SOFTIMAGE|XSI New Features
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XSI Startup Options
There are a number of startup options that can be used for starting XSI. To get a list of command-line options you can use when starting XSI, type:
xsi -h
Usage
xsi [licensing options] <.scn file> [-projlist
<projectlistfile>][-r <batchrenderoptions>][-script
<scriptname> <scriptoptions>][-i <.xsiaddon|.spdl
file> <pluginoptions>][-u <.xsiaddon|.spdl file>
<pluginoptions>][-l <filteroptions>][-w <path>][-
migrate <previous user preferences path to migrate>][-
auxiliary_data <auxiliary data file>][-uilang
<languageid>][-helplang <languageid>]
New Licensing Options
-batchuni When running in batch mode, XSI will start a license check with Batch Universal.
-norender When running in Batch Universal mode, XSI will not grab XSIStdRender tokens. This will block rendering while still allowing mi file echoing.
This option allows you to streamline the echo/rendering process over two machines. Machine A uses the Batch Universal license with the -norender option to output an mi file to disk, and because the two mental ray standalones aren't used, you can then reroute the output to another machine to render the mi file generated by machine A.
Image Clips and Merged Scenes
When you merge an XSI scene into another scene using File > Merge, the default is to share image clips. This means that if any image clips (for example, textures) on any model(s) in the merged scene are the same as clips that are already in the current scene, then the existing clips are automatically reused. This prevents unnecessary image clips from accumulating in your scene.
The rules for sharing image sources/clips are as follows:
For all model types, identical image sources are always shared.
Two clips are considered to be the same if they share the same image source and the same parameter values. Animated parameters are ignored.
Local models will not share clips that are already used by, and therefore locked by, referenced models.
Referenced models will only share clips that are already used and locked by other referenced models, or clips that are currently unused.
In some situations, you might not want to automatically share image clips. For example, you might have animated the clip parameters differently and you want to keep the different animations. In these cases, you can use the MergeScene command in the script editor to specify False for the ShareImageClips parameter. For example:
MergeScene filename.scn, , , False
For more information about the syntax of the MergeScene command, refer to the online Command and Object Model Reference guide by pressing F1 or clicking ? in the command bar of the script editor.
For more information about image clips and sources, see Using Image Sources and Image Clips in Chapter 5 of the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
Rendering Options
You can set various new render options in the Render Options property editor and the View Render Options (Render Region) property editor. The same commands are also available for batch rendering. For more information about all of the rendering (and render region) options, see Rendering Options in the Rendering & Compositing guide. For more information about batch rendering options, see Rendering in the Rendering & Compositing guide.
Sampling Options
New sampling options have been added to the Aliasing property page of the Render Options property editor. For more information about other sampling options, see Rendering Options in the Rendering & Compositing guide.
Sampling Pattern
You can activate the Use Same Sampling Pattern for All Frames option, to use the same sampling pattern for every rendered frame. This can help to reduce flickering caused by changes to the sampling pattern from frame to frame.
XSIBatch Command:
-same_sampling [on|off]
Rapid Motion Sampling
The Rapid Motion Sampling options control how objects are sampled when you render in Rapid Motion mode (set the Scanline Mode > Type option on the Optimization page to Rapid Motion). Using these controls yields a better motion blur with much less impact on render speed than increasing the sampling Max Level setting. Rapid motion sampling is controlled by the following two parameters:
Explicit Samples Setting, when activated, uses the Shading Rate setting to determine the number of times objects rendered in Rapid Motion mode are sampled. This gives you more precise control over the sampling rate.
When Explicit Samples Setting is deactivated, the Max Samples setting controls the sampling, in which case the number of samples per pixel is 2(max samples).
Shading Rate controls the number of times objects rendered in Rapid Motion mode are sampled when Explicit Samples Setting is activated.
