Softimage XSI 2.0.1 Win32 - The Powerhouse Of 2002>>>

[BellicoseBloke]

Actually working on a 3ds Max 4.2 WIP but got sidetracked onto others as am testing the 'retros' on methods of symmetry modeling... Some are easy like Lightwave which you just hit the switch for whatever axis & bling... Pretty much the only one that produces an 'authentic' symmetry other than Cinema 4D which requires a few more steps but does same stuff... These others produce a 'virtual mirror' that show modeling on left side while you are doing the work on right side...

Of course these all got better thru the years but back in the 1998-2002 days when they were super expensive you still had to figger it out...

XSI 2.0.1 takes a bit more work but is way more configurable than the others... First tried using symmetry maps which broke constantly THEN finally got it figgered then found I could visualize symmetry in a number of ways...

Since this version is up on archive.org as well as 'Softimage XSI 2.0 Experience' then there's nothing I have to upload...

One thing... This version has not a scalable GUI, the old Dell e1705 happens to be able to run at 1280x1024 plus using auto-hide taskbar is perfect if you are needing to run in a smaller reZ then you will need to install an alternate GUI over at-

https://edharriss.com/xsi/Layout_presets/layouts.htm

There are one's for version 2 there...

So why this version?... the medication is 'file overwrite' requires no keygenning or server 'hacks' and it runs in present time... Later ones 3-4-5 etc till the next patched version you needed an open COM port but their systems were set to a date in 2009 for license death...DEATH!...

Nothing wrong with 2.0.1 it's simpler, easier to understand & it had Mental Ray 3 so an improvement also it had HAIR! And not just static but dynamic hair thru animation & also 2.0.1 had compositing, render GI also good...

Get it here FOLLOW the instructions in the comments.txt-

https://archive.org/details/xsi20

Here is XSI2.0 Experience, has videos which are helpful plus a trip, also has the help documents for this version-

https://archive.org/details/softimage-xsi-2.0-experience

 

[BellicoseBloke]

Looks like I forgot to show how the 'pick' is done to get the different shade modes per object per viewport-

Finding it a bit hard to get a GI render but Final Gather works OK & is easy which is like a cheap-fast GI by way of anti-aliasing the lights-

This was a newer scene exported out as retrograde dotXSI 3.0 which is exporting as a model but into XSI 2 more like a scene in fact everything was there just had to convert the HDR image to MAP then load that into the enviro hemi using the hdrtoxsi.exe which is probably on the Harriss site...

BTW, Many model tools require the use of a MMB click to use... One useful script is the 'headlight' script which attaches a light to the camera so there's no dark areas on the model when modeling... You can slide these from explorer or XSI browser right onto the user script panel...DONE!

Same can be done with material presets, slide them right onto geometry from windows explorer there's a bunch here that work in 2.0-

https://web.archive.org/web/20090110202529/http://www.chnl1.tv/material-presets-dnd.htm

Some other scripts here, make sure the link ain't dead I usually open in a new tab first to see if there's the code THEN go back & save link as if I see it-

https://web.archive.org/web/20031005032648/http://www.aldis.org.uk/3DResources/Scripts.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20030718021955/http://www.bernardlebel.com/scripts.htm

Toon Shader Tut-

https://web.archive.org/web/2004082...s.com/Articles/ShawnWoods_ToonPaint_Part1.htm


Ulf Lundgren did this in 2001 with XSI 1.5 which had Mental Ray 2.1 not 3.0... Pretty damn good even for nowadays but back then you do work like that you got hired-

I had the link to his page where he gives an overview of how this was setup but I have yet to find it again....

 

[BellicoseBloke]

Here's another of 'Steve'-

Still can't find the link...

