New Versions of the Entire SOFTIMAGE|XSI Family Available Now

Press Release

New Versions of the Entire SOFTIMAGE|XSI Family Available Now

 

-- Customers can download version 3.5 of the industry’s leading nonlinear 3-D production environment and associated processing and rendering products directly from softimage.com --

Montreal, Quebec – June 25th 2003. Less than eight months since the last release of the industry’s leading nonlinear 3-D production environment, Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of version 3.5 of its SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® software and its family of processing and rendering products including SOFTIMAGE|XSI Batch and SOFTIMAGE|XSI Batch Universal. Effective immediately, qualifying commercial and educational institutions can access the significant toolset and performance enhancements in version 3.5 free of charge by downloading the new version from www.softimage.com/download.

Driven by the demands of industry-leading companies and professionals working on the latest film, games, video and broadcast production, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5 environment builds on the highly productive nonlinear 3-D architecture pioneered by Softimage, expands its leadership position in the industry, and remains the only 3-D software that features a shared data architecture with mental rayâ v.3.2 -- the new version of the award-winning rendering technology from mental images. With a robust SDK, interoperability with the Avid editing and finishing products, and the ability to handle large data sets, version 3.5 of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI software defines the features required by today’s professional 3-D artists.

“Version 3.5 is very much a customer-driven release with all of the new features and enhancements a direct result of ongoing interactions with our customers,” states Mike Stojda, Softimage’s managing director. “The hundred of man-years we invested in the core nonlinear animation architecture of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI environment have enabled us to continuously set an unmatched pace of innovation, new feature development and workflow enhancements. Less than eight months after the release of version 3.0, we’ve been able to deliver another big release which addresses our customers’ continued needs for creative and productivity enhancing tools. Softimage’s continued focus and responsiveness to the professional market has enabled our customers to gain and maintain a competitive advantage.”

Delivering tomorrow, today

Companies today are busily working on content they will be delivering in nine months or longer from now. The SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5 nonlinear 3-D production environment anticipates the requirements of modern productions and delivers the power, speed and flexibility that ensure users will have the tools necessary to keep abreast of the latest trends in animation and effects for the film, games, video and broadcast industries. From innovations such as the new hardware rendering capabilities that make the development of rich, high-resolution in-game characters a reality for game artists, to unparalleled subdivision surfaces and polygon modeling environment, through to the greatly expanded C++ API, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI software is developed with the future in mind.

Powerful rendering and processing options

Building on its longstanding relationship with mental images, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5 software delivers the fastest and most flexible integration of mental ray v.3.2 on the market. Users of XSI can take advantage of the unique interactive renderer that provides instant, fully-rendered, images that can be modified and manipulated in the 3-D viewports. This immediacy allows artists to more accurately respond to the changing needs and requests of their clients in an efficient, direct and creative manner.

Coinciding with the release of version 3.5 of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI environment are new versions of SOFTIMAGE|XSI Batch, SOFTIMAGE|XSI BatchUniversal, and mental ray, the company’s family of processing and rendering products which facilitate the automation of batch processing and batch rendering in production pipelines.

Innovations you can use

In keeping with Softimage’s future-forward stance, Linux has become a primary operating system for the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5 software. Recognizing that a large number of SOFTIMAGE|XSI users are operating on the Linux platform, version 3.5 introduces an expanded implementation of the popular Net View feature that encompasses the Linux platform. Unique in its offering of an integrated web browser, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI environment opens up 3-D pipelines to the many benefits of the World Wide Web. Artists and technical directors can take advantage of a ready-made data management structure, bringing quick and agile asset management to even the smallest 3-D production house.

As further evidence of its industry-leading support for Linux, Softimage is releasing version 1.1 of its behavioral animation system, the SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR™ software, with newly-added support for the Linux operating system. New features also include enhanced support for quadruped and multiped characters.

Softimage has a legacy of creating “industry standards” with innovative and time-saving concepts such as nonlinear animation, non-destructive modeling and the use of an open scripting environment. SOFTIMAGE|XSI introduces tools that set new standards, such as the hair tool in version 3.5, featuring options that include “stretchy” hair for more precise control over animation and grooming.

In response to the rapidly expanding use of SOFTIMAGE|XSI in the Japanese games and production markets, the software will now ship with native support for the Japanese language.

For more details on the hundreds of new features and improvement in SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5, please visit www.softimage.com/XSI.

Availability and Pricing

The SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.3.5 nonlinear 3-D production environment, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI Batch, SOFTIMAGE|XSI BatchUniversal and SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR systems are available immediately in both Linux and Windows versions. Visit Softimage at www.softimage.com or call 1-800-576-3846 for more information on the SOFTIMAGE|XSI software and other Softimage products.

About Softimage Co.

Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., is an industry leader in 3-D animation, 2-D cel animation, compositing and special effects software, designed to address the demands of the film and commercial/broadcast and games/interactive industries. SOFTIMAGE|XSI software, an integral player in Avid's Make, Manage and Move Media™ strategy, is the flagship product offering from Softimage. It is the industry's first 3-D nonlinear production environment providing animators and digital artists the freedom to make professional animation, visual effects and games - from major motion pictures, to cartoons and commercials, to animated content for video games and Web sites. Softimage is proud to count amongst its customers: ILM, R!OT, The Mill, Pixel Liberation Front, Blue Sky Studios, Hybride, Mainframe, Valve, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Sega, CNN, DreamWorks, Janimation, Quiet Man, PSYOP, Cinepix and Framestore CFC. The Softimage product family is designed to help users innovate, create and collaborate throughout the production process. For more information about Softimage visit www.softimage.com. For more information about Avid visit www.avid.com.

©2003 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, BEHAVIOR, SOFTIMAGE, XSI and Make, Manage and Move Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. mental ray and mental images are registered trademarks of mental images GmbH & Co. KG in the USA and some other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.