SoftImage XSI case study: Metal Gear Solid 4

doylle · 17-09-2008, 02:09 AM

Read The article

You can discuss the article here.

sampson · 17-09-2008, 04:41 AM

Haha wow MGS4 was xsi... interesting. is this a leap by the industry away from maya/3ds max or a greater acceptance of other programs?

germball · 17-09-2008, 06:18 AM

I think you will find that XSI is used quite alot in games, its just not shouted about that much. And although Maya/Max have more attention and a larger combined market share, they are not quite as dominant as people think. Much comes down to countries. XSI completely owns the Japanese game market. Lots of European developers and game companies also use it.

sarge mat · 17-09-2008, 06:54 AM

It was very interesting to see how one of the multiplayer levels was built up over time in XSI. Show how much of a difference lighting makes as well, when you see snake with out it.

micahmcneely · 17-09-2008, 11:28 AM

Well, I use Maya and some Max. I started using Xsi about 8 months ago for some studios that I was freelancing for and I was very impressed with it! It is very easy to transition to especailly for a maya user and has some very nice modeling and rendering features. About the only complaint was the texture editor stinks but, you could always use another program for UVs. If you have not had a chance to ckeck out Xsi I suggest you try it!

germball · 17-09-2008, 11:48 AM

actually the UV editor is actually very good and certainly better than Maya's. Lots more tools. You just have to get used to it and the workflow. Many argue that it doesn't have Max's peltmapping, but there was a free unwrap plugin called Roadkill released not long after pelt came out for Max.

XSi is very underrated mostly because Softimage lost ground to Maya when it came out. But frankly it has the best animation toolset around and modelling is easily as good as anything out there.

micahmcneely · 17-09-2008, 12:04 PM

Yeah I used RoadKill and it worked pretty well. I will have to look at the texture editor again because I only remember there being like 2 tools and those didn't even work that well. Thanks for the input I will look at it again.

micahmcneely · 17-09-2008, 12:12 PM

If I am not mistaken I heard that Blur just switched to Xsi? I have heard rumor that a few more studios would be making the switch soon?

Cryrid · 18-09-2008, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Haha wow MGS4 was xsi... interesting. is this a leap by the industry away from maya/3ds max or a greater acceptance of other programs?

MGS3 was XSI too:

"How was XSI used in the MGS3 project?
It was the main tool for modeling, character setup, and animation. XSI became the main pipeline of MGS3. "
(source)

There are quite a few non-American companies using XSI, Japanese especially (now one of the default languages for their license server). Capcom has been using it lately in titles such as RE. We're currently getting our Department of National Defense to switch over as well.

Quote:

If I am not mistaken I heard that Blur just switched to Xsi?

They've been using it for a while now judging on how many times their work would pop up on XSIbase. They played a part in developing Softimage's Face Robot as well.

Regarding the Texture Editor, I've never had any problems with it.

As for the article, I think it was pretty informative (I like the thought of converting syflex simulation into something a game engine can use). I was a bit surprised at how they could keep the textures to 512x512 and still got a hi-res look.

3rdman · 27-09-2008, 11:40 AM

Just read the article yesterday, all i think is ZOMG!! these japanese developers are freakin cRAZYY!! man the team must be a pack of geniuses at hand, cos the amount of work put into this game, its freakin unbelieveable....on top of that they had a wonderful staff that communicated with each other, and not to mention the sheer gratification for the software, XSI.

Makes me wanna ditch maya for xsi now....

17-09-2008, 02:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
doylle Industry Artist 3,373 - 3,720	SoftImage XSI case study: Metal Gear Solid 4 Read The article You can discuss the article here. __________________ Environment artist - EA dice JeroenMaton.net Sketchbook

17-09-2008, 04:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
sampson Game Art Student 652 - 302	Haha wow MGS4 was xsi... interesting. is this a leap by the industry away from maya/3ds max or a greater acceptance of other programs? __________________ Tutorial - Ambient Occlusion in MAX My Sketchbook Thread Portfolio AVAILABLE FOR FREELANCE

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17-09-2008, 06:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
germball Artist 54 - 4	I think you will find that XSI is used quite alot in games, its just not shouted about that much. And although Maya/Max have more attention and a larger combined market share, they are not quite as dominant as people think. Much comes down to countries. XSI completely owns the Japanese game market. Lots of European developers and game companies also use it.

17-09-2008, 06:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
sarge mat Senior Member 886 - 630	It was very interesting to see how one of the multiplayer levels was built up over time in XSI. Show how much of a difference lighting makes as well, when you see snake with out it.

17-09-2008, 11:28 AM	#5 (permalink)
micahmcneely Freelancer 4 - 0	Well, I use Maya and some Max. I started using Xsi about 8 months ago for some studios that I was freelancing for and I was very impressed with it! It is very easy to transition to especailly for a maya user and has some very nice modeling and rendering features. About the only complaint was the texture editor stinks but, you could always use another program for UVs. If you have not had a chance to ckeck out Xsi I suggest you try it!

17-09-2008, 11:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
germball Artist 54 - 4	actually the UV editor is actually very good and certainly better than Maya's. Lots more tools. You just have to get used to it and the workflow. Many argue that it doesn't have Max's peltmapping, but there was a free unwrap plugin called Roadkill released not long after pelt came out for Max. XSi is very underrated mostly because Softimage lost ground to Maya when it came out. But frankly it has the best animation toolset around and modelling is easily as good as anything out there.

17-09-2008, 12:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
micahmcneely Freelancer 4 - 0	Yeah I used RoadKill and it worked pretty well. I will have to look at the texture editor again because I only remember there being like 2 tools and those didn't even work that well. Thanks for the input I will look at it again.

17-09-2008, 12:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
micahmcneely Freelancer 4 - 0	If I am not mistaken I heard that Blur just switched to Xsi? I have heard rumor that a few more studios would be making the switch soon?

27-09-2008, 11:40 AM	#10 (permalink)
3rdman Frequenter 143 - 9	Just read the article yesterday, all i think is ZOMG!! these japanese developers are freakin cRAZYY!! man the team must be a pack of geniuses at hand, cos the amount of work put into this game, its freakin unbelieveable....on top of that they had a wonderful staff that communicated with each other, and not to mention the sheer gratification for the software, XSI. Makes me wanna ditch maya for xsi now....