Why don't gather founds like blender to pay plugins for XSI?

[yashugan]

The idea is this: Can we, using kikstart or something similar, use the same logic , but to create plug-ins for XSI that we always needed but for some reason (AUTODESK.....) we will never have?
I'm ready to give my money for something really good like Sculpting zbrush style, or a internal painter or something that connect XSI to photoshop, or some other usefull stuff that you know!.
Can we do a POLL to see how many poople need "something" and whitch programmer want to take the job, for how many money...and GO!
I prefer spend my money in this way instead of change all the licenses of my studio and HOPE for something that AUTODESK will never do!
Because every one know, and we do not pretend not to know, that AUTODESK bought xsi not to improve it, but to brake it. (and facts demostrate...)

Is a good idea?
Can we start a poll for the request features and found someone to pay for this?

thank you every one.

[yashugan]

The Pool:
Which feature is missing inside XSI? For what you are ready to pay a plugin? I will try to start something when i'll see interest enought.

1) Something like sculpitng (zbrush similar or tools about)

2) Viewport with realtime shader evolved (something really next gen...)

3) Systems to make easyer the rig process in all the way

4) A lot of PRESET for ICE, like ready to use FX (smokes, flames, explosions, water,etc etc)

5) More modelling tools for polygons

6) A improved texture editor (that also Pack UV... just for example)

7) Open subdivison support

8) A integrated and efficient SCATTER tool, or paint tool like more aroud...

9) 3D Paint tool integrated in xsi... or chained to externa application in a interactive way...

10) Animations tools (to be explored...)

11) Point cloud managment (for people that work with laser scan data)

12) Procedural Landascapes... or terrain...

13) Exporters for various formats that respect REALLY needed features...


And so on...
Please say you idea too. I'm just probing the mood.

Thank you!

[julius]

I'm ready to spend my money for such a thing too.

[MauricioPC]

2) Viewport with realtime shader evolved (something really next gen...)

5) More modelling tools for polygons

7) Open subdivison support

I think this is the most needed right now. The others with ICE can be developed and for sims and fluids Eric Mootz is doing a great job already.

[cgcris]

This is actually a very good idea, I am sure a lot of the developers would love to create plugins knowing that there is interest and their base cost is covered by users.

However we all know that there aren't that many people capable of doing most of this things, so we kind need keep things real and try to find matches dev/tool.

For example a while ago on the xsi list Ahmidou Lyazidi was asking if there was any interest on a grease tool.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searc ... MPAqJQfBwJ

There seem to be a fair amount of interest but the thread has been quiet for a while. Even if a grease tool is not a must tool for many, it would be a reasonable first campaign to get going and to get the ball rolling (if Ahmidou agrees of course).

Then there is leonard koch (http://www.leonardkoch.com) which based on his previous releases LKlighting and LKfabric would be a great candidate to create a new hair ice system. Again I am brainstorming here, he may not be interested at all but we can see that there is a match.

I hope it would be interesting for them if we can say, we have X amount of money upfront for which 50 users will get the license. Does this sound interesting for the Devs? or is it just undoable?

[EricTRocks]

You should remove 1,2, and 7 because without the AD devs you're never going to see these...

[cgcris]

You should remove 1,2, and 7 because without the AD devs you're never going to see these...

Is what I was trying to say, keep it simple or nothing will happen...

[Eugen]

Guys,
these are all good ideas, but you can take Softimage only as far as the SDK and customizability allow, ICE or non-ICE.
Sure there is much that can be written, and the SDK got better the last releases, and let's not forget Fabric Engine/Splice - a tool for creating tools.

Unfortunately, there are still bugs, missing features and some roadblocks in the SDK. If there's nobody around anymore to fix this low-level stuff that 3rd parties don't have access to, then you can try workarounds, but at some point you have to give up. It's hard to say if and when - it would have to be tested. So brace for some disappointment and wasted effort if you go on such an endeavour as investing into an abandoned code base.

This is a complex topic, and I'm not proficient enough to list all the issues, but a nasty one I vote for years now is the fact that the custom operator SDK is missing cluster support. You cannot write ops that are as deeply integrated as the factory ones.
ICE has blind spots, too, in some places, like no (or just rudimental) Nurbs support.
That's just a few I know about, because they got in the way of (thouroughly) writing the stuff I was interested in (curve tools and better extrusion/revolution ops. Non-ICE, btw.)

That always was one of Soft's weaknesses - it never was as good a dev platform as Maya or 3ds max. Sad, but true.


But let's wait those few days until anything official comes from this wonderful company. Maybe there's a even a chance we can talk them into fixing as much SDK stuff as possible, but don't bet on it right now.

My moment's mood is to think maybe all of this is a lesson in letting go...

[xsi_fanatic]

I can root for that idea 2000%

[Helli]

Like Eugen said.

Just let go....

Why should we stick to a dead product. Just move on, do it now and you gonna be happy you did it in a few years.
Do it then and it might be too late.

