Softimage 3D
Encyclopedia
Softimage|3D was a high-end 3D graphics application developed by Softimage, Co., which was used predominantly in the film
, gaming and advertising
industries for the production of 3D animation. It has been superseded by Softimage XSI.
in 1988 as the Softimage Creative Environment. Softimage was used by Industrial Light and Magic
to animate the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
, by Cyan to create the adventure game Riven
. In 1994, Microsoft acquired the Softimage
Corporation and renamed the package Softimage|3D, releasing a Windows NT
port two years later. In 1996, Microsoft began offering Softimage|3D Extreme 3.5, which included particle effects and the mental ray
renderer. 3D paint functionality was added a year later in version 3.7.
Softimage|3D was gradually replaced by the company's next product, Softimage XSI
starting in 2000. The last version of Sofimage|3D was version 4.0, released in 2002 at its lowest price ever, 1,485$ See Softimage, Co. for detailed time line.
Productions that used Softimage|3D include the film "Starship Troopers
" and the video game Super Mario 64
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, gaming and advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
industries for the production of 3D animation. It has been superseded by Softimage XSI.
History
Softimage|3D was originally released at SiggraphSIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...
in 1988 as the Softimage Creative Environment. Softimage was used by Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
to animate the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, by Cyan to create the adventure game Riven
Riven
Riven is a puzzle adventure game and the sequel to Myst. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Brøderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released on October 29, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM, with improved audio and a...
. In 1994, Microsoft acquired the Softimage
Softimage
Softimage, Co. was a company located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that produced 3D animation software. Their flagship products, Softimage 3D and Softimage XSI, are used in the creation of computer animation for films, television advertisement, and video games...
Corporation and renamed the package Softimage|3D, releasing a Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
port two years later. In 1996, Microsoft began offering Softimage|3D Extreme 3.5, which included particle effects and the mental ray
Mental Ray
mental ray is a production-quality rendering application developed by mental images . mental images was bought in December 2007 by NVIDIA.As the name implies, it supports ray tracing to generate images....
renderer. 3D paint functionality was added a year later in version 3.7.
Softimage|3D was gradually replaced by the company's next product, Softimage XSI
Softimage XSI
Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage is a 3D computer graphics application, owned by Autodesk, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation...
starting in 2000. The last version of Sofimage|3D was version 4.0, released in 2002 at its lowest price ever, 1,485$ See Softimage, Co. for detailed time line.
Productions that used Softimage|3D include the film "Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
" and the video game Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
.