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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Draise
- Posts: 894
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- Location: Colombia
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hey that's neat.
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benoit81
- Posts: 73
- Joined: 03 Oct 2011, 18:51
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Do you plan to make Cycles for Softimage compatible with rendermap ?
Bay the way, thank you very much for this addition to Softimage : Cycles is very powerfull, and it's a step forward to move to blender
Bay the way, thank you very much for this addition to Softimage : Cycles is very powerfull, and it's a step forward to move to blender
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
The answer to the question - no. It's because I don't know how to do this. This is the main reason.
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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Update 1.7. Download here: https://ssoftadd.github.io/download/Sycles_1.7.xsiaddon
What's new:
1. Compiled with the latest version of the Cycles (from 17 September 2018). The most essential updates of Cycles are new shader-node PrincipledHairBSDF and enhancement of Math and Voronoi nodes.
2. Now panorama render works correctly.
3. Rendering motion blur and (in particular) Motion Pass. How to do this - tutorial 26 in the manual from the page https://ssoftadd.github.io/syclesPage.html
4. Support of rendering volume-objects like smoke, fire and other clouds. This is done by storing data in special set of ICE-attributes with the help of one ICE-node. This method allows to render any volume data, in particular OpenVDB, emFluid and Explosia FX. How to do this - tutorials 27, 28 and 29 in the manual.
5. Add parameters of the Mist Pass to the render properties. This pass in some sense is opposite to the Depth Pass.
6. Fix some non-critical bags and errors.
What's new:
1. Compiled with the latest version of the Cycles (from 17 September 2018). The most essential updates of Cycles are new shader-node PrincipledHairBSDF and enhancement of Math and Voronoi nodes.
2. Now panorama render works correctly.
3. Rendering motion blur and (in particular) Motion Pass. How to do this - tutorial 26 in the manual from the page https://ssoftadd.github.io/syclesPage.html
4. Support of rendering volume-objects like smoke, fire and other clouds. This is done by storing data in special set of ICE-attributes with the help of one ICE-node. This method allows to render any volume data, in particular OpenVDB, emFluid and Explosia FX. How to do this - tutorials 27, 28 and 29 in the manual.
5. Add parameters of the Mist Pass to the render properties. This pass in some sense is opposite to the Depth Pass.
6. Fix some non-critical bags and errors.
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 21:02
- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Is there an edge rounded shader for Softimage ?
"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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wireframex
- Posts: 425
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- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
"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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rray
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Re: Cycles for Softimage
Hey Shekn thanks for the updated version.
softimage resources section updated Sep 26th 2026
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sirdavid32
- Posts: 309
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- Location: Ecuador
Re: Cycles for Softimage
fantastic news! I gotta try the hair shader
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Shekn
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Re: Cycles for Softimage
wireframex, edge round shader in Sycles is called Bevel. AO shader is really incorrect, but this is a bug of Cycles, not mine. So, we should wait while developers of Blender fix it. But AO_PASS works correctly. You can use it for rendering ambient occlusion. There is only one option for this pass - AO Distance in Background tab of the render properties page.
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
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- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Thanks a lot SheknShekn wrote: 24 Sep 2018, 14:07 wireframex, edge round shader in Sycles is called Bevel. AO shader is really incorrect, but this is a bug of Cycles, not mine. So, we should wait while developers of Blender fix it. But AO_PASS works correctly. You can use it for rendering ambient occlusion. There is only one option for this pass - AO Distance in Background tab of the render properties page.
Do you have a simple scene about emfluid rendering or Explosia Fx ?
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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Shekn
- Posts: 254
- Joined: 30 Dec 2016, 19:18
Re: Cycles for Softimage
How to render emFluids described in the manual, tutorial 28 (link to the pdf: https://ssoftadd.github.io/manuals/sycl ... 18_eng.pdf)
I attach some example file with the scene and two screens with ICE-tree and Render-tree for the volume object. The process of rendering divided into several steps:
1. Simulate volumes as usual. It is possible to use build-in render engine for emFluid for tests.
2. Save data of volume densities to the separate attribute. In fact you should save 4 attributes for each data set: voxels dimensions, voxel cube size (min and max corners) and data array. Data array may consists from float, colour or vector3 values. For convenience purpose there are special ICE-nodes for saving this data (Set Volume Float, Set Volume Colour and so on).
3. Set shader for volume. In shader you should use attribute with saved values by using Attribute node. Without selecting concrete attribute the volume will not be rendered, because the renderer does not know what values used for density, colours and so on.
I attach some example file with the scene and two screens with ICE-tree and Render-tree for the volume object. The process of rendering divided into several steps:
1. Simulate volumes as usual. It is possible to use build-in render engine for emFluid for tests.
2. Save data of volume densities to the separate attribute. In fact you should save 4 attributes for each data set: voxels dimensions, voxel cube size (min and max corners) and data array. Data array may consists from float, colour or vector3 values. For convenience purpose there are special ICE-nodes for saving this data (Set Volume Float, Set Volume Colour and so on).
3. Set shader for volume. In shader you should use attribute with saved values by using Attribute node. Without selecting concrete attribute the volume will not be rendered, because the renderer does not know what values used for density, colours and so on.
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
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- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Thanks a lotShekn wrote: 25 Sep 2018, 07:30 How to render emFluids described in the manual, tutorial 28 (link to the pdf: https://ssoftadd.github.io/manuals/sycl ... 18_eng.pdf)
I attach some example file with the scene and two screens with ICE-tree and Render-tree for the volume object. The process of rendering divided into several steps:
1. Simulate volumes as usual. It is possible to use build-in render engine for emFluid for tests.
2. Save data of volume densities to the separate attribute. In fact you should save 4 attributes for each data set: voxels dimensions, voxel cube size (min and max corners) and data array. Data array may consists from float, colour or vector3 values. For convenience purpose there are special ICE-nodes for saving this data (Set Volume Float, Set Volume Colour and so on).
3. Set shader for volume. In shader you should use attribute with saved values by using Attribute node. Without selecting concrete attribute the volume will not be rendered, because the renderer does not know what values used for density, colours and so on.
It seems I will stick SI with Cycles
With SI EOL Redshift / Vray and Arnold have stopped developpment and internal features like fluid / smoke render are missing ... Cycles begin to be very interesting and many shaders are provided
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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wireframex
- Posts: 425
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- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Nothing interesting here but render is quiet clean 


"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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Draise
- Posts: 894
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- Location: Colombia
Re: Cycles for Softimage
Very nice! The caustics are quite well done. What settings did you use? Did it use the denoiser?
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wireframex
- Posts: 425
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- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
I use 2 panels (Light objects) + 1 Environment texture + denoising (AA Sample : 800) --> Rendering time 35sDraise wrote: 27 Sep 2018, 16:11 Very nice! The caustics are quite well done. What settings did you use? Did it use the denoiser?
CPU+GPU rendering --> CPU (Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 16-Core ) + GPU (2 GTXTitan + 1 GTX 1070)
"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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wireframex
- Posts: 425
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 21:02
- Location: France
Re: Cycles for Softimage
AO Pass render test 


"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

