SOFTIMAGE|3D



SOFTIMAGE|3D Tools
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1. Default Colors Utility -Interactively changes the default color values in your SOFTIMAGE|3D color box. (Desktop.rsrc).


2. Softimage Email Database (1999-2000) - The most useful Q & A from the Softimage Mailing List. All sorted very nicely in a Microsoft ACCESS Database. This is updated version of last years database with the past 2 years of useful emails . Courtesy of Bill Upham

3. Maya2Softimage - (Click here for a Korean version) More of a Tutorial than a tool, written by Stefan Andersson: how to import models created with Maya into SOFTIMAGE|3D.

4. Microscribe driver - By Darren Hendler - A plugin that works with the softimage channel drivers and the digitizer plugin in the motion module. Allowing you to use the Microscribe Digitizer in SOFTIMAGE|3D.

5.
RenderQueue 2.0 - By Arvid Björn - Generates a dos BATCH file contaning everything SOFTIMAGE|3D needs to render a scene in any database listed in your DatabaseDir.rsrc file. Click here for more info

6. MentalQue - By Arvid Björn - This program lets the user add MI files generated by mental ray to a batch list, with an easy to use graphical user interface. Click here for more info

7. SOFTIMAGE pic file format information -Written by Paul Bourke Based upon code by Halfdan Ingvarsson - Softimage and support software such as MentalRay export images in what they call "pic" files. These support RGB and RGBA images with either no compression or RLE (Run Length Encoding). The code provided on this page forms the basis of a translator, currently just writing PPM and RAW images with or without the alpha channel and optionally flipped along the horizontal axis.

8. Halfy's SOFTIMAGE|SAAPHIRE FAQ - By Halfdan Ingvarsson - Halfy's Self-Gratification Corner (I.E. Website) - This FAQ is a list of tips and tricks and questions and answers and other things related to Softimage|SAAPHIRE. Most of this stuff has been culled through the years by spending hours figuring out why things don't work as advertised and monitoring the SAAPHIRE developers list.

SOFTIMAGE|3D Scripts.

1. Softimage File format output scripts - By Ed Harriss - Render to any format, supported by a standalone, with SOFTIMAGE|3D. TGA, SGI, TIF, YUV, etc....

2. Softimage auto renumberer - By Ed Harriss - (Click here for Korean Instructions) Make SOFTIMAGE|3D render out images in a format compatible with most compositing packages.(Leading Zeroes) For example: SOFTIMAGE|3D renders frame 12 and calls it. image.12.pic. This script will automaticaly change the file to image.0012.pic

3. Softimage auto renumberer combined with the Softimage File format output scripts- By Ed Harriss - Make SOFTIMAGE|3D render out images in a format compatible with most compositing packages.(Leading Zeroes) and convert it to any format, supported by a standalone, with Softimage. TGA, SGI, TIF, YUV, etc....For example: SOFTIMAGE|3D renders frame 12 and calls it. image.12.pic. These scripts will automaticaly change the file to image.0012.tga or image.0012.sgi, etc...

 

SOFTIMAGE|3D Sample Scene Databases

FOV effect - This scene will simulate the effect used many times in films. Where the main object is in the foreground and the whole background moves outward from the camera leaving the main object in the same place.Courtesy of Bradley R. Gabe - Technical Director at ILM.

"Fake Anisotropic Effect" Database - A scene that does the anisotropic effect by blending and translating (i.e. rotating) gradients on the disc using expressions. All the circles and squares are needed to get some information for light and camera positions in relation to the disc-center. Courtesy of Nicolai Tuma of Munich Animation.

Soccerball/Football model: SOFTIMAGE|3DHRC model (360k) - It seems that everybody needs this model from time to time! So Sandy Sutherland of The Refinery (Cape) was kind enough to let me post it!

Plugins
(For the NT version of SOFTIMAGE|3D, unless specified)



1.
Nurbs Cube (NT Only) - By Erwan Maigret - A modeling primitive that creates a cube with a nurbs surface

2. Nurbs Cylinder (NT Only) - By Erwan Maigret - A modeling primitive that creates a cylinder with a nurb Surface

3. ChangeSteps (NT Version) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin adds or substracts steps (in u and v) on patchs surfaces and curves (IRIX Version)
3aChangeSteps (IRIX Version)

4.
BlackOut (NT Version) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin deletes all the materials and textures of a Hierarchy.
4aBlackOut (IRIX Version)

5. TagLine (IRIX Only) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin selects a line of tagged points from only 2, for polygon mesh models only.

