition.

[mumbojumbo_13]

come on i meen this is a nice offer but how much are they copying maya, this is just a quick out do to try and get new customers i like th offer but if A/W hadn't started this there would be no free xsi maybe you should be thanking A/W for going out on a limb when they put out 4PLE and started this whole thing
--
comeon newtek were da free lightwave :p

[raffael3d]

there is a lightwave discovery and if you start lightwave without donlge it also starts in demo mode.

[wmendez]

Originally posted by mumbojumbo_13
come on i meen this is a nice offer but how much are they copying maya, this is just a quick out do to try and get new customers i like th offer but if A/W hadn't started this there would be no free xsi maybe you should be thanking A/W for going out on a limb when they put out 4PLE and started this whole thing
--


Well see who copies who in the next few months :rolleyes:

[StefanA]

Originally posted by mumbojumbo_13
come on i meen this is a nice offer but how much are they copying maya, this is just a quick out do to try and get new customers i .......


It's called marketing, everyone is doing their best to win new customers. And they didn't copy A|W, demo versions of programs has been around as long as the computer it self.
A demo version isn't really an invention of A|W :)

And you should now that ALL companies does this to win more customers, it's not for the godness in their heart they do it... it IS made to make you say "yeah! I tested this demo version and it was really coo!!l". And later on your boss might buy the software :)
Simple as that. And softimage has done a great job this time with letting the users be able to save and render without the HUGE watermarks. And of course they wanted to be better than A|W... it is their enemy after all ;)

best regards

.stefan andersson

[isnowboard]

I use Lightwave. I bought Lightwave...but this is a good move in the right direction. Good on Softimage/XSI. Really forward thinking.

[vei]

In the hand of an artist..I believed it does not matter wheather the software is a copy from other software as long as it's legal and contains all the tools that are required to learn and do the job. End user all benefited. Maybe the only time it matter is when we have ignorance users.:applause: ..xsi all the way:beer: ..lightwave is good also:thumbsup:

[Apoclypse]

I think that it is unfair to compair maya ple to exp becuase. Evry on this forum was complaining about ple when it first came out. The watermark are everywhere, it doesn't include any of the features that are in unlimited (and i thinksome that are in complete), it doesn't allow you to open any of the regular maya files and there is more but i can't remember them right now.

I think softimage did something better. and in my opinion will be what other companies will do to stop the pirating of their software. The company i don't see doing something like this is probable discreet ( they are so capitol man, they suck balls. then agian gmax is free but that don't count.) Softimage realized a long time ago who their target consumers were( highend users with lots of dough) but did not want to alianate those users who can't really afford their app ( maya just lowered down their prices at the risk of lowering the production value of the soft, less money less R&D). However softinage realizes that this could possibly create a huge amount of pirating of their software. Maya ple is so weak that i don't see pirating of maya slowing down any time soon. But EXP is XSI in all respects but the few watermarks that are sparingly spread throughout ( unlike in maya where even the dialogs have watermarks on them.) and a few rendering related limitatations which aren't all that bad in my opinion ( i'm pretty sure that softimage will do a contest where if they like your pic that you send them they will give you a full version of the app. they usually do stuff like that all the time). I think that we will see a new version of maya ple that will resemble exp's mantra in a lot of ways.

Just my opinion though they might just let their software be pirated who knows.

[MukMan]

Maya 4.5 PLE has all the features of Maya 4.5 complete. It can open native Maya files, it just prevents you from using PLE saved files in Maya ever.

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