Cycles for Softimage
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Sycles 2.4.1 V 2.4.1 released August 2026 —
This is a full integration of the Blender Cycles renderer into XSI. Version 2.4 is compiled with Cycles 5.3 (state of July 2026). The second generation of the addon (since 2.0) is a complete rewrite and works with Softimage 2015 SP2.
New since version 2.1.3 (from the github release notes): 2.4.1: fixed incorrect transforms of instances when the master model has rotation or scale, repacked with missing DLLs 2.4: Cycles 5.3. New Alpha parameter for the ImageTexture node, Sky Texture with Single and Multiple Scattering models, Thin Film for Metallic and Glass BSDF, new Raycast and Scene Time nodes, OSL custom camera, Linear 3D curve shape (also as per-object override), Geometry Approximation mode for NURBS surfaces, Render Time pass (CPU), texture optimisation (resolution, limit, tx texture cache) and a detailed scene export timing log 2.4: renders MaterialX shader trees from the MaterialXSI addon (converted to OSL). Note: OSL shading works on CPU render devices only 2.3.x: Cycles 4.5, OSL support is back, new Metallic BSDF and Set Normal nodes, phase function for Scatter Volume, Diffuse Roughness for Principled BSDF, more Noise Texture types, subdivision with motion deform, per-frame texture images, rendering of NURBS surfaces and curves (via custom properties), tile rendering, fixed shadow catcher, vector input ports for OSL shaders 2.2.x: nodes of Blender 4.3 (Ray Portal BSDF, Sheen BSDF, Gabor Texture, redesigned Principled BSDF), current Blender OCIO color profiles, custom velocity grids for VDB primitives, Particle Info node fed by ICE attributes, denoising of the final passes with OIDN or OptiX
Supported Softimage features (quoted from the download page):
Polygon meshes and hair geometry Texture coordinates Vertex colors Shaderball preview. For materials, shader nodes and texture nodes Basic limited support of the following built-in Softimage shader nodes: Phong, Lambert, Hair Shading, Image, converters between vector, color and scalar Ambience global environment light Limited support of built-in Softimage light sources Model instances ICE strands geometry ICE pointcloud instances ICE geometry attributes (vector, color and scalar) with context per-point and per-object Volume rendering. In particular supports emFluid, Explosia FX and openVDB for Softimage volumes Special VDB Primitive for rendering vdbs without ICE Output multilayered exr file with all rendered passes Rendermaps
The following features from Cycles itself are supported: CPU and GPU rendering. In particular multidevices are supported. This allows you to use cpu and gpu simultaneously. The libraries for GPU rendering are included in the package. All Cycles shader nodes OSL shaders OpenColorIO profiles (Blender profile included) All Cycles output passes (Combined, Depth, Normal and so on) Color and value shader AOVs Lightgroups Cycles camera properties, in particular all panorama modes Cycles light sources Denoising by using Open Image Denoise and OptiX denoiser
For more information, full documentation and a list of the available Cycles nodes see the download page linked below. There is no local backup because the addon is still frequently updated - the plugin can be downloaded on Shekn's github releases. The source code is available on github there as well.
This is a full integration of the Blender Cycles renderer into XSI. Version 2.4 is compiled with Cycles 5.3 (state of July 2026). The second generation of the addon (since 2.0) is a complete rewrite and works with Softimage 2015 SP2.
New since version 2.1.3 (from the github release notes): 2.4.1: fixed incorrect transforms of instances when the master model has rotation or scale, repacked with missing DLLs 2.4: Cycles 5.3. New Alpha parameter for the ImageTexture node, Sky Texture with Single and Multiple Scattering models, Thin Film for Metallic and Glass BSDF, new Raycast and Scene Time nodes, OSL custom camera, Linear 3D curve shape (also as per-object override), Geometry Approximation mode for NURBS surfaces, Render Time pass (CPU), texture optimisation (resolution, limit, tx texture cache) and a detailed scene export timing log 2.4: renders MaterialX shader trees from the MaterialXSI addon (converted to OSL). Note: OSL shading works on CPU render devices only 2.3.x: Cycles 4.5, OSL support is back, new Metallic BSDF and Set Normal nodes, phase function for Scatter Volume, Diffuse Roughness for Principled BSDF, more Noise Texture types, subdivision with motion deform, per-frame texture images, rendering of NURBS surfaces and curves (via custom properties), tile rendering, fixed shadow catcher, vector input ports for OSL shaders 2.2.x: nodes of Blender 4.3 (Ray Portal BSDF, Sheen BSDF, Gabor Texture, redesigned Principled BSDF), current Blender OCIO color profiles, custom velocity grids for VDB primitives, Particle Info node fed by ICE attributes, denoising of the final passes with OIDN or OptiX
Supported Softimage features (quoted from the download page):
Polygon meshes and hair geometry Texture coordinates Vertex colors Shaderball preview. For materials, shader nodes and texture nodes Basic limited support of the following built-in Softimage shader nodes: Phong, Lambert, Hair Shading, Image, converters between vector, color and scalar Ambience global environment light Limited support of built-in Softimage light sources Model instances ICE strands geometry ICE pointcloud instances ICE geometry attributes (vector, color and scalar) with context per-point and per-object Volume rendering. In particular supports emFluid, Explosia FX and openVDB for Softimage volumes Special VDB Primitive for rendering vdbs without ICE Output multilayered exr file with all rendered passes Rendermaps
The following features from Cycles itself are supported: CPU and GPU rendering. In particular multidevices are supported. This allows you to use cpu and gpu simultaneously. The libraries for GPU rendering are included in the package. All Cycles shader nodes OSL shaders OpenColorIO profiles (Blender profile included) All Cycles output passes (Combined, Depth, Normal and so on) Color and value shader AOVs Lightgroups Cycles camera properties, in particular all panorama modes Cycles light sources Denoising by using Open Image Denoise and OptiX denoiser
For more information, full documentation and a list of the available Cycles nodes see the download page linked below. There is no local backup because the addon is still frequently updated - the plugin can be downloaded on Shekn's github releases. The source code is available on github there as well.