There is no sense anymore in writing plugins for Softimage. The userbase just makes it impossible for most of the devs to make a lifing out of it.
I wonder how Eric is doing. But in the end he is porting his plugins now too to maya through fabric engine.

[xsi_fanatic]

Like Eugen said.

Just let go....

Why should we stick to a dead product. Just move on, do it now and you gonna be happy you did it in a few years.
Do it then and it might be too late.

There is no sense anymore in writing plugins for Softimage. The userbase just makes it impossible for most of the devs to make a lifing out of it.
I wonder how Eric is doing. But in the end he is porting his plugins now too to maya through fabric engine.

Helli,

I understand where you're pointing at, but I have no intention on giving up so easily. I hope with time you can change your mind too.

[owei]

Some kind of crowd funded development is a thing Softimage contributors should consider, as far as the SDK allows it. Like Eugen stated, Soft´s SDK just gives you limited access to certain things.
Eric stated here and at the list, that he won´t stop developing for Softimage. I trust in his words ;) Of course he will look into FE, like he also hinted here and there.
As far as "letting go" and "jumping the ship now" is concerned, I would say, that there is no reason for panic, right now. And there is no general answer to it. It depends on your situation. Pipelines will change, of course, but this will take some time, and companies really have to think twice which way to go. AD really destroyed innovation and competition in the field of "high end" DCC applications, as far as I see. To me, what ever get´s the job done, will be considered, unless it is too painful, if Soft is not capable of doing it. But, like I stated several times here and there, I don´t see anything coming close right now. So let´s see, what the future brings.

cheers,
oli

[mattmos]

Well, we could start by contributing a bit more to https://vimeo.com/80382153

I'd love to contribute to seeing further development of Anto Matkovic's Kristinka tools too.

[Mathaeus]

I'd love to contribute to seeing further development of Anto Matkovic's Kristinka tools too.

By the way, this is a song, also. I think this is original, It's nostalgic reminiscence to first teenager's love that doesn't exist for a very long time. Hair, eyes, hot summer, flowers, so on. Fits nicely somewhere after fifth beer, and up. Sooo, according to state of Softimage...

Ok now seriously, I have for really small update, let's say version 3.2. Current is 3.1, if I'm correct. Number of small improvements, a few new hair flow generators, modifiers. Nothing significant, I'd say. Anything above, like workflow tools, scripted procedures, hard coding, that's beyond of what I'm doing.
Anyway I hope I'll post what I have, most likely sometime this summer. Site is supposed to stay on same place for next seven years, I think. There's plenty of disk space, so all reasons are to keep the same content, and more.

Regarding commercial plugins, without any false optimism, I think right now there's a 'time of plugins', as many people will try to re-direct their subscription money into something else.

[yashugan]

The question is not if move on or not. The question is DIFFERENT.
XSI still have the fastest interface even maded for a 3d program (and every one here know this).
For me, and my studio (we are 6 people) XSI mean work FAST, absolutely FAST.
I had in the past other members of the crew (guys very skilled) that wansn't able to produce the same as inside XSI (users of maya or max)
For me XSI mean first of all GAIN TIME respect to every other app.
For this reason i want to keep long as i can XSI. I'm shure that in the future XSI (first or later) will be changed, but now, actually, i don't see noting fast like XSI around. (and please don't say modo....)

So, the purpose of my idea is not to keep alive XSI but make it better (also because XSI, for the next 5/6 years can go on without problemens)
I work 14 hour x day with XSI,and the crew of my studio too. Is not a caprice of me.
But really XSI is instrument to WORK FAST. I can't spend one month to produce the same asset tha inside xsi is ready in 12 days....

So thank you for you suggestion, if you want join us, you are welcome! Choose too something you need, and we can try, why not?
We can do it.
Please still chose a feature. We can discuss it in different topic once we reache enought interest we will plan HOW to go on.

Thank you every one!

[xsi_fanatic]

I'd love to contribute to seeing further development of Anto Matkovic's Kristinka tools too.

By the way, this is a song, also. I think this is original, It's nostalgic reminiscence to first teenager's love that doesn't exist for a very long time. Hair, eyes, hot summer, flowers, so on. Fits nicely somewhere after fifth beer, and up. Sooo, according to state of Softimage...

Ok now seriously, I have for really small update, let's say version 3.2. Current is 3.1, if I'm correct. Number of small improvements, a few new hair flow generators, modifiers. Nothing significant, I'd say. Anything above, like workflow tools, scripted procedures, hard coding, that's beyond of what I'm doing.
Anyway I hope I'll post what I have, most likely sometime this summer. Site is supposed to stay on same place for next seven years, I think. There's plenty of disk space, so all reasons are to keep the same content, and more.

Regarding commercial plugins, without any false optimism, I think right now there's a 'time of plugins', as many people will try to re-direct their subscription money into something else.

Mathaeus,

While you continue to amaze us with Kristinka, I have to say your tool lacks proper explanation and a video tutorial.

1- How to install the plugin and get started with it
2- A comprehensive video on how to use it to generate long hair, and create simulation.

Is there anything I can do to help make that video tutorial possible ?