XSIBatch Commands:
-rapidmotion_samples [on|off]
-rapidmotion_rate integer
Geometry Hair Rendering
You can toggle the rendering of geometry-rendered hair by activating or deactivating the Geometry Hair option on the Active Effects property page. Though the hair is still generated, it is not rendered. For more information about rendering hair, see Rendering Hair in the Simulation guide.
XSIBatch Command:
-geo_hair [on|off]
BSP Options
New BSP options have been added to the Optimization property page of the Render Options property editor. For more information about other BSP options, see Rendering Options in the Rendering & Compositing guide.
BSP Memory Limit
The Max Memory (Mb) setting specifies, in megabytes, the maximum amount of memory used to compute the BSP tree during preprocessing. When the value is set to 0, there is no limit.
This is useful when BSP settings, Max Depth especially, are high since a large BSP tree can consume very large amounts of memory.
It is also useful when you're using multi-processor machines because it prevents the processors from consuming all available memory for preprocessing.
XSIBatch Command:
-bsp_max_mem integer
BSP for Shadow Objects
The Separate BSP for shadow objects setting toggles a separate BSP tree for calculating raytraced shadows. This can reduce rendering time when you're using simplified shadow-only objects to create the shadows of more complex objects.
For more information about shadows, see Lights and Shadows in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
XSIBatch Command:
-bsp_shadow [on|off]
Memory Limit Options
The memory management options on the Optimization property page of the Render Options property editor have been updated. You can now set the following options:
Default limits the amount of RAM used for rendering. Choose one of the following options:
mental ray (512Mb): sets the memory limit to mental ray's default value of 512 Mb.
or
Unlimited: no memory limit is set.
or
Specified Limit: sets the memory limit to the value that you specify using the Limit (Mb) slider.
Limit (Mb) defines the memory limit, in megabytes, when the Default option is set to Specified Limit.
XSIBatch Commands:
-memory_use ["mr_default"|"unlimited"|"specified_limit"]
-memorylimit integer
New Motion Blur Settings
New and updated motion blur options have been added to the Motion Blur property page of the Render Options property editor. For more information about other Motion Blur options, see Blurs, Flares & Other Effects in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
Updated Shutter Speed Settings
Shutter speed is now controlled by two parameters: Open and Close. These settings emulate the shutter of a real camera being open from one point in a frame to another. For example, setting the Open value to 0 and the Close value to 0.5 opens the shutter at the beginning of the frame and closes it half way through the frame. Put another way, the shutter is open for 50% of the time between frames x and x + 1. A larger difference between Open and Close means a slower shutter speed, and a greater amount of motion blur. Having separate settings to open and close the shutter allows you to offset the period for which the shutter is open, and even extend it into later frames.
If you're using motion blur with particles, the difference between the Open and Close value must be less than 1.
XSIBatch Commands:
-mb_open integer
-mb_close integer
Interpolation for Rotational Blur
You can fine-tune motion blur interpolation using the Interpolation Steps option. When this option is set to 0, motion blur is calculated based on a linear interpolation between an object's motion data at the beginning and end of the shutter time (the period for which the shutter is open, as defined by the shutter speed settings). Increasing the interpolation value adds extra steps between these two points, interpolating linearly between successive steps. This improves the blurred result considerably for rotating objects. The Interpolation Steps value cannot exceed 15.
XSIBatch Command:
-mb_steps integer
Photon Volume Settings
New options have been added to the Photon property page of the Render Options property editor. These options calculate global illumination within a volume, as defined by a volume shader. The following settings are available:
Accuracy is like a sampling parameter, which looks for a specified number of photons stored within the area defined by the Radius parameter. It defines the resolution of the photon map.
Once the photon map is calculated and displayed, you can then zoom, pan, or play back your animation in the render region using the precomputed map of the global illumination effect instead of computing the effect each time the render region is refreshed.
Radius defines how far the renderer will search for photons within a volume. It is measured in SOFTIMAGE units.