download page: https://ssoftadd.github.io/syclesSecondGenPage.html / wiki with tutorials / all of Shekn's plugins / author on vimeo / si-community thread
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rray
- Moderator
- Posts: 1810
- Joined: 26 Sep 2009, 13:51
- Location: Bonn, Germany
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Nice updates =) These change range nodes are so intuitive to use, no need to use rule of 3..
softimage resources section updated Sep 26th 2026
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hm, I don't know what to say. May be this modification actually increase the render speed, but I didn't test it. Also I don't know what he change in official Cycles code.wireframex wrote: 19 Aug 2019, 17:36 Tell me what do you think about e-cycles https://evermotion.org/articles/show/11 ... in-blender ?
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Small update 1.8.1. Download here: https://ssoftadd.github.io/download/Syc ... 1.xsiaddon
What's new:
1. Update OpenColorIO profiles to use the same files as in Blender 2.8.
2. Add new texture shader node WhiteNoise.
3. Add new mathematical operations for Math and VectorMath nodes.
4. Add Color output to the node ObjectInfo. For polygonmesh objects this color is taken from the wireframe color of the object (this color can be changed in Display property of any object). For pointcloud instances this color is taken from point color. This feature allows easilly vary colors of instances. Previously, if we generate instances by ICE and would like to use colors from ICE-particles, we need break instance connections and render it as independent objects. This technique described here (on Picture 2 example): viewtopic.php?p=61360#p61360
But now we can use the color of the point without breaking of the instance connections. Here is an example: All orange cubes in the picture have different colors, but all of them are rendered as instances of one master object.
What's new:
1. Update OpenColorIO profiles to use the same files as in Blender 2.8.
2. Add new texture shader node WhiteNoise.
3. Add new mathematical operations for Math and VectorMath nodes.
4. Add Color output to the node ObjectInfo. For polygonmesh objects this color is taken from the wireframe color of the object (this color can be changed in Display property of any object). For pointcloud instances this color is taken from point color. This feature allows easilly vary colors of instances. Previously, if we generate instances by ICE and would like to use colors from ICE-particles, we need break instance connections and render it as independent objects. This technique described here (on Picture 2 example): viewtopic.php?p=61360#p61360
But now we can use the color of the point without breaking of the instance connections. Here is an example: All orange cubes in the picture have different colors, but all of them are rendered as instances of one master object.
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 21:02
- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Thanks a lot to continue support SI 
"without mastery, power is nothing" - Softimage Addict User
CPU 3990x 128 Threads / 2 x 3090 RTX - 24 Go / 96 Go memory
CPU 3990x 128 Threads / 2 x 3090 RTX - 24 Go / 96 Go memory
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Boiler
- Posts: 29
- Joined: 17 Feb 2015, 12:15
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Thanks man !! We (the last of SI warriors) Really appreciate this !
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nuverian
- Posts: 143
- Joined: 29 Sep 2011, 21:25
- Location: Greece
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MKXSI
- Posts: 63
- Joined: 13 Feb 2019, 15:27
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hi everyone,
I have different UVs in the same material for Color and normal but i dont see where can i choose from one or other UV when in the render tree, not in the cycTexture Coordinate node neither in the UVmap node. i could do it scaling texture with cycMapping but im sure there an easy way to do it.... any help?
Thanks
I have different UVs in the same material for Color and normal but i dont see where can i choose from one or other UV when in the render tree, not in the cycTexture Coordinate node neither in the UVmap node. i could do it scaling texture with cycMapping but im sure there an easy way to do it.... any help?
