| |
Realtime Shaders |
XSI helps you harness the power of next-generation GPUs with the sophisticated, completely programmable RTS 3.0 display architecture. XSI natively supports OpenGL, GLSL, CgFX, DirectX 9, and DirectX 10 real-time shaders, as well as .FX shaders. A unified shader environment lets you package pixel and vertex shaders in a single node, while multi-technique settings make it easy to create cross-platform shaders. Real-time previewing means you can work in XSI with the exact same shaders that run in your game engine, and eliminate unnecessary revision cycles.
Click to enlarge
XSI's realtime shading pipeline lets you bring your game shaders into XSI to see exactly how they'll look on your characters.
Realtime shaders are all available as nodes in the render tree, and support the same drag & drop connection workflow as XSI’s mental ray shaders. All programmable shaders feature a customizable Scintilla-based text editor which supports text customization (font, color, size), syntax styling, folding auto-completion and highlighting for keywords. Standard Annotation and Semantics (SAS) support lets you bind scene data such as cameras, lights and vertex attributes to the effect shaders (CgFX and .FX) parameters.
Now, in XSI 7, you can apply realtime shading effects to particle simulations such as the smoke simulation shown here. |
Ultimapper - Normal Mapping |
Designed primarily for game development, Ultimapper transfers surface detail from high-resolution objects onto their low-resolution counterparts. Using Ultimapper, you can bake complex surface detail into cinematic quality normal, ambient occlusion, difference, light, and albedo maps and apply those maps to your game-res models at the touch of a button.
Click to Enlarge
Ultimapper generates cinematic-quality surface-detail maps from high-res characters and applies them to low-res character through a realtime, or mental-ray shader tree.
Unlike other 3D applications that make you jump through hoops to produce a useable normal map, Ultimapper requires just two models and few clicks to set up. When you’re finished, you can generate an instant mental ray, DirectX, or OpenGL preview directly in the XSI viewports.
See how to transfers heavy surface detail onto low-res models with Ultimpper. Download video - right-click and save as... |
Support for popular game engines |
XSI supports the following game engines and development frameworks:
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
XSI Graphics Sequencer |
The dedicated XGS display SDK allows almost any custom drawing processes or passes to be added to XSI geometry views. You can develop your own customized hardware rendering display by using the same mechanism XSI uses natively and provide an accurate representation within XSI of the rendering pipeline you use within your own production environment. The graphic sequencer enables custom rendering passes in the viewports via the C++ API, which provides display and pass callbacks to control the rendering pipeline displayed in XSI.
Click to enlarge
Take control of XSI's realtime display pipeline with the XSI Graphics Sequencer. |
Custom Display Host |
The Custom Display Host is a dedicated framework to host custom viewers or custom applications as views inside XSI, allowing interaction between XSI and the custom application. Game engines and other foreign applications can easily be embedded into XSI with minor modifications. 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. You can make changes to your assets in XSI and instantly see the result in your game engine.
Click to enlarge
The custom display host makes it possible to embed custom applications, like game engines, directly in XSI. |
|
COLLADA Support |
COLLADA is an open standard for exchanging digital assets between 3D authoring applications without losing information. From the very beginning, Softimage has played a significant role in supporting COLLADA and fostering its development. We are proud to say that today, XSI has the best COLLADA support of any 3D package, supporting the import and export of most scene elements.
Click to enlarge
Strong COLLADA support make it easier than ever to get your content into your game engine.
|
Support for CryENGINE 2 |
| |
|
XSI's support for popular game engines and development frameworks lets you get assets into your game reliably, as in this CryEngine2 example. Download video - right-click and save as... |
| |
Support for GameBryo |
| |
|
XSI supports the highly popular Gamebryo engine by Emergent Technologies. Download video - right-click and save as... |
| |
| Back to Tour |
|
|