Here's some old XSI, look in the 'doc' sub-dir for more PDFs I think most are for XSI 1.0 which pertains just fine mostly-

http://www.skol.ch/3d/xsi/

Some stuff does come back from this page look into the links on it-

https://web.archive.org/web/2001110...et/addon_display.asp?family=xlib&software=xsi

These are ForumFiles some may be worthy-

https://web.archive.org/web/20161026065935/http://naffupdate.com/forumfiles/

Make sure you set your taskbar to 'autohide' otherwise it will be covering features up like the hints at what action will be done with LMB MMB RMB... Pretty important to see...

Having tested all I find XSI is best at high polys in a viewport with 3DS Max as honorable mention.... In XSI you can Sub-D up in wireframe mode till model looks damn near solid white but still rotate, zoom, pan very freely... Of course moving thousands of points at once don't work well but no need just Sub-D back down again THEN move stuff>>>

 

[BellicoseBloke]

Figuring out a bit more... You gotta go to Render-Passes & apply an Environment Shader then all is good... Like such-

Then Final Gather & Some GI-

Have uploaded an XSI care package... Has mostly PDFs that pertain to XSI 2 especially handy is the Hair Manual which is for this 2.0.1... Also there is the Joan-Of-Arc tutorial which is 8-part PDFs modeling in XSI... Looks to me like everything can be done in 2.0... This looks like one of the better Joan-Of-Arcs, there's one that was sorta nasty looking maybe the LightWave version I don't remember...

The blueprints are included but I have included my own revision of same blueprints which puts more 'Meat on the Bones' as for me the Joan-Of-Arc originals are a bit too emaciated looking....

I did make the body in Nendo but made a different character out of-

Brought into C4D XL7 & painted some, never really finished... Called her Char-Truce, Anyways this is mostly what my particular revision looks like if modeled-

https://workupload.com/start/6GbgjgAzXUf

OR

https://send.now/gr2f5un76162

OR

https://gofile.io/d/CQXTj0


Also in there is the HDRtoXSI.exe & I have included how to use it with example HDR & MAP...

 

[BellicoseBloke]

Well, Going through some 2001 3D world magazine PDFs I find that the price of up-coming XSI 2.0 ranged from $6,750 up to $13,995... Have no idea where this one ranked amongst the 4 offerings in that range... Still that was not the most expensive as SideFX Houdini 5 was 17 grand straight-out... Guess you had to have money to burn....

 

[Dayron]

Finally a version of Softimage that works without major issues.

Unfortunately, the Experience ISOs don't work because they require a resolution with the height 1024px while mine is 800px.
I've downloaded the Eds 1024x768 layout for version 2x from the link you provided. I can see much more now but some elements are still hidden. Yes, I'm using the auto-hide taskbar option.

The UI looks cool and futuristic but I don't find it very functional in terms of workflow speed. Cinema 4D and 3ds Max are far better in that regard, in my opinion.

 

[BellicoseBloke]

Those who stay with it are pretty fast... There's alot under the hood... I have a ton of tut videos on it so I have seen the workflow but yes, it's not as easy as Max or especially C4D which is the easiest but then again XSI can beat those without needing plugins... As it went on it gained some 'Houdini-Like' capabilities... After trying Houdini I found XSI rather easy...

Good that you got it going, 2.0.1 is reasonably stable where 1.0 & 1.5 were not for sure... Thanks for trying & the screen... I think XSI was resolution independent at version 4...

One thing XSI had over others early on was Subdivision Surfaces figured out... You just hit the + key to go up & - to go down (on the NUMpad) It is also the best for high polys in the viewport, Max is honorable mention, C4D-Maya-Lightwave could be better... Try some of the edge split tools they are great... 'U' is best in polymode for raycast selection... Of course XSI navigation needs 'S' key pressed then the 3 mouse buttons determine pan-zoom-rotate... if you are just modeling around best to put in 'Immediate mode' so XSI won't build up history & slow down...

This version was first for any package to have native hair module & a good one to boot... I actually have video tuts for it using this version...

Good Luck>>>

PS BTW - The videos won't run for me either I just go into the folders & engage the videos directly using whatever you associate with whatever player you use then all is good, great info... On the first CD in the documentation folder is the actual help system it's like 63 MB...