6. SubLine (IRIX Only) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin dds a line in the middle of quad polygons.

7. PolygonSelectExpand (IRIX Only) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin select the neighbouring polygons of selected polygons.

8. Def2Gab (IRIX Only) - By Erwan Maigret - This plugin simplifies the geometry of models so that they are easier to animate. It keeps the data in the invisible part of the model in order to go back to the original geometry. Anytime during the animation you can swap between the high definition and low definition geometry of any part of a model.

9. CopyConstrain (Actor->Constraint) by Hirotaka Imagawa(imosan) - When a duplicated hierarchy has lost it's constraints. This plugin brings back your constraint setup from original one you made. Known Limitation: Constraint->Position Limits ->Sphere won't be copied correctly.(it depends on SDK bug.) And, Two Point/Three Point Constraint are not supported. INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS

10. CopyNameTree (Model->Effect) by Hirotaka Imagawa(imosan) - This plugin matches all node names of a hierarchy when you make a symmetry hierarchy such as hand. Before you use this plugin, you have to define any Prefix for original hierarchy.

11. MakeFat (Model->Effect) by Hirotaka Imagawa(imosan) - This plugin is very simillar with Effect->Push, but you can use the Tag option.

12. Delete all Textures(NT Version) - Deletes all the textures in the scene.
12a Delete all Textures(IRIX Version)

13. Get Truetype Fonts(IRIX Only) - By Kim Aldis - This plugin allows you to import truetype fonts into Softimage 3D.

14. Get Post Script Fonts(IRIX Only) - By Kim Aldis - This plugin allows you to import postscript or truetype fonts into Softimage 3D.

15. Animated Constraints - by Daikin Industries LTD. - Allows you to Animate constraints in Softimage3D. Position, Orientation, Direction, Scaling constraints are supported.

16. TOPIX Cloth - TOPIXCLOTH is a free cloth simulation plug-in for Softimage3D

17. SPEEDRENDER shaders - SpeedRender is a collection mental ray® shaders and custom effects for SOFTIMAGE®|3D that allows artists to create stunning visual effects. With SpeedRender, the user controls the shading and the lighting to enhance the image quality of SOFTIMAGE|3D. SpeedRender is a must-have for all people who create high-end images! SpeedRender is a spinoff from L/Image, a renderer that Imagica Corp.(Tokyo, Japan) has been developing for over 10 years.

If after installing it you get error messages then try
add three lines in your %SI_LOCATION%\3D\rsrc\rayrc.
registry "{SPEEDRENDER}"
value "C:/SpeedRender/MR_Shaders"
end registry

18. Lightwave to SOFTIMAGE|3D Export - This is the Modeler plugin to export geometry, materials and and texture UV coordinates to a SOFTIMAGE|3D (.hrc) file. Requires a copy of Lightwave to to work.
Mirror links:
Lightwave SOFTIMAGE3D Export Windows zip
Lightwave SOFTIMAGE3D Export For Older Versions Windows zip
Lightwave SOFTIMAGE3D Export For Older Versions Alpha zip
Lightwave SOFTIMAGE3D Export For Older Versions SGI zip


19. Haggi's SOFTIMAGE|3D plugins - Haggi's Visual Effects and Animation - extCam (A camera Tool) DuplikateWithOff (An Fcurve tool) and Deformer (Spline deformation tool) All plugins were created by steini. Mirror link: Haggis Plugins

SOFTIMAGE|3D Converters


1. Soft2omf by By Chris Trimble and Nick Kisseberth - Converts SOFTIMAGE .pic files to OMF. So that they can be imported into Avid Media Composer. Install Notes

2. Flame2Soft - By Phil Jones - This plugin converts tracking data from FLAME to SOFTIMAGE|3D.

3 Softimage ZPic converter - By Kim Jensen - ConvertsSOFTIMAGE ZPIC files to BMP or JPEG for use in post production tools like older versions of AfterEffects, Digital Fusion, or other packages that do not support the SoftImage ZPIC format. Click here for more information

4 Softimage Pic Plugin for windows - This plugin reads SOFTIMAGE pic format images into photoshop.

5. Softimage Pic Plugin for macintosh - This plugin reads SOFTIMAGE pic format images into photoshop.

6. Soft2Rib version 1 (NT) - By soft2rib - Converts SOFTIMAGE|3D scene information to the RenderMan standard. (RIB files) Click here for more Information
6a Soft2Rib version 1 (IRIX)

7. Soft2MW - by Naoto Ozaki - Mystery plugin.