ICE Visual Programming

Softimage ICE (Interactive Creative Environment) is a visual programming system that allows anyone to extend the capabilities of XSI quickly and intuitively using a dataflow diagram. Powering ICE is a high performance parallel processing engine that takes advantage of multi-core workstations – a first for a general 3D architecture – giving you the utmost performance and scalability. The result is a giant leap forward in production efficiency, enabling higher production standards.

Learn more about ICE >>

Support for Standard Scripting & Programming   Languages

Part of Softimage’s commitment to open standards, XSI lets you use C++, C#, JScript, Python, Perl, or any Dot NET compliant language to create the tools that you need in the language you're most comfortable with.

Dedicated Tools Development Environment (TDE)

A single unified development environment, the TDE lets you create, manage and deploy all of your tools, plug-ins, and workgroups. The TDE contains multiple script editors, each with syntax help, breakpoints, and external debugging links. Its tree-based Add-On manager can create self-installing shaders, events, and plug-ins from development wizards, using standard scripting languages or directly in C++. Develop in the TDE and enjoy the refined workflow that XSI artists have enjoyed for years.

The TDE is your one-stop-shop for creating and managing custom tools. Download video - right-click and save as...

XSI SDK

XSI comes with an extremely comprehensive SDK (Software Development Kit) that allows you to extend XSI at a low level. The possibilities are endless with the SDK. Please refer to the SDK Documentation for more information about what you can customize (and how) with XSI.

The SDK allows you to:

Create customized versions of XSI scene elements:

• Custom Commands
• Custom Operators
• Custom Properties
• Custom ICE nodes
• mental ray Shaders
• Realtime Shaders
• MetaShaders
• Custom Fx Operators
• Character Development Kit (Customized Rigs)

Create custom versions of XSI features:

• Custom Filters
• Custom Events

Use special tools to support interaction between XSI and an external device or program:

• Custom Display Host
• Custom Renderers
• Device Drivers

Manipulate the working environment and deploying tools:

• Standard and Contextual Menus
• Developing Synoptic Views
• Developing for Net View
• Graphic Sequencer
• Spreadsheet Queries
• Providing Help
• Building and Deploying Customizations (Packaging)

Open Rendering API

In XSI 6, we opened up the rendering API to allow 3rd parties to develop XSI integrations of their rendering engines. You can use the same API to create your own custom renderer integration, with the same depth and control as the XSI mental ray integration. This means you can make your shaders available in the render tree, make your rendering options available directly in XSI, set up unlimited render passes in a single scene, create shaderball thumbnail previews, generate render region previews directly in the XSI viewports and more.

Custom Display Host

The Custom Display Host is a dedicated framework to host custom viewers or custom applications as views inside XSI. You can easily develop custom tools and deploy them as XSI views, embed existing tools into XSI with only minor modifications, or create custom viewers with your own drawing code. The CDH API allows the hosted application to send, receive and filter events as they occur in XSI, and to modify the XSI scene interactively.