Cycles for Softimage

[owei]

According to a post in the Softimage-Group on FB, this seems to be an integration of Blender´s Cycles into Softimage|XSI!

Check it out!

https://ssoftadd.github.io/syclesPage.html



cheers,
oli

[rray]

Nice ! Was expecting something experimental when I saw it, but this looks very complete. Time to update my website ..

[Daniel Brassard]

The naming of some nodes gave me some though as it did not compare 100% with the cycle naming such as mixclosure versus mix nodes or color vs RGB nodes. "Closure" has a different use in OSL so it was a bit confusing to me why the author chose to use closure instead of shader as per the Cycle documentation. Cycle output nodes Material, Lamp or World are not there but not a big deal.

Some nodes are not 100% implemented (missing some cycle parameters) but it could be the integration to Softimage that prevented the full implementation, it's not needed or the node will be revised in future versions.

I would be interested to see the equivalent of a script node in future version, just to see if OSL could be implemented even if the first version is to read from a .osl file that cycle would convert to .oso.

Overall, with the added node compounds it's a very good version and quite complete.

[Firebird]

oh Nice
but as long as this stands..
"" Limitations:
No GPU, only CPU ""
Let´s hope they will manage that at some point.!?

[xsi_fanatic]

Nice, but I thought Cycles was GPU based. This is only CPU.

[owei]

...yes, but CPU is not that bad! I did some tests and it looks interesting! Maybe the author will aim for a GPU version soon. by the way, who is the author? I did not found his name anywhere..

[rray]

by the way, who is the author? I did not found his name anywhere..

Angel 07 (and lately Shekn) on this forum, also made this fabric engine retopo tool:
https://www.si-community.com/forum/v ... =27&t=5960

He/she seems to prefer to keep it anonymous

Other plugins by him/her
https://ssoftadd.github.io/

[Shekn]

Hi there, let me give some comments.

1. I planed to release the Sycles addon here (I mean on si-community) later. The main reason - the "How to..." manual should be translated into english, because, in fact, there are no any other documentation for the Sycles addon. I think that such kind of short tutorials are enough. But translation into english is not so easy for me.

2. Cycles for Blender initially was developed as CPU-based with possibilities to use the GPU. CPU-render is fully functional, but GPU-render is still in experimental stage in Blender. I tried different approaches to make integration into Softimage with GPU support, but fail. So, GPU-support is under developing. I hope.

3. About names of shader nodes. Yes, there are some differences in names. I don't know Blender and how to use the Cycles at all. So, in integration I guided by Cycles API. Mix Shader node in Cycles source code is called MixClosureNode. That's why I used this name. The same for Color node and so on.

4. I think that it is possible to add OSL-support. I will try to add it in the next release.

5. Daniel Brassard, please say, what parameters of shader nodes are missing. May be I missed something, or may be some parameters are hard to implement due to the difference in logic of Blender and Softimage.

6. All shader nodes in Compounds category are actually compounds and they constructed from other elementary nodes. Utility category contains some technical nodes, which used in other compounds. Don't use these nodes at all. Shaders category (in Compounds category) contains analog of nodes from some shader packs for Blender. For example, three nodes cycSubstancePBR... are nodes from this pack. cycSkin shader is (as I remember) the port of Arnold skin shader to Cycles.

7. If you have some questions, problems, remarks or recommendations - please, write it here. I will try to help, if it will be possible.

[rray]

Thanks for showing up - very nice work btw

I'm sure you'll find somebody who helps with the translation here (via google doc or something). As a basis for that google translation russian-english works surprisingly well:

Now the preparation time for the scene took less than a second. For this, the cache is intended. After each render, all the data about the objects exported to the engine is saved, and if the next time you need to render the previous object, then the saved data is used, and no new ones are created. The cache is not used in the following
Cases:
1. The object changes the number of vertices or polygons;
2. The number of subdivs or subdivision type changes (from linear to Catmull-Clark or vice versa).
mouth);
3. The index of the used uv-sweep changes;
4. The object shader requires an attribute that was not stored in the cache;
5. A full frame render takes place.
In connection with these, it is necessary to remember all the time about the following:
1. If an object has created a polygon cluster with new material, then render this
Note only when updating the cache;
2. If the object is deformed (bones, for example), then the renderer will not update the location of the vertices;
3. If the shader requires an attribute that can not be generated (for example, texture coordinates are needed, and there is no sweep at the object), then the geometry export will happen every time anew. To force to export all geometry each time anew, it is enough to turn off the Cache Mesh parameter in the Performance settings tab of the renderer.

[Manticor]

This is great but also all the other addons youve created too - open subdiv ,cycles etc .This is better than most Autodesk releases.

I think they should all be packaged up and called xsi 2017

Do you have any plans for any future addons ?

[Shekn]

Thank you, Manticor. I don't have any future plans for another addons.

[Daniel Brassard]

Interesting conversation on Softimage list:

Did anyone just happen to notice cycles nodes on softimage includes SUBSTANCE DESIGNER MATCHING PORTS FOR SHADING? Meaning: import stuff from substance directly with cyNodes into SI. Deeeengg that's a time saver!

Huge update to Softimage if you ask me considering it's 2017 and .Sbrs *kind of is a standard now*....

and

wait...how was it possible to get a 2017 shader code from bsdf into Softimage? just add the renderer code necessary and voilá?

Say what?!!
(Thinking about those nodes to get Substance designer shaders into softimage could be possible via SYcles).
D00d!

[Shekn]

Update - version 1.3. Download it here: https://ssoftadd.github.io/syclesPage.html

What's new:
1. Add support of OpenColorIO color profiles. By default Sycles contains profiles from Filmic Blender addon for Blender, but it is possible to use any other profiles (even downloaded from http://opencolorio.org/). How to use - lesson 20 in the manual.
2. Shaderballs preview for materials. How to use - lesson 21. Also there are some new shaderball models.
3. OSL-shaders support. It turns out that in Softimage is mush more convenient to use such external shaders. It automatically recognize files with *.osl extension and add it to RenderTree as usual shader nodes. Some library of osl-shaders can be download from here: https://github.com/sambler/osl-shaders

[Draise]

Frickin amazing. Till I can afford something like GPU cards and Redhsift licenses, I might actually jump onto using this.

Has anyone tried benchmarking this in Softimage? Against Mentalray? Arnold? Redshift?

[sirdavid32]

Yep, totally, we should consider benchmarking this! A total Arnold / Substance vs SYcles /Substance would be a totally awesome video!!!
I think I need to gumroad this for a dollar.

[sirdavid32]

Point proof!