Thanks
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Look at tutorial 24 on the manual (https://ssoftadd.github.io/manuals/sycl ... 19_eng.pdf). You should use the node cycUVMap and set the name of the map uv0 (for using the first coordinates) or uv1 (for using the second coordinates).
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MKXSI
- Posts: 63
- Joined: 13 Feb 2019, 15:27
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Just saw it a while after posting, thanks at all
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MKXSI
- Posts: 63
- Joined: 13 Feb 2019, 15:27
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hi again, is it possible that rendering CPU+GPU goes slower than just rendering on CPU or GPU? Its happening to me
And also, is it possible that RTX 2080s renders faster than Threadripper 2990wx¿?
My build is:
Msi x399 Creator
Threadripper 2990wx
RTX 2080 Super
64Gb RAM
And also, is it possible that RTX 2080s renders faster than Threadripper 2990wx¿?
My build is:
Msi x399 Creator
Threadripper 2990wx
RTX 2080 Super
64Gb RAM
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
If it happens for you, then it is possible. May you find more information on the official forum for Cycles developers: https://devtalk.blender.org/c/cycles Also, if you think that something works strange, try to render the scene on the latest build of the Blender. May be the reason on the Cycles side, and may be Cycles developers know about it.
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 21:02
- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hi MKXSI,MKXSI wrote: 17 Oct 2019, 07:29 Hi again, is it possible that rendering CPU+GPU goes slower than just rendering on CPU or GPU? Its happening to me
And also, is it possible that RTX 2080s renders faster than Threadripper 2990wx¿?
My build is:
Msi x399 Creator
Threadripper 2990wx
RTX 2080 Super
64Gb RAM
I own the same Threadripper 2990wx and 3 non RTX GFX-card (2x1080 + 1x1070) and I didn't notice CPU+GPU was slower than CPU or GPU because Cycles can work with multiple GFX Card
Nvidia drivers : 436.48
Windows 10 x64 / 64 Go RAM
Regards
Phil
"without mastery, power is nothing" - Softimage Addict User
CPU 3990x 128 Threads / 2 x 3090 RTX - 24 Go / 96 Go memory
CPU 3990x 128 Threads / 2 x 3090 RTX - 24 Go / 96 Go memory
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jonmoore
- Posts: 153
- Joined: 30 Jul 2016, 16:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
For what it's worth V-Ray Next is faster when using GPU alone unless you have 20+ threads running at approx 3.5 Ghz plus. As it happens I have a dual Xeon with 40 threads @ 3.3 Ghz but still tend to render on GPU's alone (pair of 1080 Ti's) as I prefer getting on with other tasks whilst rendering animation sequences.wireframex wrote: 17 Oct 2019, 18:39Hi MKXSI,MKXSI wrote: 17 Oct 2019, 07:29 Hi again, is it possible that rendering CPU+GPU goes slower than just rendering on CPU or GPU? Its happening to me
And also, is it possible that RTX 2080s renders faster than Threadripper 2990wx¿?
My build is:
Msi x399 Creator
Threadripper 2990wx
RTX 2080 Super
64Gb RAM
I own the same Threadripper 2990wx and 3 non RTX GFX-card (2x1080 + 1x1070) and I didn't notice CPU+GPU was slower than CPU or GPU because Cycles can work with multiple GFX Card
Nvidia drivers : 436.48
Windows 10 x64 / 64 Go RAM
Regards
Phil
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MKXSI
- Posts: 63
- Joined: 13 Feb 2019, 15:27
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hi all, it seems that depending on the bucket size CPU+GPU Render times and performance are affected.
Got another question, i cant get rid of fireflies or artifact in metalic material, using ;
AA 128
Dif 2
Glossy 8
transm 2
Ao 2
Clamp Dir 1
Clamp Ind 1
Denoise:
rad 2
feat strenght .5
strenght .5
any tips? i heard normal map strenght has effect on this, but i disconnected the normal map and its pretty much the same...
Thansk
Got another question, i cant get rid of fireflies or artifact in metalic material, using ;
AA 128
Dif 2
Glossy 8
transm 2
Ao 2
Clamp Dir 1
Clamp Ind 1
Denoise:
rad 2
feat strenght .5
strenght .5
any tips? i heard normal map strenght has effect on this, but i disconnected the normal map and its pretty much the same...
Thansk
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Post the screen with your problem. But any case, aa = 128 is to low. The render with this value will be very noisy. There is only one universals method to reduce noise and artefacts - increase samples count.
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MKXSI
- Posts: 63
- Joined: 13 Feb 2019, 15:27
Re: Cycles for Softimage
I guess that can be too of course, thanks for the tip, but is there any equivalence table to compare with arnold for example?
cause when i use arnlod, i use aa 8 and glossy 4 and there are no fireflies....
cause when i use arnlod, i use aa 8 and glossy 4 and there are no fireflies....