RIP softimage.com - You will be missed

[Hirazi]

I wholeheartedly agree, although they didn't seem to update it all that much anymore since Autodesk took over... ;)

[mustan9]

Agreed. Softimage.com had the best website for any graphics company. They were doing glossy buttons long before Apple.com made it popular. They were also the first 3D software website to have lots of online streaming video. They also had a great tutorials section which is a concept that is alien to Autodesk.

[z3phon]

Good to see I'm not the only one who's disappointed about what happened to the website.
Autodesk really needs to work on their boring website. Rip softimage.com

[eldee]

i hate hate hate that autodesk killed softimage.net without doing a proper web migration. I mean, with the deep pockets they have to buy up companies left and right you think they'd hire somebody who knew what they were doing.

and now we have an internet full of sites like this:
http://polimeno.blogspot.com/2009/02/softimage-ice.html

previously useful sites now scuttled by poor management of a takeover. blah.

/rant off

edit: yes, I know that content may or may not exist somewhere on the abyss err... the area, but when one big company buys another company that has a lot of information already floating around on the net, it's pretty standard protocol to set up a routing database that will point people to the correct information instead of a 404. i haven't the faintest clue why they didn't do this, although I have the following guesses: A) it was rushed, and nobody cared. B) They were cheap and hired high school grads to do the job, or C) They were cheap and hired one guy to do it. Either way it's a pretty piss poor way to introduce a community to their new overlords, and I expect that it will bite them in the ass more than once.

[mypeople]

yeah, it was the best site, the interviews...everything, the BEST site. HATE autodesk i have a feeling out software is just going down hill, i wish i was rich and could buy softimage and get it going back in the right direction. HATE autodesk.

[Ohmanoggin]

I too will miss Softimage.com. It was like an old friend.

Softimage is now owned by Autodesk. These are the cards we have been dealth, and we have to accept that. The fact of the matter is the 3D market has matured. The same thing happend to the CAD market.

So like or hate Autodesk, we can at least still show our support to Softimage. Let's not use our fear of "what might happen" to force a future where Softimage is not a strong product or we might find our selves stuck with inferior products.

Ohmanoggin

[bmwolf]

I have a friend that is looking into Softimage and he was wondering if there were any videos that showed some of the features. He's downloaded the demo, but 30 days isn't a very long time to get an idea of everything that's packed in there. I know softimage.com used to have a bunch of videos, does anyone know where these went?

In the future, I really hope that Autodesk puts as much effort into Softimage's page as they do with 3ds Max. I know Max has always been Autodesk's baby, but populating our pages with content would help let existing Maya and Softimage users know that they are still a priority too... It's the least they could do.

[Ohmanoggin]

For learning the software, you can download the "Mod" version for free. This is basically the entire software, but has a watermark on shaded views or renderings.

To learn try:
Free Tutorials on DigitalTutors.com
http://www.vast.ws/resources/xsi/tutorials/tutorials.html
http://www.redi-vivus.com/

Something I would like to add is that Softimage is not some new player to 3D. Softimage has a long history in the industry going back to Jurrasic Park, Terminator II, Men in Black and many features since then. It was even owned by Microsoft who pumped a lot of money into it's development. I just wanted to mention this because your friend has a lot of choices and so often it is hard to get people to understand just how incredible this product is.

Ohmanoggin

[bmwolf]

Oh, I know. I switched my main package to Softimage(XSI) from Max around version 2-3 and have not looked back. Softimage.com was what got me so interested way back then. While I still like Max and work in it occaisionally, I really miss Softimage when I'm away. My 3ds Max reseller who is considering carrying Softimage had never heard of it until I asked if they could do subscription for my seat of 7.5! I'm always singing it's praises to my friend which is probably one of the reasons he's even considering it. His words about the new site were, "it's like they are selling to existing users rather than trying to get newcommers". Softimage.com was way better in that regard.

edit: I'd like to give him a demo in person, but unfortunately he lives in another state.

[teahtime]

anyone know where I can find all the feature demo videos that were added for 7.0 last year? It was a great re-work of the site, now it's the standard autodesk shit.

[eldee]

So like or hate Autodesk, we can at least still show our support to Softimage. Let's not use our fear of "what might happen" to force a future where Softimage is not a strong product or we might find our selves stuck with inferior products.
Well for me, personally, I support Autodesk by continuing to use Softimage. But I feel like I got the shaft when they pulled the rug out from under all of our resources and didn't leave us with proper mirrors. It's not a case of "what might happen", that's the 2010 thread. This is a case of "what did happen", or more accurately "what didn't happen".

@nodal: They might be kicking around on vimeo still, but I dunno for sure. vimeo seems to have a pretty active softimage user base still.

[McNistor]

Check this out
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/6323/icezbs.jpg

[mypeople]

man that screen shot is great. their site is SO sleak, so organized, SO MUCH great content. god DAMN i hate autodesk. i wish softimage would come back, such a bummer, but i only get so bummed about it becasue i love xsi SO much .

[teahtime]

/me takes off his hat and salutes

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.