For more information about other Photon rendering options, see Global Illumination, Caustics, and Final Gathering in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
XSIBatch Commands:
-photonvol_accuracy integer
-photonvol_accuracy scalar
Final Gathering Options
Final gathering rendering options have been moved to their own page of the Render Options property editor, called Final Gathering. Several new final gathering options have been added. For more information about other final gathering options, see Global Illumination, Caustics, and Final Gathering in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
Fast Lookup
The Fast Lookup option can be activated when you are using Global Illumination and final gathering together. When it is activated, irradiance information is stored for each photon location in the global illumination calculation. This means that you need fewer final gathering samples, and the final gathering calculations take less time. However, global illumination calculations will take longer.
XSIBatch Command:
-fg_fastlookup [on|off]
View Dependant Final Gathering
By default, the final gathering minimum and maximum radius values are measured in scene units. When you activate the View Dependant option, they are measured in pixels. The net effect of activating this option is that fewer final gathering samples are cast for objects that are farther from the camera.
XSIBatch Commands:
-photonvol_accuracy integer
-photonvol_accuracy scalar
Filter Size
The final gathering Filter Size option defines the range of the final gathering filter. The filter is designed to eliminate speckling by filtering out overly bright samples within the range.
Increasing the filter size grows the range as follows: if the Filter Size value is set to 1, a given sample point is filtered using all of its neighboring sample points. Increasing the value to 2 adds those sample points, and their neighboring sample points, to the filter, and so on.
Higher values soften the contrast between neighboring final gathering samples and reduce speckling in the rendered frame. Setting the value to 0 disables filtering entirely, but may give better results when the final gathering Accuracy setting is relatively low.
XSIBatch Command:
-fg_filtersize integer
Trace Depth Settings
These settings are similar to the Raytracing Depth settings on the Optimization page, but apply only to final gathering rays. They specify the number of times a given ray is reflected or refracted.
Reflection specifies the maximum number of times a final gathering ray can be reflected in a scene.
Refraction specifies the maximum number of times a final gathering ray can be refracted in a scene.
Total specifies the number of times a final gathering ray can be reflected and/or refracted in a scene. The Total value should not be less than the sum of the Reflection and Refraction values.
XSIBatch Commands:
-fgdepth_reflect integer
-fgdepth_refract integer
-fgdepth_sum interger
Final Gathering Map
The final gathering map options have been updated. The following parameters now control the final gathering map:
Map File Usage defines how the final gathering map file is used. Choose one of the following modes:
Overwrite file with generated FG points: computes final gathering points at each frame and stores the results in a final gathering map file that overwrites any existing map file. In other words, the final gathering map is rebuilt at each frame.
or
Append generated FG points to file: uses an existing final gathering map file or calculates one for the first rendered frame. Should mental ray compute additional final gathering points for subsequent frames at render time, these points are appended to the map file.
or
Generate FG points only if file doesn't exist: uses an existing final gathering map (or calculates one for the first rendered frame), but does not append any new points computed at render time. After the initial computation, the map file is only modified if you change the final gathering Accuracy value. This is useful for renderfarm setups where several machines may use the same final gathering map.
Final gathering calculations are based on the position of the pass camera. If you are using the Generate FG points only if file doesn't exist option, make sure that the map file contains sufficient final gathering data for all camera positions in the rendered sequence.
FG Map defines the name and path of the file to be used as a final gathering map. If left blank, no final gathering map is computed. If an invalid path is defined, the render will fail and abort.
XSIBatch Commands:
-fg_mapuse ["overwrite"|"append"|"generate"]
-fgmap_file "string"
Bump Map UV Coordinate Options
When you apply a bumpmap to an object, discontinuities in the object's UV coordinates can cause artifacts in the rendered object. The Bump Map Generator shader now contains options that allow you to specify a second projection, with its own set of UV coordinates, used only for the bumpmap computation. You can find these options in the Projection Method for Bump Basis Computation options of the Bump Map Generator shader?s property editor.
The following parameters control the bump-basis computation?s UV coordinates:
Enable activates the projection for the bump basis computation.
The first Texture Projection drop-down list specifies the type of projection to use. Choose one of the following:
Explicit UV: for deformed surfaces (shape/envelope): uses an explicit texture projection. Choosing this option activates the second Texture Projection drop-down list, from which you can choose an explicit projection type.
You should use this type of projection on objects that are deformed by shape, envelope, and so on, because it properly maintains the ?flow? of the bump map across the object's surface. If you use an implicit projection to control the bumpmap, the bumpmap may appear to swim as the object deforms.
Implicit UV (Nurbs only): uses an implicit UV type projection to compute the bumpmap. Because the projection is implicit, the UV coordinates are calculated at render time, and not added to the object as they would be with an explicit projection. This projection type only works for nurbs objects.
Implicit Planar (XY/XZ/YZ)/ Spherical/ Cylindrical/ Lollipop: uses an implicit projection of the specified type to compute the bumpmap. Because the projection is implicit, the UV coordinates are calculated at render time, and not added to the object as they would be with an explicit projection.
You should use implicit projections only to compute bumpmaps on static objects with no deformations. Deformed objects require an explicit projection to maintain the bumpmap's ?flow? as the object deforms.
For more information about bumpmapping, see Maps, Maps, Maps in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
RenderVertex Sample Inset Factor
A new parameter, called Sample inset factor, has been added to the Advanced page of the RenderMap property editor. It appears only when the Sampling option on the Basic property page is set to Vertices Only (RenderVertex). The sample inset factor controls the distance between each sampled vertex and the location where the sample is actually taken.
Raising the value moves the sample location closer to the center of the triangle (a value of 1 means the sample location is at the triangle's center).
Higher values are more likely to produce artifacts in the resulting CAV.
Lowering the value moves the sample location closer to the vertex.
You cannot set this value lower than 0.001. This is because RenderVertex does not sample exactly at a given vertex, but slightly inside the polygon near the vertex. This helps to ensure that the object is colored correctly at each vertex.
For more information about RenderVertex, see Working with Vertex Colors in the Shaders, Lights & Cameras guide.
Setting the IK Chain Solver?s Error Threshold
When you?re animating long chains (especially 3D chains), the error tolerance on the solver can sometimes get too large and the chain?s effector may ?pop? to another location. This may also be a problem when you have stiffness or rotation limits set on 3D chains.
To solve these problems, you can use the new Error Threshold settings. You can lower the solver?s error threshold, meaning that less distortion is allowed to occur as it solves the chain?s angles.
The error threshold affects only:
3D chains with more than one bone using either the SOFTIMAGE|3D or XSI solver.
2D chains with more than two bones using the SOFTIMAGE|3D solver.
To change the solver?s error tolerance
Open the chain?s Kinematic Chain property page.
Select User Defined as the Error Threshold Type.
Lower the Threshold value until the problem stops occurring. This value is in Softimage units, with 1 being one-grid square.
You need to set the Threshold value relative to the chain?s length. This means that generally, the shorter the chain, the lower you need to set the value to solve any problem.
The amount that you?re zoomed in or out of the view also has an effect on the value you need to solve the problem. For example, if you?re zoomed in closely to the chain, you may need to use a very low value.
The speed at which the solver calculates the chain is affected by a combination of the chain?s length and the Threshold value. As the Threshold value gets lower relative to the chain?s length, the longer it takes to solve. For example, a long chain with a high value could take the same amount of time to calculate as a short chain with a low value.
If the value is too low, the solver may not reach a solution and the effector won?t reach the IK goal.
Toolbars and Custom Commands
You no longer need to delete and re-create a button on a toolbar to re-create a missing command. The script?s file name is now stored in the button, so you only need to replace the script file at the correct location.
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